Chapter 1

1. Chapter 1 Classroom Management in a Crowded, Complex Environment February 15, 2011

2. Six Features of a Classroom Setting • Multidimensionality • Simultaneity • Immediacy • Unpredictability • Lack of privacy • History Can anyone guess what any of these words mean?

3. 1. Multidimensionality The classroom should be a setting for a broad range of events. • Lessons • Social development • Counseling

4. 2. Simultaneity In a classroom, there should be individual, group, and teacher-led work going on at all times. Ex. “three ring circus”

5. 3. Immediacy This refers to the rapid pace at which things happen in a classroom. Ex. on-the-spot decisions

6. 4. Unpredictability This ensures that a teacher is rarely boring. • Emergencies • Arguments • Teaching moments

7. 5. Lack of Privacy Teachers should remember that classrooms are public places. • “on stage” or “in a fishbowl” • Works both ways

8. 6. History Over the course of a year, a class constructs a joint history. • Determines what happens tomorrow • Support, rather than frustrate, future activities

9. Guiding Principles There are 2 distinct purposes of classroom management: • It seeks to establish and sustain a caring, orderly environment in which students can engage in meaningful learning. • It aims to enhance students’ social and emotional growth

10. The 5 Guiding Principles of Classroom Management • Successful classroom management fosters self-discipline and personal responsibility. • Most problems of disorder in classrooms can be avoided if teachers foster positive student-teacher relationships, implement engaging instruction, and use good preventive management strategies. • The need for order must not supersede the need for meaningful instruction. • Managing today’s diverse classrooms requires the knowledge, skills, and predispositions to work with students from diverse racial, ethnic, language, and social class backgrounds. In other words, teachers must become “culturally responsive classroom managers”. • Becoming an effective classroom manage requires reflection, hard work, and time.

11. Meet the Teachers Courtney Ball: first year Kindergarten, uses responsive classroom technique Vivian Love: 1st grade bilingual, poor socioeconomic district Garnetta Chain: 3rd grade, 25 years, poor socioeconomic area Barbara Broggi: 4th grade, small & diverse community Ken Kowalski: 5th grade, became a teacher to help at-risk students

12. What do they have in common? • Emphasize prevention of behavior problems • Promote mutual respect • Involve students in learning activities • Emphasize being organized and well-prepared

13. What do their students say? Three recurring themes: • Relate to students with care and respect • Teach in a way that is motivational and interesting • Set limits and enforce them

14. Activity for Skill Building Reflect on your past experiences with children. What did you learn from those experiences that might help you in the classroom?