Due March 7
Describe your cooperating teacher’s management
strategies. Do you feel they are
effective? Give examples of what your teacher does to recognize positive
adherence and negative adherence. What
do you plan to do differently in your own class?
I feel that I have a pretty good grasp on the classroom management in my first grade classroom. We spent a lot of time at the beginning of the school year creating and modeling the rules and expectations. Which I think is the key. If students are noisy in the hallway then we might take time during recess to practice and the results are amazing. There have also been times when the entire class has had to sit on the wall for 5 minutes during recess because Writer's Workshop was too chatty, we have never had that problem again. Consistency works! We do have a "Take A Break" chair in the classroom, that is not used very often. I also have a Treasure Box that I have and use when I catch my students doing something fabulous. I was totally inspired by our class discussion last week and will be incorporating a "School Store" into the mix, where students will earn coins throughout the week and be able to shop at the store on Friday, they are all so excited. I have parents who have already sent in some special items to be sold, so they are on board. My expectations are clear and we certainly revisit the classroom rules at times, following our February Vacation it was just helpful to remind them that they are back at school now. Every year is different with the classroom dynamics so I am open to trying new things to see what actually works.
ReplyDeleteI feel really lucky to have been placed in a classroom with a cooperating teacher who has awesome behavior management strategies. Her strategies are extremely effective, mostly positive, and use a good balance of many of the strategies we learned about in this week's readings. The school-wide behavior management system relies on "high fives", which are little tokens or hand cut-outs that are given to students who show good behavior. The high fives are collected by each classroom as a whole, and when the classroom reaches a certain number of high fives, they get a reward (like a pizza party or pajama day). High fives are also given out when students demonstrate the school's "core values": academic excellence, caring, respect, honesty, and responsibility. My cooperating teacher has a list of these values next to the "high five tree" in our classroom. Additionally, my teacher has a "treasure box" filled with candy and little trinkets that she allows students to visit when they complete an especially difficult task (like filling out a whole math challenge packet) or do something extra kind or polite. For the most part, my teacher reinforces positive behavior by noting it in front of the whole class ("Sam, you are showing academic excellence by listening carefully and not getting distracted by your friends"), and usually talks to a student about negative behavior by pulling them off to the side. One strategy that I'd like to work on and have seen my teacher use for putting a stop to negative behavior is using her "mean voice", which rarely comes out but is extremely effective in putting an immediate stop to individual and whole-class behavior. I believe that if the classroom climate is generally quite calm, kind, positive, and respectful, using a "mean voice" shows that the teacher really means business in that moment, but doesn't necessarily take away from the positive energy of the classroom as a whole.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am starting half way through the school year, it is clear that my cooperating teacher has strong, effective classroom management skills, and places great emphasis on routines and consistency. As Katie pointed out, my teacher also spent a great deal of time at the beginning of the year establishing and modeling rules and expectations with the students as to prevent problems instead of having to deal with or manage them. These rules and routines (weekly jobs, line leader, etc.), as well as the daily schedule are posted around the room for students to refer to as needed. Day to day there generally are no major management problems, but she will give verbal and nonverbal reminders (silent signal, thumbs up/thumbs down, flicking the lights off, giving a 10 second countdown, etc.) to help the group refocus, or ensure that everyone is listening to one another respectfully. She also has a “take a break” chair, which is used infrequently but its’ purpose is for students to use when they need a moment or two to calm their bodies or voices. For major behavioral problems, my teacher has established individualized plans for certain students, such as quick 5-minute yoga sessions twice a day for one student, writing in a journal for another, and going to a “friendship lunch” twice a week for a student who needs some peer modeling. My teacher generally moves a child who is overly disruptive or acting out into the hallway to speak with them one-on-one, instead of reprimanding them in front of the entire class. It is her belief that most of these disruptions are attention-seeking to begin with, so dealing with the issue one-on-one prevents the child from receiving that attention and really helps figure out the reason for the disruption (instead of just being negative/reactive). Additionally, there is a peace couch, which use has been modeled to students. Students use this couch to sort out “kid problems” such as sharing, or saying things over in a polite and kind way to one another.
ReplyDeleteI think in my own classroom I will use many of the techniques and management strategies of my cooperating teacher, such as posting the classroom rules that students have helped write (and have them sign), using silent signals (quiet sign, making a connection, thumbs up or thumbs down for agreement/disagreement), and being consistent and following through with expectations. I enjoyed Mallory’s tips, too, and I think I would definitely use the “Warm, Fuzzy Jar” in my classroom! I think recognizing positive behavior is generally more effective then drawing attention to negative behaviors, but simply routines like this also teach children to recognize and be responsible for taking care of one another.
Kate's point about spending a lot of time at the beginning of the year is important to remember. Spend as much time as needed to get your class to the point with which you are comfortable without stressing over the academics! Sounds like you all feel pretty comfortable with this topic! It was great to hear that the parents helped stock the school store in Kate's class!
ReplyDeleteAs I have mentioned before I am student teaching in an inclusive first grade class in the Milton Public Schools. Four of the students in my class are on the Autism Spectrum, so behaving and socializing appropriately is challenging for these students. Because of this the teachers I work with have set up a consistent and effective plan for behavior management, and use two main tools to implement it.
ReplyDeleteOur first tool is the “Room 20 Roller Coaster”. On one of the walls in our class, there is a bulletin board decorated to look like a roller coaster, and each student has a cart. When a student is having a difficult time following directions, and has been spoken to three times about the same behavior, the student is moved “off track”, and this means there will be a consequence for their behavior. We physically move the student’s cart off the coaster track, to remind the student that they need to work to get back on track. Before we move a student off track, we remind them that they need to work on this behavior, or they are “going to be moved off track”. This reminder is usually enough to stop students from continuing the problem behavior. On the roller coaster, there is also a spot where our three most important rules are written. This part of the board says ,“We stay on track by: following teacher directions, using good hands, using kind words”. This visual helps remind students to follow rules.
The next tool used to manage behavior is the “kindness counts” board. This is a reward system, which encourages students to behave positively and follow rules. Tickets are given to students when they are trying their best, following the rules, and being kind friends. Tickets are given out to students when they are doing things like working quietly when other students are talking, or when they help a classmate clean up a snack that spilled. If students have ten tickets in their “kindness counts pocket”, at the end of the week they get to pick a prize from the prize box. This system is helpful, because it gives the students motivation to behave well, and it allows teachers to reward students who are following the rules, instead of just punishing the students who aren’t.
The two teachers I work with do an excellent job with behavior management. They are consistent with both consequences and rewards, so students understand the rules and know what to expect. The one practice of theirs, which I notice to be quite worthwhile, is the frequent communication with parents. They contact them, usually by email, about both positive and negative behaviors. They have told me that parents love to receive positive emails about their children, and they think this communication helps build the relationship with the parents. I really do not see any areas where my cooperating teachers need to improve their behavior management. I am actually very impressed at their ability to control such a difficult group of children. I have seen these students with specialists, and other teachers, and the students definitely do not behave as well in these other settings.
Although at first glance it may seem like the students are all well behaved on their own, Ms. Z spent a lot of time setting high expectations for the students. On one of the walls in the classroom, there is a contract that all the students signed in the beginning of the year. I would say respect is something we deal with every day in the classroom; it ranges from students talking out while someone else is speaking to students throwing inappropriate body gestures, facial expressions, and rudely talking back to the adults. Consequences can vary depending on the level of disrespect. Typically, students will receive a verbal warning or warning card, then sent to take a break where they are required to fill out a form that explains why they are taking a break and what they could have done differently. If the problem continues, the student is taken to the buddy room. In addition, students have earned isolated lunch and lost recess/free time due to unexpected behaviors. I have also seen Ms. Z write letters to a couple students expressing her feelings and hopes. She also includes that she knows they can do better, which sets the expectations for the student again. I love this strategy with certain students because it gives less of a chance for students to argue and be rude.
ReplyDeleteMs. Z recognizes positive behavior by giving praise to students who are doing what they are expected to do. We also have a cube jar that we put in place in February. The students earn cubes by following classroom expectations (they are working on earning their second reward). In my own classroom, I will use many of the behavior and classroom management strategies that are used by Ms. Z. Of course, each group of students vary and I will adjust the strategies as needed.
Creating high expectations for the room in general and for individual students as well is very important. Don't get impatient. This can take a great deal of time to see results.
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ReplyDeleteMy classroom is pretty large with 21 students that are on the young side. They are a wild bunch and I feel as though my supervising teaching is constantly going over management with the students. They are constantly reminded about behavior. I started in Jan and therefor do not know what they were like at the beginning of the year but I would say that it's been a year long process for her in terms of discipline and behavior.
Students receive an X if they are spoken to too many times. There is no structure to the way she gives X's but I do know it is a school wide process. Next, she gives out pretend money that students may use in her classroom store every 2 weeks. If a student misbehaves then money can also be taken away. Overall her tactics work, however I think that I would have more structure to the system. I also would add to it giving more way for positive reinforcement.
I agree with both your comments! When you have your own classroom, remember to keep at your management strategy until you have the results you want. It's easier to lose teaching time at the beginning of the year than all through the year.
DeleteI'm in a third grade class at a single strand elementary school, there are 25 children in the class 17 boys and 8 girls. The classes behavior on a whole varies drastically day to day, there are a few young boys with attention disorders and often have trouble focusing and disrupt those around them. As many others have mentioned, My cooperating teacher clearly spent a great deal of time at the beginning of the year setting expectations and creating a contract signed by all the students which the children agree to follow. My cooperating teacher uses a very positive approach towards classroom management. She utilizes a point system - the kids are constantly working towards a goal, often a field trip or a fun class activity. A number of points they each need to earn is set as well as a date. The children are very aware that good behavior earns them points and most quickly correct themselves when they hear or notice other students earning points. I think it is an excellent system it keeps the children focused and working towards something and highlights. She corrects students only if their disruptive behavior persists after they have heard others being positively praised for following directions and have not corrected the behavior on their own. Her positive approach, I believe is very successful in helping her to manage her classroom effectively. I think I will certainly borrowing many of her management techniques and try to steer towards the positive approach. But one thing I believe may be needed and I will probably implement in my own classroom are consequences for those students who repeatedly need to be corrected.
ReplyDeleteI'm in a first grade classroom with 22 students. There are no major behavior issues in this classroom and I have noticed that the teacher has many classroom management techniques in place. She uses wind chimes throughout the classroom to help bring students back when they have gotten too loud. I think this is a preferable approach to flashing lights or raising your voice so they can hear. The wind chimes make a nice sound and as soon as the students hear it they become aware of the noise level and settle down. I will defiantly use this technique in my future classroom. The teacher also fills little jars with beads for good behavior. I feel like this is a good idea and students like getting beads but first graders are still very young and I have noticed some students get upset and cry because their table is not in the lead. For this reason I don't know if I would use this, I might see If I could find a way to adapt in a more diplomatic way. One thing that the teacher does that I think is very important and helpful is that first thing in the morning she says hello and gives attention to the students that can have behavior problems. I noticed that this tends to prevent attention seeking behavior and creates a positive track for the day.
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