Classroom Management, Part I

By Paula Lempert and Lori Belzman

To find a classroom, just look around.  A classroom can be around the dinner table, on the playing field, at the mall, and, of course, where we go for our ABCs and 123s.  A classroom is anywhere where we help young people learn and grow to become respectful, responsible, and productive members of society.  It’s where a solid foundation is placed for more abstract and meaningful ideas to come.  Understanding that a classroom can be anywhere also means that anyone can be an educator.  Teachers, family members, and coaches all play a role in creating unique learning environments where children and young people learn and grow.

Building a Foundation
 
The foundation of your classroom is based on positive assumptions about your students.  Assume and believe every student wants to and can learn content and behavior. Assume and believe students want to and can do their best. This is positive, open, and always keeps students the focus of your practice.
 
It’s not about believing only in your students.  We have to believe in ourselves and our own impact on our learners. More importantly, we have to believe that we teach people—not just content. We need to know our learners to teach them and involve them in their learning. We must believe we are the key to their success.

Foundation strategies, tips, and examples:

• Greet students at the door every period.
• Use positive talk to assure them you believe in them.
• Make the content relevant to each student.
• Model the behavior you want to see in your students: tone of voice, patience, and a positive attitude and smile.
• Encourage all students to make and reach goals. They can write a daily goal on a Post-it and place it on their monitor or work station as a visual reminder. 
• Try new ideas. 
• Reflect, reflect, and reflect!
• Establish a culture in your classroom.
• Join a Professional/Collaborative Learning Community. 
• Engage in Peer Coaching.

Prevention

Some days we go home exhausted from putting out fire after fire.  They never taught us in our teacher prep programs how to be proactive vs. reactive.  After being in the classroom for years, we come to understand and value the idea of prevention.  It makes our lives so much simpler! 

When thinking of prevention, we are thinking of policies, procedures, and attitudes that lead to a learning environment that is manageable with minimal effort.  This requires you to be firm, fair, and consistent.  It is okay to hold your ground with students, especially when you are meeting individual needs and showing equity to everyone. 

Be proactive. Open each period with a humorous movie clip or story. It’s okay to laugh in the classroom. If you open with something light, it can set the tone for the rest of the period. Review classroom rules and procedures and provide opportunities to practice and demonstrate knowledge and proficiency. Ask students for examples of rules they have outside the classroom.

Sometimes allow your students to have choices.  Of course, you provide the options for them, but they get to make the final selection.  Choice can be very empowering for some of our students, for it can help them take ownership of their learning and lives. Most importantly, don’t forget to revisit, evaluate, and revise your classroom policies and procedures when needed.  Just because they worked in September does not mean they will work in January or June.

Prevention strategies, tips, and examples:

• Use empathy, humor, and a nurturing approach.
• Refrain from apologizing, backing down, or giving in.
• Be consistent and immediate with consequences.  Students will respond to consistency.
• Rules are expectations for everyone to follow and can be built with student input.  Procedures are routines that support organization and create more learning time.
• Make time to discuss why rules benefit everyone. Have students act out a skit to demonstrate this truth.  
• Assign classroom jobs: binder monitors, attendance clerks, tech help, peer tutors, architects, interior designers, librarians, etc.
• Anonymous suggestion box: What is working? What needs to change?

Decide to make one change to your classroom environment, whether that is at school, at home, or in the community.  What do you see happening?

Editor’s Note:  Paula Lempert and Lori Belzman will continue this Back to Basics series on Classroom Management in coming “RAPSA Reach Out” issues.  You can also participate in the discussion in the RAPSA Lounge Blog.

Paula Lempert is a member of the Learning Support Team and is an Itinerant Specialist for SIATech Charter Schools.  She supports teachers in general and special education through Induction, Professional Development, and New Staff Academy.

Lori Belzman is a member of the Learning Support Team and is the English Content Area Specialist for SIATech Charter Schools. She supports teachers through Professional Development, New Staff Academy, curriculum & assessment training, and site support.