The topic has traditionally/historically been treated as a case for reactivity. That is, teachers have tended to deal with management issues when something went wrong. Literature in this area clearly points out that this kind of approach tends to lead to more problems and early teacher burn-out.
Classroom management should be thought of in two major parts: Proactive (preventative) and reactive (discipline.)
PROACTIVE MEASURES FOR CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
I. Establishment of physical and psychological environments. The physical environment is the shape, size, seating arrangements, materials, and equipment in a classroom. The psychological environment refers to the emotional tone achieved in the classroom.
A. Planning the physical environment.
When arranging seating, be aware of who sits where and for what reasons. Take into consideration peer interactions, teacher-student interactions, and student enjoyment/interest in the class. This will require research on your part to find out how to best start the year. Finally, know where the action zones in the classroom will be and what will be happening in each.
B. Number of students.
Although the teacher has very little control over this, it is important that, to the extent possible, personal space is provided for each student and that there are enough materials for everyone.
C. Equipment and materials
As mentioned above, be sure there is enough to go around and consider the storage issue very carefully! Some equipment can be stored on student tables or desks and some must be kept locked in a cabinet. It is usually a good idea to only have the equipment you need in your classroom. Alternative storage facilities should be sought for any equipment and materials that you will need later.
D. Room arrangement
Make sure the room is well organized, functional, and above all, comfortable. You and your students will spend a great deal of time in the room together and "homey" appointments help with the overall class feeling tone. Table lamps, plants, music (Baroque is best!), couches, bean bag chairs, etc. will make the students feel much more comfortable. In addition to how they feel, this kind of appointment of the room makes the development of a sense of community much easier.
When doing all this, however, do not allow the students to get lost in the room! Maintain lines of sight to all areas of the room. This is a safety and security on both the teacher and student levels.
II. Planning the psychological environment.
A. Affect or tone of the classroom. Bright and primary colors tend to have an exciting effect on students while pastels and secondary colors with low values promote calmer student behaviors. Fluorescent light fixtures affect students in much the same way as bright colors. Try using incandescent fixtures and natural light whenever possible. Finally, give ownership to the class for as much of the daily routine as possible. The more you can automate what happens every day, the less time it takes away from your instruction.
B. Task orientation
Even in the "down times" students should have instructional and interesting things to do.
C. Classroom routines.
1. Management routines: Includes any situation where a transition is likely to occur. Things like distributing, collecting, entering and leaving the classroom, making transitions between classes and/or subjects, activities, beginning/ending the day. To facilitate smootheness here, establish signals and directions for students. Think about applying contiguity learning here.
2. Activity routines: Spell out how each kind of activity will be conducted and practice the transitions to them. Students should know location, duration, participation, and duration.
3. Instructional routines: These are things the teacher does in the same way every time which alerts the students that something is about to happen. Actions like getting a book, pulling down a screen, etc.
4. Executive planning routines: Knowing when you as the teacher will do what. Grading, teaching, planning, preparation of reports, individualized testing, etc.
III. Starting the school year
A. Begin establishment of routines, procedures, and expectations the
first day.
B. Clearly communicate and model the classroom routines.
C. Be sure students feel good about the classroom arrangement and routines.
D. Communicate in everything that you are prepared and competent.
E. Hold students accountable and responsible for following established
routines.
REACTIVE MEASURES FOR CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
I. Reacting to misbehavior, that is, anything that is disruptive to the flow of the classroom.
A. Have the students name and describe examples of behaviors that are not appropriate an why.
B. Essentially, students misbehave for one or more of the foollowing reasons: seeking attention, seeking power, seeking revenge, seeking isolation.
C. Decide how to react to misbehavior. You must decide in advance what you will react to. Pick your battles! Kids will misbehave and too much intervention on your part will do more harm than good in terms of instructional flow. Make sure that your students know that "fair is not always equal" and that you will deal with each person as an individual.
D. Types of intervention. Effective intervention will be calm, firm, intense, and immediate. However, remember, sometimes, it is better to allow behaviors to extinguish by ignoring them. Beyond that, teachers can use mild desists by doing or saying something unobtrusive, reprimands (speaking directly to the student), overcorrection (making the student practice the appropriate behavior repeatedly, be careful!), time out (removing the student from the current situation for a "cool off" period), or a severe punishment.
E. In general, the following are good guidelines for the use of punishment
in the classroom:
1. Use it sparingly
2. Use it quickly
3. Relate it directly to the misbehavior (punishment must fit the "crime")
4. Think about what you're doing (NEVER REACT OUT OF ANGER)
5. Avoid complex, time-consuming punishment systems. These punish you
for punishing a child.
REESTABLISHMENT OF THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
A. Don't dwell on what happened.
B. Don't discuss the situation with other students on the spot.
C. Use as little of this as possible!!
D.BE FLAWLESSLY PROACTIVE AND YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TO REACT TO A CHILD
BECAUSE THEY WILL NEVER MISBEHAVE (NOT!!!)