Professional Development Project:
Guidelines for Classroom Management:
Andrew Janick
Inquiry Into Professional Practice
April 29, 2003
Improvement Area
The domain that I wanted to improve upon is domain B, which is labeled ‘Creating an Environment for Student Learning.’ The fourth section in this domain, ‘Establishing and maintaining consistent standards of classroom behavior,’ is what my Professional Development Project centered around. The reason that I felt I needed to improve in this area was because during my videotape lesson and throughout my fall practicum experience I had been very lenient on those students who were misbehaving. The reasoning for this lack of discipline stemmed from my lack of knowledge of successful strategies that could have been used to combat these types of issues in the classroom.
The question that I was trying to find an answer for can be worded like this: What the proper procedure for a teacher to take to create an classroom structure that runs smoothly with a minimum amount of time spent on disruptions and a maximum amount of time on instruction. The class ‘running smoothly’ can have many different meanings, but in general, I feel that a class that has a good plan for dealing with homework, missed assignments, and questions has a better chance of not wasting valuable class time.
In my opinion, creating this type of plan or structure is the most difficult area for new teacher to do an outstanding job. I personally feel that class should be both fun and enjoyable, but it also needs to have structure and a set of fair rules. So for me this project was very important so that I gathered from my student teaching experience what exactly I will emphasize or ignore in my classroom in the coming years as a teacher. Going into a job with this set of guidelines in place will make the transition into the profession much easier on both my students and me.
Literature Review
As a future teacher, I know that discipline and managing the classroom are probably the heaviest concerns on my mind. Discipline and forming a quality discipline philosophy is very important for all teachers, especially novice ones (Doebler and Rooberson, 1986). Real discipline problems are one that must be planned for and have action taken against when they occur (Thompson, 1994). Most college education students do not receive a course in how to deal with discipline problems, so it is important that they research what entitles a good approach to classroom management (Leonard and Purvis, 1984). It is very important for a teacher to find a happy medium between using too much instructional time to address disruptive behaviors and not enough time teaching the material (Thompson, 1994).
Context
The school that I conducted research and attempted different aspects of discipline and classroom management was based in Northeastern Ohio. The school contains both six and seventh graders. The district is a suburb of Cleveland. The students seem to come from a variety of different economical backgrounds, ranging from upper middle class to lower class, but that fact is not very evident to the typical observer. The students all seem to get along well despite the differing backgrounds, which I found very interesting. The classes I took over during student teaching were all seventh grade mathematics classes. The size of the classes ranged from eighteen students to twenty-nine students. The schedule they followed was made up of forty-minute periods. I took over five classes total, which were tracked into two types of math; integrated mathematics and an integrated honors mathematics which focused more on algebra than the normal integrated class. The culture of the area is one based on working class values that have the students looking forward to college after high school. The schools are also very enthusiastic about extracurricular activities such as band and sports such as track, football, wrestling, and basketball. The school’s philosophy toward discipline focuses squarely on the teachers. They make the majority of the decisions on what types of punishments are used, and how their particular class is conducted. The administration uses a very hands-off approach, only stepping in when absolutely necessary.
Intervention
My data collection plan consists of three parts. The first two parts take place during the three weeks of student teaching. In this section I spent some time observing other teachers as well as my cooperating teacher for the ways that they handle discipline problems that arose. I also interviewed teachers from the school during this time in a one on one situation to find out what does and does not work for them in their classrooms. Interviewing some random students as for what they think is important to keep a classroom running smoothly is the second part of this plan and also occurred during this time period. Both of these elements are very important to the research that any future teacher must complete in order to prepare his or herself for a career in education. Leonard and Purvis stress this fact of researching different types of approaches and practices to handle discipline problems in their article entitled “Content for a student discipline course” (1984). This is where I begun my project.
Armed with some different types of strategies from my interviews with both students and teachers, I moved onto the last part of my project. After gathering this information, I reviewed it and then applied some of the things that I thought were worth trying out during the last two weeks. During this testing period I used a journal to record my results daily from the different techniques. I then analyzed these reflections, which gave me a basis for my final ideas on classroom management. Forming a classroom management plan is very important to all teachers, according to Doebler and Rooberson (1986).
Data Collection
I used two simple interviews to document the responses from both the students and faculty that I interviewed for this project. Each questionnaire only contained four questions, but these questions were of the leading types that led to other types of questions in most cases. I documented all answers from students in most cases while some teachers answered the questions on their own time and returned the papers to me. The teacher questions were very basic. I first asked how the teacher started class. I then moved on to ask them how often they assigned homework. I also questioned what types of homework they gave the students to complete and how they graded it. There are tow main types of grading, one taking a grade for completion or grading the homework for correctness. The third question inquired on how the teachers handled both minor and major discipline problems. I then closed the questionnaire searching for how they closed the lesson.
The students’ questionnaire was similar in length and question type. The first question dealt with the subject of homework. How much, graded for correctness or completion, and how much of the total grade an assignment should be worth were topics in which I asked about. I then inquired about what types of activities teachers used to clam the class down at the beginning of class. The third question dealt with discipline and what types of punishments actually encouraged the students to behave. And the last question dealt with the closing of a lesson and whether the students thought it was important to have an idea of where the class was headed, both on that day and the future.
The reflections were of the basic kind. They were simple notes or observations of what worked on the day or what did not work. They also included ideas that I could try in the future in light of what had happened that day and before. While not extremely detailed, they gave me an excellent idea of what had happened on a particular day.
Data Analysis and Conclusions
I learned a great deal from the interviews and journals I collected over the time of this project. My first portion of analysis is focused on the students and their interviews. When asked to discuss the topic of homework, one answer was not surprising. Seven of the nine students interviewed preferred to have homework graded for completion, not correctness. This is exactly what I expected from students, because most seem content with attempting the homework while not putting too much effort into making sure every problem is done correctly. A few students felt homework was to practice what they had learned in class, and that it was important, especially in math classes. Two students did want the homework to be more interesting and a little more challenging, which is important to keep in mind as a teacher.
As for calm down the class and handling the discipline problems, the answers were again expected. A majority of students supported the practice of turning off the lights to both calm the class down and get their attention. They also gave me some ideas I had never tried before, such as standing in silence while waiting for class to quiet down and pointing out individual troublemakers to grab their attention. One student even replied that almost anything works as long as the teacher does something. Detentions, both lunch and after school, were the choice for the penalty that most deters bad behavior. Calling home to parents was second on this list, but an excellent observation by one student was that a call home depends much on the parents’ own philosophy towards both education and their children. This is something I must keep in mind when contacting students’ parents, both on good and bad points.
The responses to the last question gave me the feeling that it is important for students to understand where the class is headed and why they are being taught the topics that they are in the course of the lessons. It is important for the students to be prepared and aware of upcoming events such as quizzes, tests, and projects. The practice of relaying to the students what we are learning and why is something I will practice on an every day basis in my classroom.
The teachers’ responses to the first question in their interview were actions that I already practiced in my own class. I feel that it is a very good idea to begin class with a small assignment or review that the students work on by themselves while I catch up on duties such as taking roll, checking homework, or dealing with absent students. All of the teachers practice this as well, in some form or another. All teachers seemed to give some form of homework, ranging from two nights a week to four nights. Most of the homework was graded for completeness, not correctness. One strategy I did find was that if a night’s homework assignment was a review or very similar to the night before in content, which I sometimes do to emphasis a lesson I take two or three schooldays on with the class, it is a good idea to grade that second assignment for correctness, not just completion. This gives me a much better assessment of how well the students understood the material.
As for disciplining students, the teachers use the same techniques and reactions that I use in my classroom. Lunch and afternoon detentions, calls to parents, and one-on-one conversations with students were the most used deterrents. Excessive talking is the problem in these classes as well as mine. The problem continues in all these classes, no matter what subject area, so in my mind something different needs to be done, possibly. As for closing the lesson, this is an area I am familiar with and I found no unique strategies that I did not already apply in my own classroom. This area is where I usually wrap up where we are at with a small review orally, what the homework assignment is, and where we will be headed in the near future.
As for my reflections, they gave me the most insight on what problems I dealt with and what successes I did enjoy in my student teaching experience. I found that a majority of what my students wanted and what my colleagues did their own class corresponded largely with what I have already been practicing in the classroom. This helped to understand that I am not the only teacher who has difficulty with classroom management, and this makes me fell better knowing that I can go to colleagues for both advice and support.
Concluding Remark
In conclusion, there is one main thing I will change in my teaching as a result of this project. That is the way I begin the school year or any class in which I take over for an extended period. It is extremely important to set a basis of rules and procedures from the first day of class. The students need to be aware of all expectations from the very beginning. My homework policy will mostly consist of checking the nightly homework for completion, and there will be homework every night except for Friday because I feel practice of the math skills learned is very important. Even more important is that students know that they are expected to have homework, and if they are absent they know exactly were the assignment has been posted and that they are responsible for attempting the assignment. This will save me time as well as give the class more productive instructional time. I will use a small assignment everyday that the students will come in and attempt while I come around and check their homework, which is to be placed in a specific spot on their desk as soon as they get in the class.
The rules will be posted as well as the consequences, and I must uphold these as the teacher. I feel that much of the problem in discipline comes from the lack of cohesiveness on the part of the teacher. No matter what mood I am in, the same offense must be met with the same result time after time, or the student will not believe in your consequences. I am not a strict or callous person, and I do not plan to become that way as a professional teacher. I am an organized person whose understands that the responsibility for my education rests squarely on my shoulders, and I plan on passing these traits on to my students. I must continue to be organized and prepared, and if my students see this they will hopefully respond with similar behavior. A set or rules and procedures will ease my workload, and I will then be able to focus on other questions. How do I create lesson plans that not only inspire students, but also keep them learning up their potential is one such question. Another is how do I continually improve my technique and become the best possible teacher I can be? These are the types of questions I can move on to when my classroom management takes care of itself, which I know it can by instituting procedures and following them.
References
Doebler, L.K., & Rooberson, T.G (1985). A study of common problems
experienced by secondary student teachers. Education, 107(3), 234-243.
Leonard, R., & Purvis, J. (1984). Content for a student discipline course
Education, 106 (1), 94-101.
Thompson, G. (1994). Discipline and the high school teacher. Clearing House,
67 (5), 261-265.
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