My personal philosophy on classroom management is a balance of day-to-day structure and flexibility. Obviously a teacher should have a prepared lesson plan that has been informed by the learning theories, which will allow the class to flow from one activity to the next, but the lesson plan should also include a bell-ringer for the class to begin with. I think a bell-ringer is essential to classroom management because it sets off the mood for the whole class; if students walk in and don’t have down-time they are automatically getting in gear to be actively mentally engaged. The bell-ringer could be anything from a reflection, to a demonstration or simple task. In my English class in high school, we used to journal every single day of class, the topic would be whatever – from what’s your favorite song lyrics, to what did you think about this book – as simple as it was, this journal time became one of my favorite parts of the day to just refocus my thoughts and express myself. Eventually, students will assume this is the way class is ran and be used to being attentive right at the start of class (since they are conditioned-as informed by the behaviorist learning theory).
However, the end of a lesson plan should be just as thought out as the beginning. I personally think a teacher should always slightly over-plan for a class period, whether it be a couple thought-provoking questions about the curriculum, or an even additional activity. Making sure that the class period is being used to it’s fullest extent will keep your students engaged, allow them to dive deeper into what’s being taught, and also show them that you respect the time they spend in the classroom and that you want them to get as much out of it as possible. Students have to feel like what they are doing has value and is “fruitful” so to speak, because just like one of my teacher’s used to say, the students are going to walk in with the attitude “if it barely matters, barely do it”.
In regards to classroom management throughout the class, everything from handing out materials, to keeping kids on task, to dealing with individuals needs to be addressed. Materials should be kept tucked away from the students while directions are given so the kids don’t play with them and can listen fully. If they are working in groups, one representative for each group should get the materials, so that as few people as possible are up and about moving around, this will keep the room from getting hectic.
Keeping kids on task I think can be broken down into two parts, one being a teacher’s physical influence, monitoring the classroom by walking around so that kids don’t think they are getting away with other activities. The other aspect to keeping kids on task is knowing your students and where they are in their learning. By knowing a student’s ZPD, you can appropriately adjust your content to match it, because if content is too high for a kid’s ZPD, they will become frustrated and give up and if it is too low, they will be bored and disinterested. This can be determined by asking questions, and relating new ideas to what kids already know.
Other ways to keep kids on task are to make sure you establish a level of respect with the kids, by setting high expectations, having class start on time, not talking over students, and staying on topic, you are showing the student that their time in class is not wasted and that you care about what they have to say. Often, if a student understands that you respect him, they will respect you back in turn.
The BIGGEST key to successful classroom management however, is establishing all of these components early on. Kids have it in their nature to take what they can get and push the rules. If you let them out of class on occasion, they will expect to be let out early and begin packing up instead of listening, Or if you give them candy to participate, they are going to expect it and not participate later on if they are not offered a reward. Clearly behaviorist learning theory plays a huge roll in classroom management.
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