Creating a well-managed classroom

 

The Setting

“Creating a well-managed classroom with established procedures is the priority of a teacher the first two weeks of school…" (Wong, Wong, Rogers and Brooks, 2012, p.1.).

The setting I have taken is grade 6 of an IGCSE school. I am the form tutor. The school has IBPYP curriculum in the primary school where they had a single room and a homeroom teacher managing most of the day. They have moved to middle school building where for the first time in their lives, they will move from classroom to classroom for their classes, place material in the locker given to them and manage the key to the same. These are a lot of skills to be mastered for them. As the students are not used to them, and I am the form tutor for one of the sections of grade 6, I need a set of procedures to help them be self-sufficient as soon as possible in navigating the middle school environs.

The rules

“When possible, convey what you do want to happen rather than trying to list all the possible unacceptable behaviors”, (Partin, 2009)

My intention is to bring awareness to three spaces, (a) the building, (b) the classroom and (c) the relationships. The set of five rules or procedures that I would have are:

·         If you forget where you are in the building, refer to the map on the door of my classroom. They have to navigate the whole building for the first time. They need a scaffold that helps them. I may not be available all the time, hence a map.

·         If you arrive late for the form class, please walk in quietly without disturbing the others. This is to avoid the quintessential ‘may I come in ma’am’ that stops us all. Also, it would give them the self-awareness to respect the class.

·         There is space inside the classroom, near the door to leave your stuff. The students who only lived inside their classroom now have a locker! They are expected to place their books for each lesson and take new ones when the bell rings. This may be too much for some of them. Hence I have created space near my door inside the room that I have where they can drop their bags and locker keys, till they have learnt to work around the locker. This will give them a sense of belonging too in the new space.

·         We start the day with a circle time and share something special to us. We need a grounding routine for us to connect each day. A circle time where all of us, including me, share something special for us would be a good beginning. I am nervous about this as I am an introvert. I hope to find some information from internet.

·         We respect each other when talking. Grade 6 students are still pliable and fresh from primary. If we can instill this quality in them right now, it will stand them in good stead for future. “Demonstrating respect is the most important rule because all other rules branch out from that”, (Roosevelt, 2009).

The plan

I intend to move all furniture to the corners, have a floor seating using a mat so we can sit in a circle. I would have lots of colour papers, charts and colours in the centre of the room. Then I would go by the three steps given by Wong (2014) to gently ease to a point when a strategy becomes emergent. XXX

a.       State, explain and demonstrate the procedure: I would have a discussion with them on how middle school is different from primary, by asking for their observations. I’d bring the discussion slowly to the 3 intentions as given above: (a) the building, (b) the classroom and (c) the relationships. I would have print outs with the 5 rules written ready.

a.       Have students rehearse and practice each procedure under your supervision: I would divide them into small groups, hand a printout to each group and ask them to read, discuss and note points. Since they are from PYP I hope to have a good discussion among them. This discussion would be time bound. Post the end of time, marked with a small tinkle bell from me, we move back to circle and each group can share what they think of the rules. We would have our discussion around points such as (a) usefulness, (b) stretch ability of each (c) self-awareness (d) consequences and (e) helping others in need. It is important for them to understand the usefulness for “the more successful teachers took pains to explain both the rule itself and the reason behind it to the children”, (Marzano, Marzano & Pickering, 2003) .

b.      Reteach, rehearse and reinforce each procedure: Once the discussion is over and we have a classroom system in place, I would ask each group to take one rule and prepare a poster using the material provided to put it up in the class. I would also let each group choose the space where put up the poster in the classroom. The group would expand on the rule and write the points with the title. The group working on map would also prepare a draft map of the school building to go with it. This would be under my supervision and facilitation of each group with gentle tone. If I expect them to respect others, I must set the tone to a large extent. “The point is that if you have a rule, you have to follow it yourself or the kids will question you, and worse, may lose respect”, (Alber, 2017).

Conclusion

If we can have a healthy discussion on spaces, (a) the building, (b) the classroom and (c) the relationships, and most of the students have understood, I would feel successful. What is most important is that they see me as a teacher who they can trust and rely on. “Having a teacher students trust to be at the helm from morning bell to dismissal has a calming effect on the tone and tenor of your classroom”, (Linsin, 2014).

References

1.      Alber, R. (2017). Rules and routines in the classroom. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/rules-routines-school-year-start-classroom-management

2.      Linsin, M. (2014, September 20). Why You Shouldn't Let Your Students Decide The Class Rules. Retrieved from https://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2014/08/02/why-you-shouldnt-let-your-students-decide-the-class-rules/.

3.      Marzano, R.J., Marzano, J.S., & Pickering, D. (2003). Classroom management that works: Research-based strategies for every teacher. 

4.      Partin, R.L. (2009). Classroom teacher’s survival guide: Practical strategies, management techniques and reproducibles for new and experienced teachers. 

5.      Rosevear, J.E. (2009). First month: Classroom rules that work. Instructor, 119 (1), 57. 

6.      Wong, H.K. (2014). Proceed with intent: At the heart of a classroom management plan is practice and more practice of key procedures. Instructor, 124 (3), 32+. 

7.      Wong, H., Wong, R., Rogers, K., & Brooks, A. (2012). Managing your classroom for success: Organization in the first week is the foundation for a successful school year. Science and Children, 49 (9), 60+.