I think it is important to run a classroom that allows both students and teachers to be engaged. I think it is important that a Teacher facilitates student engagement and is able to build a classroom community that is open and can have a positive learning experience.
I think it is very important to understand that classroom management is about effective instruction. If you do not have an effective way of instructing your classroom it will easily be unmanageable. There are four elements of effective instruction for classroom management: Critical Reflective Practices, High Student Engagement in Content, Building Class Community, and Positive Framing (Milner et al., 2019, p. 59). For Critical Reflective Practices, it is important for teachers to be actively engaging in reflection. It is key to understand that during critical reflective practices to reflect on our own actions as a teacher to what was really happening in regard to race and socioeconomics in the classroom. It is imperative to me that I understand the backgrounds of my students, to be able to provide them with the best possible instruction for them to be able to succeed.
Before learning about classroom management, I thought I had many ice breakers set up to introduce to my class. However, I realize some of those techniques do not set up the class to be able to fully participate. According to Himmele & Himmele (2017), the beach ball technique is not a valuable engagement tool. They instead recommend The Ripple (p.21). The Ripple is a way to engage all students and a tool used to pose questions to maximize learning time. The Ripple allows students to respond individually, in pairs or small groups, and then either volunteers or selected students are able to share with the whole class. This is an effective tool I plan on implementing in my classroom.
It is a priority for me that in my classroom I am able to use equitable and positive classroom behaviors. Marzano et al., (2003) recommend that making eye contact with each student in the room while moving throughout the classroom can lead to positive interactions with your students (p.53). It is also recommended that the seating arrangements allow for easy access to students and encouraging all students to be a part of class discussions and interactions. It is also key to attribute ownership of ideas to the students who initiated them (p.54). Using these tools in the classroom can make your students feel seen and heard. I think one of the most important aspects of teaching for me is to make sure students feel seen, heard, and respected. I think just because students are children it is easy to take away their autonomy and become authoritarian. An Authoritative teacher can be strict and cold and demeaning, while an authoritative teacher would be strict, but warm and understanding. To get the most out of your classroom and students, I think it is important to be strict, but warm and understanding. As such, being able to respond appropriately to students who are disruptive is important to me. While punishments are a necessary evil in some cases, it is important to me that I understand why the student is being disruptive and to find a positive reinforcement to redirect the issue.
Classroom management is a trial-and-error experience. I think what works for some teachers, might not work for others. As teachers we need to be willing to adjust our practices to those that fit best to our current classroom. What worked one year with one group of students might not work the next year with another group of students. The most important thing for me is that students feel safe, respected, and have the tools to set them up for success in every way possible.
I like this classroom set up for teaching High School Social Studies. I think discussions are important when it comes to teaching Social Studies and this set up is great to have small group discussions or whole group discussions. As a teacher I can easily make my way through the rows or stand-up front and make eye contact with students.
References
Himmele, P., & Himmele, W. (2017). Total participation techniques: Making every student an active learner. ASCD.
Marzano, R. J. (2003). Classroom management that works: Facilitator’s Guide. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Milner, H. R., Cunningham, H. B., Delale-O’Connor, L., & Kestenberg, E. G. (2019). “These kids are out of control”: Why we must reimagine “Classroom management” for equity. Corwin, a SAGE Company.