Pamela, consistency is the key. Regardless of how others may perceive of you or your class, if you are consistent then students tend to have more respect versus the waffling that can take place due to various biases or personal opinions. Thanks for sharing.
James Jackson
I have constantly been consistent with rules and policies of the school. I have established classroom expectations. I also respond in a positive manner when using discipline in the classroom.
I agree with that, I also have been an instructor for the past 10 years, and expectation are very important when starting a class to make sure taecher and student are on the same page and school and classroom policies are respected and followed. I personaly make sure I keep every incident or infraction well documented to protect myself or the school in case of dilema. However sometime situation gets out of hand, when student insult you and refuse to leave the classroom, and security can not do so much when you call, I had to call police and seek other instuctor help. Not pleasant at all but sometimes you have to do what you have to do to keep your class environment safe.
I SEEM TO "TWEAK" MY MANAGEMENT STYLE EVERY NEW COURSE. i SET VERY CLEAR GUIDLINES ON THE FIRST DAY. I give a black/white specifics, no grey area. Laying out the expectations, as well as the repercussions seems to have a strong feel for control, without appearing to be "controlling".
I have learned to set clear and conscience expectations. Repeat expectations weekly. I frequently “TELL THE STUDENTS WHAT YOU TOLD THEMâ€. Remaining calm and clearly stating school policies, will usually keep students on task and professional.
When students has lost interest in the course, find out why they lost interest and what can I do to help them achieve there goal.
Sarah, the great takeaway here is you are willing to experiment and take the actions necessary to constantly improve. Just like our students, we as instructors need to be willing to learn from our mistakes. If we are unwilling to fail then we are unable to learn. This does not imply we need to go out of our way to be radical and fail often but it does imply we need to me willing to try new things and then evaluate their overall effectiveness. Keep what works and be willing to remove those techniques that do not.
James Jackson
Rhonda, a good guide can listen, be friendly, be concerned, show compassion, take control and above all always be fair and consistent. What you want to avoid is to favor one of the other traits most of the time as they tend to not lead to successful student outcomes. A great guide knows when to become any of the other traits for brief moments in time.
James Jackson
My team-mate and I had to create curriculum as we taught a new subject: Verbal Communications so the lessons were loosely binding as we created one day ahead. Both us had theatre backgrounds and were asked to design a program that would catch learning problems, teach study habits, sync with a career focus and incorporate team work and help students find their voice. It wasn't until I had to sit down and write the Lesson Plans on the official template that I noticed I started incorporating a classroom management style in with the lessons. The Lesson plans were written for other schools as well and when I wrote them I considered how other people taught (not realizing I was addressing the Buddy and Controller and the Apathete) We implemented a series of activities from various theatre sources as well as pulled lecture material from the book and created a structure that included all the learning styles.
The management plan happened by accident. How was the "Controller" going to be able to do some of the planned activities without feeling the need to control the outcome. How was the "Buddy" going to do the planned activities without going off topic and over relating the feedback and how was I going to let the "Apathete" understand that YOU CANNOT SIT AT YOUR DESK WHILE DOING THESE ACTIVITIES!!! So I wrote a script for some of the exercises with the possible responses from the students. Also gave an idea of what the exercise would look like i.e. classroom space, chairs, standing, materials. For other activities, I gave an either/or exercise that would go with different comfort levels of the teacher administering the lesson. I also gave a #1, #2, or #3 activity based on student ratio (What to do with just 5 in a class, what to do with optimum in class and what do with a group of 35)
Having to write for other teachers, not just my immediate colleague, pushed me to think about how I manage time in my classroom and how I can give the students the most "bang for their buck" in their self-discovery experience as well as give teachers enough of a range that they can start in their comfort level and still get the objectives across.
I felt it imperative that we get to know the students names by the second or third day as we only have six weeks so I have written the first weeks worth of lessons with some extra time should it be needed. This of course included more options added to a lesson so all time could be used.
I noticed after writing these plans that "making a good first impression" improved and made me more centered and organized.
I notice that I struggle with rules and regulations and have to work hard at keeping them enforced. I think I will ask that some of the posters outside my classroom can be put in the classroom especially the one about uniforms. Because we are an academic class, I have to impress upon them pretty early that you need to be at every class to understand what comes next: each lesson is built on the other.
Other things I could do to enhance my
management style: Start on time whether everyone is there or not. (I am always on time) I have been better about doing that this last session. Sometimes it is hard because some of the first things we engage in are group activities. I am working on seeing if I can rework the first 10 minutes of class to be single work and still be active. Also I want to find a fun way to summarize the end of class. I usually summarize the next day. I will also need to find ways to improve my alternative plans when computers don't work or a holiday is thrown in. Even though I know the holiday is there, depending on where it happens can tend to throw off the course. I am still working on ways to improve certain lessons for instance, my demo lesson still could use some improvements. It has gone from classroom to the kitchen; from imaginary product to a line item in purchasing and now I want to streamline and incorporate kitchen duties and demo pairing.
There is always room for improvement and this very question has got me thinking. Thank you.
I am in total agreement; however, I have learned from my mistakes and after taking this course, I can what I done to correct the mistakes that I have made while attempting to improve my classroom mangement skills.
I really enjoyed this module in the types of classroom styles. I believe I mainly stay within the guide and controller. I am a buddy when listening to students who are challenged with problems they don't know how to resolve. Some I can help with advise, some not. However,I can always listen. These four styles remind me of the types of personalities and also of the four communication styles.
If a class is not listing and constantly talking, I simply leave the room and state "I will come back when you are ready to learn". It always works and never have any problems with talking any more in that class. And word does get around to all of the other students before they take my class.
The thing that I find that helps the most is defining expectations on the very first day. If students know and understand the rules and what you will and will not accept in a class you start by making sure that everyone is on the same page. Of course then you have to follow through.
In the past I have definitely been a "Controller". This has made for an environment that is occasionally confrontational. I have since tried to be less controlling and a little bit more of a "Buddy". One improvement that I have made is to constantly look for and publicly recognize any positive actions the students do.
Jorge, the first day of class is critical. We can catch up the lesson plan but it can be difficult to recover an out of control group of students. Always good to focus on the rules on day one and get students engaged and conversing to ensure they understand the consequences for there actions. Next step then is to follow through with your course policies.
James Jackson
I am a new college instructor as of 1 year ago and the students have tested me. I have learned that showing an interest in students helps develop your credibility as an instructor. I find if I let disruptive behavior linger, I pay for it later.
In the online environment, students often feel anonymous and will make comments that are not always appropriate on open forums. One method I have employed is to clearly note what can be said on forums. I have a graphic I post on the forums saying if you have a question about the assignment, how I will grade you, or where to find more information, please post here. If you have a question about your situation (including your grade), please email me.
This has cut down on inappropriate comments on the open forum. Students realize that I am willing to listen to their questions or address their problems and they understand how they can convey those issues.
Erica
I have been an instructor for 22 years and still learning how to management the class because I have different types of students, ethnics, countries, and is very challenge to maintain class control. I set the y expectations in the first day of class, the rules of my class room, the rules of the school, then I start my first lesson.
When I started teaching I would at times allow too much personal interaction among students and would loose the focus of the class as a whole. I have since redone my class to where the class remains focused on the material by having interactions that revolve around the material instead of other non course related activities. The subject manner I teach can be dry at times, so I do try things to make is more interesting to learn, so I am always looking for ways to make the learning of the material more interesting betond the lecture.
In my years of experience, I have learned that you have to set the tone from day one. There is always going to be at least one student that will test you, but the best practice is to stick to your original rules. Personally, I have always been pretty good at classroom management. I adjust my style according to the students that I have.
