Competency 006
The teacher understands strategies for creating an organized and productive learning environment and for managing student behavior.
Effective classroom management is necessary for a productive learning environment. My session 9 interview with Ms. Haelle demonstrated this. According to her, �The best prevention to classroom management problems is establishing predictable, meaningful procedures that are taught, practiced, and retaught to the students.� In other words, students need to have a routine to follow each day. They need to know what the teacher expects from each student, both behaviorally and academically. They need to know that their classroom will be a safe environment where their opinions will be respected.
Establishing a small list of classroom rules based on student input can play a major role in managing student behavior. By allowing students to help create the rules, the teacher models a democratic environment and shows that he or she is fair. Demonstrating the meaning of each rule by providing students with examples of acceptable and unacceptable behavior can further help clarify the rules for students and thus increase the likelihood that they will follow them.
Session 9 showed me that room setup also contributed to effective classroom management that promoted a productive learning environment. For example, organizing desks in groups promotes interaction among students and keeping high traffic areas, such as doorways, clear promotes a productive learning environment. In addition to classroom setup, the teacher can use nonverbal cues to reinforce appropriate behavior, as session 11 discussed. For example, if two students are talking during class, the teacher can simply move near those students, tap them on the shoulder, or look them directly in the eye.
If the teacher is consistent with the rules and procedures he or she establishes and consistently applies fast and fair consequences for inappropriate behavior when it is needed, then most management problems can be prevented before they even start. This, in turn, results in an increase in a productive learning environment for all students.