Module 3

For me, the two chapters that we read this week (Chapters were 7 and Chapter 13) were the most engaging and the most interesting. One of my biggest worries going into education is classroom management. How am I going to maintain a well-run classroom of 20 plus students on a daily basis? Between reading Chapter 13 closely, taking in the information that I found to be the most helpful to use, performing my interview, watching the additional resource videos, and working in a classroom with a teacher who has amazing classroom management skills I believe that I have a stronger understanding of how I can implement those same strategies and skills into my own classroom.

 I like the definition that Woolfolk gives to describe classroom management.  Woolfolk stats that "the aim of classroom management is to maintain a positive, productive learning environment" ( Woolfolk 511). This way of defining classroom management can be interpreted in many different ways. For me, I believe that the way to maintain a positive, productive learning environment is by allowing students to be in control of how their day and even school year is going to look like. Students have to be allowed to take those risks and learn from their mistakes in order to learn even the simplest of tasks. If a teacher is constantly instructing a student in what he or she is doing wrong then the student is only learning how to annoy his/her teacher and will continue to do it either to get whatever negative or positive reaction to is resulting. Another key aspect of classroom management is the rules and procedures that a teacher sets in place. Woolfolk goes on to discuss these stating that as teachers we need to consider what kind of atmosphere you want to create in the classroom. In order to have good classroom management, you have to break down the purpose of each rule and procedure that you are expecting the students to follow. Students should also be told why such rule and/or procedure is important for them to understand. I also believe that allowing students to come up with reasonable rules that they believe should be followed as a classroom can be even more helpful because the student feels like they have some control of what they are being told to do. This concept would well with students in second grade or higher. That is because by second-grade students have an understanding of what rules are and how one should act in school. 

Comments

  1. Briana ComanJune 25, 2020 at 4:50 PM

    Classroom management is perhaps one of the most sought after topics for pre-teaching students or newer teachers due to the fact that we do not know what will be thrown at us on any given day. Sometimes all we hear are the horror stories of teachers past and it can be overwhelming as teachers young in our career due to the fact that we are being bombarded by that shock of what actually having teacher as a profession means and, depending on the school, a lack of support when we will need it the most. The only things I can do now is to accumulate knowledge and pray that when the day comes that I will need it, the information will be readily in my brain.

    Having students choose topics and assignments can be a particularly smart choice as in some instances the topic that the students are learning are irrelevant, but the Common Core Standards generally are more geared to student's cognitive abilities. Choice is a way that allows the students to be more invested in their own learning.

    I like what you say about students picking the rules set in a class. I believe that it makes the rules more important as students are the ones selecting them and weighing the merits of what each rule means and how it affects everyone in the classroom. It can flip the perspective as students will know why those rules are in place, they will know due to the fact that through picking the rules, they had to know why each rule needs to be there and why it is important.

    ReplyDelete
  2. EmilyLongJuly 2, 2020 at 7:48 PM

    This module was able to give me a lot of tips and tricks about what classroom management should look like. Although we get to practice during student teaching, I feel that it's definitely not enough to learn how to manage a class. Personally, classroom management may not be what I consider my strongest area. I am a paraprofessional, but I spend most of my time in a self contained classroom with about eight kids. Last year, I applied for my substitute license. The district I work in is extremely low on subs, so I was asked to take over a bilingual general education class. It was really intimidating to go from a class that had 8 kids, to one that had almost thirty. I liked that you mentioned the fact that giving your students a better understanding of the "why" helps your management. I was in many classes where the answer to why we were doing things are "because I said so". I like the idea of giving students choice and understanding, but still being in control of the class.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jake BohneJuly 8, 2020 at 10:12 PM

    Hi Colleen,

    I think your idea of allowing students to control their own day or school year is very interesting. I think this would be most effective in mid to laste high school students. My reasoning for this is because these students will likely be in college soon or possibly on their own in the real world. These students need to learn now more than ever that someone is not going to be always on your back making sure you are being good or completing your work. At some point they must figure out the real consequences of their actions and how to learn from their mistakes.

    I also agree that teachers should openly discuss what the rules are and why they are in place. I always disliked a teacher who kept the rules unknown only so they can create rules at any point in time. Teachers like this lose respect quickly as students can easily identify the weakness they are showing with their classroom. Having a classroom where everyone is in agreement and understands the rules is a key component to good classroom managment.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Module 2

Chapter 4 of the Woolfolk textbook was all about learner differences and learning needs. The chapter began with information on intelligence. Gardner came up with the eight (nine) intelligences that stress human ability. On page 128, I found it especially important for teachers to understand that they need to differentiate their student's needs and also use multiple methods of teaching to get the most out of the group. I particularly like the flipped classroom methods because it allows for students to first learn at their own pace and then come to class prepared for individual and group review and further learning. Further, the chapter also covered creativity and its practical uses in the classroom during a time when tests push it out. I found creativity to be especially important in the sense that in order for a student to show their creativity they must first show their logical understanding. For example, in a classroom would be in allowing a student to propose their own research ...
Read more

Classroom Management Interview

Hi Everyone, I wanted to talk to everyone about my interview with Mrs. Amy Freitag. Mrs. Freitag is a 3rd-grade teacher at Lester Elementary School in Downers Grove, IL. I first met Mrs. Freitag last year at Lester Elementary School when I started my job there as a teacher's aide. This year I had the opportunity to work in her class and see first hand how she runs her classroom management with her students. I decided that I wanted to get to learn more on her thoughts about classroom management and get any advice that she had on the topic.  Mrs. Freitag is a teacher that I highly respect and admire. Below I have a link to the video for you to check out and hear what Mrs. Freitag has to say about the topic.  Classroom Management Interview with Mrs. Amy Freitag My Reflection  After conducting the interview, I came away with many thoughts and ideas on how classroom management can be run in a classroom. Mrs. Freitag has been teaching elementary school for many years an...
Read more

Module 1

Chapter one started with learning and teaching today and what our classrooms look like. It covered diversity topics and how the majority of our future students will be born outside of the United States. Although most of our classes are diverse, the teachers that are in the classroom are not.  It would be great to have teachers from different backgrounds, as it is important for students to see people who look like them in different positions and that they can do anything that they put their mind to. Another thing that stood out to me is how teachers can make a tremendous difference in students success. Different studies showed how teachers can have so much power over students lives. I personally agree with this myself. There were so many teachers that were the reason why I succeeded and they played a great role in my academic success. I believe that teachers have an influencing platform and they need to use it wisely. I hope to be a positive influencer on my future students, as I wo...
Read more