Classroom Management

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Classroom Management

• AEE 535
• Teaching Agriculture in Secondary Schools

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Classroom Management

• Refers to the procedures a teacher follows in
  controlling the learning environment.
• Focus of classroom management is on maximum use
  of learning time for students.
• Classroom management is not the same as
  discipline. Discipline is a subset of classroom
  management. The terms are often misused to mean
  the same thing. (We will discuss discipline in
  next weeks lesson.)

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Some Terms

• Instructional time amount of time assigned to
  work on instructional tasks (e.g. 35 minutes
  during a class period).
• Time-on-task (also called engaged time) amount
  of instructional time that the learner is doing
  what they are supposed to do.
• Academic learning time amount of time that a
  student is on-task in learning activities that
  are at the appropriate instructional level.

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Classroom Management

• Goal of Classroom Management is to maximize
  Academic Learning Time!
• This is done by
• Well-prepared learning activities (good lesson
  plans)
• Established procedures for routine activities
  such as distributing and collecting materials
  from students.
• Minimal disruptions due to misbehavior.
• Close monitoring of student work with appropriate
  feedback.

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Ultimate Goal Improve Student Achievement

• Time Factors Related to Student Achievement
• Research has shown the following factors to be
  positively related to increases in student
  achievement
• Well established classroom rules and procedures
• Teacher as a time-on-task model (teacher does not
  waste any time)
• Starting on time
• Close monitoring of behavior and performance
• Clear and concise directions
• Appropriate questioning techniques

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Improving Student Achievement

• Research has shown the following factors to be
  negatively related to increases in student
  achievement
• Unprepared students
• Delay of response due to disruptions
• Too much time spent on non-academic activities
• Tardiness
• External distractions (noise in the hall,
  intercom, visitors at the classroom door, etc.)

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Time-on-Task

• Time is wasted when
• Teachers have no consistent plan for making
  assignments.
• Students do not understand the kind and quantity
  of work to be done during a period.
• Teachers have no uniform plan for distributing
  and collecting materials.
• Students do not understand what materials and
  supplies they are expected to bring to class.
• Students do not understand procedures for
  receiving individual help.
• Students do not understand when it is OK to work
  with others and when they are expected to work
  alone.
• Teachers have not carefully planned how to make
  the transition from one activity to another one.

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Average Use of Time

• Researchers have observed teachers to determine
  how time is spent in classrooms. The results
  presented are for hundreds of observations at all
  levels of education.

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Effective Use of Time

• Researchers then chose the teachers whose
  students had the highest achievement scores and
  determined how they used time in their
  classrooms. The results are presented in the
  chart.

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Use of Time

• Note
• The average teacher spends far too little time
  actually teaching, compared to the effective
  teachers.
• Effective teachers are rarely off-task.
• Effective teachers take care of organizing
  activities (checking roll, making assignments,
  collecting papers, etc.) more quickly.

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Classroom Management

• Kounin has described characteristics of teachers
  that are effective classroom managers. They are
• Withitness
• Overlapping
• Signal Continuity

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Withitness

• The ability of a teacher to be aware of
  activities taking place in the classroom.
• Some teachers are seemingly unaware of what is
  going on in the classroom or laboratory.
• They are not ignoring inappropriate
  behavior--they simply do not know it is
  occurring. This seems unbelievable, but it
  occurs every day.
• Good classroom managers have good classroom
  awareness.

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Overlapping

• The ability of a teacher to be able to do more
  than one thing at a time. (Mothers often seem to
  have this trait.)
• Monitor the entire class while giving assistance
  to an individual student.
• Especially important in laboratory situations.
• Students describe teachers with this
  characteristic as having eyes in the back of
  their head.
• Teachers have to see the big picture while
  focusing on the specific task at hand.

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Signal Continuity

• Maintaining a continuous signal to the student
  that there is no time to waste.
• Businesslike behavior
• Makes students aware of time constraints
• Holds students accountable for completing a
  specific amount of work each day.
• Makes quick transitions from one learning
  activity to another.

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Classroom Management Routines Should Be Taught

• Dont assume that students will automatically
  follow the procedures you establish.
• At the beginning of the year spend time teaching
  (and reinforcing) the behaviors you wish students
  to exhibit.
• For example, if you expect students to be in
  their seats when the bell rings, you will have to
  be consistently firm with them at the beginning
  of the year. This is true for any expectation
  you set.
• Time spent in teaching and reinforcing your rules
  at the beginning of the year will save time all
  year long.

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Is it hard for students to adapt?

• Of course not! They adapt every time they change
  classes during the day. It is doubtful that any
  two teachers they might have during the day have
  exactly the same classroom management rules.
  They are used to adapting with every class change.

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Other Aspects of Classroom Management

• Physical
• Arrangement of seats in the classroom that allows
  the teacher to move easily about the classroom
• Storage of supplies and materials so they are
  easily accessible to the teacher and student.
• Posting classroom rules and routines around the
  room.