Classroom Management

Just like Andrea, I am also an aid, therefore, not in charge of the classroom and sometimes treated like a non-entity by the students. But I feel that behehavior management falls to me occasionally because while the teacher is teaching I can see what is happening around the room. There are times I will ask students to put their phones away or stop talking to pay attention. You should see the glares I get! Many times the students will pull their phones out right in front of me!!

In the 10th grade Humanities class that I go to we have a new teacher. We have talked about classroom management and personality types and she has graciously said she’d put into practice some of the ideas from the book. It is worth noting that she took this class a couple years ago.

Clear Listening Time Boundries: Our Humanities class is full of talkers 🙂 Boy, do they love to talk to each other. Ms. Miller and I discussed using this stategy of letting them know how long she will talk at the beginning of class before they get to “have the floor” during their seat work. But after a few classes I noticed that she didn’t use this strategy. What I did notice is that the students are getting use to the routine in class, therefore, managing better at listening at the beginning of class.

Group Grading: This pertains to not working well in a group. After a group project on “Hall of Fame/Hall of Shame” (Emporer), Ms. Miller handed out a self-evaluation for the students to fill out with 2 categories: Work Load and Partner Cohesion and there was a place for comments. Four pairs graded themselves the same on the rubric. One pair matched up perfectly where J felt he had some issues with his partner and G admitted he completed a smaller amount of work because of computer and internet issues at home. Another pair was a little different also: D said he had issues with his partner but T liked working with his partner because it helped him get the work done. I think this is an evaluation that could be used to help students really look at themselves and how they work with others but another thought is to use it to create partnerships for future projects.

All-Share: We will try a version of what Ms. Miller is calling “entrance slips.” This strategy will help when we get unequal participation in class. It’s almost like a KWL to build background knowledge. But because of  her schedule and this class schedule I am unable to report how this went over, so to speak.

Late Post I Know, but Wanted to Share How Chapter 5 Strategies Went

While Reading: I am working on having my students write “good paragraphs”, so I have been using different graphic organizers. I’m really intrigued with the idea of thinking maps (I couldn’t find the website). I use stations a lot, but I love the idea of prior knowledge stations. Great example of setting your class up for success! I know that I fall into the trap of over scaffolding. Chapter 5 is making me think about one of the Danielson Principles; the students need to be doing the work. Some days I’m exhausted as they skip by me out the door.

After Reading: I attempted to use prior knowledge stations as part of a space unit. Different stations addressed different types, but there were some stumbles. I know that I didn’t spend enough time introducing the stations because many students were off task. I think this is a combination of not having clear enough expectations and the fact that most of my students do struggle with working independently. I could clearly see students loose interest when at a station that didn’t match their type (ex. extraverted students reading a passage about the moon, then drawing a picture reflecting on what they read). I want to try this again, but first I need to spend some more time planning. Does it make sense that the younger the students the more difficult working outside of their type may be? Or is it easier because they aren’t set in their ways, for lack better wording?

See you all tonight!

Finally getting it…

I have finally figured out how to publish… I hope..lol. I spent an hour yesterday typing a post but was unsuccessful posting it, so here goes, again.

My personality type was getting the better of me. Of course I chose one of the toughest students to try to type. I did not spend enough time with him and felt overwhelmed with the vocabulary. I was over thinking everything. I had bitten off more than I could possibly handle and struggled stubbornly. IAs I was in the shower, I thought about how I would help a student who might be struggling with a new concept. Then it dawned on me that I would break it down into more digestible portions. I now know I need to choose a different student, which I finally did.

I think this student is ESFJ. I believe he is E due to his activity level. He needs to be standing and frequently blurts out before others can have time to think things through. He is a capable learner. During group activities he is usually done with his part before his other group members are so he wanders to other groups, play sword fighting or any other physical movement, disrupting that group. He is constantly being reminded by the teacher to “get back to his group”.

He shows S traits preferring factual accounts. He responds well when directions are concrete. He lives very much in the present.

I believe he is an F as he weighs how people might be ‘against’ him when there is a disagreement. He is quick to become emotional and may even run away from a situation that has become too much for him to handle.

And lastly, I believe he is J because he is goal oriented when the subject matter interests him. He will take over a group, get it organized and plan whatever it takes to complete the assignment.

After I focused on this child for two classes, I could see the difference in my approach. I was more willing to give him credit for knowing the material even when he showed frustration by acting out. I was able to ask him what it was he needed to get the assignment completed and got a very good answer from him rather than focus on the misbehavior and head down a difficult path. All he needed was a different kind of lined paper rather than the grid paper the teacher was providing. He did not like the grid. It bothered him so I gave him some yellow lined paper and turned it sideways. as we were doing long division, to help him line up the columns. He was a dream to work with and even had the patience to wait for me to check his work until I finished helping another student. I thanked him for being patient and he smiled a genuine smile.

I like the good days!