Classroom Management that Fosters Growth
Karen A. McCay
18 January 2017
Introduction:
Establishing rules and procedures for our classroom each year provides the structure both we and our students need to work effectively with one another. Selecting specific rules for your classroom and an effective model of discipline for your students takes time. The various models and paradigms all work well, and you may have to experiment with a few until you find one, which fits your personality and the needs of your students. No matter which specific model you adopt, you can also use these three general rules as a guidepost for all good classroom management systems: good classroom rules are professional, not personal; consequences work best when they are positive first and then negative; participation in class should be mandatory, and mistakes should be a normal part of the participation process in a safe classroom. These three rules, regardless of the model, help to establish a well-managed classroom where growth is sure to happen.
Professional, Not Personal Rules
Teachers early in their careers are prone to write class rules based on what they want for their students, not what research says students should be able to do after elementary school or after secondary graduation. Our classroom rules should be written clearly, and their language should establish behavioral norms, which foster learning outcomes. Michael Linsin suggests following four research-based strategies when writing your rules, regardless of whichever discipline model your school district follows:
Positive Consequences First, Then Negative Consequences
Research has shown that catching students meeting our expectations and praising them as examples for the class inspires the entire group to conform to our expectations faster than criticizing one student, who is not meeting our expectations. Praising positive behavior also sets the precedent that good behavior gets out attention, while bad behavior does not. Furthermore, these positive interactions serve the dual purpose of relationship building, which is a vital component of effective education. When negative consequences are necessary, we need to remain calm, focus on the behavior as the problem, and demand a change. Jane Bluestein recommends that we still remain positive as we set a boundary and ask for that change: “This simple shift in language emphasizes the positive consequence of the student's cooperation, which is far more likely to generate desired behavior than, say, a threat or command. Stating a boundary with this positive focus helps prevent conflict and reminds students that they have a degree of autonomy in creating the outcomes they desire” (2017). If we don’t get the change, we need to remove the child to remove attention.
Participation is Mandatory, Mistakes are Normal
From the beginning of the year, we should establish a culture of communication in our classrooms where any student might be called on to answer a question and even be required to elaborate on a short answer with deeper thinking. In order to make students feel safe, we also have to establish the fact that mistakes are a normal part of growth. Failure is fine--if we continue to persevere toward our goals. Quitting is what we will not tolerate in a growth classroom. So if we establish mandatory participation with the understanding that failure is a normal part of the learning process, then we have set students up to grow, as long as they come through the door.
For Administrators
Administrators can use these same strategies with their teachers to establish a culture of growth throughout their entire buildings. We have required initiatives each year, and some teachers will struggle with those new tasks. If participation is mandatory, but failure as we grow is fine, then new challenges are exciting as we grow. And having clearly-established, professional procedures for, perhaps, when teachers can communicate with principals and/or when they should wait to dash to the front office, would prevent some very frustrating communication problems before they could even occur in busy buildings. Finally, principals could develop better relationships with their teachers if they looked for teachers doing something right during walk-throughs as a form of “positive consequences” in the first few weeks of implementing a new initiative. These strategies, when used by administrators, would dynamically transform an entire campus rather than one classroom of students at a time.
Other Affective Filter Pages:
Lowering the Affective Filter
Student Relationship Tools
Feedback for a Growth Environment
Creating a Classroom Environment
Back to Best Practices
Back to Relationship Teaching Home Page
More Resources:
Classroom Management Survival Video for New Teachers
A Variety of Classroom Management Strategies
A Classroom Management Book with Several Successful Models
References
Bluestein, J. (2017, January 30). The Art of Setting Boundaries (Education World). Retrieved January 30, 2017, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/bluestein-setting-student-boundaries.shtml
Dean, C. B., Hubbell, E. R., Pitler, H., & Stone, B. J. (2012). Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement, 2nd Edition. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Goodwin, B., & Hubbell, E. R. (2013). The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching: A Checklist for Staying Focused Every Day. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Linsin, M. (2009, August 17). The Only Classroom Rules You’ll Ever Need (Smart Classroom Management). Retrieved January 18, 2017, from https://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2009/08/17/the-only-classroom-rules-youll-ever-need/
Karen A. McCay
18 January 2017
Introduction:
Establishing rules and procedures for our classroom each year provides the structure both we and our students need to work effectively with one another. Selecting specific rules for your classroom and an effective model of discipline for your students takes time. The various models and paradigms all work well, and you may have to experiment with a few until you find one, which fits your personality and the needs of your students. No matter which specific model you adopt, you can also use these three general rules as a guidepost for all good classroom management systems: good classroom rules are professional, not personal; consequences work best when they are positive first and then negative; participation in class should be mandatory, and mistakes should be a normal part of the participation process in a safe classroom. These three rules, regardless of the model, help to establish a well-managed classroom where growth is sure to happen.
Professional, Not Personal Rules
Teachers early in their careers are prone to write class rules based on what they want for their students, not what research says students should be able to do after elementary school or after secondary graduation. Our classroom rules should be written clearly, and their language should establish behavioral norms, which foster learning outcomes. Michael Linsin suggests following four research-based strategies when writing your rules, regardless of whichever discipline model your school district follows:
- Use clear, direct language
- Use five or less rules
- Make sure your rules are general enough to cover any situation--revise them when/if they don’t.
- Be specific, and again, revise if/when a situation arises, and children had no idea they had broken a rule (2009).
Positive Consequences First, Then Negative Consequences
Research has shown that catching students meeting our expectations and praising them as examples for the class inspires the entire group to conform to our expectations faster than criticizing one student, who is not meeting our expectations. Praising positive behavior also sets the precedent that good behavior gets out attention, while bad behavior does not. Furthermore, these positive interactions serve the dual purpose of relationship building, which is a vital component of effective education. When negative consequences are necessary, we need to remain calm, focus on the behavior as the problem, and demand a change. Jane Bluestein recommends that we still remain positive as we set a boundary and ask for that change: “This simple shift in language emphasizes the positive consequence of the student's cooperation, which is far more likely to generate desired behavior than, say, a threat or command. Stating a boundary with this positive focus helps prevent conflict and reminds students that they have a degree of autonomy in creating the outcomes they desire” (2017). If we don’t get the change, we need to remove the child to remove attention.
Participation is Mandatory, Mistakes are Normal
From the beginning of the year, we should establish a culture of communication in our classrooms where any student might be called on to answer a question and even be required to elaborate on a short answer with deeper thinking. In order to make students feel safe, we also have to establish the fact that mistakes are a normal part of growth. Failure is fine--if we continue to persevere toward our goals. Quitting is what we will not tolerate in a growth classroom. So if we establish mandatory participation with the understanding that failure is a normal part of the learning process, then we have set students up to grow, as long as they come through the door.
For Administrators
Administrators can use these same strategies with their teachers to establish a culture of growth throughout their entire buildings. We have required initiatives each year, and some teachers will struggle with those new tasks. If participation is mandatory, but failure as we grow is fine, then new challenges are exciting as we grow. And having clearly-established, professional procedures for, perhaps, when teachers can communicate with principals and/or when they should wait to dash to the front office, would prevent some very frustrating communication problems before they could even occur in busy buildings. Finally, principals could develop better relationships with their teachers if they looked for teachers doing something right during walk-throughs as a form of “positive consequences” in the first few weeks of implementing a new initiative. These strategies, when used by administrators, would dynamically transform an entire campus rather than one classroom of students at a time.
Other Affective Filter Pages:
Lowering the Affective Filter
Student Relationship Tools
Feedback for a Growth Environment
Creating a Classroom Environment
Back to Best Practices
Back to Relationship Teaching Home Page
More Resources:
Classroom Management Survival Video for New Teachers
A Variety of Classroom Management Strategies
A Classroom Management Book with Several Successful Models
References
Bluestein, J. (2017, January 30). The Art of Setting Boundaries (Education World). Retrieved January 30, 2017, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/bluestein-setting-student-boundaries.shtml
Dean, C. B., Hubbell, E. R., Pitler, H., & Stone, B. J. (2012). Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement, 2nd Edition. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Goodwin, B., & Hubbell, E. R. (2013). The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching: A Checklist for Staying Focused Every Day. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Linsin, M. (2009, August 17). The Only Classroom Rules You’ll Ever Need (Smart Classroom Management). Retrieved January 18, 2017, from https://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2009/08/17/the-only-classroom-rules-youll-ever-need/
