Many first year teachers struggle with student discipline. By answering the following questions, recognize the behavior strategies used by your cooperating teacher that work or do not work in the classroom.
How are expectations for behavior, routines, and learning explained? What are the guidelines for classroom behavior? How is appropriate behavior encouraged? How does the teacher react to inappropriate behavior? What techniques both verbal and nonverbal are used to cue appropriate behavior? What strategies does the teacher use to prevent problems?
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My teacher and I would make clear what we expected of our students through verbal communication. We also would do non verbal things, like give them a look that tells them they shouldn't be doing something that they are doing.
ReplyDeleteWe did have some guidelines in our classroom for behavior. This was against the distraction of other students basically. Without distractions, students are able to focus a lot better, especially in the classroom that we taught in.
I had actually made up a game that my teacher loved. This game worked very well. It was basically a game where if students spent the entire hour doing work or they finished all of their work, they would get to choose another state to color in to be added to their country that they were forming. It was a competitive game because they were trying to be the winner of the game. If the students distracted others or misbehaved in some way, on top of what punishment they might receive for that from the teacher, they also were either not able to pick another state that day or loose a state, which makes them fall behind in the game and less likely to win.
We both would encourage certain behaviors by smiling and saying positive things like, "Yes! Good Job!"
To prevent problems, we would identify which students didn't get a long with each other a lot and generally seperate them to avoid conflict.
I have never had a teacher that was straight out of school, but i can imagine that disciplining the class would be challenging. With a teacher that has just gotten out of school and started a teaching job, especially in high school, it might be easy for the kids to goof off and get away with it because of the close age between the teacher and the student.
ReplyDeleteI think it the best strategy for a new teacher would be to start off pretty strict and set the tone and as the year goes one and as you establish relationships with students, you could start to ease up. That way they know that you can be strict if needed. There should be certain guidelines to the classroom. They should mostly be rules that wont distract other students from doing their work though.
Ben- I think it is really awesome and a great idea making up that game. I think students will always work harder if they are trying to reach some sort of goal or in your case a prize. Great idea!
ReplyDeleteIn the classroom that i am observing the children are expected to be silent when they are working on their art. They are expected to get supplies for their table and to put things away when it is time for them to leave. Appropriate behavior really is not reward in the class, they kids don't get anything for being silent. At least they don't get a reward like a star, they are just told they did a good job of being quiet. Although, the classes that i have observed so far have been really loud so they really didn't get any type of reward.They get talking tickets if they talk to much and if they get two talking tickets they have to take them home to their mom and dad to sign.Overall, the teacher i am observing just has the talking tickets for poor behavior.
ReplyDeleteKayla, you mentioned that the classroom wasn't allowed to have conversations with one another while working. Does the teacher provide any music for the students to listen to while they do their work? Researchers have argued that music, specific types of course, allow the mind to relax and allow students to tap into their creative part of their mind. So I am not certain having a total silent room is in the students best interests.
ReplyDeleteI don't know. Because my paper work has not come back yet and so I can't go to observe.
ReplyDeleteHowever i can say a few things about discipline.
You can't let them get away with talking while your talking, but you can't discourage questions either, so you must find a healthy medium there especially if you are a lecturer.
You can't let them say or do anything inappropriate so an immediate decisive punishment is in order.
Just make sure you're extra nice to the kids who don't cause trouble and always be ready to lend an ear to the ones who are sorry for what they've done.
Sometimes, ignoring a problem will work, especially in the younger ages when they want a lot of attention.
That's all I have to say thank you
I hope that i will be able to observe soon.
in my first grade class at orchard farm, my teacher uses positive reinforcement to the children who are listening. for example, when a student is talking, rather than punishing that child she hands out candy to the other who are being quiet. rewards for the behaved.
ReplyDeletewith kayla observation, i know some of those teachers like to not reward the kids who are doing the job. most of mine were that way and i thought rewards of some kind were somehwat more of an insentive to do it again...
ReplyDeleteChris
ReplyDeleteMy teacher does that too, but instead of candy she hands out paper that says, "Thanks for being a star" or something like that because she feels that the whole candy thing is good every once in a while, but it is not good for the kids and it can get expensive. At least that is what she tells me, pluse with first graders sugar does not mix that well!
Of course in the beginning of the year the rules are enforced verbally and are written down on poster board for a little reminder throughout the year. Now I know that my teacher mentions and points out this poster on the wall all the time when one of her kids are not following the rules. Which works most of the time. If she has to keep reminding the same kid over and over again then a small consequence is enforced like moving seats or sitting in time out.
ReplyDeleteLike I said before my teacher will hand out special notes or send letters home letting the student and parents know that their child is doing great in school. Then every once in a while she will hand out candy to her students that are doing the right thing. Now she also says "good job" and those kinds of things to her students so there is verbal communication.
My poor teacher has such a bad class this year so when I go and observe I see a lot of kids getting disciplined, which is good for me I guess. I have seen so many different ways to discipline a kid it is a great learning experience.
The rules are posted over the chalkboard and the students know to follow those rules during the class period. The class knows to be quiet when the teacher is talking, but they are in fourth grade so they like to talk out during the lesson to interact with the teacher. They always want the teacher's attention, so they are always making comments. If the class does not seem to get quiet' the teacher will just stand in the front of the class and put her finger over her mouth until the class becomes quiet. The students also have schedules that they follow everyday (class routines). Appropriate behavior is encouraged by the teacher when the students do something good the teacher will give the students popcorn that they can eat during math class. When students show bad behavior, the teacher is calm but punishes them with no snacks during math. No snacks during math is a difficult punishment on the students because everyone else is eating and they want to eat too.
ReplyDeleteKayla
ReplyDeleteI went with my class to art class and the teacher is completely different. She lets the student talk amongst themselves while they are working on their projects. The art teacher also has prizes that you can win. Like when you go to an arcade and you win tickets and you get to pick something out with however many tickets you have. That is how it is in the art room the students win tickets and, then they can buy a prize with their tickets from the five buckets she has. She is extremely creative with everything she does; it is really interesting to watch!
Hey guys!
ReplyDeleteVery good observations and reflections. You will find that you might do things differently than your host teacher - that's great! For example, I can tell that Kayla is bothered by the fact that the children can not talk in Art class. She recognizes that the students would be motivated by positive reinforcement. Those are the things you should be writing about in your journal.
Has anyone observed a teacher struggling with behavior management? Has there been a class or student out of control? What did the teacher do or not do?
I think that the discipline for a new teacher should depend on the grade level they are teaching. If the teacher is teaching the younger grades then i think you can't be too strict on them but you still need to enforce the rules. However, for a high school level teacher i think they need to set the standards right away. I know this from first hand experience, we had a teacher straight out of college and he didnt lay down rules right away and we took huge advantage of the situation. I think that if you set the rules from the beginning the students will get used to them and accept them.
ReplyDeleteChris G
ReplyDeleteI think the positive reinforcemnet your teacher is doing is a great idea. It teaches the students that if they behave and be respectful they get rewarded for it. I think that will help them when they reach the higher grades too, so they won't act out for attention
I've been splitting my time between my assigned host teacher and another 6th grade science teacher from another team. They have completely different ways of handling their students.
ReplyDeleteOne doesn't seem to have much influence on the kids' wanting to follow the rules. The rules are posted on the wall, but I've never seen her reference them specifically. Kids are talking off and on throughout the class,and sometimes she addresses it and other times she just lets it go. The kids usually get marks added to their assignment books that their parents have to sign-off on each week. I've also seen her threaten to not let the class attend an assembly. I was pretty sure it was a bluff, and I think the kids knew it, too.
The other teacher I've been observing seems to have a little better control of the class. When the students are getting too noisy, she claps at them and they know to clap back a response. (apparently it was something they learned in gradeschool) I've also seen her count backwards from 5, and they know they'd better be paying attention by the time she gets to one. But what I like most about the way she handles her students is that she constantly gives verbal cues to the rest of the class about what is expected of them by pointing out what one or two students is doing well. "I like the way Emma and Derek are prepared by having their homework out and are quietly copying the notes into their science journal..." You can tell that the other students want to get praise from her after hearing what she's said. There are still students that aren't ready, but most are on track and she only has to go around and deal with a couple instead of having to yell at the entire class.
I've seen a couple of boys having particularly bad days and it comes across in the way they deal with their classmates and the teacher. One was threatened to have to go to the hall, but never had to go. He stayed after and talked to the teacher and explained what was going on. His mom was threatening to pull him from the school and send him back to live with his dad and attend his old school. It explained a lot about his attitude that day. She walked him through how he could handle it differently, especially since it wasn't a done deal just yet. Just goes to show, kids have lives outside of school that can affect their behavior.
In the other class, the boy was just talking and arguing with girl sitting next to him. The teacher had warned him, but he just couldn't seem to help himself. She was trying to explain how to do a lab, so I just walked over and pulled up a chair to seperate the kids. It was a quick fix and won't solve the problem longterm, but it was needed in that situation. I'm guessing there was a new seating chart for those students today.
I had teachers who had very interesting ways of making sure kids did not act up in their classrooms. My favorite and the one that I think I will incorperate in my classroom is making a bad behaving student stand in front of the class and sing A great little song about the history of art. In my yar in Mr. Wollberts world history class I sang that song a total of eight times for doing a wide variety of not so good things and eventually I got tired of singing so I just payed attention and acted right.
ReplyDeleteIn my classroom I plan to not be strict on the rules all the time I will be a lenient teacher. It is only when there is a real probem that I will have to take action with the student. I plan to make the classroom a fun learning enviroment where students can feel comfortable and actually want to be. I think if I do a good enough job creating this ideal classroom then I will minimize behavioral problems very much.
ReplyDeleteChris Ricks- I hope that not being strict on the rules thing works out okay for you. I have a feeling you're going to have a few students that will take a mile when given an inch.
ReplyDeleteAs for the singing in front of the class, I'm not sure that humiliating your students is a great idea. It must not work terribly well, afterall it took you doing it 8 times before you decided to follow the class rules. And some students may like the extra attention they get from standing in front of the class singing.
Sorry to rip your posts apart this week, please don't take it personally.
Yesterday was my first day to observe and i saw many disciple problems. I am observing middle school gym and recently my teacher has said they have had a problem with respect. They had their councelor come and talk to them, but my teacher said it has been a big problem in the classroom. At the biginning of each class period the kids are told what they are going to be doing. In the locker room I actually saw a large pposter with some classroom rules such as No Pooor Sportsmanship aloud.. etc
ReplyDeleteWhen the children do misbehave my teacher tends to have the kids sit out for a couple of minutes and then they are aloud to come back into the game or the activity being done. Also when the students are talking to much she just sits there and waits until the class is silent. Some positive reinforments she uses is: Way to go.. looks good.. ect.
Debbie,
ReplyDeleteI was just wandering the ages of these teachers. I know it sounds weird but I feel like some of the younger teachers are sometimes taken advantage of. I know that's what happened in my high school. I think the students found out that they could get away with little things and this lead to bigger and more misbehaviors.
I think that appropriate behavior can only be achieved if the teacher has students respect. If students see the teacher as a joke and a push over then they will take full advantage of that teacher. I have seen a lot of teachers that make themselves vulnerable to the students and then they have no respect of authority over the classroom. There just has to be a balance between being understanding and kind to being strict.
ReplyDeleteBen- I also really liked the idea that you and your teacher came up with! I think that giving students the positive reinforcement that still involves them learning is very clever. That can be used in so many different types of lessons too! I think it's really great!
ReplyDeleteStudent expectations in the classroom need to be established early on in the year for students to comprehend what they need to be doing on a daily basis. In the Kindergarten class that I am observing, the teacher is very good about letting the children know that they need to be on task. She will go over and talk to them when they misbehave or do something wrong and let them know that they need to be keeping to themselves and staying on task. I think that she has a previous agreement with the students that they need to come to her if they ever need any help with others bothering them. One time, the students were all sitting on the floor and a little boy would not keep to himself or sit quietly in crisscross position so she told him to get up and sit behind everyone in his own chair. It helped him to stay on task and I'm pretty sure that she has probably called on him before for moving around too much and not staying on task. When her students were staying on task, she made sure to point out and make everyone hear her say that so and so is doing an awesome job! or team so and so has a very clean and tidy station. This helped them know that they were doing the right thing and that the other kids needed to stay on track and do these as well. The kids are in kindergarten so they are still learning so she isn't as strict with them. She just reiterates what needs to be done on a daily basis and tells them if they are not doing what is expected on them.
ReplyDeleteChris-while it is great to be the favorite, nice teacher..i'm not sure how well this will work. I feel like kids start to not have as much respect for you when this happens. They get so used to the fact that your classroom is a fun room that if you ever try to show authority they wont take you seriously. It's definitely just something to balance by making sure you make learning fun but also that your students know that you are the authority figure.
ReplyDeleteLeo and Chris - I want to challenge your thinking a little. Although as Lauren explained in her post that her host kindergarten teacher is not that strict with her little ones, I disagree that you should only be strict with your students if you are teaching older kids. If you have ever been in an out of control kindergarten or first grade classroom you would understand how important it is to make the expectations clear and follow through with consequences. Maybe we need to define the word "strict." I think one can be strict without being mean. Maybe that is what Leo and Chris are trying to explain. When you guys get into the course titled "Classroom Teaching and Management" you will learn more about this topic.
ReplyDeleteTry to fast forward in your minds to this time four years from now (or two or three for some of you). You are in October of your first year of teaching. You did not stress the rules the first few weeks of school and now some of your students are rude and out of control. You have sent them out into the hall, changed their seats, called their parents, sent them to the principal, and nothing seems to be working- they are still disrupting your classroom. What do you do now?
I am observing my old fourth grade teacher and she has not changed how she disciplines the class at all since I have been there. The students are expected to be respectful of their classmates and there teacher. They are expected to raise there hand before speaking.
ReplyDeleteI feel the teacher I am observing handles discipline the right way. She will give the kid a warning and if the problem continues she will take five minutes off that students recess time which is kind of funny because to some kids from there point of view that could be the worst punishment given.
Kayla- Wow I have never heard of talking tickets. That is a new one and I really like the idea. Is the talking tickets for the whole day?
ReplyDeleteI am with an 8th grade teacher. She is a very cool person and a great teacher. She lets her students know that they are not doing what she excepts of them. She simply replays, "Bryan get to work on your problems." She is a very laided back teacher. When she asks for something of the students she says, " Ashley has her book out. James has his book out. Thank you." They are 8th graders so they know what is excepted of them. No one in the classes I have observed have been in have misbehaved so some of the questions I do not know how my teacher handles things. I did observe a first year teacher while on my teachers plan time. She was the same way. She had a rule chart shown and she used the complaiment thing as well. They both made sure that every student was taking notes. My teacher also handed out stickers for good behavior or they got a problem right. It may seem silly, but her kids loved them and it showed. I have gotten some pretty good ideas on how I want to run my classroom by watching my teacher.
ReplyDeleteIn the classroom I am observing in at Central Francis Howell my teacher has a lot of control over her classroom. She knows how to handle her students very well. There is a student aid in the classroom for one child that has to be watched over, but other then that the kids know what the directions are that they need to follow. In the beginning of the year the teacher set up assigned places in line so when she says go line up the children put their finger over there lip, raise one and hand go right to there assigned place in line. There is a kid in the classroom that loves to talk and tattle. My teacher gives him a warning to make sure when he comes to her desk that he needs to make sure that it is an emergency and that he is not tattling. Also on the carpet the students have assigned seats and know what their responibility is. This is a kindergarten classroom.
ReplyDeleteLeigh-Anne-
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great method for a kindergarten class but as they get older they should be expected to realize how to be discipline without having to use methods like this. As they get older more will be expected of them.
In my classroom my teacher always has appropriate responses to everything. this little girl came up and tlkd her that a noy had asked her out and she responsed by saying "Tell him that we are five years old, and five year olds do not date".
ReplyDeleteKayla,
ReplyDeleteDoes the teacher ever say anything to encourage them to be quite. Or anything like "How about today if you are quite the whole time friday I will not assign talking tickets but you have to show me that you can be quite for one day?" Does it bother you that they just sit there and talk and your teacher doesn't say anything?
the teachers i observe make the expectations very clear to the students. they know what to do when they enter the classroom. when someone does something positive, she sometimes subtly recognizes them by saying things like " Look at Suzy doing what she is supposed to." just saying "thanks suzy for listening." either way gets the point acrossed and the students quickly catch the hint and follow along. when a negative behavior occurs the teacher does not make a huge deal out of it by embarrassing them in front of the class. she quietly tells the student she is disapointed in he/she. this normally gets rid of the behavior.
ReplyDeleteSami-
ReplyDeletei totally agree. kids, even at a young age, know when they can take advantage of their teacher. i know that when my kindergarteners had a sub they went nuts. so by the time i got there, there was no hope. if the sub would have started the day off by demanding respect and showing the kids "who was boss" when i got there, it would have been less chaotic!
im observing a lifetime sports(Phys Ed) class. my teacher deals with me freshman students who are only in the class because they have to be, not by choice. these handful of students complain about everything and try their very hardest to sit out in everygame they play. rather then punishing the students for slacking in a game or wanting to sit out he takes a completely different approach. he give the kids encouragement and complements. he told me most kids want to play but they dont think they can compete with the others so they act like they just dont want to play instead of the embarresment of failure. so he tells them how bad their teams need them. or how could of an athlete they are.
ReplyDeletei really like this because it keeps positive energy in the class. plus it works very well. ive never seen a PE teacher handle these situations like this but i know i will definitely remember this in the years to come.
chris, i had a teacher who made us to that exact same thing in middle school. it got pretty old after awhie so i also began to pay much closer attention and stopped misbehaving in the classroom. its something ill remember in my future teaching years.
ReplyDeleteI myself was brought up under a strict disciplinary code.. not sayin that u necessarily have to be "mean" but u do hve to put ur foot down.. give praise where praise is due and give punishment where punishment is due.. there r cases in which u could be leniant and give second chances, but in order for a class to be fully under control there will hve 2 be guidelines
ReplyDeleteLindsey- I completely agree wit wat u jus said.. teachers need to let students kno tht they run the class and tht they r the ones in charge..
ReplyDeleteI observe in a junior and senior classroom at a very strict college prep school so there are not many problems with the students. Since I wasn't there at the beginning of the year I'm not sure what the teacher this year about discipline at the beginning but when I was his student he told his students that he was going to treat them like they would be treated in college. He doesn't get mad unless the class is completely out of control. When this happens, which is rare, he would lose his temper completely and sometimes storm out of the room. Most of the time the class behaves and there is little need for discipline. One nonverbal way the teacher uses to cue inappropriate behavior is when students are talking when they're not supposed to he will stop his lecture and stare at them until they stop talking.
ReplyDeleteKyle-
ReplyDeleteI like that your teacher has a positive attitude with his students. I think it is good for teachers to be optomistic with their students and not just tear them down when they are not participating in class. You never know if they are extremely shy and are nervous to voice their opinion, so you shouldn't always just scold them.
When in the classroom make it fun and exciting for students, make a routine list and assign students to there routines everyday to make them feel and be involved this gives them responsiblity that they can be proud of. To prevent problems in class strategies could be if you notice a problem starting to accure turn things around by encouragement and find out whats causing the problem. Some behavior encouragement can be to give praise to students when goals are met, more responsibilties in class. The best way to react to innappropraite behavior would be teachers should sit with students and explain to them what they did wrong, and displine according to the rules set at the beginning of the year. A few nonverbal cues for behavior would be teachers waiting in silence with their hand in the air, or turn the lights in the classroom. A few verbal cues would be for a teacher to clap her hands and have the students repeat, or count to ten.
ReplyDeletechris-
ReplyDeletei really believe that after you become a teacher you will change your view on the kind of teacher your going to be. It is possible to have set rules and always inforce them and also be a fun teacher and be liked by your students.
One of my teacher's rules is "no back talking." I thought this was a very good classroom expectation and it was also very funny. I like it because it is straight to the point. I think the students understand it because it tells them exactly what she expects in words they understand.
ReplyDeleteLindsey- I think that what your teacher does is awesome. We learn in all our education classes that we need to reinforce positive behavior and that compliments do the trick. They also say that the compliments must be specific and sincere. I like to learn that what they tell us in our classes actually work very well.
ReplyDelete