ClassMan2011

In Dr. K's class we talked about the recent EQAO cheating scandal in London. While this is not directly related to classroom management, I wonder about the teacher's role in this. Since they are the ones administering the test, one might assume (but not for sure) that they knew that something was going on. I wonder how this effects the teacher's reputation in the classroom. Will the trust built between the teacher and students be ruined? How would a teacher who tries to implement responsibility and accountability with her students recover from this? Obviously, these teachers were put into an impossible, difficult situation, so how can this be handled with the best interests of the students at heart?

Based on a literature review of publications on classroom management, 20 effective strategies were identified. These strategies were evaluated based on evidence based practices. A few strategies that seemed particularly helpful were 1. Maximize structure and predictability 2. Use a variety of ways to acknowledge appropriate behaviour 3. Use a variety of ways to acknowledge inappropriate behaviour

I have never seen a classroom like this, the teacher uses gestures to have students remember the concepts she teaches (this approach is used with the AIM French Program). Each idea has a concept- she is teaching Order of Operations so she has a rhyme to remember the order and then a specific gesture for each operation. Classroom Management Techniques include: -Teacher gains student's attention by saying: "Class" in various voices and volume Students respond by saying: "Yesssss" in a similar voice and volume as the teacher -Periodically throughout the lesson the teacher claps or snaps and says: "Teach" Students then turn to each other and repeat the concept that was just discussed using gestures

Icebreakers and games for the first day to help you get to know your class. This article also talks about the importance of letting your class get to know you. Idea number 2 is great about creating a web showing unity within the classroom.

This video shows an example of restorative justice in action for a student in grade four. It outlines the benefits of implementing restorative justice techniques for students at the elementary school level because it will help them learn life skills. Feel with your heart, not your fist!

This article outlines some general ideas for implementing classroom meetings school wide or just within your class. It describes these meetings as "an opportunity to observe the practice of dignity, respect, and understanding" as well as one to combat bullying. Emphasizing the importance of meeting facilitator training, the article walks through both beneficial training steps and implementation strategies.

This link has 6 different ways to arrange the desks in your classroom. It has a brief description of what works and what doesn't work about the arrangement. It outlines why it might be important to change your classroom seating plan and what the basic principles of seating are. Very useful!

This page outlines common mistakes of all teachers, as well as tips and ideas to avoid finding yourself in a bad situation. The first 3 pertain particularly to issues of classroom management.

This article explains aspects of assertiveness in setting the tone for a classroom and how this eliminates many problems.

A neat way to make a visual representation of desired class volume levels that can be placed somewhere where all students can see it and be reminded of what is expected of them in terms of their volume. Probably a good strategy for primary/junior level

A few tips on how to deal with disruptive behavior caused by troubled students.

This website is a little like a blog with teachers from all over the world sharing their strategies on dealing with behavior problems

Whether or not you move on from Laurier to go teach in other countries it is important to keep in mind that the culture your students have come from may have an impact on the effectiveness of your chosen strategies. This article examines some of the techniques used in countries around the world.

This classroom management success database has a ton of information! There are articles, quotes, tips, etc. that detail effective classroom management strategies etc. One of my favourites was, "If you go in with all guns blazing straight away, you're very soon going to run out of ammunition and the only thing you can do then is surrender." Check it out!

Emotional intelligence in my eyes is related to the restorative justice, but concentrates on the skills needed to use restorative justice. It is more of an awareness of their own emotions, their peers emotions and being able to manges emotions and not lash out at peers.

Why stay inside? Taking your students outside can actually improve classroom management and reduce behavioural problems by getting students interested and moving! This article lists reasons to take your class outside, tips for teaching a lesson outside and supplies you may want to take along with you! Happy exploring!

This short article lists things to consider when setting up your classroom and briefly describes some basic classroom layouts. Read this before using the classroom architect tool bookmarked below. Both of these tools are useful for our classroom management assignment and for our future classrooms!

This handy tool helps you save time and energy by creating a classroom floor plan online. Be prepared to set up your classroom when you arrive by adding and moving around furniture on this web site and then printing off your floor plan and bringing it to school. Use what you have learned about classroom management to help set up your ideal classroom.

This is a resource which is currently being used within my PDS classroom. It provides strategies and solutions for developing the whole student, classroom community, etc. I really like how this resource focuses the development of the child (character, etc) with a specific emphasis classroom management. Check out the table of contents for highlights of the book and see if you're interested.

Fundamental classroom management techniques etc. I really liked this resource because it forces teachers to take a closer look at themselves (teaching style and how it contributes to classroom management problems etc) Topics listed in index are endless and USEFUL! Updated in 2009 -PDF available online.