My inquiry for the next year while I’m in classrooms during my practicum will be what kinds of classroom management attitudes and strategies are supportive to enhance positive learning and growth in children. What kinds of methods can I incorporate into my teaching style in order to shape positive behaviour, structure and learning in my future classroom?
I think that implementing positive reinforcements in classroom routines will have the biggest impact on student learning. If the students day is set with structure and familiar routine, I think they are able to navigate through lessons more successfully.
Some strategies I noticed in these classrooms were that teachers were using grounding techniques, noise prompts, and enforcing routine. It appeared that the students knew the routine of the day which seemed to help with having the day go by smoother and transitions were more successful.
For enticing the students, I heard from a teacher that she used a popsicle stick before going to the assembly and let the students know that someone’s name was on it and it was a mystery but she would only tell them after coming back from the assembly. She emphasized the importance of being quiet and respectful during the assembly. The students were so curious that they all demonstrated great listening skills and followed the expectations. I think this is a great way to enforce rules and have students comply to be rewarded with getting to know who’s name was on the stick after showing good listening skills.
I’ve noticed that having structure in the classroom is very important and students seem to have more success with staying regulated when they are aware of day routines and what to expect. This is something I want to practice and learn while I am in my practicum. There will be various dynamics in the classrooms I am in and establishing routine and expectations is key for providing a positive learning environment.
During my February-March practicum at Lax Kxeen Elementary in Prince Rupert, BC, I noticed many positive strategies that supported positive classroom management. My Kindergarten class that I was in for three weeks was very different than the one I was in Prince George. The demographics were quite similar, however, I noticed that the my coaching teacher told students to go back and repeat something when it was not done according to what was expected. For example, cleaning their table area after lunch, walking quietly into the room. I noticed that this helped with classroom management because students were reminded of the expectations, and were more likely to remember the expectations as they continued to have to repeat the expectation when they missed it.
I also noticed that the students were showing really great listening skills at the carpet when I was doing my lessons. They always appeared interested, focused and responded to my discussion questions. It seems that my coaching teacher had set the expectations of the rules of the carpet from September and had been reinforcing them each day to the point where students have now become accustomed to it.
Being firm with rules and expectations seemed to help, using a more firm tone. I also noticed that my coaching teacher sometimes just waiting and looked at the students who were disrupting to start following along to the lesson. This is another strategy I tried while teaching my lessons.
I also noticed that it can be successful to question the students and ask them what the expectations are. For example, asking a student “should you be talking to your friends right now?” if they respond “no” asking them “why not?” This way students are able to recognize how they are disrupting the class learning. I noticed some teachers asked students “how do you think this is affecting the rest of the class”. Students responded with “it’s distracting”. Instead of teachers having to state the expectations and remind the students, with prompting questions, students are able to recognize the effects of their own behaviour.
I observed a class that had two teachers since September and a TOC for the last week before spring break. Throughout the transitions at lunchtime and in the afternoon, I noticed that the students were testing all the staff in the room. I reflected on the importance of structure and routine. How students can become dysregulated with many changes in their routine. I noticed that setting the stage for changes to their day/week allowed the students to process upcoming changes and to expect them.
January 23/23 Kelsey MacDonald came into our class to speak about decolonizing assessment. Towards the end of the presentation, I had a question that relates to my inquiry, “How can you have a balance of being decolonized when in a system schedule with set routines like recess, quiet reading and still establish positive classroom management strategies? Kelsey explained that by working around the structure routines, make sure you’re able to provide students the autonomy to be in charge of their learning. Ask them what they want to learn, what they are interested in while giving them the big ideas of subjects such as science and social studies and having them produce their own questions.
“How to practice being a decolonizing teacher in a colonized system”- KM