Unit 4. Managing Classrooms for Effective Teaching and Learning

Classroom Management Notes

                                 

2.     Chapter 11: Effective Learning Environments 

Slavin, R. E. (2006). Educational psychology: Theory and practice. (8^th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

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Classroom Management – Methods used to organize classroom activities, instruction, physical structure, and other features to make effective use of time, to create a happy and productive learning environment, and to minimize behaviour problems and other disruptions.

Discipline – Methods used to prevent behaviour problems from occurring or to respond to behaviour problems so as to reduce their occurrence in the future.

Allocated time – Time in which students actually have the opportunity to learn.

Engaged Time – Time students spend actually learning.

Time-on-task – Time students spend actually engaged in learning the task at hand.

Preventing Lost Time – If there is an incident that occurs at the time a lesson is to be in session that allows the teacher to still do something with the students while waiting, the teacher uses the opportunity to go through something with the students.

Preventing late starts and early finishes – A crisp on, on-time start is important for setting a purposive tone to instruction. Teachers shortchange students when finishing lessons early. As a result, the teacher should have enough planned to carry through to the end of the allocated learning time.

Preventing Interruptions – Teachers may put a ‘Do not disturb’ Sign ‘learning is in progress’, on the outer part of their door, or have a box for messages, etc. available. The teacher will then deal with any important matter after the lesson is over.

Handling Routine Procedures – Distribution and collection of papers, changing seats or classroom arrangement, students should know how they are to do these tasks.

Minimizing Time Spent on Discipline – During the lesson the teacher may use non-verbal cues, so as to not to disturb the flow of the lesson. In addition, the teacher may verbally let the student know to see him/her during break or after school.

Using Engaged Time/Time-on-task effectively: Strategies-

Teaching Engaging Lessons – The teacher emphasizes active, rapidly paced instruction with varied methods of presentation and frequent opportunities for student participation and deemphasize independent seatwork especially unsupervised seatwork.

Maintaining Momentum – Avoidance of interruptions or slow downs

Maintaining Smoothness for Instruction – Continued focus on meaningful sequence of instruction. Avoiding, “jarring breaks in the activity flow”.

Managing Transitions – The teacher needs to give clear signals, however students need to know what to do when the signals are given the teacher also need to make students make the transitions as a group rather than one student at a time.

Maintaining Group Focus – Using classroom organization strategies and questioning techniques to ensure that all students in the class are involved in the lesson, even when one student is called on by the teacher.

Accountability – The degree to which students are held responsible for their task performances or decision outcomes.

Group Alerting – Questioning strategies that encourage all students to pay attention during lectures and discussions.

Maintaining Group Focus during Seatwork – The teacher needs to monitor seatwork activities by checking individual students.

Withitness – (In other words: having eyes at the back of one’s head).The degree to which the teacher is aware of and responsive to students’ behaviour at all times.

Overlapping – A teacher’s ability to respond to behaviour problems without interrupting the whole class.

Mock participation – A situation in which students appear to be on-task but are not engaged in learning. This is an overemphasis on engaged time rather on engaging instruction.

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Starting out the Year Right – 1) A plan for introducing classroom rules and procedures 2) Work with whole class initially 3) Remind students of the rules everyday for the first week 4) Students are taught specific procedures 5) Use simple and more enjoyable tasks initially 6) Respond immediately to stop misbehavior

Setting class rules: a) Few in number b) Make sense and seem fair to students and c) Should be deliberately explained and taught to students

Strategies for Managing Routine Misbehaviour

Principle of Least Intervention - Jacob Kounin (1970)

1.   Prevention – by presenting interesting and lively lessons, making class rules and procedures clear, keeping students busy on meaningful tasks and using other effective techniques of basic classroom management

2.   Non-Verbal cues – eye contact, gestures, physical proximity, or touching that a teacher uses to communicate without interrupting verbal discourse

3.   Praise of Correct Behaviour that is incompatible with misbehavior – catch the student in the act of doing what is right, and praise him or her

4.   Praise for other students – when they are displaying the appropriate behaviour that is the target behaviour for misbehaving student

5.   Verbal reminders – stating the reminder positively communicates more positive expectations for future behaviour than does a negative statement

6.   Repeated reminders – using assertive discipline to state the reminder repeatedly until the student complies

7.   Assertive Discipline - Canter and Canter (2002) – Method of giving a clear, firm, unhostile response to student behaviour

8.   Consequences – the final step that poses a choice for the student: he/she complies or suffer a consequence that is mildly unpleasant, short in duration and applied as soon as possible after the behaviour occurs. The teacher must be certain he/she can carry through the consequence before presenting it to the student

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Applied Behaviour Analysis – The application of behavioural learning principles to understanding and changing behaviour

Teacher Attention: Pay attention to the students that need attention when they are doing well, and ignore them as much as possible when they misbehave. When ignoring their actions is impossible imposing time out might be effective

Peer Attention: There are two primary responses to peer supported misbehavior 1) to remove the offender from the classroom to deprive him or her of peer attention 2) use group contingencies, strategies in which the entire class is rewarded on the basis of everyone’s behaviour

Release from Unpleasant States or Activities – Students misbehave to escape or avoid an unpleasant stimulus. The best solution for misbehaviours arising from boredom, frustration, or fatigue is prevention. Students rarely misbehave during an interesting, varied, engaging lesson. Actively involving students in lessons can head off misbehaviours due to boredom or fatigue.

Principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis

·         Identify Target Behaviours and Reinforcers

·         Establish a Baseline for the Target Behaviour

·         Choose a Reinforcer and Criteria for Punishment

·         If necessary, choose a Punisher and Criteria for Punishment

·         Observe Behaviour during Implementation and compare it to Baseline

·         When the behaviour Management Program is working, reduce the Frequency of Reinforcement

Behaviour Modification – is a systematic application of antecedents and consequences to change behaviour

Punisher: Any unpleasant consequence that an individual will try to avoid. Common punishers used in schools are reprimands, being sent out of class or to the principal’s office, detention or missed recess. Coporal punishment (e.g. spanking) is illegal.

Time Out – Removal of a student from a situation in which misbehavior was reinforced.

Reinforcer: Any pleasant consequence that strengthens (increases the frequency) behaviour. E.g. Money, grades, stars, points, etc.

Home-based reinforcement strategy – behaviour modification strategies in which a student’s school behaviour is reported to parents, who supply rewards.

Daily/Weekly Report Cards: Teachers give students a daily or weekly report card to take home and parents are instructed to provide special privileges  or rewards to students on the basis of the teacher reports.

A Group Contingency Program – A program in which rewards or punishments are given to the whole class for adhering to or violating rules of conduct.

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Preventative Programs

·         Identifying Cases of Misbehavior

·         Enforcing Rules and Practices

·         Enforcing School Attendance

·         Check and Connect: School Monitors

·         Avoid Tracking

·         Practicing Intervention

·         Requesting Family Involvement

·         Using Peer Mediation

·         Judiciously Applying Consequences

Skinner: Operant Conditioning p. 136-154

Operant conditioning – the use of pleasant and unpleasant consequences to change behavior

Consequences – Pleasant or unpleasant conditions that follow behaviours and affect the frequency of future behaviours

Reinforcer – a pleasurable consequence that maintains or increases a behavior

Primary reinforcer – food, water or other consequences that satisfies a basic need

Secondary reinforcer - a consequence people learn to value through its association with a primary reinforcer e.g. praise, smile, etc.

Positive reinforcers – pleasurable consequence that strengthens behaviour e.g. through Social reinforcers – praise, grades, stars

Negative reinforcers – strengthens behaviour by giving an escape or release from an unpleasant situation

Premack Principle or Granma’s Rule – enjoyable activities can be used to reinforce participation in less enjoyable activities

Intrinsic reinforcers – behaviours that a person enjoys engaging in for their own sake, without any other reward

Extrinsic reinforcers – praise or rewards given to motivate people to engage in behaviour that they might not engage in without them

Punishment – Unpleasant consequences to weaken behaviour

Presentation Punishment – the use of unpleasant consequences or aversive stimulus

Removal Punishment – withdrawal of a pleasant consequence that reinforces behaviour to decrease the chances that the behaviour will occur

e.g. Time out  - procedure of removing a student from a situation in which misbehavior was being reinforced

Shaping – the teaching of a new skill or behaviour by means of reinforcement by small steps toward the desired goal

Extinction – the process of withdrawing a reinforcer

Extinction burst – the increase in levels of behaviour in the early stages of extinction

Schedules of reinforcement – the frequency and predictability of reinforcement or the frequency in which reinforcers are being given, the amount of time between opportunities of reinforcement, and the predictability of reinforcement or simply the time between the interval and response

Continuous reinforcement- receiving reinforcement after one desired result

Fixed Ratio (FR) Schedule – reinforcement schedule in which desired behaviour is rewarded following a fixed number of behaviours

Variable Ratio (VR) - reinforcement schedule in which desired behaviour is rewarded following an unpredictable number of behaviours

Fixed Interval (FI) - reinforcement schedule in which desired behaviour is rewarded following a constant amount of time

Variable Interval (VI) - reinforcement schedule in which desired behaviour is rewarded following a unpredictable amount of time

Antecedent stimuli – events that precede behaviour(s)

Cues – Signals as to what behaviour(s) will be reinforced or punished

Discrimination – perception of and response to differences in stimuli

Generalization – carryover of behaviours, skills or concepts from one setting or task to another

Skinner: Operant conditioning - The behavior is learnt depending on the event that follows it.  If it is positively reinforced there is a chance that the behavior will occur in the future and if it is negatively reinforced or punish there is a desire to discontinue or stop the behavior in the future.  This will then be a distinction.  Negative consequence is positive reinforcement in the form of rewards: gifts, sweets, money. Negative reinforcement: by not showing affection, love, acknowledgement, ignore.  Operant conditioning is based on reinforcement. Positive reinforcement behavior will occur in the future the Law of effect. Motivation and reward: value to the person. You want a particular behavior to reoccur or decrease: positive and negative reinforcement respectively.

Rules and Procedures

Rules provide standards for student behaviour

To help people get along in a group and to keep safe and to prevent management problems

Procedures establish routines the class will follow in their day-to-day activities; less stress and less wasted time; and for smooth transitions from one activity to another

Questions

What are rules?

Why do we have rules?

Why is it important to follow rules?

List at least five classroom rules?

Differentiate between rules and procedures.

What are procedures?

Why do we have procedures?

Why is it important to follow procedures?

List at least five classroom procedures?

In your opinion are procedures routines?

The combination of rules and procedures together with careful monitoring will eliminate most management problems before they get started.

Where else other than the classroom are rules and procedures practiced?