Creating a Positive Learning Environment

1. Creating a Positive Learning Environment

2. What Works in Schoolsby Robert MarzanoClassroom management is one of 11 factors that influence student achievement. • Well articulated rules and procedures • Disciplinary strategies that reinforce appropriate behavior and provide consequences • Responding to inappropriate behaviors quickly and assertively • Instills confidence and acceptance in students • Maintains emotional objectivity by staying calm • Aware of problems and potential problems

3. Playing with objects Tapping Inappropriate noises Ignoring the teacher Passing notes Leaning back in chairs Tattling Teasing Reading during instruction Whining/pouting Eating/gum chewing Sleeping/daydreaming Talking Complaining Off task Telling lies Blurting out Arguing with the teacher Swearing cheating Do any of these look familiar?

4. These are all student behaviors that every teacher encounters. Some are more easily dealt with than others. Most of them can be eliminated with a good management plan that has rules and procedures in place.

5. Where it all begins… Relationships

6. Developing positive relationships with your students can mean... • Less work engaging students. • Easier classroom management. • Longer focus time. • Students will be willing to take risks.

7. How do you build relationships? • Seek first to understand the students point of view. Listen and communicate. • Honor your students as human beings worthy of respect. • Keep your promises. • Be kind and courteous. Caring is key. • Clarify your expectations. • Be loyal. • Be fair. • Be consistent.

8. Ways to Build Positive Relationships • Greet everyone at the door • Calls on everyone equitably • Give specific praise • Listen attentively • Show personal interest in student activities • Provide individual help • Respect your students

9. How you communicate may be critical.Each person has their own unique way of interpreting life and the world. It is formed from experiences, genetic development, socialization, and choices made. These realities act as communication filters. These filters affect how you say things and what you say. As groups form and become larger the potential for confusion & chaos rises.

10. Did you know? 7% of communication is composed of spoken words 38% tone of voice 55 % body language Thomas Crane, The Heart of Coaching, FTA Press, 2005

11. Primary Communication Filters • Mental State -your frame of mind during the communication (assumptions, intentions, hidden agendas, beliefs, judgments) • Emotional State -heavily affected by the quality of thinking process (insecurities, threats, stress, fear, ego, unhealed wounds, joy, delight, etc.) • Current State of the Relationship – thequality of the relationship affects student performance and success Thomas Crane, The Heart of Coaching, FTA Press, 2005

12. Remember You are the teacher, not a peer or a friend.

13. Management vs Discipline

14. Management • Is proactive • Anticipates skills and work habits • Teaches students to assume responsibility

15. Discipline • Is reactive • Results from a power struggle • Assumes students will not accept responsibility

16. Teacher behaviors can impact student behavior in a positive or negative way?

17. Assumptions that teachers make and biases they have about students can actually contribute to misbehavior. Failure to meet individual academic needs also impacts behavior. How a teacher responds to misbehavior can impacts future behavior.

18. Tips to Remember • Always remain calm when dealing with issues involving behavior. • Keep your emotions in check. • Never let them see you sweat (or cry).

19. Key Management Skills of Effective Teachers Stronge, J.H. (2002) Qualities of effective teachers. Alexandria, Va. ASCD. • Establish rules, routines and procedures • Maintain momentum and variety • Monitoring and responding to activity

20. Rules Define the expected behaviors and set limits. Student input is critical for by in.

21. Criteria for Rules • Clearly stated so students know what is expected • Reasonable- Can students follow them? • Enforceable • Applicable to all situations • General- addresses several behaviors • Written positively

22. Appropriate behavior must be systematically taught. Do not assume students know how to behave in acceptable ways.

23. Teaching Appropriate Behavior • Goals: State the expected outcomes. • Rationale: State why you want your students to behave this way. • Expected behaviors: Define how a “model” student would behave • Demonstrate: The right way, the wrong way, and “almost- but- not- quite” way • Provide Practice Opportunities Adapted from Time to Teach, The Center for Teacher Effectiveness, R. Dahlgren.

24. Consequences …are interventions to try and change behavior • Organized in a hierarchy • Teach students that they have the power of choice • Should “fit the crime” • Logical and fair • Applied immediately

25. Types of Consequences • Warning- verbal (private) • Isolation (time out in a specific location for a specific time) • Call parents

26. Office as a Consequence • DO NOT USE… unless • The infraction is so severe that it puts the student or others in danger (weapons, physical violence, threats, bullying) • Once a student is in the office…what happens is out of your hands (you may not like the outcome).

27. Routines & Procedures Define the method or process for doing things

28. “Routines empower students to be more responsible for their own behavior and learning…”James Stronge, PhD.

29. Identify specific procedures for… • General classroom behavior • Beginning and end of the day • Transitions and interruptions (entering/leaving room, bathrooms, cafeteria, playground) • Use of materials • Group work • Seat work and teacher-led activities

30. Procedures must be… • Taught • Modeled • Rehearsed • Rehearsed • Rehearsed

31. It takes seconds of rehearsal… To save minutes or hours of instruction.

32. Organization • Helps students and teachers… • Feel safe • Prepare students for the day’s activities • Learn more efficiently and effectively • Maximizes instructional time • Make clear and smooth transitions • Focus on teaching and learning • Limit distractions and interruptions • Have the physical space to learn

33. Teachers need to organize… • Space • Time • Routines and Tasks • Materials • Learning Activities

34. The chief psychological determinant of learning is… the social environment.

35. When students are threatened or they perceived they are threatened, it impacts behavior and student achievement.

36. Real or Perceived Threats That Cause Misbehavior • Intellectual Threats- cause students feel lessSmart.

37. Intellectual Threats Taken from: Cummings, C. Winning Strategies for Classroom Management. 2000. ASCD. Alexandria, Va.

38. Real or Perceived Threats That Cause Misbehavior • EmotionalThreats- cause students to feel lessSafe.

39. Examples of Emotional Threats Negative language, put-downs, bullying Fear of being disciplined in front of peers Coping with family difficulties (divorce, illness) Fear of looking different or not fitting in Difficulty making friends Establish norms for behavior; review Student Handbook regularly Discipline (and praise) in private Be empathic; seek outside resources ( counselor) Make positive comments as appropriate; reinforce inner rather than outer qualities Encourage, make suggestions, assign tasks that create opportunities for students to work together successfully Emotional Threats Strategies to Eliminate: Taken from: Cummings, C. Winning Strategies for Classroom Management. 2000. ASCD. Alexandria, Va.

40. Physical Threats – cause students to feel less Safe. Real or Perceived Threats That Cause Misbehavior

41. Physical Threats Being tired or not feeling well Fear of being pushed, shoved, etc. Fear of having personal items stolen Verbal threats Fear of being caught up in a fight Refer to nurse as appropriate; if done often, contact home Establish clear norms for behavior in and outside of classroom. These may need the involvement of others (nurse, principal, asst. principal, parent) for more in-depth intervention Physical Threats Examples: Strategies: Taken from: Cummings, C. Winning Strategies for Classroom Management. 2000. ASCD. Alexandria, Va.

42. Newport News Public Schools is about providing Smart, Safe Schools

43. Smart Schools… have a standards-based curriculum that provides all students with high quality learning activities.

44. Safe Schools… nurture and encourage students to challenge themselves in pursuit of academic achievement. They are places where adults and students feel protected, valued, and important.