Teach a Book: Classroom Management for Middle and High School Teachers

1. Teach a Book: Classroom Management for Middle and High School Teachers Edmund T. Emmer Carolyn M. Evertson

2. Chapter 1:Organizing Your Classroom and Materials • Room arrangement: • Consistent with instructional goals and activities • Teacher-led vs small groups • Mix of both? • High-traffic areas free of congestion • Students easily seen by teacher • Frequently used materials/supplies easily accessible • Students easily see board

3. Chapter 1:Organizing Your Classroom and Materials • Suggestions for arranging your classroom: • Bulletin boards/walls • Daily assignments on decorative display (colored paper or borders) • 9th grade and below post rules of classroom • Reward “class of the month” • Floor space - starting point: where is whole-class instruction? • Student desks - avoid students w/backs to instructional area • Teacher’s desk and other equipment • Storage space and supplies

4. Chapter 1:Organizing Your Classroom and Materials • If you have to float: • Familiarize yourself with the room • Try to arrange a projector for daily use • Prepare transparencies for lessons/hw assignments, and notices • A regular space on the board for assignments • Storage space for materials that cannot be carried with you everyday • Try to get a cart • Assign early arriving students the task of preparing the room • Erase boards, set up projector, arrange chairs

5. Chapter 2:Choosing Rules and Procedures • Why rules and procedures are needed • Rules identify general expectations or standards - best when positively stated (You may talk when given permission) • Procedures communicate expectations for behavior - apply to a specific activity • Planning classroom rules and procedures (consequences?) • Identify school rules and procedures • Around 5 sufficient to cover most behavior (student participation?) • Bring all needed materials to class • Be in your seat and ready to work when the bell rings • Respect and be polite to all people • Respect other people’s property • Obey all school rules

6. Chapter 2: Choosing Rules and Procedures • General Procedures • Beginning of period • Attendance: use seating chart, keep track of missing work • Absences: write name and date on handouts and keep in absentee folder; daily assignments on calendar; student volunteers to assist returning students • Tardy students: be consistent; sign in sheet • Expected behavior: Warm up questions at beginning of period, copy outline of class activities • Leaving the room: emergencies only; keeping a record; reduced credit for work not brought to class • Use of materials and equipment: teachers and student materials • End of period: clean up of materials and reminders of upcoming work

7. Chapter 2: Choosing Rules and Procedures • Procedures during seatwork and instruction • Student attention during presentations: respect and note-taking • Participation: raise hands, student call? • Seatwork • Talk among students (no student talk vs quiet talk) • Raised hands for help • Out-of-seat procedures: sharpen pencil, get paper; one-at-a-time • When work is completed (enrichment activities folder, work on hw)

8. Chapter 2: Choosing Rules and Procedures • Procedures for group work • Distribution of material stations/helpers • Assigning students to groups: well-balanced, separate clashing personalities, save time, efficient • Outline goals and participation roles (recorder, reader, etc.) • Cooperative learning • Miscellaneous • Signals: obtain student attention, transitions (turn off lights, bell) • Announcements, special equipment, fire drills, and split lunch periods (what to do with work and personal belongings)

9. Chapter 3:Managing Student Work • Your grading system and record keeping • Achievement, effort, hw, improvement, participation, and percentages • Accurate assessment: frequent evaluation • Record all student info in grade book rather than separate lists • Feedback and monitoring procedures • Students check own work (different ink and model how to check) • Students keep own record of grades • Long-term/group projects: divide into smaller goals and deadlines • Peer review (must teach) • Guided beginning for group seatwork then work the room • Long-range monitoring - keep track of missing assignments

10. Chapter 3:Managing Student Work • Communicating assignments and work requirements • Instructions for assignments • Oral explanation of requirements/rubric as well as visual aid on board • Routine of copying down assignment • Standards for form, neatness, and due dates • Procedures for absent students • Post weekly assignments or keep absentee folder • Length for make-up • Place for late work turn in and graded pick up • Missed group work - assist groups in inclusion of absent members

11. Chapter 4:Getting Off to a Good Start • Perspectives on the beginning of the year • Resolve student uncertainties: expectations, procedures, and rules - opportunity for students to learn appropriate behavior • Plan uncomplicated lessons to ensure student success • Keep whole-class focus (group work should maintain this); prepare extra credit or enrichment assignments; later introduce complex activities • Be available, visible, and in charge: work the room; praise, prompt, leave • Teacher authority: rights to set standards for behavior and performance • Traditional, bureaucratic, expert/professional, charismatic • Most teachers derive authority from several sources • Authoritarian (control through threats and punishment) vs authoritative (provide basis for actions/discipline, give students independence for maturity, and administer consequences fairly and proportionately)

12. Chapter 4:Getting Off to a Good Start • Planning for a good beginning • Checking books out to students (wait until lockers have been assigned): record book numbers, name stamp, cover • Paperwork (hall pass, emergency forms, etc): all forms on hand and separated in folders • Rosters organized by period, noting accommodations for seating/medication, 3x5: name, book #, attendance, grades until class stabilized - useful for calling on students • Seating assignments: learn names/attendance faster, class management • First-week bell schedule, tardiness leniency for first few days, administrative tasks, rules • Course requirements: tests, quizzes, hw contributions - parents sign? • Beginning routine and alternative activities (wkst, puzzles, logic problems)

13. Chapter 4:Getting Off to a Good Start • The first day of class • Stand near door (sign w/name outside), make eye contact and smile, correct any students that enter with unacceptable behavior, and make sure students are in the correct room • Administrative tasks (forms on hand), check attendance by raised hands (not call-outs), teacher/student/course introductions • Discussion of class rules and rationale/penalties, emphasizing benefits to all, and presentation of course requirements • Interesting initial content activity: should require little or no assistance, which allows time for teaching procedures • Explain what students are expected to do, list steps on board if complex, demonstrate when possible, give corrective feedback • Avoid pre-tests, small groups, projects, and individualized instruction • Establish end-of-period routine

14. Chapter 4: Getting Off to a Good Start • The second day of classes • If 1st day was short, review class procedures and follow 1st day plan • Identify new students and get them seated, re-state beginning-of-class routine, review major rules and procedures • Present content activity • Close period with procedure introduced on day 1 • After the second day • Continue using procedures, adding new ones as needed • Monitor student behavior and give students feedback when their behavior does not meet expectations • Should start giving regular assignments for in-class and at home and check work promptly using grading procedures

15. Chapter 5:Planning and Conducting Instruction • Planning classroom activities: types • Openers to transition into the classroom (Do Now’s) and Closers • Checking work: must teach appropriate procedures (different ink color) • Recitation: oral check of student understanding, distribute questions to all members of class, watch for too slow or too rapid pacing • Content development: intro/extension of material, concepts, or skills; teacher questions/collect work for understanding • Discussion: encourage evaluation, awareness of other points of view, sharing of opinions; requires planning prompting questions and management of activity • Seatwork on previously presented material, start as class then independent work • Test administration (plan work for early finishers) • Student presentations and demos - give guidelines in advance, audience behavior • Small-group work: lab work, promote greater comprehension, cooperative learning, reciprocal teaching • Tests and presentations/demonstrations

16. Chapter 5: Planning and Conducting Instruction • Organizing activities - depends on number of different topics covered in class; focus on see-say-do • Kounin: managing group instruction - activity flow • Preventing misbehavior • withitness and overlapping • Managing lesson movement • momentum (pacing) and smoothness (continuity; ex. dangle, thrust) • Maintaining group focus • group alerting (tell students they might be called on next) • encouraging accountability (performance observed and evaluated) • higher participation formats: write answers, read along during instruction

17. Chapter 5: Planning and Conducting Instruction • Transition management (see problems/solutions) • Instructional management • Planning • anticipate problems (new terms and examples, demos) • do homework to find difficulties - build hints in lesson • infuse enthusiasm into lesson • Presenting new content clearly: Learning objectives at beginning and provide an outline for a complex lesson or video • Checking for understanding: formative and summative assessments • ask review questions • discuss and solve problems as a group; recitation • indicators (multiple choice question, “hands” to indicate response

18. Chapter 6:Managing Cooperative Learning Groups • Research on cooperative learning • Equal or greater learning than individualistic or competitive teaching methods with effective cooperative groups due to increased engagement with content; NEED feedback/instruction on how to collaborate • Strategies and routines that support cooperative learning • Room arrangement - line up desks to marks on floor for quick transitions • Talk and movement procedures: 6-inch voices, materials manager, state timed movement expectation w/verbal reminders • Group attention signals: MS raised hands, HS turn on projector and ask for eyes at the front; avoid interruptions/present info ahead of time • Promoting interdependence within groups: individual tasks (vary skills, research different topic for report), group grades • Individual accountability - id contributions, peer evaluation, individual notebooks graded at various times, individual responsibility to explain

19. Chapter 6: Managing Cooperative Learning Groups • Monitoring student work and behavior • Work the room w/clipboard to write notes about all students about satisfactory group functioning - note degree of explanation/demonstration and use for feedback • group and individual performance -self-monitor to identify difficulties • Interventions • Non/verbal redirect, time out/work alone, conference w/individual students, conference w/entire group • Effective group work skills: • Social skills: teach active listening/sharing/support before group work • Explaining skills: Rotate summarizer role, explain something to partner and explain back, work as group to answer a question and present to class • Leadership skills: assign presenter/discussion leader roles to build skills

20. Chapter 6: Managing Cooperative Learning Groups • Beginning the use of cooperative learning groups • Room arrangement, procedures, and routines • Forming groups: star with pairs, working up to larger groups that have a range of achievement levels, match extremes w/middle to motivate lower achiever • Initial group tasks to build skills: turn to your partner and explain/compare answers, drill partner, reading buddy, checking, reviewers • Teaching group skills: listening, explaining, asking for help, encouraging, and sharing - introduce one/week and give feedback; assign and rotate roles (keep on index cards w/behaviors) so everyone gains experience • Using group and individual rewards to practice/improve skills - tickets for good behavior for toy raffle/points for fun activities

21. Chapter 7:Maintaining Appropriate Student Behavior • Monitoring student behavior • Student involvement in learning activities: “active eyes,” work the room and don’t spend more than 1-2 min/student, start whole-group activity • Student compliance with classroom rules and procedures: clear expectations that have been communicated to the class • Consistency • Inconsistency from unreasonable/inappropriate rules, no detection of inappropriate behavior, not willing to enforce every time • What to do if you are inconsistent • Re-teach procedure (discuss problem) and enforce it • Modify and reintroduce it • Or, abandon it and substitute another in its place

22. Chapter 7: Maintaining Appropriate Student Behavior • Prompt management of inappropriate behavior • Eye contact/move closer and prompt appropriate behavior • Reminder of procedure by stating correct one or note students who are doing what is expected • Redirect attention to task and monitor shortly thereafter • Ask/tell student to stop inappropriate behavior • Make it private: call to desk, whisper, nonverbal cues • Briefly talk to student/assess penalties • Time out at desk or another room

23. Chapter 7: Maintaining Appropriate Student Behavior • Building a positive climate • Communicate positive expectations to students: convey confidence in students’ ability to do well, can do attitude, maintain high expectations • Appropriate teacher praise (public vs private): both informative feedback and genuine teacher approval that focuses on accomplishment, not effort • Improving class climate through incentives or rewards • Grades (tie as many facets of work as possible) and recognition (display work, certificate, verbal, stickers, improvement/conduct) • Activities (PAT) and material incentives (food, games, books): relate to behaviors most important to you (attendance, hw), everyone can achieve it • Caution of effect of rewards: enhance or hurt? - imperfect conditions

24. Chapter 8:Communication Skills for Teaching • Constructive assertiveness • Clear statement of problem or concern and describing effects - reduces student defensiveness, avoids labeling students/behavior, use statements • Unambiguous body language: eye contact, posture, facial expression matches tone of statements • Obtaining appropriate behavior and resolving the problem: student needs to accept responsibility for behavior, dramatic emphasis for evasive students • Empathic responding • Keeps lines of communication open between you and the student and aids problem solving process • Two components: listening skills and processing skills

25. Chapter 8: Communication Skills for Teaching • Problem solving • Identify the problem: state purpose of meeting, get students point of view/describe problem, ask students reaction; evaluate: help/hurt? • Identify and select the solution: student suggestion, multiple teacher alternatives; positive focus with plan for improvement • Obtain a commitment: student acceptance for period of time followed by evaluation (sometimes in a contract) with consequences if not followed • Talking with parents • Constructive assertiveness, empathetic responding, problem solving • Express appreciation for parents’ efforts to meet,work w/them as a team • Focus on choices student is making and how to encourage better decisions • Document concerns: student work and notes of behaviors

26. Chapter 9:Managing Problem Behaviors • What is problem behavior? • Nonproblem: brief inattention, transition talk • Minor problem: students calling out, leaving seats, talk during group work • Major problem, but limited in scope/effects: chronically off-task, failure to pass in hw assignments, vandalism, cheating • Escalating or spreading problem: unabated social talking, back talk • Goals for managing problem behavior • Judge short-term (bad behaviors cease) and long-term effects (prevention) of any management strategy chosen • Optimal: Maintain/restore order w/out adversely affecting learning environment; should prevent repetition of problem

27. Chapter 9:Managing Problem Behaviors • Management strategies • Minor interventions • Nonverbal cues: finger to lips, head shake, hand signal, light touch to arm • Get activity moving: quick transitions, all materials ready • Proximity: zones of proximity, combine w/nonverbal cues • Group focus: group alerting, accountability, higher participation format • Redirect behavior: state what should be done, “everybody should be writing answers to the practice problems” • Provide needed instruction: check student work, whole-class instruction • Brief desist: direct eye contact and assertiveness, combine w/redirection • Give student a choice: behave appropriately or continue behavior w/consequence, “choose to clean up now or say after class until area is clean” • I-message: “it’s distracting to me and the class when you get out of your seat,” learn awareness of effects of behavior on others

28. Chapter 9:Managing Problem Behaviors • Management strategies • Moderate interventions • Withhold privilege and earn back w/appropriate behavior (sit near friends, work together on project) • Isolate/remove problem students: desk at back of room, time out, switch if rewarding to student, time out or walk to principal’s office, labels student as excludable • Fine or penalty: extra work, but defined as punishment - quick to administer, but content negatively affected, non-content (look up and copy 10 definitions) • Detention best for behaviors that involve time (tardiness, time-wasting behavior) or repeated rule violations; adv: disliked, administered away from classroom; disadv: takes teacher time, student skipping, additional records • Referral to office for fighting, vandalism, rudeness and disrespect; adv: effective limit, short-circuit escalating situation; disadv: depends on others for effectiveness, potential for discrimination; use sparingly

29. Chapter 9:Managing Problem Behaviors • Management strategies • More extensive interventions • Design individual contract with student - problem solving • Conference w/parent: describe situation and appreciate support that parent gives to help understand and resolve problem, have grade book handy - require time and energy • Check (name on board)/demerit (record that student signs to accept responsibility) system; adv: set/maintain limits, consequences are clear; disadv: catch bad behaviors, hard to detect behaviors • Problem solving • “Think time” strategy - remove student to another teacher’s classroom, debriefing form: what was behavior? what behavior do you need to display upon return? • Reality therapy: establish caring relationship, focus on behavior, accept responsibility, evaluate behavior, make plan, commitment to follow plan, following up • Peer mediation: students trained to listen/clarify issues, help negotiate, write solution

30. Chapter 9: Managing Problem Behaviors • Special problems • Chronic avoidance of work: good records a must • Ability: break assignment into parts/modify assignment • Parent phone call, reach out to coaches, no grade leniency • Fighting: injury if intervene? disperse crowd, get help • Other aggressive behavior: all behavior, even if playful, is unacceptable; respect others; one warning; separate students; conference w/student • Bullying: bullying prevention programs, monitor student behavior, talk with class about behavior and effects, bully and victim problem solving, involve school counselor, incorporate social skills training in class • Disrespect/hostility towards teacher: don’t go brainstem • Best to defuse: keep it private and individual conference with student • Depersonalize: “This is taking time away from class. I will discuss it with you in a few minutes when I have time.”

31. Chapter 10:Managing Special Groups • Teaching heterogeneous classes • Assessing entering achievement: previous tests, pre-tests, monitor initial classwork (class notes, summary from book) • Modifying whole group instruction: participation (pacing), procedures for managing student work, thoughtful seating arrangement, assignments: EC and enrichment, peer tutoring (expectations and management skills) • Cooperative work groups • Small (homogeneous) group instruction: location of group/seating, materials/storage/accessibility, student movement/transitions, out-of-group procedures and expectations • Mastery learning: re-take tests until proficient by providing increased feedback • Labor intensive: managerial skills, alt. forms of tests, extra grading, scheduling, enrichment activities, recordkeeping • Develop/introduce incrementally, due dates, specified days for test re-takes

32. Chapter 10:Managing Special Groups • Teaching remedial classes • Learner characteristics: high absence/tardies, arbitrary grades, frequent failure, poor study skills, low attention span • Establishing your management system: continually reinforce procedures and routines, question class, practice, feedback • Monitoring behavior and prompt responses • Managing student work of daily/weekly grades for frequent feedback, grade for effort/performance, incorporate participation (involvement, learning, attendance) • Planning and presenting instruction • Short activity segments w/frequent assessment of understanding (see, say, do) • Extra attention to presenting directions and instruction clearly • Build teaching of study skills in lesson (note taking, identifying main ideas)

33. Chapter 10:Managing Special Groups • Students with special needs • Content mastery classroom: provide extra help, extra time for tests, staffed w/special education teachers who can provide suggestions for adapting teaching/management • Inclusion - special education students in general education classrooms: IEPs, regular planned meetings for progress and support, assignment modifications • Emotional/behavioral problems • communication with all, overlook minor inappropriate behavior, reinforce acceptable behavior, identify/reduce/prevent stressors, temporary lowered expectation on bad days, offer structured choices, allow leaving classroom • remember you are convenient target, but not cause of anger • Serious social deficits (ASD) • odd social skills with poor communication skills, extreme anxiety to change/unmet expectations, acute sensitivity to sounds, poor motor skills, stereotyped movement • use visual prompts, brief instructions (write down), social stories, strengths and interests in teaching to provide ways to develop talents, social feedback

34. Chapter 10:Managing Special Groups • Students with special needs • ADHD: • distractible, impulsive, disorganized • predictability and structure, ask others what works best for them, make sure you have their attention when giving clear/brief instructions, observe as they work, remind/reinforce effort and accuracy over speed, finger card/marker for reading • Deaf/hard-of-hearing: auditory devices, center of room seat, projector not chalkboard, repeat/rephrase info, restate responses, close monitoring, note takers • Bind/visually-impaired: board work - read aloud, tape recorders, hands-on work, change in activity to prevent tiring, seat w/back to window, move as needed • Extreme poverty: increased communication and relationship building, presentation of non-weak image/insolence, extra materials/supplies, bracket anxieties, peer buddy, provide underlying assumptions for behavior, + self-talk, help another student • Limited English proficiency: understanding of English, learn key words in native lanuage, body language/gestures, visual aids, long receptive period before confident in classroom, consult counselor if language barrier prevents benefit from instruction