Many first year teachers struggle with student discipline. By answering the following questions, recognize the behavior strategies used by your cooperating teacher that work or do not work in the classroom.
How are expectations for behavior, routines, and learning explained? What are the guidelines for classroom behavior? How is appropriate behavior encouraged? How does the teacher react to inappropriate behavior? What techniques both verbal and nonverbal are used to cue appropriate behavior? What strategies does the teacher use to prevent problems?
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In the class I am observing there hasn't really been any serious discplinary problems.My teacher is too nice and she gets walked over a lot.She is really easy going and gets along with all her students.At the beginning of every class she tells the class the expectations for the day and if they don't do their work she will explain the consequences.If someone in class is bothering her she will just tell them to stop whatever they are doing and thats about it.She doesn't write up detetions or anything.Thats why I feel she is walking all over sometimes because she doesn't assert herself, but she is a great teacher and the students lover her.
ReplyDeleteEven for fourth graders my teacher had sticks that they would move if she has had to tell them to not do something more than once. Of the whole year I was in the class I did not see that many students have to move their sticks, but I did notice when they did have to move them they still got very upset. Which I was suprised about. I didn't think that would be soemthing that would work on forth graders. I was not there when my teacher explain the rules to the studnets but im sure she did it the first day of school. When something were to happen between two students she would bring them both in the hall and talk to each of them about it. I felt like my teacher had the respect of her students because they normally listened to her the very first time they did soemthing wrong.
ReplyDeleteRyan,
ReplyDeleteIt's good to hear that the class loves your teacher, but maybe she needs to try to handle disaplin in a different way. Maybe that is why they like her so much because she does not discipline them. Sometimes it is better to discipline a little than be loved because something really wrong might happen if she doesn't discipline.
I have noticed that the teacher in my class does not have any strict disciplinary rules. She is an older teacher, so I think by this time in her teaching career she has it pretty well figured out. I actually took note of this when I first observed the class. I noticed that the students, especially for second grade, are very well behaved. Whenever a problem may arise, the teacher usually calls out the student to ask them why they are causing the problem or what they are doing. I think this is probably a common way of being able to instruct a class while still disciplining a misbehaving student. I think it takes away from the other students' focus, but there is not a better way because a teacher cannot leave the room with the misbehaving student with her class left unattended. Techniques the teacher uses to cue appropriate behavior is by saying things like, "Row one is sitting following my directions," and then that row gets to line up first. Also, she calls out specific students and asks the others to model that students great behavior. Strategies the teacher uses to prevent problems are things such as: sitting the problematic students either away from each other or sitting them next to the room helpers at tables, and doesn't allow students who are friends go to the restroom together. I think it is important to have the students respect the authority of the teacher, but not fear the teacher so much that the students are terrified to talk to the teacher.
ReplyDeleteJamie- I agree with what you said about Ryan's teacher. A student may "like" a teacher because they are easy-going and do not discipline. I remember in high school we had teachers who would always let us watch movies and some people would have called them good teachers, or that they really liked them. But, ultimately I would want to be remembered for a great activity or idea for my class instead of being nice or too laid-back.
ReplyDeleteIn my classroom, when the students start acting up and not doing what the teacher has instructed them to do, coach bass would start to treat them like little kids and try to tell them that what they were doing was childish and dumb. He would then after scolding them,ttell or show them how to do it right. and watch him do it to make sure he did it right.and then give the student encouragement and praise for doing it right. I think that coach bass is not to hard on students if they are dfoing it wrong. just as long as they are putting out effort and are willing to learn. When coach bass wants to let students know they are doing good, it is as simple as a pat on the back or a good juob. thats all it really takes. In the class that i watch, it is seperated by freshman and seniors. so what he does is seperate the groups by age, and have them play against each other. it has actuall worked pretty well. I have really enjpyed learning everything that he has tought. on paper it doesnt sound like it is a good way of teaching, but the students really respect him they can come to him for anything.
ReplyDeleteryan,
ReplyDeleteyour teacher is the kind of teacher that should be in high school, who tells you what to do and what will happen if you dont do it. i enjoyed those kind of teachers in high school, and even in college.
My teacher that I'm observing makes sure everyone raises their hands when they have a question to ask and also if they want to sharpen their pencil or leave their desks. If they don't ask, she will have them sit back down and they won't get to do what they wanted. None of the students have really gotten out of control though, so I haven't seen how she would deal with it. My observing teacher is really nice and all the kids love her so whenever she tells them to do something, they listen to her. All the kids are really well behaved in her classroom.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Heather. It is important for teacher to have the respect of their students so they feel comfortable to talk to them and ask questions. If they do not have respect for their teachers, they will walk all over them and probably misbehave more.
ReplyDeleteMy teacher has been teaching for a pretty long time and she seems to have the discipline area covered pretty well. There has not been much bad behavior in her class that would need disciplinary action really. She teaches physical education so most of the students want to be in that class and she is also a coach so everyone knows that if they are respectful there will be no problems in her classroom. On the off chance that there is a problem during the class everyone has been made well aware of the consequences at the beginning, but my teacher kind of plays it case by case for the little disturbences.
ReplyDeleteHeather...
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is a great learning experience for both parties when the teacher goes directly to the source of the problem. The student causing the problem did not like the negative attention and the other students learned what not to do so it's a win win situation. Also, I remember when being in the front of the line in elementary school meant you got to recess first so that was a very positive way to teach your students to act accordingly.
Because I am not placed yet, I will explain what I will do as a teacher:
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher/coach for high school, I will explain the rules to the class in the beginning of the year. Most of the rules will be posted on the wall of the classroom and will be reinforced daily. I will explain the consequences if the rules are broken and will stay consistent. Being persistent is very important in the classroom setting. If students misbehave there will be consequences depending on what rule or rules are broken.
Appropriate behavior will be encouraged through acknowledgement. To avoid problems I will stay persistent and make sure all students are given equal opportunities. I will gain the students respect while showing that I care and WANT to be there.
I think behavior has alot to do with the organization in the classroom, not just the rules being organized but its partially just the teachers organization. If she has the class running steadily then kids would not act up as much. The teacher must lay the hammer down if she sees behvaioral problems though. Needs to let the students know the deal and that he or she means business.You have to keep the class in order, with speaking in and out of turn. This will also cut down on the problems within the classroom. I believe that as a teacher at any age you can teach life-long lessons, with simply having students do the right thing.
ReplyDeleteEmily, I agree with the fact that when students want to be in the class they will not act out of line to the extent of being removed. And the fact that the consequences are made clear, also ups the chances of having good behavior. You made some excellent points!
ReplyDeleteAndy I agree with this:
ReplyDelete"I think that coach bass is not to hard on students if they are doing it wrong. just as long as they are putting out effort and are willing to learn."
I think Coach Bass is smart to be hard on the students but yet aknowledged those who are willing to learn and the students who show they care.
I think expectations of behavior in the classroom starts with the organization of the classroom. If the teacher is organized and can run the classroom effectively then there wont be as many problems than if the classroom is chaotic and unorganized. Another way I believe you can control the behavior, learning and routines in the class is how the teacher interacts with the kids. It is a fine line, you dont want to be too laid back, but you also dont want to be too strict. IF a teacher can figure out a way to interact with the kids effectively then the classroom will be much better off.
ReplyDeleteWill,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you i think the teacher should be organized if the classroom is organized that doesnt give the kids a chance to act up. The teacher also does need to be up front with the kids and let them know what is accepted and not accepted
There have not been any serious behavior issues in the classroom yet but my teacher usually gives a general comment to the class to indicate it is too loud or students are not paying attention. Her students are pretty well behaved for third graders. There is a poster with classroom rules and consequences on the wall so they know what happens when they do something wrong. To cue appropriate behavior she will say which students are doing the correct behavior or which group of students are being good. She also uses the three strikes and your out (to the office) method. I have never seen her give out more than 2 to one student in a day. It is pretty effective, the student usually stops what they are doing and behaves appropriately.
ReplyDeleteWill S.
ReplyDeleteI agree with how behavior has a lot to do with the organization of the classroom and of the teacher. If the teacher is unorganized and does not have a plan, the students are left with "free" time while the teacher comes up with what to do next and they are able to become distracted. If there is no time for them to become distracted they are less likely to act up in class.
In my observation the behavior that is expected is not exactly explained. Partially because the students are in high school and have developed a sense of the appropriate behavior that is expected of them. The guidelines in the glass room are basically to be respectful of the teacher and other students. The teacher addresses inappropriate behavior usually by verbal warning or just by looking at the student. My teacher does not embarass the student simply askes them to stop. The students have enough respect for the teacher that as far as I have seen a verbal warning is all that is necessary. To prevent any problems from escalating the teacher makes sure not to make a big deal about it because often that just makes the situations worse.
ReplyDeleteHeather,
ReplyDeleteI agree that respect for the teacher is key for the students to behave appropriately in class. Without respect the students would never listen to the teacher and chaos would break out. I think that respect is not only key to good student behavior but for classroom organization as well.
The routines are learned from the very beginning of the school year you’ll know what the teacher expects of you when you enter class. You get all your points if you behave and participate but if you don’t you lose points like being later or not dressing out for class. The strategy my teacher uses is he lets the little stuff go with a “ you shouldn’t do that” and the big stuff he rights people up and sends them to the office and takes all there daily points away.
ReplyDeleteKelley
ReplyDeleteSometimes a loud comment will work or sometimes it will disrupt the class just like the kid wants to and draw attention to them.
The last few times I have been observing there has been a student teacher and he is not very good at disciplining the students and keeping them in line. He tries to be the cool teacher that the students like and lets them get away with alot of stuff. For example the kids would be cursing and the normal teacher would warn them once and then sit them out the next time it happened and usually they knew not to do it again.
ReplyDeleteThe teacher I observed had the class on a pretty tight schedule, it was very organized and the students knew what was expected of them every morning when they walked in the door. For behavior the kids had busses if they misbehaved they either got a warning or their bus was moved to yellow depending on what they did. If the bus was moved to red they had to talk to the teacher, their parents got a letter wrote to them and if depending on how bad it was they might have been sent to talk to principal or to a buddy room.
ReplyDeleteWill,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you if the classroom isnt organized how do you expect the students to behave. If the teacher isn't organized, that gives the kids time to spare and they will take advantage of it but if the classroom has a strict schedule it limits the amount of trouble the kids can get into.
My teacher does not do a very good job in my opinion in disciplining the students. She is very impatient and does not give warnings. She will hear someone talking and when it gets to a point where she can't take it anymore she blows up at the next student who talks and embarrasses them. This is not a good way because the students end up resenting the teacher and try to do things behind her back.
ReplyDeleteKim, I like that way of disciplining because it gives every kid a warning before they get in serious trouble.
ReplyDeleteThe classroom rules are posted on the wall, and whenever a student asks out, the teacher asks them to read the rule that they just broke. Also, the students first get a warning, and then the next time if the problem continues she will move thier "frog" down. They each have a frog with their name on it. It is moved down or up depending on behavior. Good behavior is rewarded. For example, the table with the most organized caddy in the middle recieves a trophy, and then the next week another table is choosen. I feel that the classroom is a wonderfull learning place for the students.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kimberly, making a big deal out of a situation is not usually the best idea and can make things worse.
ReplyDeleteMy host teacher doesn't have any disipline problems. Students are well behaved and never question the teacher. When my host teacher was sick one day and a sub was put into the classroom I observed I noticed the difference of authority between the host teacher and the substitute. The sub had little control and didn't seem to care. The sub's primary goal was just to get through the day and get out of there.
ReplyDelete