Something about classroom management

1. Classroom management is one of the most important aspects that a teacher has to dominate.<br />SURVEY<br />We did a survey to ten English teachers to determine some of their ideas about classroom management. The questions we did were<br />Do you think that classroom management is important for teachers?<br />The ten teachers agreed that it is important for teachers to takethe control of the class because that is the only way a teacher can engage their students to what he is teaching. If a teacher does not manage his class, he will lose students’ respect and everyone will do what they want and will not pay attention to what the teacher says.<br />Do you think that seating arrangement is better for working with students?Teachers think that it is very useful because we can create a different environment in the class. Some of the teachers said that seating arrangement works well specially with children. However, it is important to determine the level and the number of our students before applyingit. If the seating arrangement we apply is really useful, we could take the control of the class without any problem. If not, the class will be a mess. The teacher must be able to observe all students at all times and to monitor work and behavior. The teacher should also be able to see the door from his or her desk.<br />Do you think that variation in the organization for the class works better for students?<br />The 90% of the teachers thought that it is better to change the way a class is organized periodically. So, students will not fall in a routine. It also helps teachers to develop their creativity while organizing a class. When a class is always organized in the same way students get bored when the time passes. In this way students could start to hate English.<br />Do you encourage your shy students to participate and be active in the class?<br />Most of the teachers said that they always try to encourage their shy students to participate in the class because it is a good way to make them feel confident. However, they toldus that it is sometimes difficult due to they will not be always willing to learn or do what youwant him to do. <br />Do you know some techniques to create a good environment in the class?<br />All of our interviewed teachers said that theyknew some techniques to create a good environment in their classes. They mentioned some like work groups, T.P.R., games, jokes, and also make students sit in a circle-shape or in a u-shape. Teachers are familiarized with techniques that help them to have a good atmosphere among their students.<br />Do you follow a daily routine for teaching?<br />Half of the ten teachers answered that they follow the same routine when teaching. They said that it is a little bit difficult to keeponeself changing the teaching strategies. Contrary to this, the other half thinks that a good teacher must keep on making changes to the way they teach or apply the teaching techniques because that will make our classes more interesting and not something monotonous.<br />Have you established and negotiated the rules of the class with your students at the beginning of the period?<br />70% of the teachers think that itis correct to negotiate the rues with students and actually they do it. They really noticed that it worked. The other 30% says that it is not correct to negotiate rues. You just have to tell them what they are and what they are not allowed to do.<br /> Did the established rules in the class worked during the learning process?<br />All of the interviewed teachers agreed that the established rules worked well. They think it is because they adopted some advice before do it. For example, they said that it is necessary to give them commands in a positive way. Instead of saying do not bring food to the class, they said to students, If you want to eat do it outside the classroom and so on.<br />Have you confronted a student with bad behavior?<br />The 80% of the interviewed teachers have some day confronted a bad-behaved student. They say that it is very difficult for them to get everyone’s respect, especially with those students that are always to the defensive. <br />Do youalways accomplish allthe goals youuse for your classes?<br />The 80% of the interviewed teachers accomplish all their goals in every class. That is a very good percentage, due to there are so many aspects during a class that sometimes impede us to accomplish our aims. They said that if a class is interesting enough students will not interrupt. Also you have to be very clear and concise while giving a grammar explanation.<br />EXPLAIN THEORY<br />Before starting with the survey we had to be familiarized with the topic that was: Classroom Management. We chose this topic because it is controversial and its meaning and way of manage it vary from teacher to teacher. So, we wanted to know what they think about some specific aspects of the topic. <br />According with the theory about Classroom management we have that it is a group of actions, and the objectives of those actions are:<br />To keep a good discipline in the classroom.<br />To provide a teaching-learning environment safe and relaxing.<br />To motivate students to succeed in the scholar atmosphere.<br />Teachers will accomplish those objectives through:<br />The behavior<br />The time<br />The class organization<br />The process teaching-learning depends basically on the students’ participation. And that is the most important problem for teachers, especially when they are beginners. Some of the interviewed teachers told us some of their experiences whit shy students or may be with any bad-behaved student. So, we realized that there is a big variation of teacher’s actions or reactions. Classroom management is different for every single teacher because of:<br />Teaching style<br />Personality/Attitude<br />Diversity in the class<br />Strategies do not have to be used by all the teachers because they have to be applied according to the teachers’ personality.<br />An Effective Classroom Management Context (these four things are fundamental)<br />Know what you want and what you don't want.<br />Show and tell your students what you want.<br />When you get what you want, acknowledge (not praise) it.<br />When you get something else, act quickly and appropriately.<br />CONCLUSION<br />As a conclusion, we have to say that Classroom management is a very wide topic that includes lots of actions and techniques taken by teachers to take the control of their students and make his class work correctly. To manage a class is without a doubt a challenge that requires teachers to encourage their students to participate voluntarily, to create a good environment, to engage students in their class, to make them comprehend even a complex class, to know how to face a bad experience while giving a class, etc. In this survey we realized that English teachers know how to manage a class. They are familiarized with the strategies they can apply in order to become a good classroom manager. However, they need some advice to improve it with new techniques even using technology that is a tool that has a good impact nowadays. <br />RECOMMENDATION<br />According with what we know about classroom management and about what we asked in the survey we can give some recommendations related to the topic. During this semester we had shared some experiences that happened to us while doing our internships and we had also analyzed them.<br />Rules should be posted in the classroom. Compliance with the rules should be monitored constantly.<br />Teachers should identify expectations for student behavior and communicate those expectations to students periodically.<br />Do not develop classroom rules you are unwilling to enforce.<br />Misbehavior is less likely to recur if a student makes a commitment to avoid the action and to engage in more desirable alternative behaviors.<br />When used, negative consequences or punishment should be related logically to the misbehavior.<br />Keep an appropriate distance from your students<br />Never touch your students.<br />To promote the cooperation among students and the professor.<br />To Motivate your students by acknowledging their effort.<br />To make students learn from their mistakes.<br />To assign responsibilities to every student in the class.<br />To make students with low self-esteem participate in activities where they can show their abilities.<br />To establish which consequences could occur if students do not do their tasks or homework.<br />BIBLIOGRAPHY<br />http://www.educacion.gob.es/exterior/usa/es/File/ppvv/getafe_09/classroom_mangmnt_1.pdf<br />http://4faculty.org/includes/108r2.jsp<br />http://www.adprima.com/managing.htm<br />Wong H. & Wong R. (2004).<br />The first days of school. How to be an effective teacher <br />Mountain View, Ca: Harry K. Wong<br />Publications, Inc.<br />Rules *Three types of teachers<br />http://www.slideshare.net/jessenfelix/3-types-of-teachers<br />Seating Arrangement <br />http://www.uwsp.edu/education/pshaw/Seating%20Arrangements.htm<br />