Course: Classroom Management (6403)                                                                Semester: Autumn, 2021 Level: ADE/B.Ed

ASSIGNMENT No. 1

Q.1 Define Classroom management. Discuss in detail the importance of Classroom management.

ANS

Classroom management refers to the wide variety of skills and techniques that teachers use to keep students organized, orderly, focused, attentive, on task, and academically productive during a class.

Classroom Management is a term teachers use to describe the process of ensuring that classroom lessons run smoothly without disruptive behavior from students compromising the delivery of instruction. The term also implies the prevention of disruptive behavior preemptively, as well as effectively responding to it after it happens.

It is a difficult aspect of teaching for many teachers. Problems in this area causes some to leave teaching. In 1981, the US National Educational Association reported that 36% of teachers said they would probably not go into teaching if they had to decide again. A major reason was negative student attitudes and discipline.^[1]

Classroom management is crucial in classrooms because it supports the proper execution of curriculum development, developing best teaching practices, and putting them into action. Classroom management can be explained as the actions and directions that teachers use to create a successful learning environment; indeed, having a positive impact on students achieving given learning requirements and goals (Soheili, Alizadeh, Murphy, Bajestani, Ferguson and Dreikurs). In an effort to ensure all students receive the best education it would seem beneficial for educator programs to spend more time and effort in ensuring educators and instructors are well versed in classroom management.

Teachers do not focus on learning classroom management, because higher education programs do not put an emphasis on the teacher attaining classroom management; indeed, the focus is on creating a conducive learning atmosphere for the students (Eisenman, Edwards, and Cushman). These tools enable teachers to have the resources available to properly and successfully educate upcoming generations, and ensure future successes as a nation. According to Moskowitz & Hayman (1976), once a teacher loses control of their classroom, it becomes increasingly more difficult for them to regain that control.^[2]

Also, research from Berliner (1988) and Brophy & Good (1986) shows that the time a teacher must take to correct misbehavior caused by poor classroom management skills results in a lower rate of academic engagement in the classroom.^[3] From the student’s perspective, effective classroom management involves clear communication of behavioral and academic expectations as well as a cooperative learning environment.

Effective classroom management is necessary for all teachers and facilitators. Classroom management involves all aspects of what is going on in the classroom while a lesson is being taught. Not only does classroom management include how the teacher or facilitator delivers the curriculum, but also how the students interact with the teacher and with others in the classroom, and extends into the classroom environment in which students learn as well. Students cannot learn in chaos. Classroom management includes elements of classroom discipline, but focuses more on creating a peaceful learning environment that is comfortable, organized, engaging, and respectful for both the teacher and the students.

One of the main goals of education is to promote life-long learning. Thus, education should be able to motivate individuals to continue learning throughout their lives, even outside the classroom.

So, as a teacher, you should be striving to enhance the development of life-long learning among your students. There is evidence in education literature that supports the idea that classroom management plays a key role in helping teachers to achieve optimal learning in their classrooms.

In light of this, I think it is important for us to assess the importance of effective management of students’ classroom behavior.

To do an appropriate analysis, it is essential to look at the importance of classroom management to the teacher, the student, and the rest of the stakeholders of education. This way you will be able to understand the trickle-down benefits of effective management of the classroom from the teacher to the entire society.

Importance of Effective Classroom Management to the Teacher

Teachers consider pupils’ behavior management as one of the top stressors in their profession. For example, Richard Ingersoll (2001) found that approximately 30% of the 400 who left the teaching profession cited pupil management as one of the reasons why they gave up, in a study of approximately 6700 teachers in the United States.

An earlier study by David Chan (1998) revealed that teachers rated pupil behavior management as the second most stressful factor for teachers, in a survey of 400 teachers on what stresses them. You can check here to see why classroom management is so hard for some teachers.

1. It helps create a conducive learning environment

If you have exceptional strategies to help you manage your classroom effectively, then these strategies will help you create an enabling and conducive environment for your students to learn effectively. For example, Daniel Goleman said that;

“The Responsive Classroom approach creates an ideal environment for learning–every teacher should know about it.”

That is to say that your classroom management skills can help you to create a favorable environment that will make all your students have a sense of belongingness so that they will feel free to explore more learning opportunities within the boundaries and standards established by collaborated efforts between you and your students.

This is possible if you have a well-thought-out plan to manage the behavior of your students and your classroom.

On the other hand, if you don’t have a plan in place to manage your lessons and the behavior of your students in the classroom, there will be chaos which makes your classroom environment not suitable for effective learning.

In this environment, your students will learn much lesser than they could if you had managed the classroom effectively.

Find our strategies on how to handle students you don’t like here.

2. It helps avoid waste of time and energy

You need a proper classroom management strategy to guide all things that happen in the classroom within the day. It is often helpful to pre-plan your lesson taking into account classroom management issues such that possible misbehaviors during the lesson will not limit you from helping your students to effectively grasp what you are going to teach.

That is to say, before a student puts up behavior in your class during a lesson, your plan of managing the class can help you to quickly deal with that behavior and move on with the lesson.

Reflecting and embarking on the planning processes for your classroom management will always be extremely helpful in removing almost all disruptions in your class. Remember your classroom management planning will vary across different classes.

For example, it is always appropriate to do careful planning on how to manage a class if you have disruptive students in that class. Else you will waste all the lesson period trying to control and manage the behavior of one or a few of the students while the majority do not learn much.

Q.2 Discuss the importance of cultural background in teaching learningg process.

ANS

Culturally responsive teaching strategies can build trust; encourage collaboration; improve communication; and create a supportive, respectful atmosphere where every student can thrive. Expressing interest in your students’ ethnic and cultural backgrounds is fundamental to creating a culturally responsive classroom.

Cultural awareness is a term that is thrown around a lot nowadays — not just in education, but in politics and media, too. In my experience teaching abroad for the last six years, I’ve found that the definition of cultural awareness, at its core, simply means acknowledging that there are other cultures and experiences out there. It may sound simple, but you would be amazed at how often this awareness is taken for granted.

You may be thinking, “Of course! I am well aware that people around the world have different traditions and holidays.” Great! You are off to a solid start, but there is so much more involved in cultural awareness than you may realize. Language, norms, traditions and symbols — both tangible and intangible — are all part and parcel of what we call culture, and it’s crucial that you develop a baseline understanding of cultural elements outside of your own.

For instance, did you know some cultures specify “good” and “bad” parts of the body? It may be extremely rude to gesture to someone with your left hand (left being evil and right being good), to touch someone’s head (the holiest part of the body), or to touch someone with your foot (the dirtiest part of the body).

Cultural differences like these are less widely known, but they’re important when it comes to understanding your students from different backgrounds. That is why it is essential that you read up on the home cultures of your students; don’t just flit through their holidays and call it a day.

OK, so you’ve done your research. Now what?

Cultural Awareness Activities and Examples

In order for your students to adapt to their new environment and feel safe and comfortable, you need to create an atmosphere of inclusivity. Include allowances for cultural necessities in classroom rules, choose texts that are relevant to and explore cultural differences, and communicate with students and parents about needs and expectations.

That last one is particularly important. Students and families from different backgrounds may be just as unaware of certain differences as you were before you did your research. Get on the same page with them and discuss what you are doing to be sensitive to them and how they can communicate with you further. This can be a major challenge on its own, especially if there is a language barrier, but do not be discouraged! The extra effort needed to connect to families pays dividends in how much you learn about them, how much the home-school connection grows, and how supported your students feel.

On that note, make sure to dialogue with your students as well. After making allowances for cultural differences, you may find yourself fielding questions from them, such as “Why is he/she doing that?” or “How come he/she gets to do ‘X’?”

Your students are curiosity-driven and will wonder about the people around them. You cannot always expect that they will ask their questions with sensitivity, especially if you have young students. Prepare yourself ahead of time to answer these questions in a way that:

1. validates all cultures

1. explains differences in an academic, unbiased way, and

1. shows students how to ask questions and discuss cultural differences with sensitivity

Practicing cultural awareness and sensitivity as a teacher requires a little more consideration, but we owe it to our profession, our students, and the surrounding community to put in the work. And by doing so, you will allow all of your students to have an equitable experience in your class. Moreover, you will add to your school’s culture in a positive way and act as an example for other teachers.

Q.3 Define learning environment. Discuss major components for creating safe and connected shool climate.

ANS

The term learning environment can refer to an educational approach, cultural context, or physical setting in which teaching and learning occur. The term is commonly used as a more definitive alternative to “classroom“,^[1] but it typically refers to the context of educational philosophy or knowledge experienced by the student and may also encompass a variety of learning cultures—its presiding ethos and characteristics, how individuals interact, governing structures, and philosophy. In a societal sense, learning environment may refer to the culture of the population it serves and of their location. Learning environments are highly diverse in use, learning styles, organization, and educational institution. The culture and context of a place or organization includes such factors as a way of thinking, behaving, or working, also known as organizational culture.^[2] For a learning environment such as an educational institution, it also includes such factors as operational characteristics of the instructors, instructional group, or institution; the philosophy or knowledge experienced by the student and may also encompass a variety of learning cultures—its presiding ethos and characteristics, how individuals interact, governing structures, and philosophy in learning styles and pedagogies used; and the societal culture of where the learning is occurring. Although physical environments do not determine educational activities, there is evidence of a relationship between school settings and the activities that take place there.

The Japanese word for school, means “learning garden” or “garden of learning”.^[4] The word school derives from Greek σχολή (scholē), originally meaning “leisure” and also “that in which leisure is employed”, but later “a group to whom lectures were given, school”.^[5][6][7][8] Kindergarten is a German word whose literal meaning is “garden for the children”, however, the term was coined in the metaphorical sense of “place where children can grow in a natural way”.

Direct instruction is perhaps civilization’s oldest method of formal, structured education and continues to be a dominant form throughout the world. In its essence, it involves the transfer of information from one who possesses more knowledge to one who has less knowledge, either in general or in relation to a particular subject or idea. The Socratic method was developed over two millennia ago in response to direct instruction in the scholae of Ancient Greece. Its dialectic, questioning form continues to be an important form of learning in western schools of law. Hands-on learning, a form of active and experiential learning, predates language and the ability to convey knowledge by means other than demonstration, has been shown to be one of the more effective means of learning and over the past two decades has been given an increasingly important role in education.

Empower students by involving them in planning, creating, and sustaining a school culture of safety and respect. Creating a climate of safety should be a collaborative effort. Ensure that every student feels that he or she has a trusting relationship with at least one adult at school.

At a time when schools seem to be teeming with bullying and cyberbullying, teachers and administrators are often unsure of how to combat the problem. The following excerpt shows teachers and administrators how to create a safe and connected school climate while concurrently implementing a threat assessment program.

Some schools’ culture and climate can contribute to the prevention of violence. How does a school, its teachers and administrators, and its students work toward implementing a culture of safety?

Major Components and Tasks for Creating a Safe and Connected School Climate

Assess the school’s emotional climate.
It is incumbent on those in positions of authority and responsibility to assess the emotional climate of their school. This perspective can be gained by systematically surveying students, faculty, parents, administrators, school board members, and representatives of community groups about the emotional climate of schools. Anonymous surveys, face-to-face interviews, focus groups, and school climate surveys allow school officials to gather valuable insights about the school’s emotional climate.

Emphasize the importance of listening in schools.
A school with a culture of “two-way listening” encourages and empowers students to break the ingrained code of silence. Listening also must be expanded beyond academic concerns. Communication between teachers and students should also include listening to feelings, especially those of hurt and pain. It is also important to “listen” to behaviors. Many students have a difficult time finding the words to articulate disenfranchisement, hurt, or fear.

Take a strong, but caring, stance against the code of silence.
Silence leaves hurt unexposed and unacknowledged. Silence may encourage a young person to move along a path to violence.

Work to change the perception that talking to an adult about a student contemplating violence is considered “snitching.” Find ways to stop bullying.
Bullying is a continuum of abuse ranging from verbal taunts to physical threats to dangerous acts. Bullying is not playful behavior. In bullying, one student assumes power by word or deed over another in a mean-spirited and/or harmful manner. Schools must establish climates of safety and respect, which establish foundations for prosocial behavior. These climates teach conflict resolution, peer mediation, active listening, and other non-violent ways to solve problems. In a safe school climate, adults do not bully students and do not bully each other, and they do not ignore bullying behavior when they know that it is going on in the school.

Empower students by involving them in planning, creating, and sustaining a school culture of safety and respect.
Creating a climate of safety should be a collaborative effort.

Ensure that every student feels that he or she has a trusting relationship with at least one adult at school.
These trusting relationships evolve and do not magically appear simply because an adult, such as a homeroom teacher or a guidance counselor, and a student have been ordered or assigned to interact with one another.

Q.4 Elaborate the principles for the establishment of rules and routines for classroom management.

ANS

The need for “effective international protection of human rights” arose directly from “the horrors of the Second World War.”3 Through arbitrary punishment and deprivation of the exercise of fundamental human rights, the Nazi totalitarian regime culminated in the systematic extermination of twelve million people, including six million Jews. More recently, the break-up of the Soviet Union, after more than seventy years of totalitarian Communist rule, has led to revelations of similar repressive use of the Soviet criminal justice system to subjugate its diverse population under arbitrary rule. This paper compiles from the various international human rights documents discussed above those principles which are essential to the establishment and effective implementation of a criminal justice system based on the “Rule of Law.” The source of each principle is footnoted herein. In a few instances, additional principles are stated which are deemed by the author to be implicitly essential to ensure that the institutions created to protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals subjected to the criminal justice system will have adequate authority and power to carry out their mandate. These principles have been recognized by all Participating States in the CSCE, including Russia and the other successor states of the former Soviet Union (FSU), as universally applicable to their respective States, “irrespective of their political, economic or social systems as well as of their size, geographical location or level of economic development …. , Either as participating states in the CSCE and signatories to its agreements, beginning with the Helsinki Final Act in 1975, or as parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Russia and the other former Soviet Republics have repeatedly pledged to implement all of the principles in those documents that guarantee the effective exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms by their people.’ The importance of these principles was highlighted in the Moscow Concluding Document, adopted shortly after the defeat of the August 1991 Soviet Communist Coup: The participating states emphasize that issues relating to human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law are of international concern, as respect for these rights and freedoms constitutes one of the foundations of the international order. They categorically and irrevocably declare that the commitments undertaken in the field of the human dimension of the CSCE are matters of direct and legitimate concern to all participating States and do not belong exclusively to the internal affairs of the State concerned .

The key to a well-managed and organized classroom is routine. Routines help students understand what is expected of them and predict what will happen next throughout the day so that they can focus on learning instead of adapting. Once effective procedures and routines are established, behavioral problems and other interruptions are reduced .

For Elementary Grades

Beginning the Day

When entering the classroom, students should first put away coats and all other outer clothing that isn’t needed during school as well as backpacks, snacks, and lunches (if students brought these from home). Then, they can place homework from the previous day in the designated area and get started on morning work or await morning meeting.

You may have interactive charts—flexible seating charts, attendance counts, lunch tags, etc.—that students should update at this time as well.

Note: Students in secondary grades are usually just allowed to complete all morning tasks independently as they come in.

Ending the Day

Students should put all their materials away, clean off their desk or table, and put work to take home in their homework folder at the end of the day (usually beginning this process about fifteen minutes before the final bell rings). Only after the class is organized should they gather their belongings, stack their chairs, and sit quietly on the carpet until they are dismissed.

Lining Up

Lining up efficiently takes a lot of practice in lower grades. There are various systems you may choose for this but a common one requires students to wait until their row or table is called to put their supplies away and line up, grabbing any materials needed for whatever follows. Stress the importance of lining up silently so that the rest of the class can hear when they have been called.

For All Grades

Entering and Leaving the Room

Students should enter and exit the classroom quietly at all times. Whether coming in late, leaving early, or just going to the bathroom in the hallway, students must not disturb their classmates or other rooms. Reinforce this behavior at periods of transition such as lunch, recess, and assemblies.

Using the Restroom

Check your school’s policies on students leaving the classroom unattended to use the restroom. In general, students should refrain from exiting in the middle of a lesson and need to make sure that a teacher or teaching aid knows where they are going. Many teachers do not allow more than one student at a time to leave the class to use the restroom.

Some teachers have bathroom passes that students must take when they leave or charts to track who is gone when. These practices increase safety by enabling a teacher to know the whereabouts of every student at all times.

Fire Drills

When the fire alarm sounds, students must stop what they are doing, calmly place everything right where they are, and quietly walk to the door. Students in elementary grades should line up at the door but teachers may allow older students to exit the room and meet at a designated area outside of the school. Teachers are responsible for collecting fire drill supplies and tracking attendance, reporting immediately to administration if someone is missing. Once outside, everyone is expected to stand quietly and wait for the announcement to come back into the building.

Q.5 Discuss the implications of the William Glasser’s choice theory

ANS

Choice Theory was developed by William Glasser, arenowned American psychologist and psychiatrist. He theo-rized that behavior is a choice made by an individual, based onhis or her feelings and needs, and is therefore not determinedor controlled by external circumstances.3 In other words, thepower lies within each person to determine how he or she willrespond to the demands of the social and physical environ-ment. Humans thus should not be perceived as victims or slavesof circumstances, but as self-determining beings who take re-sponsibility for the consequences of their choices.

Glasser was the developer of W. Edwards Deming‘s workplace ideas, reality therapy and choice theory.^[1] His innovations for individual counseling, work environments and school, highlight personal choice, personal responsibility and personal transformation. Glasser positioned himself in opposition to conventional mainstream psychiatrists, who focus instead on classifying psychiatric syndromes as “illnesses” and prescribe psychotropic medications to treat mental disorders.^[2]

Based on his wide-ranging and consulting clinical experience, Glasser applied his theories to broader social issues, such as education, management, and marriage, to name a few. As a public advocate, Glasser warned the general public of potential detriments caused by older generations of psychiatry, wedded to traditional diagnosing of patients as having mental illnesses (brain disorders) and prescribing medications. In his view, patients simply act out their unhappiness and lack of meaningful personal connection with important people in their life. Glasser advocated educating the general public about mental health issues; offering, post-modern frameworks for finding and following healthy therapeutic direction.

Glasser was born on May 11, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Ben Glasser, a watch and clock repairman, and his wife Betty. He attended Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where in 1945 he earned his BS in chemical engineering. After a short career as an engineer, Glasser returned in 1946 to Case Western, but instead, during his first semester, was drafted into the US Army and stationed at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. He returned to Case Western in 1947, earning his MA in clinical psychology in 1949 and his MD in psychiatry in 1953. He completed his medical internship and psychiatric residency at UCLA and the Veterans Administration Hospital, respectively, and became board certified in 1961.^[3][4][5][6]

After being “thrown off the staff” at the VA hospital due to his anti-Freudian beliefs, Glasser took a position as staff psychiatrist at the Ventura School for Delinquent Girls, where he began teaching ideas that became the basis for reality therapy.^[3] During this time, Glasser met G. L. Harrington, an older psychiatrist who openly disbelieved the Freudian model of mental illness, whom Glasser credits as being his “mentor”.^[5]

Glasser set up a private psychotherapy practice in Los Angeles, which he maintained until 1986.^[4]

Work

Glasser authored and co-authored numerous and influential books on mental health, counseling, school improvement, and teaching, and several publications advocating a public health approach to or emphasis within mental health versus the prevailing “medical” model.

Glasser founded the Institute for Reality Therapy in 1967, which was renamed the Institute for Control Theory, Reality Therapy and Lead Management in 1994 and later the William Glasser Institute in 1996 in Chatsworth, CA.^[7] The institute is now located in Tempe, Arizona, and has branch institutes throughout the world.

By the 1970s Glasser called his body of work “Control Theory”. By 1996, the theoretical structure evolved into a comprehensive body of work renamed “Choice Theory“,^[8] mainly because of the confusion with perceptual control theory by William T. Powers, developed in the 1950s.^[9]

Reality therapy organizations

In the United States, the Glasser Institute was originally organized with regional groups in New England, the Sunbelt, the Northwest, the Midwest, the Southeast, and the West Coast.

In July 2010 the William Glasser Association International (WGAI) was established in Nashville, Kentucky, with an interim governing board charged with setting up the organization to coordinate worldwide activities and conferences, the first of which was in 2012 in Los Angeles. The board eventually became incorporated in California under the new name of William Glasser International (WGI) and is the umbrella body recognised by Glasser to represent his ideas around the world. The members of the WGI Board are elected by members.

Outside of the United States, William Glasser International (WGI) has active affiliate organizations in many countries including Canada, Croatia, Slovenia, Ireland, the UK, Finland, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Central and South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Neither WGI nor its affiliate organisations confer titles such as “counsellor” or “therapist” in their regular certification courses. In Europe, however, there are two special courses offering by the European Institute for Reality Therapy, one leading to the title Reality Therapy Psychotherapist and the other to obtain the title Reality Therapy Counsellor. Both can lead to The European Certificate in Psychotherapy (ECP).

The William Glasser Institute UK (formally Institute for Reality Therapy UK), with its own administration executive, coordinates the faculty workshops and practicums in the United Kingdom on behalf of WGI International, leading up to and including Reality Therapy Certification (CTRTC). The WGI UK strives to promote and develop choice theory, reality therapy, and lead management in the UK, offering guidance and support to its membership made up of a body of like-minded individuals, committed to their own personal and professional advancement. Support is offered by a team of training and practicum supervisors. Members of the institute subscribe to the “ethos” that Choice Theory, Reality Therapy, and Lead Management guide and support their relationships both on a personal and professional basis, and that Reality Therapy should be taught with integrity and adherence to fundamental concepts as described by Glasser and others who write, teach, and are associated with WG International.

Death

Glasser died at his home in Los Angeles on August 23, 2013, in the company of his wife, Carleen, and others.^[10] Glasser’s obituary reported the cause of death as respiratory failure stemming from pneumonia.^[3] The William Glasser Institute website referred to Glasser’s death as “a massive shock to all”, despite him having been “in poor health for some time”