Management Strategies for Future Teachers

While I have had experience in child care and overseeing a wide variety of age groups, I am in my final year of college, and have not been assigned the daunting task of managing my own classroom. For this post, I decided to focus on management strategies for new teachers to better prepare myself for the students I will someday teach.

The first resource I discovered was the Teaching Field Guide: Classroom Management by Jessie Gerson, an experienced teacher looking to guide the future teachers of America with strategies that worked for her students and classroom. As I read the article, I was impressed with the simplicity of her ideas and appreciated learning techniques that have been successful with real students in a real classroom.

Gerson explains in the article the importance of roaming around the room as often as possible; during lectures, group activities, and individual work. By walking around the room, instead of standing at the board or sitting behind a desk, a teacher can obtain a comprehensive view of what each student is doing. Roaming the room may limit note passing, chattering and doodling to keep student’s focused on the task at hand.

If a teacher roams the classroom and catches disruptive behavior before is becomes a serious issue, then quiet discipline is more personal and is less threatening to the student. I do not wish to become a teacher that habitually reprimands a student in front of the class. This can be damaging to a child and promote feelings of embarrassment and shame. Gerson suggests a sentence to live by in the Teaching Field Guide: Classroom Management article, “You may not realize but…you need to stop…because…thanks” (3). Quietly approaching a student and specifically explaining what behavior needs to be stopped and why will avoid humiliation and aid responsiveness to what the teacher is asking of the student.

The Teaching Field Guide: Classroom Management article deems relationship building as the “key to success” (4). The concept of letter writing to students is a profound way to connect to a child on a personal level. Many students have issues with bullying, family problems, and learning difficulties that they will not voice. However, if the teacher notices a change in personality and writes the student a personal letter, the student may be willing to confide in the teacher and talk about their problems.

The second resource I found particularly insightful was Education Information for New and Future Teachers by Dr. Robert Kizlik. The article stressed the importance of proper room arrangement. Creating a learning environment for students to grow and prosper is an influential management tool. While this may seem obvious, the teacher should be able to see the face of each student without the students having to turn their heads or body. I also agree that decoration is an important aspect of classroom management. A welcoming environment that fosters learning boosts student’s morale and responsiveness. The Education Information for New and Future Teachers further states “Frequently used areas of the room and traffic lanes should be unobstructed and easily accessible” (1). Clutter can contribute to disruptions in the classroom because the disorder requires the teacher and the students more devote more time to access supplies and resources.

Perhaps the most helpful advice in the Education Information for New and Future Teachers was presented in the “Guidelines for Effective Praise” portion of the article. There is a significant difference between ineffective and effective praise, and I like that the article shows examples of each. For example, Dr. Kizlik states that “Effective Praise is delivered contingently upon student performance of desirable behaviors or genuine accomplishment” (3). Students should be praised in direct response to an achievement. If a poor student does exceptionally well on a test, or a disruptive student is behaving in an appropriate manner, these situations should be celebrated by the teacher. By providing praise to the particular action, the student will recognize that their efforts are appreciated, and perhaps continue to the positive behavior.

The Education Information for New and Future Teachers then provides an example of ineffective praise explaining “Ineffective praise is delivered randomly and indiscriminately without specific attention to genuine accomplishment” (3). I also agree that this is an example of ineffective praise. If you tell a student “good job,” but do not explain to the student what they did a good job on, then the praise is ineffective because it is not reinforcing a specific act or achievement.

Overall, I feel these articles provided beneficial information to future teachers such as myself, and hope someone will find these resources helpful as well.

Resources:

Gerson, J. (2007, August 26). Teaching Field Guide: Classroom Management. Retrieved May 30, 2009, from Teach Kentucky Teachopedia Web site: http://www.teachopedia.com/teaching_field_guide_classroom_management

Kizlik, R. (2009, February 3). Education Information for New and Future Teachers. Retrieved May 30, 2009, from ADPRIMA Web site: http://www.adprima.com/managing.htm