Learning Outcome 6: Know and apply various disciplinary models to manage student behavior
When people think of teachers they often vision instructors helping young members of society on their journey in the quest for knowledge. While this is part of the profession, the second half is creating and maintaining acceptable behavior models within the classroom. The age group that I have found myself with can be both the most rewarding and frustrating age group to be with, and it all comes down to classroom management and discipline. I have found that I subscribe to a method of discipline and management that focuses on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in the classroom. All students have the right to feel safe and secure in the classroom. Once they have that base settled for them then they can grow from there. Often times a feeling of safety and security can be both physical and emotional. Students need to feel that the classroom environment is one where they can be themselves and share their through processes. Once they feel that safety then we can get into real inquiry based work that thrives because students bring in their personal and cultural discourses.
I also found that when I ask students to work with me instead of against me, they are more responsive. When I gave students an outlook at the beginning of class of what we will be doing with the tag line of “when you give me time, I give you time” it sets up my expectations for them. This tagline means that if they give me the time to fully explain what we will be doing in class, I will give them time to work through the task as they see fit. They understand that what they put into class will reflect what they get out of it. If they are not staying on task and it takes me longer to get across what I need, they are able to understand why they didn’t have as much time later on.
One of the biggest discipline issues I found myself facing was talking and cell phone use in class. I set up a three strike policy with the cell phones. If I saw students with a phone out when they shouldn’t have, the first strike was often a reminder of the policy. The next strike would be a warning, if I were to see them on their phones a third time then they were to place it on the teacher’s table in the front of the room where they could retrieve it after class. By having this policy laid out to them in a contract they were more willing to abide by it- especially when it was exacted to all students in the class. A similar procedure was put in place for talking in class when either myself or a fellow student was talking. They were first reminded how we respect our peers when they choose to share, then if they continued they were issued a warning. Upon a third interruption, students were asked to stay after class to explain why they were talking. Students were asked to be responsible for their actions, and explain them to another.
One of the biggest struggles can be discipline in the classroom. Students find themselves in up to eight different classrooms, with eight different teachers, that all have different expectations, policies and discipline structures. One way to combat confusion and behavioral outbreaks is to work with the other teachers, not against them. If you are able to develop a system of expectations and discipline that all teachers agree to and that has the administrations backing, then students will have less to juggle and more focus in the classroom. A universal system is one that is more beneficial for all involved, and can lead to other ways of collaboration and communication. It should also be noted that students tend to act out and become disinterested when they are not being challenged. These interruptions should be an indication to teachers to reevaluate the texts being used and how they are presented to all learners. Students are constantly giving teachers the keys to their learning needs, it is our job to use those keys to unlock the doors to their minds.