I definitely think that developing a positive environment in the classroom is something that I will be working on for a long time. There are so many things involved in doing this that it’s a little overwhelming to put all of them together. I wish there was a template that worked for every class I ever have, but that’s just not the case. We have to take into account the different children and their different needs.
I think it is very important to take anecdotal notes and record behavior of children in the class, especially those that have behavioral management issues. However, with all the recording Salend talked about in the beginning, I feel like this is a bit unrealistic. There is not time in the day to record the behavior management issues you have with a child or children. Of course this would have to take place after lessons or school. I guess I just looked at this and thought, I am not going to be able to do all this. However, I think there are some very great techniques to recording data about students.
Most of this I feel like is a review of everything we’ve talked about especially with Dr. Wilkerson about how to maintain a positive environment for students in the classroom. I think it’s a good reminder though of what to do. I’m struggling right now as I am taking on more responsibility in the classroom. I have one student with behavioral management issues that is feeling out my management in the classroom. I don’t think I have as demanding of a voice as my teacher does, but most of the kids still respond to me well. I don’t want to be as forceful as my teacher can be sometimes. I want to develop relationships with the kids and still be an authority figure over them. This one student is testing me though, and I am running out of strategies. she is an extremely bright student and she always gets excited to see me, but during instruction time, she is slack on the rules. And sometimes it really does disrupt the positive environment in our classroom. So I will have to continue to try strategies and stay strong, but maybe I can pick up the praise of her good work while she is doing good work.
I have to agree…
Keep us updated on that one student. I am dealing with a fairly similar situation, on certain days of the week. We tried a visual system with her, that seemed to work for a few weeks. The teacher gave her a clear box in the front of the room. Whenever she is misbehaving, the teacher will place a cube in the box. The rest of the class has a clear box as well. When they are misbehaving, or one student from the rest of the class, their box will be given a cube. For the first few days, the teacher would pull her aside to explain the two boxes. Then, they encourage her to act more like the other students. The student will point out students that would be great to observe. Take it or leave this. Thought I would throw it out there…
I have to agree with all of your comments.
Keep us posted on that one student. One of mine is fairly similar, on some days of the week. I am trying a bunch of stuff… but she has those good days and then bad. It is hard to determine what is working or not.
Hi Emily!
I completely agree with you about tracking behavior to help with behavior management. While taking notes and tallies continuously about a student’s behavior would be very beneficial, it just does not seem very practical. At almost every point during the day when instruction is happening, I am with a small group or instructing the whole class, and there is very little time for me to so closely observe and record one student. It seems that I would need another person in the classroom whose only job was watching behavior of one student. Maybe as time progresses and I get more better in the classroom, it will be easier to watch the entire class and make continuous notes about one student’s behavior, but I guess I will just have to wait and see.
The student that is testing you is something I can definitely relate to, as we have previously talked about.
I am hoping that as I keep being in the classroom every day, taking on more instruction, and continue being firm, my student will “give up” on testing me and acknowledge the fact that she must behave the same way she behaves with my CT. Only time will tell.
I completely agree with you about the time management that is required in recording the behavior of students. If I had to look at my class I would have about 2-3 students that would need someone to record their behavior. As a teacher my responsibility is to teach the students, but having to stop instruction in order to record seems to be unnecessary. I know that there are times that we have to record within my classroom and my Teacher Assistant is very good at taking responsibility in that aspect. I know that when I have to work on my student I am going to have to ask my TA for help with recording.
I do not have any of my students in my class that have major discipline problems, but there are times when my students will act out. From my observations that I have had, Dr. Wilkerson has said that I have my “teacher face” under control, but I seem disconnected from my students. At my next observation I was connected with the students, but my behavior management was not as strong. I am finding it hard to find a balance between keeping discipline and having a positive connection with my students. These are the two things that I am working on the most in my teaching.