MY BRAIN HURTS!!! {This public service message was brought to you by the committee of 'Lesson Planning Sucks' and the RSPCTT*} *Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Trainee Teachers
I always found the lesson plans I wrote up after classes always matched much more closely what had actually happened... Wait till you're: assaulted by/offered drugs by/asked to by drugs for/asked to spend "quality time with"/swear a police statement against; a student, then you'll understand the fun that is teaching Best job in the world. Seriously. Worst job in the world too. MItch
Moony - does your lesson plan have strategies for dealing with students who are 'off-task'? I found writing down a list of 3 strategies, escalating in intrusiveness helps. Thus when things are falling apart you have somewhere to go.
Inokichi - we use a 17 step behaviour management program (and always keep in mind that the teacher needs to look at their own planning, ability to engage students etc.). Always pair management with positive reinforcement (eg. ignore a student who calls out, when they raise their hand, praise them and invite them to speak). 1. Tactical Ignoring of Behaviour 2. Non Verbal Message - (if a student is talking while you speak you can subtly make eye contact, tap their desk, move towards them but not say anything) 3. Casual question - if student persists, give class task and approach student and quietly ask if they are okay, also explain why their behaviour is not appropriate to the class 4. Cause and Effect - ..... 17 Exit from Room Most of the time you can manage a class with just steps 1-3. We start with the least intrusive method (Tactical ignoring) so that there is room to move. You don't send someone out of the class at the first chance. Children need rational, consistent classroom management and as a teacher you need to build a relationship with your students, not scream at them to shut up and sit down. Moosey - Are you implying something about my character?
Whoa Lily that's pretty impressive. I honestly had no idea that teaching theory was as complicated as that. By the time you reach steps 10 or 14 or 17 what do you do? How does this differ as the age of the student rises?
inokichi - it really depends where you've trained, the educational policies in your state/country etc. At the end of the day, experience counts and each teacher has their own methods. I really don't believe 'bad' behaviour is the student's fault. I take responsibility for the behaviours that are displayed in the classroom. Further steps in the 17 step method that's currently very popular in Australian high schools... Step 7-10 involve clearly 'Restating and Reminding' studet of class guidelines (these should be 'negotiated' at the beginning of term with students so they 'own' the rules and know them). If behaviour persists we use the 'Cease and desist' tactic firmly and redirect student to task. The whole idea is to minimize disruption to other students and to continually guide the student back to acceptable behaviour. Isolation (3-5 minutes) happens from step 10 onwards (you can play around a little with the steps). Obviously the teacher has to know what level to approach a student at depending on the behaviour. If a student brings out a pocket knife you're not going to 'Tactically ignore' the behaviour!!
How does it change with age? Surely an adult student can't be put in isolation or anything like that? Sorry for all the questions but I find this really interesting. To answer this question, may I refer you to an answer of Lily's in the Word Game thread
inokichi - these guidelines are geared towards high school students as they are more capable of self-regulation (compared to a 6 year old, though sometimes I wonder ). I should also correct my statement and say its changeable dependent on 'stage' not 'age'. Stage meaning their cognitive developmental level as well as taking into account the environment, learning difficulties etc. Isolation can be as simple as moving them to a 'Time out' desk for a few minutes. Ensure the rest of the class is working, give the student a few minutes to think about their behaviour then speak to them quietly about why it has gotten to this point (remind them of the steps you took from the non verbal message, casual talk, reminder of rules, cease and desist and the consequence of their behaviour). Come to an agreement that they can return to their desk if they will be on task etc. Isn't this boring you?
And be careful what questions you ask. Kindergarteners can be darn literal minded sometimes... and when the teacher asks "Do you want to sit at your desk now?" Many years ago, the answer was "No"
