Classroom Management

January 7, 2014January 7, 2014 Mike Beetham Anti-bullying, Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Classroom Management, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Student Ownership, Students as Teachers

A Great Classroom Is Created When…

I had to share this with someone, so I felt this blog was the best way. At a recent class meeting we all sat down and started to talk about what makes a classroom great. This topic generated a myriad of ideas, discussion and debate. I am sharing with you the final product that came from this amazing group of students.

– when everyone works as a team

– you celebrate when people do something right

– every student is a success

– tell the teacher how you care for them and they will tell you the same way

– teachers teach us how to share, cooperate and work as a team

– we have fitness in the morning

– we do different kinds of things like planting

– you don’t give too many chances

– you take the time to get to know each other

– don’t be too easy, don’t be too hard

– we set goals

– when students can be taught and entertained at the same time

– teachers discipline

– you take risks with each other

– students and teacher communicate to each other

– we give lots of smiles

– students are allowed to teach teachers

– students are allowed to learn from their mistakes

Needless to say, my students have once again taught me how valuable an asset to our classroom they are. Their collective voice has demonstrated the power of our class motto ‘Together Everyone Achieves More Success’. I hope you can read my happiness and pride!

January 6, 2014January 7, 2014 Carmen.Oliveira Classroom Management, Learning About Your Students, Student Ownership, Wellness

The Freedom of Giving Up Control

When my non-teacher friends describe teachers, words like type A, perfectionist, and control freak tend to be at the top of the list and although they may say it’s all in jest, I know that’s exactly how they see most educators. Truth be told that in conversation with colleagues and observing many classrooms, I have to admit that to some degree, giving up control presents a challenge that not everyone is willing to take on. For some teachers, the thought of having students organize the classroom library or put up a bulletin board on their own makes them nervous, to say the least.

I’ve always thought of myself as an educator who shares in the learning with my students and I’ve worked to create an environment in my classroom that I feel is conducive to exploration, inquiry and self-expression. Of course, this is how I believe things to be without taking into consideration if indeed, my students feel the same way. I decided to speak with my class about how they felt with respect to the control they had over how things we run. Interestingly, we came to the conclusion that although they felt they could question anything and could express themselves while feeling valued, they did wish they had more control over day-to-day routines such as organizing supplies, creating the class calendar, writing the homework, putting up bulletin boards, etc.

I realized that I hadn’t given them those opportunities because of my limited belief about how much eight and nine year-olds could handle without creating havoc in our classroom. I had my doubts about giving up that control over the day-to-day tasks but was curious to find out how they would handle it. Students began to put up and take down bulletin boards, organize the class schedule and calendar, write up the homework on the information board, organize the forms and notes mailboxes, track completed and unfinished work using class charts, create their own anchor charts, organize the classroom library and supplies cupboards, etc.

What began to happen was wonderful: the students quickly demonstrated how independent and capable they are to run the day-to-day classroom tasks and I had more time to myself that I used to plan, mark and prepare for activities. Giving up control ended up giving us all the freedom we needed both to do our jobs better!

January 4, 2014 Erin.Grewar Classroom Management, Differentiated Instruction, Diverse Learning Needs

Cutting Them Loose – Letting Your High Achievers Soar…

My one grade 8 class is challenging in a couple of ways – very chatty, various social dynamics at play and perhaps most importantly, a disparaging degree of ability and motivation. Up to now, I have always ended up spending most of my energy on those students needing the most help and attention. As I’ve discussed several times in my blogs, I have used this approach ultimately as a means of classroom management. This may not sound politically correct, but for some time now, I have always felt guilty that my higher achieving students tend to come second place in terms of my priorities. That is not to say that they are totally ignored but I do tend to pay closer attention to them once the others are settled. In this particular class, there are four students who consistently achieve the higher end of the level 4 spectrum (one who has always attended a francophone school, and 3 others who are gifted for all intensive purposes).

I finally decided that as they are high functioning, it didn’t seem necessary to have them wait patiently for the others to settle and sit through oft repeated explanations/instructions. I thought of giving them the opportunity to embark on an ISU (Independent Study Unit) like the higher grades do in high school. That being said, we were at point in the unit where this was feasible – basic vocab and grammar had been covered in depth and several diagnostic and formative assessments had also been completed. I explained what the rest of the class would be working on (CD cover design with reviews on the back) and gave them a couple of ideas (press release package for a new band, newspaper article comparing the music of the 80’s with the music of today) and welcomed their own suggestions. Once they had decided on a format, I basically release them each period to work in the library or at the back of the classroom. We have set up goals and deadlines for different phases of the project and at the beginning and at the end of each class, we meet to review expectations and to check on the work they managed to complete.

At this point it seems to be a win-win situation. For me, I no longer feel guilty or as stretched. It allows me that much more time to work with the others who I have since subdivided into their own ability groupings (those who can work independently after explanations have been given and those who work with me in another group for additional support or “task management” assistance). For my higher level students, they are thrilled with the sense of responsibility and independence. I think they also appreciated how I acknowledged their patience and their need to work unencumbered so to speak. Perhaps the best bonus of all? That kind of earned independence is now sought after by lots of other students as well.

December 15, 2013December 15, 2013 Erin.Grewar Building Inclusion, Classroom Layouts, Classroom Management, Diverse Learning Needs, Students as Teachers

Reaching All Learners – Flexibility in Core French Class

Out of all the challenges you are confronted with as a teacher, it seems to me that one of the most difficult of all is making sure that you can meet the needs of all of your students (simultaneously!). Everything else seems to hinge on this; if your students can function/are sufficiently challenged, they are engaged. If they are engaged, they are motivated and will not cause problems in class. Seems like once you can identify the root problem, implementing a solution is easy…As we all know, this is seldom the case. Core French being a second/third language makes it that much more challenging. In essence, EVERYONE is needy and that much more dependent on the teacher. It can be exhausting and difficult to be pulled in so many directions. See if this sounds familiar (keep in mind, the key word is once again “simultaneously”).

Do you have your project with you today?

What project?

The one we worked on together yesterday? I had given you sentence starters and we spent 20 minutes working on key vocabulary?

No, I lost it.

(Great) Well, start it aga…(interrupted)

I can’t find my sheet!/He stole my pencil and won’t give it back!/How do you say “is” in French?/If I write double the sentences, do I get a level 4?

So on and so on. No matter how much experience you have (and I have a lot), it is still a difficult task that can leave you feeling overwhelmed. This year, I’m trying out a different approach with my grade seven class with the following scenario: 33 kids in a small space (not my classroom), 4 gifted, 3 on IEPs and 2 HSP students with identified learning disabilities. Already seated in groups of four, I have them now sitting with at least 1 “expert” per group. They are those students who are not only high functioning but are also good communicators. Their job is to make sure that everyone in their group is following along and if they are having difficulties of any kind, they are the “go to” people. I am hoping this will allow me to circulate more and really help those in need (for remediation or enrichment) in a focused way.

December 6, 2013December 20, 2013 Mike Beetham Anti-bullying, Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Classroom Management, Diverse Learning Needs

Update on J

When I last shared (September), J had arrived in a foreign school, classroom and community. After three months of focussed work to help J realize his potential, celebrate his uniqueness and work through his challenges, I am ecstatic to report on a young boy who has blossomed. He comes to school each and every day with a smile on his face (and most importantly) a belief that he is a capable learner who now views school as a safe place to be.

Our journey is not over, but rather just beginning. J is now in an emotionally safe place where the academic and social gaps that will help him return to a regular classroom can be addressed. As with all good instruction, the front loading work established the foundation that was necessary to build the bridge to allow J to join the learning community that awaited him.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and that you are able to enjoy it with family and friends.

December 4, 2013December 4, 2013 Alison.Board Building Inclusion, Classroom Management, Differentiated Instruction, Equity, General

Top Ten for Maintaining Classroom Community

The other day one of my less participatory students described our classroom as “welcoming” in his writing journal. I was pleasantly surprised by his point of view and reflected on what might make it a positive space him and his fellow students. Here is a list of what actions, arrangements, and routines contribute to our positive classroom community:

Greet the students as they enter the classroom every morning.
Incorporate Tribes activities on a monthly basis, or when needed.
Allow students a few minutes to chat and get settled before beginning the first lesson of the day.
Arrange desks in groupings of different sizes to suit the needs and learning preferences of the students.
Provide bean chairs/big pillows for students to use when reading or working independently or in small groups.
Invite students for class discussions or read-alouds at the class carpet. They choose to sit on the carpet or bring their chair.
Display student writing, math problem solving, art, and student book reviews or graffiti on walls around the room.
When there is an issue, address it quietly in the hall or away from the eyes of peers.
Provide a round table in the centre of the room for casual teacher-student conferences and peer meetings.
Check in with students as they leave for home each day.

November 26, 2013November 29, 2013 Mike Beetham Anti-bullying, Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Classroom Management, Differentiated Instruction, Year End Activities

Celebrations

“If it is worth doing, it is worth celebrating”. That component is a significant part of every classroom agreement that I am a part of. As my classroom community evolves it becomes a priority that best effort is all that can be asked of the students and the teacher. As such, we do not celebrate grades, we celebrate best effort. Each and every child in the room knows and understands that as long as they are working as hard as they can, the result is always worth celebrating.

That belief began to evolve in my teaching about twenty years ago when I first began to understand the role of diagnostic assessment and how important it is to start where my students are and not be driven by grade expectations. I can best sum it up by saying, it is the juncture in my career where I began to teach children and not deliver curriculae. My students (and classroom) began to lose the competitive edge and shifted toward a cooperative learning environment with a focus on helping everyone be successful. A significant aspect to that change was the need to redesign what celebrations looked like.

C– classroom community social events (Thanksgiving lunch, special days)

E– everyone gets to share their work in a public forum

L – lots of trips to connect learning to real life scenarios

E– extra high fives, fist pumps, sunshine calls home, notes and oral praise

B – board filled with weekly awards

R– regular positive visits from principal, parents and other staff

A – always asking for input from classroom advisors on new ways to celebrate

T – teacher models and then a gradual release of responsibility

E– every effort big or small is worth celebrating

How do you celebrate the efforts of your students? I encourage you to post your ideas for others to read.

November 9, 2013November 9, 2013 Mike Beetham Anti-bullying, Building Inclusion, Challenging Topics, Classroom Management

Conflict or Bullying

Bullying or Conflict?

Bullying is a reality in schools, but misplaced reactions to the day-to-day conflicts that occur in life will also not serve to help our students become problem solvers. I have noticed in my classroom (and around the school hallways) that any situation that involves one student disagreeing with another is being referred to as bullying. I had to really reflect on how to handle this scenario to ensure that the right approach is being taken to benefit all. I searched out information I could use to help clarify the misconceptions that were being developed by my students and came across an amazing resource entitled ‘We All Belong – A Multimedia Toolkit For Parents and Schools’. It was developed by the Centre Ontarien De Prevention Des Agressions (COPA). It is a very comprehensive tool for schools, teachers, parent councils and families to use as they work to develop a culture of inclusiveness within their community.

This resource helped me frame a strategy on how to move my students forward in their thinking. The Bullying Prevention Guide in the kit clearly explained that conflict is a disagreement or difference of opinion between two parties who are relatively equal in social status and thus there are two sides to a story. Bullying is not a natural part of daily life and is a targeted and planned act by a person or group of people in a position of power or social status and is often carried out over a period of time. If a bullying scenario is dealt with using conflict resolution strategies I have added to the harm done by the bully because I have now forced the victim to spend more time face-to-face working it out and have concluded that he/she is part of the problem.

The kit is a very rich resource that includes a Bullying Prevention Guide, The Capsule Families Get Involved and a DVD of short entertaining vignettes to be used. There are two volumes to the DVD with one targeting Parent Engagement and the other Bullying Prevention. The versatility of the kit has made it an option that can help bring families and schools closer in their battle against bullying. I am currently spending more time familiarizing myself with the resource as there are other options on how I may use it.

COPA – 457 Danforth Ave, Toronto, ON M4K 1P1 (416) 466-8975 or infocopa.com

September 17, 2013September 18, 2013 Mike Beetham Building Inclusion, Celebrating Success, Classroom Management, First Week Reflections, Learning About Your Students, Making a Difference Through Education

The Power of Believing

It is not found in a curriculum, at an educational supply store or in a university course outline. But yet it is one of the most powerful tools that a teacher has. It is the belief in yourself to handle the varying demands of the teaching role, to have confidence in your professional expertise to help students and to instill that belief in each and every one of your students. As my students arrive in my classroom in September the one common element they have (besides a multitude of at risk behaviours) is the belief that they are not smart and that school is not a setting where they will do well. My target priority becomes the mission of helping my students be successful and to believe that school is a place where they will thrive and be triumphant. This is easy said, but experience has taught me that it does not occur in a few lessons or a unit of study but rather exists in my teaching philosophy and must be embedded in my talk, my instructional practices and my way of life in the school. I have developed a set of teaching eyes that focus on what students can do rather than what they can’t do. That is a contagious approach that will spread quickly from adults to children.

I would like to introduce you to J who arrived in my classroom with a very closed attitude toward school despite not knowing me, the school or the classroom he has been forced to attend. Before I could begin to help him I had to get to know him as a person and not a student. What are his interests, his talents and his challenges? Our journey of learning is now underway and it will have its ups and downs, joyous moments and sad times but we are coming together with the understanding that he will be successful, he is smart and that school is a not so bad place to be. I will keep you updated on our progress.

June 3, 2013 Alison.Board Wellness

Supporting self-regulation in Kindergarten

In the Full-Day Kindergarten program, it is essential to give children the tools to help them self-regulate. The day is long, and often the noise and energy escalates as the day goes on. We talk about how we are feeling each morning at sharing circle. This provides us with an opportunity to listen to the children and to find out if they have had a difficult morning or maybe a sleepless night. It also allows the children an opportunity to reflect on how they are feeling – monitoring this each day when we come together as a group.

Dr. Stuart Shanker is a renowned expert on self-regulation. He provides information on the topic in various forms that are available on the internet or in his book, Calm, Alert and Learning (2012)

Other resources on self-regulation, include:

Canadian Self-regulation Initiative http://www.self-regulation.ca/

Kindergarten Matters – Self-regulation http://resources.curriculum.org/secretariat/kindergarten/selfregulating.html

In our classroom, we talk about how fast our “engines are running” and whether we need to slow them down or not. We also talk about various strategies to calm down. In late November, we started yoga breathing with the children. We would do a few poses, but mostly concentrate on the breathing. Now, after lunch each day, we close the curtains and the children find a quiet space in the room to lie down on their backs. We provide pillows or small blankets if they want. We then walk around and place one glass stone on their forehead – it provides a focus and keeps wiggling bodies from moving and dislodging the glass stone. At times we play classical music or relaxing sounds of ocean waves. Other times we may talk about visualization; imagining lying on a beach in the warm sand or in a park in the cool grass. Two or three children usually fall asleep during this time, and if they do, we leave them to rest while we quietly get up and resume our activities at learning centres. The children continue with their play in the afternoon, but they have had the opportunity for quiet and peace in their hectic day. Children are recognizing how they feel after these opportunities for relaxation, and now ask the teachers, “Can we do yoga today?” or “When will we lie down and put the stones on our foreheads?” This shows that the children are recognizing when they need to implement self-regulation strategies to help them be successful in their day.