Your philosophy of classroom management



Your philosophy of classroom managementJohn De NobileSchool of Education, Macquarie UniversityThis resource consists of a series of linked activities chapter-by-chapter to Lyons et al. Classroom Management: Creating positive learning environments 4E. These activities enable you to progressively work on and develop your own philosophy, plan and style of classroom management. A classroom philosophy, simply put, is a statement of what you believe about how to best manage a class and how you will go about achieving that vision. This resource will help you build it bit by bit. Complete the activities linked to each chapter of the text and by the end of chapter 10 you should be able to bring your work together to form your classroom philosophy. Chapter 1: Modelling classroom managementIn this chapter you have gained a small insight into the hectic world of teachers starting out, and have been exposed to the bases of a good classroom management plan through the Lyford Model. The following activities are designed to get you thinking about your own model of teaching and classroom management.1.1What is a ‘good teacher’? Think about the teachers from your days in primary and secondary schooling. What qualities did they have that made them ‘good’? Make a list in the box below.1.2Using the Lyford Model as a starting point, what do you think are the key considerations when a teacher is planning their strategy for classroom management? After making some rough notes, pick out the most important ones and list them below.1.3With your responses to the last two activities as a source of ideas, complete the sentence in the box below.I believe good teaching is about …Chapter 2: Classroom management theoryIn this chapter you have been introduced to some theories of behaviour/classroom management. More are presented in the online companion. Some of these might have caused you to react in some way, either negatively or positively. Of the ones you developed a positive feeling about, was there a particular theory that stood out? Was there a theory or approach that you felt might fit your view of how children should be treated and how teaching happens? Think about this before responding to the activities.2.1In the box below, list the theories that you think are ‘not for you’ under the heading ‘Not me’, and the theories that you think are more favourable under the heading ‘More like me’.Not meMore like me2.2Now take a closer look at the theories you placed in the ‘More like me’ column. Read the suggested readings provided in this chapter and the online companion. Get to know the theories more intimately. Use this new knowledge, specifically the key philosophies behind the theories (or theory), to develop your own statement of belief about the sort of places classrooms should be. Complete the following sentence and perhaps add another to accompany it.I believe classrooms should be places where …Chapter 3: Relationships and communicationEffective communication is a key component of effective classroom management, and quality teaching depends on it. This chapter describes some very useful skills for dealing with inappropriate student behaviour in a non-confrontational and positive way. Being aware of non-verbal cues will lead a teacher to be more sensitive to how their messages are being received as well as how to send messages and provide feedback more effectively. Active listening allows teachers and students to interact with minimal interference from underlying emotional factors. I-messages provide the teacher with a tool to convey to students how their behaviour is affecting the class in a non-submissive, informative and positive manner. Teaching philosophies often describe the way a teacher will interact with their students and this, in turn, provides a window into the classroom climate that a teacher is trying to establish. The following activities should help you to identify your preferred way of communicating with the class generally as well as in dealing with inappropriate behaviour. After completing them you should have a better idea of how your classroom philosophy will describe your communication style in the classroom.3.1After reading this chapter and doing some of your own follow-up reading, list in the boxes below which communication methods you are most attracted to, and which ones you have not tried but would not mind practising to see if they might work for you.My preferred communication styleThings I’d like to try out3.2You will need to pre-empt the communication paragraph in your philosophy with a sentence or two underpinning or justifying it. Using your readings of the chapter, in particular the Relationships and communication, Interference, Communication process and Non-verbal communication sections, complete the sentence in the box below. You might need to add a second or even a third sentence.I believe that good communication between teacher and student is vital to a positive classroom climate because …3.3To complete your paragraph on communication you will now need to identify the key strategies you will use. Take another look at the lists in 3.1 and pick the most suitable of these to complete the section below.Therefore, I will …Chapter 4: Curriculum, assessment and pedagogyClassroom management is not just about managing behaviour. At the heart of teaching and learning are the curriculum taught, the pedagogy used and the assessment designed to measure how well that curriculum was taught and how well the pedagogy worked. This chapter takes you through these three areas one at a time. The next part of your teaching philosophy will be about how you will deliver curriculum and assess student achievement/growth. After reading this chapter, please reflect on the following:What will you take into consideration when planning your teaching program?How will you know what to teach and where to start?What are the many ways in which your students could demonstrate achievement other than tests and quizzes?What teaching approaches will you use and what philosophical views will your pedagogies reflect?4.1Using the PIR Cycle as a stimulus, explain how you will go about planning your teaching program in the box below. 4.2Why is assessment important? What types of assessment will you develop and why? Answer these two questions below. 4.3Pedagogy refers to how you will teach the curriculum. Usually, the type of pedagogy you implement is influenced by a basic belief about how students best learn. After considering your pedagogical approach and strategies, complete the sentences below.I believe that students best learn through …Therefore I will use …Chapter 5: Classroom organisationAs explained in this chapter, there are several dimensions to classroom organisation. Each of these put together become the manifestation of your classroom culture. Your classroom culture is, simply put, the way your class operates and incorporates:rules and proceduresorganisation of the physical space.It is now time to think about how your teaching philosophy will describe these two aspects and explain them in terms of an overarching set of beliefs or approaches. After reading this chapter, complete the next two activities.5.1What values do you hold as important to establishing an orderly, productive and positive classroom? Answer this question below, then list the key rules/expectations you think flow naturally from those values and which you want to stress in your class. Complete the section by explaining how rules and consequences will be established in your classroom. 5.2What should your classroom look like to visitors entering it. Why? Think about this then answer the question and explain how you might organise:seatingclassroom space (displays, colours, furniture, etc).Chapter 6: Professional reflexivityThe last of the four positive practices is professional reflexivity. Good teachers reflect on what they do frequently, during lessons as well as afterwards. Examining how well things worked, or how things didn’t work as well as planned, helps teachers to inform their future teaching and consequently improve their practice. This chapter discusses at length an action research model that can be used to encourage professional reflexivity. There are, of course, other models to consider as indicated in the reference list at the end of the chapter.Your teaching philosophy should describe how and for what purpose you might engage in a cycle of professional reflexivity, be it through critical analysis using various perspectives or an action research model, or both. 6.1Why should teachers engage in professional reflexivity? By reading this chapter you will get a clear idea about the benefits of reflection on and in action. Once you have given this some thought and done some further reading, complete the following sentence.I believe professional reflexivity is important to my teaching because …6.2Having thought up a justification for it, how will you go about engaging in reflection about your practice in your teaching career? Once you have thought this out, think of some practical and achievable ways you can engage in professional reflexivity and complete the next sentence.As a consequence of this belief, I will …Chapter 7: InterventionsInterventions bring the focus of your philosophy back to the behaviour management aspect of classroom management. The first part of this chapter explains intervention as something that is done to one or more aspects of the classroom milieu to improve a situation that is getting out of hand (or has the potential to), usually as a result of inappropriate behaviour that threatens the stability of the learning environment. The chapter presents approaches to intervention according to the three theoretical orientations introduced in chapters 1 and?2. 7.1 After reading this chapter ask yourself the following questions and record your answers.Which approach am I most comfortable working with?(You can chose more than 1)Why?How would I use this in practice?7.2Did you list more than one approach? If so, how might the two (or more) approaches work together as a behaviour management strategy (or sequence of strategies in a plan)?7.3Having thought through the approaches and how you would apply them, it is time to nail down your intervention strategy. First, write about the approach (or approaches) you believe will work best and why.If intervention for behaviour management is needed, I believe that …7.4 Now write about how you would put the above into practice.In line with this thinking, I will …7.5Having written an overview of your intervention plan, go back to your earlier statements, particularly your responses to 1.3, 2.2, 3.3 and 5.1. In light of 7.3 and 7.4 do you need to modify any of these? If so, make the changes now.Chapter 8: Stories from the fieldIn this chapter there are 10 stories where teachers and others describe an aspect of their experience with classroom management in the real world. The online companion website presents even more. To complete the activity below please read between three and five of these. They will provide you with a variety of models of practice in classroom management and might trigger new ideas to include in your philosophy of teaching. 8.1After reading some of the case studies, what would you add about aspects of your classroom management that have not been mentioned so far in your philosophy? Add these in the box below in rough draft form. You can refine them later in 10.1.Chapter 9: Your theory into practiceEarly in the chapter you are asked to write up a statement of your theoretical approach to classroom management. You should read the rest of the chapter, as it takes you through the steps of constructing a philosophy of teaching. You already started this process in activities relating to chapters 1 and 2, but now you have a chance to refine it by altering your responses in 1.3 and 2.2. This may require changes to sentences or even some considerable rewriting, but as the authors say, if a job is worth doing, it is worth doing it well. 9.1Now that you have reviewed your overarching philosophy and settled, more or less, on your approach to teaching and classroom management, it is time to combine the bits that you have been working on into your first (draft) teaching philosophy. It is simple now. All the hard work has been done. Simply cut and paste your responses in the order suggested below, into the box.Cut and paste in the following order leaving a line space between each section:1.3 > 2.2 > 3.2 > 3.3 > 5.1 > 5.2 > 4.1 > 4.2 > 4.3 > 7.3 > 7.4 > 6.1 > 6.2My teaching philosophy (Draft 1) Chapter 10: Contemporary issuesThis chapter describes some of the current issues and trends that schools and wider school systems are dealing with. After reading the chapter, you should consider if any of these movements require ‘presence’ in your teaching philosophy. For example, once you have visited the AITSL website and examined the national teaching standards, do you feel the need to address any of these standards in your teaching philosophy? After reading about time outs, exclusion and expulsion, do you feel your classroom management intervention approach needs to change or is it OK as it is? These are just two example of areas where wider issues that teachers might want to address in their philosophy.Ask yourself these questions after reading your draft philosophy from 9.1:1Have I covered everything I want to cover in my philosophy and if not, what do I need to add? This might be from chapter 10, but don’t forget about things you might have written in 8.1. Now is the time to consider how they will fit into your draft.2Does the philosophy read right to me? If not, then make your changes. Move sections around if you feel they sit better. 3Do I need an opening quote/sentence and do I need a conclusion to round things off? If so, jot down some rough notes.10.1 After considering questions 1, 2 and 3 above, edit your teaching philosophy. It would be a good idea to leave the draft you had in 9.1 alone, cut and paste that here and make the changes here just in case you need to refer back to your original draft. My teaching philosophy (Draft 2)Ready to roll …Now that you have made the changes, read it to yourself. How does it read now?If you are happy with the result, you have your first teaching philosophy. Congratulations! You have done it!Into the future!However, please be aware that your philosophy may well change as you gain experience in teaching and are exposed to other ideas from your ongoing professional development, your interactions with peers and other sources of inspiration. It will be an interesting task for you to go back to this philosophy you have just completed in 10 years’ time and compare it to the one you have then. Will it have changed much? How have your approaches evolved? What kind of teacher have you become? ................
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