Classroom Management - A Guide
The process of running a classroom smoothly without disruptive behavior from students that compromises the effectiveness of the class is what teachers refer to as classroom management. It is extremely vital to use effective classroom management strategies while teaching because it disrupts the normal state of affairs of the classroom and distracts other students from attending the class and making use of the class to its full potential.
However, a lot of teachers find classroom management quite difficult. In fact, a sizeable minority of teachers quit their job because of this and a lot of teachers say that if they could have chosen another career option, they would. This is because a lot of them do not focus on classroom management and instead give too much importance to Are you one of those teachers who is struggling with this issue? Well, not to worry, because we have a few classroom management models for you to ease your load:
Use the Take Control Model
The take control model, also known as assertive discipline, is a disciplined approach to classroom management. It is extremely obedience-based and was developed by Lee and Marlene Canter. The take control model involves a great deal of direct control on the part of the teacher. It must, however, be noted that the take control model is not a negative approach but a positive one. It maintains that teachers need to establish rules that define the limits of acceptable and unacceptable behavior from the students, assertively enforce them and also ask for assistance from parents. The goal of this model is to make teaching an easy task and to rule out as much misbehavior as possible.
Constructivist Disciplinary Model
This is a more student-centered method of classroom management and is based on the assignment of tasks as a response to student disruption. The teacher enforces compliance by assigning tasks that the student will have to do as a penalty for their misbehavior, with the penalty being increased according to whether or not the student decides to comply with the teacher. Once the student complies, the teacher will have repositioned themselves as the person-in-charge has been re-established peacefully and with respect for students' needs. The benefits of using this method are increased student trust as well as long-term emotional benefits of not having resorted to violence or force of any sort.
The Culturally Responsive Model
Culturally responsive classroom management commonly referred to as the abbreviation CRCM, is an approach to running classrooms with all children in a culturally responsive way. It is a pedagogical approach that has a role in the decisions that teachers make. Culturally responsive classroom management makes use of the students' backgrounds, prior knowledge, learning styles and rendering of social experiences in daily lessons. Teachers must recognize their values and biases and think about how these influence their expectations for behavior as well as interactions with students.
Discipline without Stress (DWS) Model
The DWS Model was developed by Marvin Marshall described in an attempt to design a system where teachers educate young people about the value of self motivation and without the need for rewards or punishments. The idea is to develop within the students a desire to be responsible and self-disciplined as well as to put forward a conceded effort to learn.
The characteristic of DWS that sets it apart is that it is totally noncoercive (but not permissive) and does not rely on external sources for reinforcement of good behaviour. There are 3 ways to practice DWS:
Positivity
In this method, teachers should change negatives into positives for reinforcement ease and comfort. For example, instead of saying ‘no running allowed’, the teacher should say ‘We walk in the hallways’, or ‘No talking now’ can be ‘This is your quiet time.’
Choice
This approach makes students not make impulse decisions. The students are given lessons on how to make decisions based on critical thinking, which makes them less susceptible to their own impulsiveness.
Reflection
This method is based on the idea that a person can only control another person for so long. It goes on to explain that since no one can actually change another person, allowing them time to reflect on their actions is the most effective approach for bringing about change in others.
Conclusion
These are only some of the most common methods of classroom management. As a teacher, you do not have to follow a particular method. Each class is different and it depends on the teacher’s ability to communicate effectively with the students and build a professional rapport to manage them. These tips are to help you to gain ideas from them and come up with your own classroom management ideas, or adopt them as such.
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