‘The Class That Never Was’

On the first day of my school year, I was appointed to my ‘first class’; yet, as I explored in A Teacher’s Story, this position was destined to last a mere six days.

In this post, I share my memories of Room 11, and the lessons I learnt in those six hectic, stressful, yet wonderful days.

It is a tribute to my students, and the class that never was.

My apologies – this is a rather long post.

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Getting Started

Being appointed on the first day of school is no way to start a class. This was an intensely stressful time, as I worked to translate my ideas about classroom organisation, curriculum planning, and behaviour management into reality. I sincerely hope and pray I’m never called upon a job on an hour’s notice ever again.

Nevertheless, I was able to learn a great deal about establishing a new class.

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Determining my Classroom Organisation

My classroom was a small physical teaching space; and unfortunately, this limited the extent to which I could arrange it to my liking.

When arranging my space, I needed to consider the location of my desk, students’ desks, and storage tubs. When I arrived, the desks were positioned in rows facing the front; an arrangement which a) I dislike and b) I found extremely difficult to navigate (walking around the class). 

I wanted to establish a central floor teaching space where students could sit, and rearranged students’ desks accordingly. This arrangement was changed three times in response to classroom dynamics, as I had to separate several conflicting personalities. These photos show my final, workable arrangement.

I was also able to create and laminate a class visual timetable (schedule), as well as my students’ personalised nametags for their desks and supply tubs. Sadly, I never got a chance to use these labels for real - they became my parting gift to my students as we parted.

Lessons Learnt

• Consider student dynamics when creating seating plans – and don’t be afraid to change plans if they aren’t working
• If space permits, I’d use a horseshoe seating arrangement with my next class.
• An empty classroom & bare walls can be quite confronting! It is important to establish student work-displays as soon as possible.
• My laminated visual timetable & student desk labels were an excellent idea. The students loved the personalised nametags, and I think they helped give them some ownership of the classroom space. 
• In time, I’d like to bring in cushions or an old couch for silent reading. Realistically, there was no space for these here.
• I also realised the need to develop a recording system to keep track of students’ contributions of classroom consumables – those tissues are worth their weight in gold!
  

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Developing our Classroom Rules & Expectations

Faced with a wide range of ability levels, personalities and challenging behaviours; classroom management in Room 11 was always going to be a challenge.

It took me some time to learn how to manage the ‘dominant personalities’; and to conform to school expectations regarding the use of extrinsic rewards (sticker charts and prizes) and classroom management forms.

I’m no fan of extrinsic rewards, as I prefer group reward systems. I had contemplated the idea of establishing a whole-class reward time on Friday afternoons (jokingly called the “Friday Free-for-All”), for students demonstrating good behaviour during the week. I would like to try this with my next class; for based on my relief observations, 30 mins reward time can make a huge difference to class morale and behaviour.

In these early days, I spent a great deal of my time learning about my students; building positive relationships and sharing a little bit of myself (including my horrendous sense of humour). I put a few photos and funny cartoons up alongside my desk (to cheer myself up), and made a point of learning students’ names (no easy feat!). This would later prove “time well spent”. 

Lessons learnt

• This experience was a valuable opportunity to implement my management approach, which I have blogged extensively about in the past (see The 3R’s of Effective Learning Environments and My Jigsaw Approach to Classroom Management)
• I realised that I have sound classroom management skills (and an ironic sense of humour) which stood me in good stead as I worked to establish my classroom community.
• This was the first time I’ve ever negotiated classroom rules, taught routines, and established my behavioural expectations – and the process worked well. I was surprised at how quickly students began to settle and bond as a group. 
• I also realised the importance of adhering to whole-school classroom management plans – whether I particularly like them or not!

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Looking Back

Teaching Room 11 for those 6 days was a transformative learning experience. It was one I had to undertake, and I know I am now much better equipped to establish a new class in the future.

Yet, so many good things came out of what was, at the time, a deeply traumatic event. So many opportunities to learn, grow, and connect. I have no regrets, no ill-feelings. But I will never forget my Room 11, the “class that never was”.

Guest Post: Classroom Management – Donald Trump Style

In today’s guest post, Sam Rangel (@samrangelSITC) from SuccessintheClassroom.com explores some of the key elements of an effective classroom management approach, sharing the benefits of his 20+ years middle school (Yrs 6-8) teaching experience in California, USA. 

As a new teacher, I’ve found the SuccessintheClassroom blog to be an extremely relevant & practical professional learning resource. Sam’s grasp of the everyday realities and challenges faced by new teachers around the world is second to none, and I hope he continues to share his expertise for many years to come.

Now, on that note, we proudly bring you:

Classroom Management – Donald Trump Style.

Reflections on Classroom Management (Index)

My Experiences, Philosophy, & Reflections

1. Thoughts on Classroom Management
2. A Process of Trial & Error – Developing my Management Approach
3. My Jigsaw Approach to Classroom Management
4. The Conscious Competence Ladder (Skill Development)
5. The Four Stages in My Teaching Practice
6. Classroom Management – Summing Up

The 3 R’s of Effective Learning Environments

1. Setting the Scene
2. Overview of the 3 R’s
3. Transforming a Year 3 class into a learning community
4. The Third ‘R’ – Shared Responsibility for the Learning Process
5. My experiences with the Third ‘R’

‘The Theory of Bumps’ (Bennett & Smilanich, 1994)

1. The Key Principles
2. Explanation & Suggested Strategies

The 3 Keys to Working with Challenging Students

1. Introduction
2. What is a “problem” or challenging behaviour?
   
3. Part 1: Building Positive Relationships
4. Part 2: The Classroom Learning Environment
5. Part 3: The Teacher’s Attitude, Actions, & Management Approach
   
6. Responding to Anger

Building Positive Relationships

1. Small Talk: “From little things, big things grow”
2. Relief Teaching – Chalk & Small Talk!
3. Get Involved with Breakfast / Lunchtime Clubs
4. The Importance of Active Listening

Top Tips for Teachers – Behaviour Management (Video)

Cracking the Hard Class

Classroom Management: Summing Up

Reflecting on my classroom management approach for A Relief Teacher’s Journey, I have gained some surprising personal insights into my relief teaching experience and professional development.

I am not an expert classroom manager by any means, but I have become a much more effective and competent relief teacher. I still have a few areas for improvement, and I expect to further develop my professional skills and practice over the coming years. No doubt, you will probably read about it here sometime in 2011! 

Now, as I prepare to move on to fresh topics, I will leave you with one of the most insightful teaching cartoons I have ever seen. I’m not sure who the author is, but I suspect they may have had relief / substitute teaching experience!

Cracking the Hard Class

As a relief teacher, I’ve come across many tough and extremely challenging classes, taught by graduate and experienced teachers alike.

Walking into, and taking control of the ‘hard class’ is one of the greatest challenges of my job, and I have learnt that there is no “one size fits all” approach. These classes are hard work, but most can be won over in time.

As I write this penultimate post on my classroom management approach, I thought I would share my experiences in a Year 4 class, in July 2010. Over the course of three days, I managed to take control of one of the most challenging class I have encountered as a relief teacher, marking a personal triumph of my first year.

Top Tips for Teachers – Behaviour Matters (TeacherTube™)

This is a tongue-in-cheek look at effective instruction and classroom management. It’s well worth watching. (Click to view)

A Focus on the Teacher’s Attitude, Actions & Management Approach

The classroom teacher’s attitude, demonstrated through their words, actions, body language and management approach, is the most significant factor in successfully working with challenging students.

My father taught me that “when dealing with people’s problems, you need to lift the bandaid to understand why they behave as they do”. I believe teachers can play an important role in ‘lifting the bandaid and treating the festering sore beneath’.

This ‘bandaid’ metaphor describes my attitude and approach to dealing with students with ‘problem’ behaviours and special needs. (What is a ‘problem’ or challenging behaviour)

My Attitude & Actions

• I understand that challenging students’ behaviour(s) are purposeful, and try to acknowledge their emotions & circumstances as valid and real.
• As teachers, we have no control over the emotional baggage our students bring to school, and indeed, some have extremely complex problems.
• What we can do; however, is acknowledge their emotions, and work to identify the purpose(s) of their behaviour.
  • This involves trying to neutralise the environmental triggers, intervening before the behaviour occurs.
  • It also involves teaching the child how to understand and better manage their emotions & behaviour.
• We can also work to engage these students in their learning by:
  • incorporating their interests & talents into classroom learning activities
  • modifying teaching and learning processes to enable students’ participation in their learning (e.g. reducing reading content, asking peers to scribe information)

How does my Attitude inform my Management Approach?

As a professional relief teacher working in unfamiliar classes, I try to observe & win-over my challenging students. I may only work in the class for the day, but if/when I return, I can plan my management approach accordingly.

To this end, I initially focus on proactive, preventative behaviour management measures. I observe and privately talk to the student in question, watching how they interact with other students and the relief teacher. If the negative or testing behaviours continue, I apply a system of graduated consequences based on 1-2-3 Magic™, bumping students towards Timeout, Buddy Class & ultimately Office Withdrawal.

I try to work along this continuum over time (a few hours). While this means I may temporarily put up with certain behaviours, it enables me to start identifying the purposes & triggers of the ‘problem’ behaviours. I suppose the only caveat is that you need to know and understand the school’s behaviour management policies, as I’ve been caught out on occasion by some radically different whole-school approaches.

As I’ve described in earlier posts, I supplement my in-class management approach by working to develop positive relationships with my most challenging students. Relief teaching is a difficult job at the best of times, but targeted relationship building efforts can help to significantly reduce your management challenges over time. 

Summing Up

I view my challenging students as a “a work in progress”. I’ve had my successes and failures, but I’ve been surprised to find that some of my most challenging students’ have incredible talents, interests, and intellect. Their considered contributions to class discussions and creative talents have, at times, amazed me.

Working with challenging students requires considerable time, effort and patience, but as I have found, the rewards are worth it.

Challenging Students: Dealing with Student Anger, Defiance, Aggression, and Violence

As a relief teacher, I meet and work with challenging students on a regular basis; and it is fair to say that my 2008 school experience and 2009 relief teaching experience in a TRIBES school have defined my attitude and management approach towards these students.

My experiences, observations, and professional learning in these schools underpin my ongoing efforts as a relief teacher to win-over and build effective relationships with my most challenging students. They have also contributed to some of my major success stories working with students that some dread to teach.

Common Characteristics of Challenging Students

• Their behaviour disrupts the learning process, verbally or physically harms others, frustrates their teachers, and often results in office withdrawal or school suspension. 
• They are usually male, ranging in age from 7-12 years old (K-7). I have also worked with some challenging female students, but they are usually found in upper primary. 
• They can be socially-isolated, or associate themselves with students with similar background experiences. 
• Their behaviour is directly linked to the emotional / social baggage they bring to school, and is motivated and purposeful.
• They generally can’t cope with changes in classroom routines, and are more likely to negatively respond to relief teachers. 
• The attitude and management approach of the classroom teacher, and school staff, are CRITICAL to a successful intervention with a challenging students

 The Three Keys to Working with Challenging Students

1. Focus on Building Positive Relationships
2. Focus on the Classroom Learning Environment
3. Focus on the Teacher’s Attitude, Professional Knowledge, and Management Approach

I will be discussing these “Three Keys” in the context of Rod Plevin’s (2009) eBook: MAGIC Classroom Management: How to get the most from the worst kids in school (www.classroom-management.org), as his approach mirrors the lessons I have learnt over the past few years.

Dealing with Challenging Behaviour (Belize Teacher Training)

 

The “Theory of Bumps”

The “Theory of Bumps” (Bennett & Smilanich, 1994) is a framework which guides teachers’ responses to student misbehaviour along a continuum of severity.
 
The Key Principles of the “Theory of Bumps”

• An effective teacher expects and plans for student misbehaviour as a natural part of the learning process. They aim to prevent or reduce the severity of student misbehaviour, minimising its’ impact on the learning process.
• Student misbehaviour is purposeful, falling into one or several categories - attention seeking, power seeking, revenge, assumed failure (the “I can’t” syndrome
• Student misbehaviour is designed to provoke particular teacher responses, which often escalate/reinforce the negative behaviours
• Teachers have no influence over the emotional baggage their students bring to school. The only thing they CAN control is their response to students’ misbehaviour

Trust Me, This Works

I can personally attest to the practical effectiveness of the “Theory of Bumps”, as it underpins and influences my proactive classroom management approach, as articulated in previous postings.

Part 3: The 3 R's of an Effective Learning Environment

The 3 R's: Relationships, Respect & (Shared) Responsibility

In the course of their everyday work, a teacher takes on many roles – teacher, guide, role-model, learner, authority figure, confidante, disciplinarian, communicator, and the list goes on. Teaching is so much more than “chalk and talk”, and our students are not the “empty vessels” of Charles Dickens’ Hard Times.

As a relief teacher, I have worked with and observed the practice of experienced classroom managers, and realised that their classes have several important features in common. They are characterised by positive, open relationships (with students, parents, and colleagues), mutual respect, and a shared responsibility for the learning process. These are the “3 R’s of an Effective Learning Environment”.

The Teacher’s Attitude is Key

Student misbehaviour, in most cases, is not a subversive challenge to the teacher’s authority. Yes, some students can be extremely frustrating, distant and downright irritating, but they are children, and should be treated as such. Their behaviour can be extremely challenging and disruptive, but it often purposeful and influenced by their social environment.

Research shows that effective classroom managers treat student misbehaviour as a natural and normal part of schooling. They take proactive steps to prevent or reduce the severity of their students’ misbehaviour, seeking to minimise the disruption to the teaching & learning process.

As many experienced teachers have taught me, through their words and actions, the creation of a safe learning environment and the development of positive student-teacher relationships are key elements of effective management practice. 

A focus on the students' needs

As human beings, we have three basic needs – the need for food, shelter, and safety. It is a symptom of modern society that a significant proportion of our students only feel safe at school. In some neighbourhoods, many students turn up to school hungry, having skipped breakfast. Therefore, teachers and schools play an important role in their students’ lives. 

A safe classroom learning environment is created by the teacher, developed through their words, attitudes, actions, classroom management approach, and the kinds of relationships they develop with their students. 

I have two fundamental beliefs:

• No student should fear their teacher.
• No student deserves to be intimidated, bullied, or provoked into violence by their classmates. 

To feel safe, our students:

• Need clear guidelines or rules for appropriate behaviour. They need to own those rules, and understand the consequences they face if they choose not to abide by them.
• Need to be treated with respect; as individuals with diverse interests, skills, and talents.
• Need to feel like they belong, a sense of identity as part of a class, a school community
• Need a sense of purpose, and degree of shared responsibility for the learning process

Finally, EVERY student has the right to feel safe at school, especially those students who exhibit challenging/violent behaviours. Some of the best teachers I have ever worked with, including my own Year 1 teacher, strive to make this happen. This is a difficult, long-term process, and you will have your successes and failures. This is why I became a teacher. 

Part 2 - My Jigsaw Approach to Classroom Management

Back in 2008, my reflections on my school experience and professional reading led me to develop a practical construct to describe my classroom management approach. The result was:

My “Jigsaw” Approach to Classroom Management

Key Ideas

1. The classroom teacher's attitude to student misbehaviour underpins the effectiveness of their management response.

2. A safe learning environment relies on positive teacher-student relationships and positive peer relationships. Teachers can develop such relationships by taking a meaningful interest in their students' lives, and promoting an anti-bullying ethos through their words and actions.

3. Make an effort to forge positive, respectful relationships with your more challenging students. Study the purpose and triggers of their behaviours, and learn about their backgrounds. Use behaviour management strategies which target the cause of their misbehaviour, and remember they too have the right to a safe learning environment.

4. A proactive classroom management approach relates to the facilitation of the teaching and learning process as well as the preventative management of student misbehaviour.

5. Fairly and consistently apply your system of graduated consequences. Ideally, such consequences should foster student self discipline and bring about behaviour change.

(Michael Graffin, November 2008)

What does it all mean?

The "Jigsaw" construct represents the four interrelated dimensions of a harmonious and productive teaching & learning environment. If one or more of the jigsaw 'pieces' are missing, the classroom environment becomes dysfunctional. Looking back on my 2008 experiences, I believe the key to the transformation of my class into a vibrant learning community was the creation of a safe learning environment, the missing piece of the puzzle.

Translating Theory into Practice

As my early relief teaching experiences soon revealed, there is a significant difference between having professional knowledge about classroom management and actually applying that knowledge in your professional practice.

As mentioned above, each "jigsaw piece" is critical to a successful classroom management approach. While I thought I was relatively competent in each dimension, I soon discovered that I had a lot to learn.

Engaging in frequent reflection on my classroom management strengths and weaknesses as a relief teacher, I

• Engaged in extensive professional reading, focussing on excerpts from Classroom Management: A Thinking & Caring Approach, by Barrie Bennett & Peter Smilanich
• Discussed my situation & potential management strategies with experienced classroom teachers and Deputy Principals
• Set goals for improvement; experimenting with and refining my use of various management strategies.

Through this long-term reflective process, I have become a more confident and competent classroom manager, and a more effective relief teacher. I have undergone significant professional growth in this area, but recognising the different challenges of different classes and schools, the reflective process continues to this day.