CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT.

1. INTRODUCTION

Ms. Tara K, who is a lecturer in College of Nursing, was teaching research process to General Nursing and Midwifery third-year students. Ms. Sandy, a student of this class, was sitting in the back row and was laughing continuously without any reason (although she was not mad). The teacher noticed this disrupted behavior and reminded her about this. For a while, Sandy becomes silent but after 2–3 minutes, she again started the same nonsense. The teacher warned her verbally and asked her to stand up and keep standing until she permits her to sit down. After 10 minutes, the teacher thought that this is enough penalties for Sandy's disruptive behavior and she asked her to sit down. Surprisingly! The student did not obey the command of her teac....

2. PURPOSES OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

• To ensure that classroom teaching run smoothly despite the disruptive behavior shown by some students.
• To intimate the students what is expected from them.
• To maximize the time of academic learning.
• To prevent or minimize disruptive behavior shown by students.
• To provide an environment to the students this is conducive to learning.
• To exploit the maximum time for teaching learning activities.

  3. PRINCIPLES OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

  According to Brophy (1983), there are three general principles for good classroom management:

  • Willingness of the teacher to accept responsibility for classroom control.
  • Long-term, solution-oriented approaches to problems rather than short-term, cease/control responses.
  • Check to see if symptomatic behavior is caused by underlying personal problems, e.g., impulsivity, lack of awareness, home problems, and sickness.

  A variety of classroom management approaches can be used by the teacher to manage the classroom effectively. The use of these approaches largely depends on the educational psychology in which the teacher believes. Traditional classroom management involves behavior modification of the students for which a teacher can use Pavlov's classical conditioning approach or Skinner's operant conditioning approach. Another approach, which is relatively newer, is the holistic approach that uses affirmation teaching to manage classroom. It motivates the students to be self-disciplined and to put their own efforts toward their learning as well as managing classroom teaching learning environment.

  4. DOMAINS OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

  According to Eric Groves, there are five critical classroom management domains (Figure 6.1).

  
  

  

  
  

  Figure 6.1 Domains of Classroom Management

  5. CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

  5.1. Proactive Planning

  Proactive planning is preventive in nature and involves in-depth preparation of interesting and challenging teaching learning activities to keep the students engaged in the teaching–learning process during a class so that a successful and positive classroom climate can be maintained throughout the year.

  5.2. Systematic Arrangement of the Classroom

  A classroom that is highly congested is very difficult or sometimes impossible to manage. A well-managed classroom should be systematically arranged, facilitating to and fro movement of the teacher so that a teacher can move easily within the classroom to approach any student as well as every student can listen to the teacher without any difficulty and watch the AV aids clearly used by teacher. Sitting plan should be well organized in order that the teacher can keep a watch on all the students without any difficulty. Classroom should be well lighted and ventilated; temperature should be under control and AV aids equipment should be well fitted that will ensure the smooth running of the class throughout the academic year.

  6. BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION STRATEGIES

  6.1. Classical Conditioning Approach

  Great psychologist Pavlov developed the classical conditioning theory for behavior modification. By using classical conditioning, teachers have the ability to:

  • Affect student's likes/dislikes
  • Influence student's attitudes toward learning
  • Develop a respect for authority

  Affecting Students Likes/Dislikes

  Classical conditioning theory indicates that people develop an inclination for pleasant experiences and decline to experiences they find unpleasant.

  Influencing Students’ Attitudes Toward Learning

  Classical conditioning theory suggests that students will develop positive attitude toward learning, provided that they receive comments that evoke positive feelings such as “excellent,” “well done,” and so on.

  7. COMMON MISTAKES IN CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

  • Defining the problem behavior by how it looks without considering the root cause of it
  • Applying the same approach for every student
  • Rigidly following the rules and procedures
  • Inconsistency in expectations and consequences
  • Disrespectful teacher's behavior
  • Changing assignments or test dates without warning
  • Vulgarity
  • Harassing comments and actions, threats of harm to career
  • Arriving late for class, leaving early
  • Poor lecture/teaching skills
  • Refusing to answer questions posed by students
  • Deviating from the course syllabus

  Solution to Some Serious Common Classroom Problems

  THE ANGRY STUDENT

  • Open the door or move into the hall
  • Know his/her name
  • Reflect back his/her feeling
  • Buy time (the 24-hour rule)