1

Domain Two: Classroom Management

By Andrew Zegelin
EDUC 540
October !" #04
2
Managing a classroom is like managing a business. Give the employees clear tasks,
ofer them positive feedback and sell them on the purpose of their current activities.
Classroom management is crucial to efective teaching. All the planning in the orld
ill mean nothing if the students the lesson as designed for can not sit still or pay
attention. !ays that teachers can maintain control in a positive ay are by creating
an environment of respect, organi"ing their students properly, and setting routines
to manage the class and student behavior. #his is a learned skill. $eing a leader
means being an e%ample. &#eachers not only model and teach students ho to
engage in respectful actions ith one another but also acknoledge such
interactions' ()anielson **+. ,o in order for a teacher to lead their classroom to
successful learning, the teacher must model that behavior so student e%pectations
are clear.
-ositive teacher language creates the atmosphere of positivity. Mary ,ullivan shared
a story about a teacher ho confused her negative behavior ith the students
negative behavior. .f teachers emphasis good behaviors, than students ill focus
more on hat they are doing right and less on hat they are doing rong. &$eing
clear about hat is e%pected ill help students focus. -robably the most obvious
aspect of efective classroom management involved the design and implementation
of classroom rules and procedures' (Mar"ano 1*+. .t is not only important to create
a routine but to also stick to the routine. .f a teacher says e ill be doing these
things every day or every eek, but is inconsistent, then there really is no point in
creating a routine. &Clearly the research supports the notion that designing and
implementing rules and procedures in class and even at home has a profound
impact on student behavior and on d keeping to it student learning' (Mar"ano 1/+.
A classroom routine keeps students on task. #hey kno hat they should be doing,
so the teacher is spending less time re0e%plaining hat they should be doing. 1or
me, in order to manage my classroom better, . plan on changing my teacher
language. . ant to start focusing more on the positive behaviors. . 2nd that if .
publicly praise a student ho is modeling the correct behavior, those ho have not
gotten in line yet ill see hat they should be doing and ideally, follo suite.
-raising good behavior ill not only change the ay . compose myself, but also ho
the students interact ith me and each other. Another tactic . ould like to ork on
is classroom discipline. &)isciplinary action should include a healthy balance
beteen negative conse3uences for inappropriate behavior and positive
conse3uences for inappropriate behavior & (Mar"ano 45+. A deterrent that . had as
the language barrier hen contacting parents. . ork at an international school in
6uito, 7cuador. My ,panish is good, but my spelling is terrible. .t as not until . grit
my teeth and tried did . 2nd that the parents ere about to speak to me in 7nglish
and voice their concerns and apologies for their kids behavior. ,o another tactic .
ill start doing is 8otting don on my roster, ho often they participate, hen they
are of task, and hether or not . need to contact their parents. !hen students see
that . am taking action, . feel they ill take the course more seriously.
*
!hen students are invested, they care more about the course. A recent activity that
e orked on in class as a ,ocratic ,eminar. . chose 3uestions that . kne the
students could relate to. .n order to conduct the seminar, . had to change the
arrangement of the classroom to create a circle. . found it not only gave an
appropriate design for the seminar, but it also changed the class feeling for my
other classes as ell. .t is more discussion based and student centered than before.
. have been orking ith my C# often about ho to limit the amount of lecture . do
in class so the course is driven through student discovery. 9oever, something that
. have found is that . may need to change the arrangement so the group goes boy
girl boy girl, or certain students must sit at certain corners. #he change came from
student feedback. .t is important to involve students in the creative process
(Mar"ano 2:+. . 2nd that it is important to listen to students to hear hat they ant.
$y gearing my class in a more student centered ay and being more aare of my
teacher talk, the class ill become a better learning environment. &#eacher0student
relationships are critical to the success of the to other aspects of efective
classroom management ; rules and procedures, and disciplinary interventions'
(Mar"ano /4+. !hen students are apart of the process, they care more. .t becomes
more there and they buy into the course more than they ould if they ere not
involved. $ut the teacher still needs to have the ,tudent0#eacher dynamic. &#o build
good relationships ith students, it is important to communicate appropriate levels
of dominance and to let students kno that you are in control of the class and are
illing and able to lead' (Mar"ano /4+. ,tudents like to test limits. !hat can they
get aay ith in class< .f a teacher is consistent about rules, policies, and
procedures, students ill kno that misbehavior ill be dealt ith. ,tudents ill
also kno that their good behavior ill be praised. #his gives them a reason to be
apart of the class and care. !hen students care, students are take pride in their
ork and reach the high e%pectations of the teacher for the students ()anielson
*:+.
#hough . have had si% years of teaching e%perience and group management prior to
starting my career at my current high school, . found 3uickly that this is a
completely diferent e%perience. &9elping ne teachers develop a positive
environment is essential' (,ullivan+. . feel that my administration is giving me a
great amount of support. #hen from reading the =arry 1arla""o article, e are shon
that 8ust because a classroom goes bad, it does not mean that the teacher can not
grab hold of the reigns again. #here is alays and opportunity to change. .t is up to
the teacher, the leader, to design the change, sell the students on the change, and
facilitate the change. All this ill lead to a positive student centered classroom
atmosphere hich is not only en8oyable for the students, but for the teacher as ell.
4
!ork cited
>obert ? Mar"ano, ?ana , Mar"ano, )ebra -ickering (255*+ Classroom Management
That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Every Teacher Association for
,upervision @ Curriculum development (A,C)+
=arry 1erla""o A "Good" Class Gone "Bad" and Back to "Good" !gain AC,)
7%press httpABB.ascd.orgBascd0e%pressBvol4B45C0ferla""o.asp%
Mary ,ullivan Transforming Teacher Talk AC,) 7%press httpABB.ascd.orgBascd0
e%pressBvol4B45C0sullivan.asp%
Charlotte )anielson (2514+ "rame#ork for Teaching: Eval$ation %nstr$ment &'()*
ediction+ )anielson Group -)1