Thoughts on Classroom Management

Last week I had the opportunity to observe one of the 5th grade teachers in his classroom. I wanted to do this because I wanted to see what 5th grade looked and sounded like on a regular basis, because when they come to art they are usually much noisier and inattentive than I would like.

I was able to observe some whole class instruction as well as work time and some transitions to new things. I was very impressed with the general atmosphere of the class. The students did not talk when the teacher was talking and they seemed to be paying attention and looking in the right direction. Occasionally the teacher reminded certain students to close their desk or look up front. I feel like in my classroom I am constantly reminding students to look at what I'm showing them or to stop whispering when I'm giving directions. I realize you always have to do that to some extent, but I feel I do it too much. When I discussed this with the teacher he said that one way he works on that is to change seats often, about once a week. And to make it clear to the whole class that if they can't work next to those people they will be moved right away. And then he is consistent about that rule. He doesn't give any more warnings, instead he moves them to a new desk, or temporarily puts them at an isolated desk. This sounds like logical stuff I already do, but I think the key is being consistent. I would like to work on this for next year, mostly being consistent about my consequences. I cannot change seats once a week when I only see them once a week. But I can move them. Perhaps to the back table, or to sit on the floor up at the front when my tables are already full. Another aspect of this is knowing your students well. This year has been better for me in that regard since it is my second year. I can more quickly see a potential problem. But I still need to work on it. I need to address the problem immediately instead of constantly asking the same 3 students to stop talking.

I also observed that when they transitioned to a new topic he gave them a few minutes to get their materials ready. But what I noticed most is that the students used that time to actually get ready, and when they were done they sat at their desk and were either quiet or quietly whispering to their neighbors. Again, I think being consistent with expectations, routines, and consequences is how he achieved this. I do feel that I am consistent with my routines and expectations. However, the effect is diminished because I see them less frequently. Perhaps I need to spend more time than I have at the beginning of the year in establishing those routines and expectations. Even with 5th grade I should "assume the students know nothing" and treat it as if they've never been to my art class before. I also wonder if maybe the chaos during transitions could be curbed if fewer students were moving around the room. I subbed in an art room where there was one helper table each week and that one table was in charge of passing out supplies to all tables, and at clean up each table organized their supplies for the helper table to pick up. That way only 4-5 kids were moving around. My current system works, but can be chaotic if there are lots of supplies to get because more and more kids are up and moving.

The last big thing I observed was work time. The students were looking up words in dictionaries. I liked how they whispered to their neighbors, but it was quiet and it was usually related to their assignment. When I asked the teacher about this he mentioned that he had to have a discussion with the class earlier in the year about what acceptable talking looked and sounded like during work time. The students really did not seem to understand what was acceptable. For his class, acceptable meant quiet whispers, it should be related to the assignment not a side conversation, and the teacher should still see your eyes on your paper and pencil writing not constantly staring into space or chatting about other stuff. I have never thought to talk with my class about this, but I think I will have to in the future, and remind them frequently what work time should look and sound like. A certain amount of talking is ok, but I should be able to hear the students next to me and I should be able to address the whole class without having to yell over them.

All in all, I loved observing the 5th graders. I wish I could observe every grade. It gives me a better understanding of what is expected of them in other settings, which helps me shape my own expectations. If I could have a little computer chip in my brain that reminded me what a certain teacher expects of his class and what techniques he uses to encourage good behavior it would be so helpful. Because when I can be consistent with the general classroom teacher then hopefully students would learn more quickly that they are expected to act the same in art as they do in their classroom. But 20+ teachers is a lot to remember, a building-wide behavior/discipline plan would help a lot in this area. Especially for specialists, who see most of the students in the building.

Thoughts on any of this? Do you have a building-wide plan and does it help?