The one stop English
debate: Classroom management
Author:
Adrian Tennant
Type:
article
This
month Adrian Tennant kicks off a debate about classroom management. He examines
a number of areas often lumped together under the umbrella term 'Classroom
Management' and suggests an approach to dealing with these issues and problems.
If you would like to share your thoughts on
this hot topic, please have your say in the onestopenglish Forum.
Introduction | Looking at the issues | So, how should we view the issues?
| So, how do we deal with the issues?
| Why is this important? |
From Macro to Micro and back again
| Who should be responsible for
managing the classroom? | Sharing
Earlier
this week a colleague asked me how he could manage his class. At first I was a
bit lost as to what to say so I asked him exactly what he meant by managing
his class. His reply left me pondering a whole series of questions and
reminded me of the number of times I've been asked to do workshops on the theme
of classroom management.
Briefly,
some of the problems he had were: discipline; motivation (or lack of); a wide
range of knowledge; covering all the material and getting the students to
complete the tasks set.
When
it comes to classroom management issues I think part of the problem is the way
we approach them. To start with they are often seen as problems. This
initial negativity creates an issue in itself. Rather than being seen as part
and parcel of the teaching process, they are seen as being weaknesses and
things that shouldn't happen to a 'good' teacher. In reality they are often
things that most, if not all, teachers have had to deal with throughout their
teaching career.
To
start with, we should understand that we're not alone in facing these issues
and we may well find that our colleagues can help. Having problems with our
classes isn't something we should be ashamed of, but something we should share
in order to find a solution (and I was glad that my colleague felt comfortable
enough to do this with me).
Secondly,
we need to see these as issues that can be solved. Challenges that will, in the
end, make us teachers who are better equipped to help our students.
The
starting point is to explore the issues. I've found that asking myself a series
of questions can help. These are the questions:
·
What
is the problem?
·
How
does it affect the class?
·
What
are the underlying reasons for the problem?
·
What
do I do about these at the moment?
·
Are
any of the things I do effective?
·
Why
(not)?
Once
I've gone through these questions I have a clearer picture about what the issue
is, what might be causing it and how I am currently trying to deal with it.
It's
vital to have a clearer picture of what the problem (or issue) is. Often the
main problem is a lack of understanding. We know we have a problem and we've
categorized it in broad terms, i.e. under the heading of discipline or mixed
abilities. But categorizing the problem doesn't actually help us deal with
it (at least not unless we go further, or deeper).
Asking
ourselves what the effects are on the class - how the problem manifests itself
- will help us understand why it's a problem (why it annoys us or causes us
distress). It will also help us later on when we try to find solutions.
The
next step is to explore the underlying reasons. If someone is misbehaving and
it disrupts the class (other students can't concentrate, the teacher gets
angry, we don't cover all of the material etc.) we know what the problem is and
what the consequences are, but we are no closer to a solution. If we know why
they are misbehaving (the class is too easy, they are bored, they have problems
at home etc.), then we are in a better position to actually do something that
will lead to a change.
Finally,
it's useful to look at what we are currently doing. Clearly, if what we were
doing was working then we wouldn't still have the problem. In most cases we
start to fret about the problem because we've been unable to come up with a
solution (this is when the issue has shifted to become a problem).
Often
the first thing we do when faced with a problem is to try and categorize it in
broad terms (and this is how most literature seems to deal with classroom
management isues). However, as we've already seen, this is not particularly
helpful. What we need to do is dissect the problem and try to find out exactly
why it's happening. Once we've gone to this micro level we will almost
certainly find that there is more than one contributing factor or reason. This
might at first appear unhelpful, but in reality we are more likely to be able
to address these small issues than the overall problem. By tackling each of the
underlying causes we will eventually solve the original issue (or at least make
it less of a problem).
For
example, one of the problems my colleague had was to do with discipline. He had
a student who was being disruptive and he was finding him difficult to deal
with. I asked him what this student was doing. It turned out that she was
constantly taking out her mobile phone and texting while the other students
were working. The teacher had tried to remove the phone and this had led to an
argument. Then, rather than playing with her phone, the student had started
reading a newspaper and was still being disruptive.
So,
we knew what the issue was, we knew what the effect on the class was and we
knew what action had been taken so far (and what effect that had had). But what
hadn't been explored were the causes (the underlying reasons) behind this
behaviour. In the end it turned out that the student was bored. She found the
topics uninteresting as she didn't know much about the topics in the
coursebook, and she found the tasks too difficult. By pairing her up with a
stronger student who was willing to help, and by discussing the topic
beforehand it was possible to help the student.
Although
the teacher should take overall responsibility, quite often students can deal
with problems themselves. It is important that we make students aware of how
their behaviour affects other people around them and that we create an
atmosphere in the classroom that encourages open discussion. Obviously, there
are some problems (and underlying reasons) that are private and we need to be
sensitive to these. However, creating an environment in which people feel they
have a say and where views can be aired can only be a good thing. Treating your
students as intelligent people and encouraging them to be responsible for their
own learning, and to be aware of each other, helps to reduce the onus on the
teacher.
A
problem shared is a problem halved, or so the saying goes.
·
Have
you had any classroom management issues?
·
How
did you deal with them?
·
Do
you currently have any classroom management issues you would like to share?
·
Do
you have any useful suggestions or tips?
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