Classroom Management
Lesson 1
Check Your Understanding Key:
1. Briefly describe the distinction between the terms “classroom management” and “classroom discipline.” After writing down your definition, do a quick web search on the term to see if other definitions agree with your understanding.
[Answer: You may make any of the following points - Discipline is actually just one component of many that fall under the heading of classroom management. In the words of author Harry Wong, author of How to be an effective teacher: The first days of school: “Classroom management is not discipline. You manage a store. You don't discipline a store. You manage a team. You don't discipline a team. You manage a classroom. You don't discipline a classroom” (Starr, 2005). “Discipline is teaching children self-control, not controlling or managing them” (Gootman, 1997, p. 17). Discipline is not merely punishment. Pick up any dictionary and you will see that the word is defined in terms of both prevention and remediation. The main goal of discipline is self-control. ]
2. Read the following characteristics of instruction. Do they describe proactive or reactive measures?
a. Miss Jones provides a detailed lesson plan and instructions for her substitute teacher.
b. Mr. Toms waits for problems to occur and responds with a punishment.
c. Mr. Jefferson posts classroom rules and consequences on the wall.
d. Miss Aims frequently sends misbehaving students to the principal’s office.
e. In Miss Crum’s literature class, students must take turns using a computer to do research, so Miss Crum provides a schedule for its use.
f. Mr. Smith knows he has several strong-willed students who tend to dictate the activities of whatever small group they are in. Mr. Smith designs the groups so that all his strong-willed students are in the same group.
[correct answer: Items a, c, e & f are proactive, and items b and d are reactive.]
3. From your readings, provide examples of at least three other proactive measures you have used or would like to try in your classroom:
a. ______
b. ______
c. ______
[Answers will vary, but might include examples of meeting basic student needs from the Mayeski article; providing a model for routines or procedures; providing practice of important procedures; providing clear expectations, etc.]
4. Do a brief web search to provide one example each for the following types of discipline:
a. Preventative discipline -
b. Supportive discipline -
c. Corrective discipline -
[Answers will vary, but an example for preventative discipline might include providing alternative activities for students who finish seatwork early so they do not become disruptive. An example for supportive discipline might be a classroom routine for use when the noise level is excessive that helps students control themselves. An example for corrective discipline might be time out for an infraction of a rule.]
5. At the beginning of the year, Mrs. Fletcher shares with colleagues that she is excited about her American Literature class. She has a real cross-section of youth from a variety of socio-economic, ethnic and cultural parts of the city and she is looking forward to the discussions they will have on several novels that deal with cross-cultural topics. A colleague, Ms. Lumbar, warns her that she had many of the class members in her English class the previous year and that several were trouble-makers and a number had real difficulty reading. If you were Mrs. Fletcher, what would you do? Would you listen to Ms. Lumbar and if so, what would you do or think based on her advice?
[You might respond that you would not listen to the advice to prevent pre-judging the students or developing biases, or you may suggest specific measures to deal proactively with the problems that the colleague reported.]
6. Your new school requires you to arrive two days prior to the start of classes to watch your choice of a series of videos on topics relating to teaching. You are short on time and would like to use at least half of one of those days to draft a classroom management plan for a positive classroom climate so that you will be prepared for the first day of class. Using the research on effective classroom management that you read in this lesson, write one or two paragraphs to your principal, justifying the importance of a classroom management plan and your use of this time to draft one.
[Your answer should include applicable research from this lesson or the readings, or other valid research you were able to locate.]
PSLC Classroom Management
Lesson 1
rev. 8-2008