Classroom Management that Works

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Classroom Management that Works

• Robert J. Marzano

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Are Good Classroom Managers Born or Made?

• Fortunately, the answer to this question is that
  effective classroom managers are made.
• Good classroom managers are teachers who
  understand and use specific techniques
• Becoming a good manager can happen relatively
  quickly

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Four important aspects of classroom management

• Establishing classroom rules and procedures
• Disciplinary interventions
• Teacher-student relationships
• Mental set

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Rules and Procedures

• Action Step 1 Identify specific rules and
  procedures for your classroom in the following
  general categories
• General expectations for behavior (bringing
  materials to class, being in the assigned seat,
  talking and not talking at specific times,
  leaving the seat, respecting property
• Beginning and ending the period (attendance,
  dealing with tardiness, homework)
• Transitions and interruptions (leaving and
  returning to the room, using the bathroom, fire
  drills
• Materials and Equipment (distributing and
  collecting materials etc.)
• Group work (expected behavior, movement in and
  out)
• Seatwork and teacher-led activities (talking,
  attention etc.)
• Effective teachers provide a rationale for their
  rules to students

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Disciplinary Interventions

• Below is a list of behaviors of teachers that
  students consider inappropriate (Kearney, Plax,
  Hays, Ivey, 1991)
• Absenteeism, tardiness
• Keeping students overtime
• Early dismissal
• Straying from the subject matter
• Being unprepared or unorganized
• Being late returning work
• Sarcasm and put-downs
• Verbal abuse
• Unreasonable and arbitrary rules
• Lack of response to student questions
• Sexual harassment
• Apathy toward students
• Unfair grading practices
• negative personality
• Showing favoritism

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Action Step 1 Employ specific techniques that
reinforce acceptable behavior and provide
negative consequences for unacceptable behavior

• Teacher Reaction (non-verbal -gt verbal)
• Make eye contact with offending student by moving
  closer to him.
• Use a physical signal such as a finger to the
  lips or a shake of the head
• If student is off task provide a simple verbal
  reminder-ideally as privately and subtly as
  possible.
• Simply state the desired appropriate behavior
• Tell the student to stop the inappropriate
  behavior
• Teacher reaction is also an effective technique
  for reinforcing appropriate behavior

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• Tangible Recognition involves the use of some
  concrete-symbol of appropriate behavior
• Direct Cost involve an explicit and direct
  consequence for inappropriate behavior
• Oriented toward negative consequences for student
  behavior
• Strategies include detention, isolation,
  time-out
• Group contingencies similar to tangible
  recognition techniques except that they apply
  to a pre-established group of students.
• Home contingencies making parents aware of the
  negative and positive behaviors of their children

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Action Step 2 Establish clear limits for
unacceptable behavior

• Establish the number of slips in protocol that
  would be considered acceptable in a given time
• Can allow students to be involved in their own
  management
• Establishing fair expectations regarding behavior

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Teacher-Student Relationships

• Keystone for other factors
• If teacher has a good relationship with students,
  then students more readily accept the rules and
  procedures and disciplinary actions that follow
• Consequently without a good relationship,
  students resist rules and procedures along with
  the consequent disciplinary actions
• Teachers should demonstrate High dominance and
  high cooperation. (neither extreme)
• High dominance characterized by clarity of
  purpose and strong guidance
• High cooperation characterized by a concern for
  the needs and opinions of others

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Optimal student-teacher relationship

• Briefly, teachers should be effective
  instructors and lecturers, as well as friendly,
  helpful and congenial. They should be a able to
  empathize with students, understand their world,
  and listen to them. Good teachers are not
  uncertain, undecided, or confusing in the way
  they communicate with students. They are not
  grouchy, gloomy, dissatisfied, aggressive,
  sarcastic, or quick-tempered. They should be
  able to set standards and maintain control while
  still allowing students responsibility and
  freedom to learn.
• Students prefer teachers who provide direct
  attention to disciplinary problems but not in an
  inflexible way

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Action Step 1 Use specific techniques to
establish an appropriate level of dominance in
the classroom

• Exhibiting Assertive Behavior
• Use of assertive body language
• Making and keeping eye contact, maintaining an
  erect posture, facing the offending student but
  keeping enough distance so as not to appear
  threatening
• Use of appropriate tone of voice
• Speaking clearly and deliberately using a pitch
  slightly but not greatly elevated
• avoiding any indication of emotion
• Persisting until appropriate behavior is
  displayed

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Action Step 2 Use specific techniques that
communicate an appropriate level of cooperation

• Provide flexible learning goals
• Taking a personal interest in students talking
  informally, greeting students outside of school,
  extracurricular activities, lunchroom etc.
• Using equitable and positive classroom behaviors
  eye contact, ownership of ideas, encouraging
  all students participation, providing
  appropriate wait time
• Responding Appropriately to Students Incorrect
  Responses- emphasizing what was right,
  encouraging collaboration, restating the
  question, rephrasing the question, providing
  hints or cues

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Action Step 3 Be aware of the needs of different
types of students

• Passive
• Aggressive (hostile, oppositional, overt)
• Attention problems
• Perfectionist
• Socially inept

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Mental Set

• Effective educators approach the classroom with a
  specific frame of mind -
• withitness or eyes in the back of the head
• Remaining with it (aware of what is
  happening in all parts of the classroom at all
  times) by continuously scanning the classroom,
  even when working with small groups or
  individuals. Also demonstrating this withitness
  to students by intervening promptly and
  accurately when inappropriate behavior threatens
  to become disruptive. This minimizes timing
  errors (failing to notice until an incident has
  already become disruptive) and target errors
  (mistakes in identifying the students responsible
  for the problem)

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Action Step 1 employ specific techniques to
maintain or heighten your awareness of the
actions of students in your classes

• Reacting immediately scan classroom and faces
  of students to detect problems
• - Use eye contact or move toward students
• Forecasting problems mentally review what might
  go wrong with specific students in specific
  situations
• Observing a Master Teacher

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Action Set 2 Employ specific techniques to
maintain a healthy emotional objectivity with
students

• Looking for reasons why dont personalize
  misbehavior
• Have positive expectations
• .it is critical for you not to carry anger,
  resentment, and other hostile feelings once a
  discipline situation is over. If you are angry
  with a student from an incident that happened the
  day before, you might enter a power struggle just
  to flex your muscles and show who is boss.
  Dont. Start fresh each day.
• (Curwin and Mendler, 1988)