Wow, time sure does fly. I have just completed week 4 of my #TeachAg journey leading up to student-teaching in January. To prepare as much as we can, even though nothing is quite like the real thing, each member of the cohort must take part in a variety of teaching labs with a different prompt. This past week's prompt was the first day of school where we were tasked to introduce expectations, procedures, and discipline guidelines. During these labs, our peers role played students with different personalities and behavioral problems, such as the "know-it-all," class clown, bully, talkative individual, and a variety of others.
I must say, I learned a lot just from the first lab about classroom management, getting a class off to a good start, and how to ensure that the tone of the class is set for the rest of the semester.
1. Classroom Management:
It is said that most student teachers fear not knowing how to handle student behavioral problem, which I can agree with. How do we, as pre-service teachers, develop a quick wittiness that can help squander problems before they begin and set a precedence to students that misconduct is unacceptable? My answer is through experience, and the only way we receive experience is through learning by doing. This is why my peers role play different personalities and behavioral problems during my teaching lab, to prepare me for some situations I will likely see while student-teaching.
Some specific pieces of information I learned are as follows:
-never embarrass a student, whether one-on-one or during class: there is a difference between constructively fixing a behavioral problem and degrading a student to the point that they feel stupid or embarrassed. It is a teacher's job to model and mold behaviors to their kids, but that does not have to be done through mortifying a child.
-never negotiate with a student during class: if a student with a behavioral problem is constantly pushing back at your authority or dismisses your requests, the best course of action is to meet after class one-on-one. It is not appropriate or professional to take instructional time away from other students in the class to deal with a student publicly.
-try to use the students behavioral issue as a strength, not a weakness. For example, one of my peers was role playing a very catty student during my lab. Instead of constantly telling her to keep her voice down and not talk over other people, I asked if she want to read something aloud to the class, present first, etc.
2 & 3.
These two are linked because getting off to a good start and setting the tone all connect back to classroom expectations and procedures. Thus, it is very important to show clarity in both of these aspects and that students/parents understand what standards they are being held to. Many teachers will send a contract home with students requiring parent signatures that they are aware of the expectations and consequences in a particular class.
Thus, based on these three aspects, I have some elements of my lesson plan that I want to adapt and change to make better for improvement during lab 3.
Below is an example of a poster I made through CANVA as a fun way to introduce these expectations and rules to the classroom.
