Maintaining Balance
by Martha Doennig, SPS Professional Learning Specialist

It seems that a well-managed classroom is like a well-oiled machine; it runs itself.  All components are in perfect balance until factors beyond our control interrupt the hum and progress slows, or worst, comes to a screeching halt.   The question I would like you to consider is the following:   When thinking about managing your classroom, over what factors might you have the most control?

Research points to many contributing factors that create a well-managed classroom.   These factors align to the five components of effective classroom management that are embedded in the Department of Professional Learning’s Classroom Management Module.   As you consider the following components, think about the balance within your own classroom.

Relationships: From Visible Learning for Teachers, Hattie states that the essence of a positive relationship includes the following: the student sees the warmth, feels the encouragement, understands the teacher’s high expectations, and knows that the teacher understands him or her.   How might you know positive relationships exist in your classroom?

Mental Set: From the work of Robert Marzano in Classroom Management that Works, withitness and emotional objectivity are defined within a teacher’s mental set.   Withitness can be demonstrated by being aware of what is going on in the classroom at all times, continuously scanning the classroom, intervening promptly and accurately to reinforce behavior, and mentally reviewing situations and taking proactive steps to prevent reoccurrence.   Emotional objectivity refers to the ability to maintain emotions and avoid extremes when dealing with particular students or challenging behaviors. When you consider your own withitness and emotional objectivity, what might it look and sound like? 

Classroom Environment: Fred Jones, in Tools for Teaching, discusses how classroom environment relates to the inviting feel of the classroom.   All classrooms are different, but room configuration for instruction and transitions, proximity, use of visual instructional guides and anchor chart are all contributing factors to inviting classrooms.   What are your hunches about how students feel about your classroom environment?

Rules, Procedures, and Routines: In The First Days of School by Harry Wong, rules procedures, and routines are emphasized.   Students have a need to know the rules and expectations of behavior and routines.   Just as different environments have rules, procedures, and routines, so do classrooms.   To honor students, rules, procedures, and routines should be revisited often and practiced when necessary regardless of the age of the students or the time of year.  How might you know that the rules, routines, and procedures of your classroom are supporting student needs?

Effective Learning Strategies: There is research to support a spectrum of instructional strategies that have impact on student learning.   We know from Hattie’s work in Visible Learning for Teachers that providing students with a clear learning goal and success criteria allow learning to be intentional and focused.   In addition, providing students with meaningful feedback, opportunities to process and be engaged, and efficient use of learning time also support positive learning opportunities.  When you think about positive learning experiences that you have experienced, what were some things you needed for it to be successful?

Now that you have reviewed the five components of Classroom Management, I encourage you to take a look at the Instructional Configuration that Springfield Public School uses for Classroom Management.   This can be used to determine your current level in each area.  Feel free to use the following questions to decide what steps you might want to take to maintain healthy management in your classroom upon the arrival of factors beyond your control.

Where do you see yourself currently?

When thinking about the balance of your classroom management, at what level of competence would you like to be?

Why might that be important to you?

What might it look/sound like when you reach that level?

What is the most powerful step you might take?

Costa, A.L., & Garmston, R.J. (2002).  Cognitive coaching: A foundation for renaissance schools. (2nd ed.). Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers.

Hattie, John. (2012).Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning.   New York: Routledge.

Jones, Fred. (2000). Tools for teaching.  Santa Cruz: Fredric H. Jones & Associates.

Marzano, Robert  J. (2003). Classroom management that works: Research based strategies for every teacher.  Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Wong, Harry K. (1998). The first days of school. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications. 

Proximity + Feedback=Higher Student Engagement
by Marcia Hansen, SPS Professional Learning Specialist

Tools for Teaching by Fred Jones is a book that provides practical advice and strategies for classroom management.  Jones notes that many classroom management problems are really what we might call “goofing off” or a lack of student engagement.  So what are some ways we might strengthen this component of our management toolbox? 

Jones lists teacher proximity to students as a highly effective classroom management tool to promote student engagement.  Included in the book are several different strategies to promote teacher proximity.   One strategy mentioned which aligns with our Learning Model is that of providing timely, effective feedback to students.

Providing “just in time” feedback to students is extremely effective and is usually done one-on-one with students as they are working.  Unfortunately, this is also a prime time for student misbehavior to occur; because the teacher can spend too much time with one student and loses proximity with others as a result.

“Praise, Prompt and Leave” is a strategy that Fred Jones teaches as a solution to this problem.  Jones explains that teachers seem to have a natural tendency to spend too much time providing too much information or explanation to a student.  He notes that “too much” puts a student into cognitive overload and ends up not being effective as a result.  It also significantly reduces the teacher’s proximity to the rest of the class.  The steps to this strategy are listed below.  Note that we have adapted the name from “Praise, Prompt and Leave” to “Acknowledge, Provide Feedback and Leave” to better reflect what SPS teachers are providing for their students.

ACKNOWLEDGE: The teacher looks at the student’s work and identifies what is correct and begins the conversation there. “I see that your have written a sentence with a subject and a predicate.

PROVIDE FEEDBACK: The teacher then gives the student feedback- “Your next step is to add some details to your sentence.  What details might you provide for your audience?”

LEAVE: The teacher then walks away with the positive presupposition that the student will resume working.  In the example given, the goal is for the student to think about and add details to their writing.

This frees the teacher up to utilize proximity with the rest of the class, as well as the opportunity to provide many more students with “just in time” feedback.  The teacher may return to the original student and provide additional feedback as many times as needed, keeping in mind that one step at a time feedback is most likely to be implemented. The bonus is a better managed classroom with higher student engagement.

Tools for Teaching is available for loan from the Professional Learning Department Library located at the Tefft Learning Center.