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| The Big Five* |
1. Rules: Establish and teach classroom rules to communicate expectations for behavior.
2. Routines: Build structure and establish routines to help guide students in a wide variety of situations. New teachers deserve better. It is time for teacher prep programs to focus on classroom management so that first-year teachers are prepared on day one to head off potential disruption before it starts.
3. Praise: Reinforce positive behavior using praise and other means.
4. Misbehavior: Consistently impose consequences for misbehavior.
5. Engagement: Foster and maintain student engagement by teaching interesting lessons that include opportunities for active student participation.
Based on these strategies which are so strongly supported by research, we would like to ask you to choose one of the following situations and develop a short solution for it.
1. An authoritarian teacher who has few teaching tools uses a contradictory speech in an attempt to maintain the discipline of the class.
2- A pre-service teacher in her practicum whose class is out of control.
Authoritarian teachers want their students do only their way because they don't have effective strategies to manage students when they are out of control. As a tip for this kind of teachers, I would say that they should start by implementing semi-controlled activities in which they can start to control part of the activities of the lesson and in that way they can get a chance to understand the way their students respond to these kind of activities. It's not an easy job, however, because teachers have to change their mind about what authority means and how it is exerted in class.
ResponderEliminarFor pre-service teachers, whose students are already out of control, try the following strategies:
Don't get stressed (it's want they want)
Don't speed things up
Don't talk louder
Don't show them you are frustrated
Don't yell and
Don't show your anger.
Slow down
Speak softly and slowly
Decide that you won't talk over your students until they are attentive
Take your time
Show them a peaceful disposition and
Tell them all their positive things they have.
It's not an easy job, but it will work.
For the first situation, I believe the most important thing is to create a "connection" between the students and the teacher. When you get to know someone, you can create or implement a useful strategy for the context. Without a relationship (knowing each other) being authoritarian is the only option because sometimes we (human beings) belive that discipline is being completely quite and still. My tip, get to know your students, try different types of strategies and keep in mind they can change, so, as they change so the strategies.
ResponderEliminarFor the pre-service teacher. you behaviour and attitude is the best example a group can have. My idea for this group is to be kind but also "hard" with them. Let them express themselves but not do what they want. Let them move their bodies according to your instruction of plan. Give them the chance to be a bit "crazy" but make sure they understand that they will have what they want if they work seriously.
1st: I agree with Estefanía because the connection teacher-student is extremely important not only for the student but the environment in the class will be different. You can start making this link being on time to your class in order to talk to the students or just ask some questions like “How’s your day going?” or if you see a student with headphones you can ask “Hey! What’s your favorite kind of music?” On this way the teacher could built a great relationship and actually, it might result excellent for beginners. Once you reach this connection not only your students will be more confident and flexible at participation time, but also they will express freely your ideas creating critical thinking or even developing independency through their thoughts.
ResponderEliminar2nd: I have never had a group like that but if I would have it, I probably will show myself as a strict teacher until they just be calmed. After that, I can be more flexible with them and I can start my class in completely order.
For a teacher without many tools to promote discipline, the first thing would be to get involved and as the other comments have already said, know your students. In order to begin implementing strategies like rules, rituals, praises and consequences the least we, as teachers, can do is to start knowing our students and adapt those strategies to suit the group's mood.
ResponderEliminarAs for the second situation, first I believe a pre-service teacher should never face a class alone without a previous presentation or recommendation from the in-service teacher. Second, the pre-service teacher must make clear to the students that the same rules applies as with the in-service teacher so they know that they will be attending a regular class.
1st situation:
ResponderEliminarOn one hand, I would say that having an athoritarian attitude towards teaching is a way of hiding fears and lack of experience. In addition to that, language teachers may not forget they are not 'just' language teachers: they are educators. It means it is on their hands the role of shaping students so that they become in citizens.
In terms of strategies to solve this situation, the first thing that pops up in my head is the importance of engaging not only with their profession but also with their students. It means that when teachers get to know deeply their students, that's when things start to work out better due to the fact educators know their likes, dislikes, fears (in general, but also in terms of language learning), dreams, etc. So, with this great deal of information, teachers plan better their classes, which makes students to engage quickly with the activities and, also with the teacher. By doing so, authoritarian speech will be pointless, as students will be focused on their learning process (at least, that would occur most of the time!).
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ResponderEliminarConcerning the first situation, I believe that having clear which are the consequences following this path is the first step. Being an authoritarian teacher gives no room for letting students get involved in decision making. Also, this teacher profile hardly praises or encourages his/her students. In consequence, he or she gives no indication that he/she cares for his/her students. In this manner, students are likely to feel powerless, sometimes intimidated or stressed, and finally the learning process and the enjoyable learning atmosphere is prone to fail. I believe that being an authoritarian teacher is mostly due to not been prepared and as the question mentions, having few teaching tools. Thus, how could we solve this teacher's problem? In brief, I believe that we need to 1. Prepare and 2. Develop and maintain a "good" teacher-student relationship. How could we prepare? Working the Big Five. How could we develop and maintain a "good" or more appropriately, an effective T-S relationship? Talking with the students outside the classroom, giving personal feedback, showing interest in their learning process by letting them participate in the decision making that takes place in the classroom and finally, encouraging and praising them.
ResponderEliminarRegarding the second situation, I believe that we pre-service teachers (or at least me) during our practicum tend to try remembering what did we discuss in class or read about how to solve the determinate situation that we're facing and we forget about our life experience and our natural instinct on how to solve the problem. I believe that we must not forget to constantly reflect about what we read and find out so we can elaborate strategies that we may use in the classroom. But most importantly, we must always try to expose ourselves to real life situations in order to apply those strategies and really learn from them, specially while working in our "training" as teachers.
1. There is no way to be independent and innovative when authority is present. The idea to be independent and innovative requires creating new things and new ideas for the classroom context but when the authority appears this cannot take place.
ResponderEliminar2. In this image it is evident, that maybe the teacher is too flexible in the classroom. If this happens, students will get out of control. Authority needs to be present in the classroom but dialogue can be used as a matter of consensus between the student and the teacher in order to have the control of the class at some point.