The Practical Guide to Primary Classroom Management

Rob Barnes

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Year: 2006
• Print ISBN: 9781412919401, 9781412919395
• eBook ISBN: 9781446238455
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Bildung
• Subtopic: Bildung Allgemein

`Readers of this book will want to finish it and put the techniques into practice as soon as they can!? - Youth in Mind

`Seems excellent - I know I would want to use this book? - Helen Bilton, Reading University

`Very relevant and appropriate for all trainees and the content would provide support for the area that the trainees are most concerned with? - Jane Warwick, University of Cambridge

Classroom management is an area of genuine concern to students and NQTs. As there is only basic coverage of classroom management issues on initial training courses, new teachers often find it difficult to cope in busy classroom situations.

This easy-to-read book helps you to select the right strategies for your classroom. The practical advice and points for reflection help you to think about why some strategies work and why others do not, and to decide which ones will work for you.

Chapters include advice on:

o behaviour management

o organizing your classroom

o routines, scripts and ?teacher-talk?

o positive prevention through class rules and targets

o praise, rewards and sanctions

o teacher ?presence?

o coping with difficult students.

1	Aiming to be effective

He’s only 12 years old and already excluded from three schools. He’s surrounded by so many negative influences that the thought of him ever cooperating is a long way off. Unless, of course, we could change that. He needs to feel positive about something or whatever we do, it won’t make much difference. The thing is that you just want someone to care about you, whatever you look like, however bright you are, or however many difficulties you might think you have.

(Headteacher)

Introduction

Whatever measures you take, punishments and systems you set up, rules you devise and strategies you have for gaining the upper hand, an unrewarding classroom ethos is going to prevent you from succeeding. No wonder managing a class of students is such a fine balancing act between enthusiasm and taking control of the situation. Ideally you would love it if students wanted to hang on your every word and not waste a second before settling down to work. The practical reality is that it takes skill and good management to achieve a buzz of enthusiastic activity in your classroom. The most effective of teachers achieve more by remaining rewarding to be with than by drifting into nagging, becoming a military dictator or sarcastic cynic. This takes some doing because teachers need to be firm and not tolerate bad behaviour, yet at the same time praise students, inspiring them to produce work of quality. Most beginners try to be positive, but sometimes they confuse this with being friendly and dishing out praise. They are surprised when children take advantage and try to undermine their ability to manage a class. If you have already experienced this, you will realize that skilled teachers have ways of doing things that are different from a beginner.

You may find when you teach that outwardly you are relaxed and in control, while inwardly at times your emotions are about to reach boiling point. When students try to test you, all genuinely positive comments can desert you just when they would be most effective. Rather than controlling student behaviour, it actually begins to control you. Your smiles begin to look more like sneers and the tone of your voice changes. This is exactly the moment to fall back on sound techniques and established classroom rules to survive. Otherwise you may feel that you are sitting on a keg of dynamite, just waiting for the explosion.

You will need a wide range of responses to students because quick-fix strategies do not exist. For example, imagine you are on your first teaching placement and a student you have never met before (let us call him Ross) comes in late and very slowly walks behind you as you are explaining something to the class. What do you do? How would you react if you knew that:

• Ross’s favourite way to disrupt is to hit another child as he comes into the room and threaten to do worse if they tell their teacher;
• Ross has a reputation for being the class clown;
• Ross is a regular troublemaker who frequently tries to ‘needle’ teachers;
• the teacher has warned you not to stand any nonsense from this class, especially not from Ross;
• Ross has been asked to take a message around the school by the headteacher;
• Ross has Asperger’s Syndrome (a form of autism); or
• Ross has Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?

As you can see, the situation is not straightforward and I only know what I would do if I knew nothing about Ross. Other teachers would probably do something quite different. First, I would probably use as calm a voice as I could to demonstrate that I was not thrown by Ross’s behaviour. I would speak to Ross long before he tried to perform at the front of the class. I would distract him and say: ‘Good to see you here. Sorry, didn’t catch your name?’ Second, I would say ‘Ross, find a seat as quick as you can so we can get on.’ Finally, I would carry on with the lesson for a couple of minutes then check to see if Ross had responded. But what if Ross didn’t find a seat? What if Ross was silent when I asked his name? You cannot make Ross find a seat however hard you try, so you may find that Ross continues to entertain himself and probably the class. If Ross didn’t give me his name, I would ask another student. If he still didn’t find a seat I would probably say, as calmly as I could, ‘Ross, I can’t make you find a seat, so we’ll need to deal with this later. You’ll need to explain.’ I would probably smile at Ross and say ‘If you want to join in, that would be good. Do the best you can.’ If Ross continued to be difficult I would try to keep the rest of the class on side by saying ‘Ross needs some help here, so we may need to ignore him for a while. We all have work to do.’ Ross might join in or he might not, but as a teacher you cannot let Ross take over the class and it would be unwise to have a confrontation that Ross might win. Ross has a choice, which is to find a seat or explain himself later (Ross would probably find a seat as he does not know me).

No wonder teaching is stressful. I might feel angered by Ross but I know I need to remain outwardly calm. I might be tempted to shout at Ross, which would be the worst thing I could do. I do not know him yet, so instead of shouting I welcome him warmly. I behave as if I know exactly what I am doing. Most important of all, I firmly describe the behaviour that I want, not the behaviour that I do not. If that fails to work I let the class know what I want them to do (ignore Ross). I refer to the work and continue to demonstrate that I am in charge, not Ross. If I have scuppered his chance to take control he will probably have another go, but I will be ready for that.

Ross is not going to cooperate without some work on my relationship with him. Sometimes it is possible to capitalize on a student’s interest.

Connor was interested in rugby, so that was my way through with him. You get more from kids if you can run a club after school, or lunchtime. They need to see you in a different light and relate better. It’s not every teacher who can talk about the local football team, but there’s always something that catches their interest. I’d advise new teachers to get involved in out of school activities if they can … anything that helps them see you in a positive light. (Primary school teacher)

Ten principles of behaviour management

The ideas in this book are very practical, but will need to be adapted for the age group that you are teaching. Teachers usually adapt to the age range that they are teaching by slight changes to voice tone and phrasing. The suggestions in this book will need to be read with this in mind. Younger children, for example, do not respond well to a tough ‘bite your head off’ voice tone – they are more likely to burst into tears. Children who are older need to be spoken to in adult tones. Some teachers would say that all students should be spoken to like that, but you will make up your own mind. The structure of the chapters that follow is that each takes a different slant on behaviour management, expanding on some basic principles of class management.

Difficult students in a class misbehave for a number of reasons. Top of the list is wanting to feel important and be noticed. Even if they hit another student it is their way of feeling important and powerful. If they shout out, make noises and act as the class clown it is still a way of feeling important. Bad behaviour is often a cover-up for failing at schoolwork, but this is not always the case. Some students simply dislike being told what to do by anybody, whoever it may be. They bring with them a negative pattern from childhood that persists whenever they are asked to do something. Others find it much more fun to be disruptive than to do any work. These are the opportunists looking for ways to ‘torpedo’ sessions and opt out of having to make the effort to learn. Like students who bully others ‘for a laugh’, their personal agenda is one that includes having some influence. The idea that they should consider anyone else but themselves does not occur to them.

Since you cannot cure all these ills in the short term, there has to be some way to manage classroom behaviour. Most problems will never arise if students are involved and interested, but as a beginner you will find it hard to motivate some students who resist this.

Ten principles

1. Take centre stage in the classroom, sounding confident and in charge even if you do not feel that you are.
2. Give plenty of praise and encouragement without inadvertently labelling students as ‘brilliant’, ‘clever’, ‘thick’ or ‘stupid’.
3. Avoid shouting and nagging. This is not effective, especially with very young children.
4. Avoid confrontation or an argument that you will likely lose.
5. When in doubt, always refer to the work and to any systems and habits that you expect from the class.
6. Give a difficult student the choice of doing something now or facing unspecified consequences later.
7. Keep the class on your side, even if you ignore a difficult child.
8. Avoid being so vigilant about minor incidents that you become a repressive and unrewarding teacher.
9. Keep up the pace and focus attention on the positive objectives of your teaching session, or students will find ways to disrupt.
10. Always describe the behaviour that you want (‘Ross, I need you to…’) rather than the behaviour that you are trying to stop (‘Ross, stop doing that’).

Remember that behaviour management is not an end in itself. It is a way of ensuring that work can be done effectively. Disruptive students are more often won over than controlled, so concentrating on the work, rather than the behaviour, will provide plenty of chances to praise them. As a teacher, you have the power to change what happens. You may not think so sometimes, but you do. These 10 principles will be explained throughout this book, but their success depends on your ability to create a good working relationship with your class. Making a class feel special and giving them a sense of achievement keeps them on your side, with the majority cooperating. This is rarely a matter of telling them how well they have behaved unless it is something specific, such as ‘I was really impressed by how politely you said that’, or ‘Waiting your turn shows how grown-up you can be.’ How well students work, and how well they learn, are far more lasting motivators than praise for behaving well. You are there to move them forward in their learning. They need to behave well without their behaviour becoming the main focus of the classroom.

The seventh principle listed has been explained already when dealing with Ross. The class was told to ignore him so that the teaching could continue. Most classes would cooperate in ignoring Ross, unless he already has a gang of conspirators on his side. The strongest force in any classroom is often peer-group pressure to conform, so this can be used to advantage. Teachers can:

• create a culture that is characterized by ‘Our classroom …’ and ‘We are learning …’;
• avoid ‘My classroom …’ and ‘You are learning …’;
• be in charge of a class without losing sight of learning as a shared activity.

The first visit to a school

When you arrive at a school for the very first time, children will be naturally curious about you. This is true however experienced you may be, although by the time that you are a newly-qualified teacher you will have learned what to expect. Even if you want to appear confident it is usual to feel quite the opposite. If you have been invited to the school as a trainee to observe, there are still ways to make a good impression rather than be like a cardboard cut-out. Few teachers are going to take you aside and tell you what to do, so try to involve yourself from the start. Offer to help teachers and start talking with students, showing a genuine interest in their work. If you are a real beginner, talk to teachers concerning your observations about teaching and ask in particular what they do with a new class in September. They may not remember that they have a share in setting your programme, but you are likely to want to ask about how lessons start and finish, how teachers get attention and how they keep things going. Be ready for experienced teachers’ notorious ‘gallows’ humour, as they gently tease you about the stresses of teaching.

Before you arrive at the school, be clear about what you are meant to do. Beginners may think they are there only to observe, but this does not mean hovering silently in classrooms and corridors. Headteachers vary in their preferences, but I have met many who were impressed by the fact that a trainee said ‘Good morning’. Introduce yourself before you are asked what you are doing on the premises. Ask questions, but pick your moment. A busy teacher or headteacher does not want to hear your stream of consciousness or a description of your journey to the school. You will need to find out where equipment is kept, how the school behaviour policy works and what the classroom rules are. It is also worth arriving with something you could do with students, such as reading a story, if the teacher is called away for a few minutes. No teacher wants a passive trainee whose idea of action is to be like a vacuum cleaner sucking up information. Rather than hover over individual students, divide yourself between writing things down and talking with your students.

You do not want to stop children working, but you still need to establish a presence in the classroom by being involved. If you fail to establish a presence you will become like wallpaper. Sooner or later comes the moment for your very first conversation with your students. Some of them will be wary of you and some ready to try out their brand of minor cheekiness to see what you will do. This can be one of the most difficult moments because you probably want to be liked, yet have heard that it may be wiser not to smile until Easter. On your first visit, keep most of the conversation with students to the topic of their work because it is a relatively safe area of discussion. Show enthusiasm for what students are doing, but deflect personal questions as best you can by referring to work. Questions such as ‘Are you here to find a new boyfriend?’, and ‘Are those your own teeth?’ could be dealt with by using humour, but you might prefer to play safe with a work comment such as: ‘We’re here to work, not ask those kind of questions.’ Your main aim is to become used to sounding professional as opposed to behaving like an older brother or sister. It will be some time before you can pitch this exactly right, so it is far better at this early stage to err on the side of caution. You will look and sound like a teacher if you do what teachers frequently do. Teachers spend most of their day talking about schoolwork and students expect them to do just that.

When later you take over the class without the teacher present, students will end their honeymoon period of compliance. Be ready to take swift action to make it clear that you are a professional who expects high standards and is quick to extinguish attempts to make stupid noises or ask silly personal questions. Your best bet for doing this is to remain calm and consistently follow class rules and routines if you know them. Make remarks such as ‘We don’t need any stupid noises’, if you hear them and divert students by saying things such as ‘Let’s look at the diagram on the whiteboard.’ Alternate between control statements such as ‘I expect politeness and concentration’ and work statements such as ‘Hands up – who can tell me …?’ When you feel more confident, you can joke with students. Experienced teachers can get away with all sorts of remarks which for you might cause uproar. Give yourself time to adjust but do take any opportunity to see the funny side of life (your science demonstration going wrong, making errors on the whiteboard, using a marker to write and finding it has gone dry).

Questions to leave out and statements to leave in

You are likely to learn the hard way which questions elicit the best response and which are definitely not in the script. A beginner might say, ‘Would you like to get your books out please?’, to which the answer could very well be ‘No thanks. I’d rather read this comic.’ ‘Bethany. Are you sitting properly?’ is not asking for an anatomical description, but it is a question inviting trouble. Bethany might agree to sit properly, but you have left open the chance that she could shrug her shoulders and say ‘Why should I?’...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• 1 Aiming to be effective
• 2 Learning to keep your cool
• 3 Routines, scripts and ‘teacher-talk’
• 4 Prevention and cure
• 5 Noise levels, voice tone and more teacher-talk
• 6 Praise, rewards and sanctions
• 7 Classroom skills
• 8 Coping with difficult students
• 9 Survival and practical organization
• Bibliography
• Index