Classroom Management
Classroom management as part of new teaching and learning
As with managing anything, whether at home chores, a restaurant, or your classroom, management is the key to managing a learning environment. Teachers will have less stress if they are good managers and will be more productive in teaching. Classroom management involves organizing the classroom environment, establishing rules and procedures, and maintaining order to create an optimal learning atmosphere. It includes strategies for preventing and addressing disruptive behaviour and ensuring that students remain engaged and focused. Effective classroom management helps to maximize instructional time and supports student success. In addition, classroom management is not disciplining students and implementing rewards and punishments; it is a set of techniques that make learning more engaging and exciting. A list of techniques is outlined in the weekly readings that emphasize;
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Making the classroom layout more organized.
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Promoting caring relationships between and among students by establishing rules
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Establishing clear rules and routines
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Addressing discipline issues and planning engaging instruction.
As part of new teaching, teachers will need to plan on a regular basis to address the needs of students, incorporate curriculum expectations, employ an assessment and evaluation process, and apply classroom management techniques for regular ongoing and/or unexpected events. Also, new teaching involves a great deal of reflection, involvement in education research, case studies, and a community of practice. In addition, it involves maintaining a well-organized portfolio and sharing information.
How does a learning community contribute to the learning process?
Learning communities can help new teachers find solutions to common challenges they may face. A learning community or community of practice benefits teachers by providing a supportive network where experienced teachers can share experiences, strategies, and resources. It will inspire new teachers to be more confident in the field. This collaborative environment fosters professional growth, encourages innovation, and helps educators stay updated with the latest teaching methodologies.
Why must learning environments be student-centred?
Since it's about students' well-being, if they aren't ready mentally or emotionally, they might not be ready for learning. There is a possibility that their brains will not be present, so they will not be able to process information. A student-centred learning environment places the needs, interests, and learning styles of students at the forefront of educational planning and instruction. It involves active learning where students participate in discussions, problem-solving, and critical thinking activities.
Why must learning environments be assessment-centred?
The assessments will provide information about students' previous knowledge that they bring into the classroom. Teachers can use it to plan lessons and share additional information and activities to support pre-existing knowledge. These assessments help identify learning gaps and misunderstandings early in the instructional process, allowing teachers to adjust their teaching strategies accordingly.
Describe one particular learning environment from your K-12 experiences and describe the degree to which the setting or situation was student-, knowledge-, assessment-, and community-centred. How did this setting influence your learning? Why? How might others in that particular setting respond to this question? Why?
I have seen mixed classroom settings where it is mainly student-centred or sometimes knowledge-centred centred, but I think it mainly depends on the teacher's instructional strategy and philosophy. I personally believe a mix of all centers can create a more holistic learning environment where we can accommodate the community's expectations as well.
There are two main sections in the Ontario Tech lesson plan template. The first section is about performing the pre-assessment. This section helps determine two important aspects of lesson planning. First, the pre-assessment will help in knowing the pre-knowledge and preconception of students' learning and second, if students have some differentiated learning needs or accommodations so those accommodations are taken into consideration while planning the lesson. This pre-assessment will help us in planning the instructional strategy we will use in our lesson. The preassessment can give us good information to start our planning process.
The second part of the lesson plan starts with the master plan (master mapping), which shows what success looks like based on our preassessment. Any lesson should define standards, objectives, focus questions and have an assessment to assess the learning. Standards are derived from the curriculum. Objectives are the goals of one’s efforts and actions. It states what one should know, understand and be able to do. They ask teachers to set their goals for teaching students goals for learning and make a lesson (learning) successful together.
Focus questions: Answering questions lies at the heart of active learning because it forces students to think and check what they have stored in long-term memory. The focus question keeps everyone on track. Assessments: formative assessments show ongoing learning and offer feedback opportunities for improvement, while summative assessment provides evidence that students have made it to the finish line; an exit ticket can be summative.
