Classroom Management

Classroom Environment

The classroom environment should be inviting, be organized, and set the expectations for what is to happen in the space. Coming from both an English and Health and Physical Education (H&PE) background, classroom management can look quite different depending on what the goals are. Many people think of classroom management as quiet students who are sitting still. However, this notion is disrupted in H&PE. Some people are intimidated by H&PE classes because of all the moving variables. In the end, the classroom environment should feel safe and inclusive, and productivity can look loud and excited. The behaviours and attitudes of the teacher should reflect the expectations for the students, so in my classes I am always enthusiastic about what I am teaching and am not afraid to make mistakes because I want to see the same attitudes expressed by my students. In addition, students should know the rules, routines, and expectations for the space. The design of the space, as well as verbal agreements about boundaries and expectations will help students have a common ground for learning to take place.

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Dream English classroom layout includes a round table for clarifying instructions, discussions, and collaborative work, and a reading corner.

There will also be decorative posters on the wall to inspire students as well as collaborative wall spaces to help build a classroom community.

Responding to Behaviour

In Health and Physical Education, students will sit in squads or in a circle upon arrival. Students will have this time for a mindful moment so that they can fully participate in the class.

At the beginning of the year students will receive a course syllabus so that they know what is expected of them in terms of course content, work, and grading schemes. With my students, I will also set the norms at the beginning of the year. I am hoping that in taking this proactive approach to student behaviour, there will be less of a reactive approach needed. I will ask them, 1) How do we want to BE together? 2) How did you get here today? 3) What do you hope to get from this course? and 4) What do you do to recharge? In asking students these 4 questions, students will understand what is needed in terms of their behaviour to achieve their goals for the year in our class.

Another proactive approach that I believe to be fundamental to an excellent class is forming relationships. Building rapport with students by learning about their interests and taking the time to check-in is important for students to feel heard and understood in the classroom. According to The Motivated Brain: Improving Student Attention, Engagement, and Perseverance (2015) by Gregory and Kaufeldt students' basic needs need to be met.

Power

Survival

Fun

Recognition
Success
Importance
Voice
Skills
Achievement

Health
Relaxation
Food
Warmth

Enjoyment
Laughter
Learning
Change
Innovation

Freedom

Choices
Independence
Freedom from
Freedom to

Love & Belonging

Belonging
Friendship
Cooperation
Sharing
Respect

I approach my classroom with the assumption that ALL students will learn if they CAN as ALL students WANT to learn. Sometimes students misbehave to mask something else. For example, class interruptions can be caused from attention seeking, avoiding failure, anger or frustration with the task, control seeking, high energy, boredom, our not knowing what is expected. Sometimes students get off task because something from their home life or social life is bothering them and preventing them from focussing. Getting to the root of what is causing the undesired behaviour can help future occurrences of interruptions.

With students respect is gained, but it's also a two way street. Being sarcastic, sassy, negative, showing favouritism, putting students down, being inflexible or unfair, having a lack of humour, or being inconsistent with consequences will only result in a lack of respect on behalf of the students.

Another important point is to always BE YOU. It's easiest to be consistent and it's more genuine when you practice behaviour management strategies that align with who you are as a teacher, and when you act in a way that is genuine (e.g., if you are not a scary, stick teacher, don't try to act like one).

The Consequence Ladder

Third Rung Responses

Private verbal discussion
Give an either/or scenario using a calm, firm voice.
Change body position from facing the student to crouching down on their level depending on if the student is reactive or not.
Keep statements free of moral judgement
Ask for students to respond to the choice, listen to their response, and complete the interaction with a thank you.

Second Rung Responses

Non-verbal cue (eye-contact, a signal)
Win students over (engage with what they are doing by showing interest and then redirect the behaviour)
Proximity
Deal with the problem, not the student
Ignore

First Rung Responses

Pause or stop the lesson
Turn body towards the student
Intensify eye-contact
Use a minimal verbal response
Complete the interaction with a "thank you"

Fourth Rung Responses

Follow through on the choice from rung 3 by saying "You've made your choice. Please _____________."
This might mean moving seats, working alone, meeting out in the hallway, moving to the front of the room, etc.

Fifth Rung Responses

Recognize the move to power.
Respond by:
- Ignoring it.
- Short circuiting it.
- Describing the situation.
- Providing another choice
- Asking them to leave due to the severity.

Sixth Rung Responses

Detention
Phone call home
Behaviour contract (student and teacher meet to define the problem, how to deal with it, and agree on course of action moving forward)

Inform Senior Management

Student is sent to the office and determines appropriate behaviour with the senior management.

Dealing with Late Assignments

At the beginning of the year, it must be made clear to students that they are responsible not only for their behaviour but for their achievement. Students must understand that there will be consequences for not completing assignments for evaluation or for submitting those assignments late.

Where in the teacher’s professional judgement it is appropriate to do so, a number of strategies may be used to help prevent and/or address late and missed assignments. They include:

asking the student to clarify the reason for not completing the assignment;
helping students develop better time-management skills;
collaborating with other staff to prepare a part- or full-year calendar of major assignment dates for every class;
planning for major assignments to be completed in stages, so that students are less likely to be faced with an all-or-nothing situation at the last minute;
maintaining ongoing communication with students and/or parents about due dates and late assignments, and scheduling conferences with parents if the problem persists;
in secondary schools, referring the student to the Student Success team or teacher;
taking into consideration legitimate reasons for missed deadlines;
setting up a student contract;
using counselling or peer tutoring to try to deal positively with problems;
holding teacher-student conferences;
reviewing the need for extra support for English language learners;
reviewing whether students require special education services;
requiring the student to work with a school team to complete the assignment;
for First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students, involving Aboriginal counsellors and members of the extended family;
understanding and taking into account the cultures, histories, and contexts of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit students and parents and their previous experiences with the school system;
providing alternative assignments or tests/exams where, in the teacher’s professional judgement, it is reasonable and appropriate to do so;
deducting marks for late assignments, up to and including the full value of the assignment.

According to GROWING SUCCESS:

Grade 7-12:

Individual school boards have policies on late or missed assignments. The school board policies must be implemented within the schools across the board.

Late and missed assignments for evaluation will also be noted on the report card as part of the evaluation of a student’s development of the learning skills and work habits. When appropriate, a student’s tendency to be late in submitting, or to fail to submit, other assignments (including homework) may also be noted on the report card as part of the evaluation of the student’s development of the learning skills and work habits.

According to the Growing Success document,

"There are strong and often divergent opinions on the issue of how to deal with late and missed assignments. Many stakeholders, including many parents and students, believe that marks should be deducted when assignments are late and that a zero should be assigned when a student does not submit an assignment. These stakeholders are of the opinion that there should be clear boundaries on student behaviour and known consequences for not submitting assignments for evaluation or for submitting them late. Proponents of this view believe that unless students face academic consequences for non-performance in school, they will not learn to be accountable to themselves and others and will not be prepared to meet the requirements of employers or of postsecondary educational institutions. They also believe that a lack of consequences for non-performance is unfair to students who meet known requirements, and constitutes an inequitable approach.

On the other hand, many experts in the field of assessment and evaluation discourage deducting marks or giving zeros for late and missed assignments, arguing that such measures do not make students change their behaviour or help them succeed in the long run. They believe that success is the best way to breed more success, that punitive measures such as deducting marks only serve to discourage students and promote failure, and that it is more appropriate and more productive to focus on preventive measures. These experts are also concerned that, because every assignment – whether submitted on time or late – provides evidence of learning, deducting marks for late assignments could misrepresent the student’s true level of achievement. They believe that lateness and failure to submit assignments are most appropriately reported – and addressed – as issues relating to the development of learning skills and work habits. Supporting non-performing students by helping them develop these skills and habits, rather than using punitive measures, is a matter of meeting individual students’ needs and should not be considered a form of unwarranted “special treatment”. The professional judgement of the teacher, acting within the policies and guidelines established by the ministry and board, is critical in determining the strategy that will most benefit student learning." (page 45-46).

My General Strategy for Late Submissions

Late for the last time!

Late again!

Assignment is due!

Remind students that their assignment is now overdue and ask where they are at in terms of completion. If students say they will have it in by the end of the day or the next day, I do not give a consequence but remind them of the importance of negotiating the deadline or asking for an extension ahead of time.
Students must give reason why it is late.

The new 24 hours later deadline has come around. The student does not hand in the assignment.
Renegotiate reasonable deadline for completion of assignment. Notify the parents/students of new deadline and consequences if not submitted.
Student stays in at lunch until the assignment is complete. If they do not come in at lunch, they will receive a detention.
Work behaviours are noted in the report card.

If the assignment is not handed in on the renegotiated deadline, parents and students are informed that students will be receiving a grade of 0 on the assignment.
I generally do not allow make-ups at this point unless there is extenuating circumstances.

***This is a general strategy and sometimes is changed on a case by case basis in coordination with school administration.

Dealing with Late Students

At the end of the day, I am happy if students come to my class. If students come in late, unexcused, then the consequence is judged in a case by case basis and in conjunction with the school board policies.

If students are rarely late, and come in without disruption I will continue with my lesson and ignore the behaviour.
If students are disruptive when they come in late, then I will ask them to stop, go back to the door, and come back in quietly. Another strategy is asking students to wait in the hallway, finish what I was saying and then have a private conversation with them.
If many students are late, then that could result in a detention for all of the students. I might even ask the whole class to stay in at lunch and practice coming in on time.
I generally stay away from the idea of physical activity as a form of punishment for late behaviour because I believe it deters students from wanting to participate. If a student is late, I may ask their entire squad to sit in silence and not participate for 10 minutes.
In terms of physical activity as a consequence, I have observed in my practicum asking students to do an intense activity (e.g., sprints) within a time frame. If they do not succeed, the whole class must do it again until they do. This method is effective and does deter students from being late as it holds the whole group accountable. They also look forward to doing a more enjoyable activity.
- I follow this up with a discussion about mutual respect, time management, etc.

Channels of Communication

Points of Communication:

Beginning of year (building healthy relationships): Phone call/Letter home with a personal introduction, something I enjoy about the student/something the student does well, and a “feel free to reach out/my door is always open” to inform parents that if there are any issues, we can work through them together.
Throughout the year (contributing to school life): involve parents as volunteers for field trips and fundraisers.
Throughout the year (building healthy relationships): inform parents of student progress throughout the course (this may be individual or general through the form of a class newsletter)
Report cards/progress reports

Steps for Handling Conflict:

Always keep in contact with parents.
- This means informing parents of things that are going well with the students and areas where the students are struggling.
If there is a difficult situation, listen to the parent first and try to diffuse the problem. I try to be compassionate, understanding, and not defensive. I make sure that the parents feel they have input in their child’s success. I also try to work out solutions with the parent.
If the issue is greater than my abilities, I reach out to the admin for help. I also will inform administration of concerns that I are related to student behaviour, success, or mental health.

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