Module OverviewAs we begin to delve into all things teaching, it's good to start with a look at what makes a teacher an effective one. Though the Art of Teaching comes more naturally to some more than others, all teachers who are effective exhibit key teaching behaviors and understand their students.
One of the greatest frustrations mentioned by many teachers is that their students are often not motivated to learn. Teachers quickly come to recognize the warning signs of poor motivation in their classroom: students put little effort into homework and classwork assignments, slump in their seats and fail to participate in class discussion, or even become confrontational toward the teacher when asked about an overdue assignment. One common method for building motivation is to tie student academic performance and classroom participation to specific rewards or privileges. Critics of reward systems note, however, that they can be expensive and cumbersome to administer and may lead the student to engage in academics only when there is an outside 'payoff.' While there is no magic formula for motivating students, the creative teacher can sometimes encourage student investment in learning in ways that do not require use of formal reward systems.
In a multi-grade class of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders, students learn to work and communicate in teams. Through projects and a class structure that supports differentiation, Ms. Ehrke is able to keep students challenged and engaged. Her strategies for differentiation and communication can be used in any classroom.
An effective entrance routine promotes safety, builds positive connections with students and maximises instructional time.
This practice guide will support you to refine an effective entrance routine, which is important for maintaining a safe, supportive and orderly start to the day and classroom environment.
An exit routine at the end of a lesson provides a safe, predictable and organised end to learning. It’s important to plan dedicated time at the end of a lesson to ensure a consistent exit routine can take place every time students leave the classroom.
Focused classrooms maximise students’ on-task learning time by minimising disruptive behaviour and disengagement. Research shows that students cannot learn as well in classrooms that lack consistency, have too many potential distractions or do not offer ample opportunities to engage. Teachers can create focused classrooms by implementing clear structures and routines, modelling appropriate behaviours, and actively engaging students in their learning.
Implementation checklists are a list of practical steps you can take to support the implementation of an evidence-based practice in your setting.
This checklist focuses on implementing a focused classroom.
Have I...
* established and explicitly taught positive rules for learning?
* developed routines that signal to students when learning is ready to begin and how learning will happen?
* organised my classroom to promote on task behaviour so that learning routines can be embedded consistently?
*explicitly taught the verbal and non-verbal cues about the rules and routines for learning to my students so that they can regulate themselves?
*set learning goals for my students that are both ambitious but achievable? (Consult your formative assessment data and mastery learning objectives to help with this)
*explored various options for participation that enable all students to participate in class activities? (for example, different types of grouping).
This handbook contains a collection of AERO's foundational classroom management practices. The handbook includes:
*the Classroom Management Resources: User Guide, which explains how to work through these resources
*three types of foundational resources: explainers, practice guides and skill resources.
Instructional expert Jim Knight visits John Cusick to observe a small groups project and discuss the classroom management techniques he is using. John and Jim discuss structured lessons, giving students respect, and finding the key to unlocking their love of learning.
This practice guide will help you to refine methods for gaining all students’ attention to create a learning environment that supports student engagement and minimises disruptive behaviours.
Efficiently gaining all students’ attention supports student safety, maximises instructional time and reduces the likelihood of students missing critical information. Teachers use scanning, non-verbal gestures, and audible or visual prompts to gain student attention, to ensure students are focused and ready to receive instructions.
These activities will help you get the year off to a good start by engaging you and your students in getting to know each other, practicing listening skills, and discussing the values that will shape your classroom community. There are separate sets of activities for grades Pre-K to 2, grades 3 to 5, and grades 6 to 12. They are adapted from exercises in our Resolving Conflict Creatively Program and our 4Rs Program (Reading, Writing, Respect & Resolution).
3rd Grade Reading teacher Katie Bannon from PS 110 in New York explains how she validates student responses with meaningful feedback when their responses are not quite on track. Rather than saying "no, thats not right", she comments on the response and then poses additional questions to guide their thinking. Katie also shares that she focuses on improving her questioning which she says takes practice, and she tries to avoid questions that elicit a yes or no response.
The Good Behavior Game is an approach to the management of classrooms behaviors that rewards children for displaying appropriate on-task behaviors during instructional times. The class is divided into two teams and a point is given to a team for any inappropriate behavior displayed by one of its members. The team with the fewest number of points at the Game's conclusion each day wins a group reward. If both teams keep their points below a preset level, then both teams share in the reward. The program was first tested in 1969; several research articles have confirmed that the Game is an effective means of increasing the rate of on-task behaviors while reducing disruptions in the classroom (Barrish, Saunders, & Wolf, 1969; Harris & Sherman, 1973; Medland & Stachnik, 1972).
The process of introducing the Good Behavior Game into a classroom is a relatively simple procedure. There are five steps involved in putting the Game into practice.
In this five part series, see all the pieces that come together for guided reading in Jenna Ogiers classroom. Students learn to work independently and rotate through stations, while Ms. Ogier meets with small groups of students and delivers a lesson at their level.
In this five part series, see all the pieces that come together for guided reading in Jenna Ogiers classroom. Students learn to work independently and rotate through stations, while Ms. Ogier meets with small groups of students and delivers a lesson at their level.
In this five part series, see all the pieces that come together for guided reading in Jenna Ogiers classroom. Students learn to work independently and rotate through stations, while Ms. Ogier meets with small groups of students and delivers a lesson at their level.
In this five part series, see all the pieces that come together for guided reading in Jenna Ogiers classroom. Students learn to work independently and rotate through stations, while Ms. Ogier meets with small groups of students and delivers a lesson at their level.
In this five part series, see all the pieces that come together for guided reading in Jenna Ogiers classroom. Students learn to work independently and rotate through stations, while Ms. Ogier meets with small groups of students and delivers a lesson at their level.
Teachers skilled in classroom management are able to respond appropriately to just about any behavior that a student brings through the classroom door. While having a toolkit of specific behavioral strategies is important, the real secret of educators who maintain smoothly running classrooms with minimal behavioral disruptions is that they are able to view problem student behaviors through the lens of these seven 'big ideas' in behavior management.
This activity aims to help your class get the school year off to a good start. Students share their names and a high point of their summer; learn a little about their similarities and differences; and begin considering what kind of community they want to create in their classroom.