Classroom Management Tip # 28

     I came across this classroom management tip while listening to my daily podcast. Every morning I upload a podcast to listen to on my way to school, they are often frivolous, but lately, I have been listening to the Cult of Pedagogy by Jennifer Gonzalez. 

    Her classroom tip is titled "Distract the Distractor." It basically says that instead of calling attention to the off-task behavior you re-engage the student with a content-based question. She does a fantastic job explaining this tip in around 5 minutes. You can see the link to her podcast above or for more information check out the reference listed at the bottom of this post. 

References

 (2019). Cult of Pedagogy. Retrieved September 29, 2021, from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/distract-the-distractor/.

You have to be in the zone man!

    Recently we have discussed the concept of Zone of Proximal Development introduced by Vygotsky's Sociocultural Perspective. It speaks of the phase at which a child can master a task if given appropriate help and support. As educators, we need to be very aware of where our students are in their learning process. Once we have determined that they are ready for mastery in a particular concept (ie. in the Zone of Proximal Development) the following tips will help us enhance learning:

Tip # 22- Provide learning objectives for your student. Behavioral objectives and advance organizers d=0.41 It is hard to perform well in a task when you are unsure what the task is or how to complete it. An advance organizer for example can be compared to a movie trailer. It gives students a preview of what the lesson will be and gets them excited for what is to come. Here is a link to a great article explaining advance organizers: https://www.understood.org/articles/en/common-advance-organizers-and-why-they-work

Tip # 23- Scaffolding supports students “just in time” to promote independent learning. We must use various forms of scaffolding until the children can work independently. Scaffolding d = 0.82 The image below shows an example of three different types of scaffolding; sensory, interactive, and graphic. Some examples include podcasts, physical activities, infographics, etc. The purpose is to provide stepping stones for our students to engage and understand the course material.

Kuemper, C. (2021). [Class handout]. St. Mary's University,  EDFN 311

Tip # 24 Clarify and summarize Lesson elements via questioning.

 Questioning d = 0.46 Students learn by self-verbalizing what they must do and then asking themselves questions. I find this tip very useful as I often talk myself through difficult tasks by breaking the tasks into smaller steps, and then continuously asking, "ok, what is next?"

Tip # 25- Visual reminders will help out students move towards independent learning. Visual reminders around our classroom can be particularly effective for English Language Learner Students, as well as early readers. Here is an example of a classroom visual reminder:

Tip # 26- Structure learning experiences for success. We learn to succeed by succeeding, we learn to fail by failing. Mastery Learning d = 0.58 Both successful and unsuccessful experiences are important in the learning process, and our students need to be very familiar with both.

Tip #27- Feedback is critical in student learning. Feedback when done well it is shown to have a high effect size of d=0.74. Just as important as feedback from teacher to student, it is also important to have student-to-teacher feedback.

Speaking of feedback here is a little extra piece of advice that really resonated with me in class:

Kuemper, C. (2021). [Class handout]. St. Mary's University,  EDFN 311

References

  Jennifer Russell https://blog.esc13.net/author/jenniferrussell/. (2021, March 10). Classroom setup during         COVID-19: Using picture visuals. Region 13's Blog. Retrieved November 8, 2021, from                             https://blog.esc13.net/classroom-setup-during-covid-19-using-picture-visuals/.

Osewalt, G. (2021, April 21). Common advance organizers and why they work. Understood. Retrieved November 8, 2021, from https://www.understood.org/articles/en/common-advance-organizers-and-why-they-work.

When you talk to yourself you are learning!

 

    Did you know that when children talk to themselves they are actually learning? Prominent psychologists Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky both explained that private speech or egocentric speech is part of a child's cognitive development. Today's classroom tips relate back to private speech

Tip # 18- Verbalizing your thoughts during the learning process is a beneficial practice for both younger and older learners. We all need that private speech that Vygotsky spoke about.

Tip # 19- In order to encourage dialogue use open-ended questions, such as “What do you notice?” Open-ended questions require more than a one-word answer. WHAT, HOW, WHY are often the best way to begin an open-ended question.

Tip # 20- Phonics instruction is critical in early reading learning. Phonics is the study of sounds. To write and speak any language correctly we must have a good grasp of how things sound in that language. English is particularly tricky in this respect.

Tip # 21 - By using the terms that you are learning in explaining a concept you learn to synthesize and understand the concept you are trying to learn. It will then bring your understanding of the concept to a higher level of thinking. Whenever possible have kids talk through their thinking. We used this practice in class when explaining the concept of classical conditioning. By using the vocabulary we learned to understand the big idea of classical conditioning.

Think, Pair, Share

    

    Today's classroom management tips are focused on social interaction. Russian psychologist Lev Vygostsky emphasized the importance of social interactions in learning. Many of his theories were based on the idea that knowledge is co-constructed through shared activities. 

Tip # 14- Students learn through structured experiences, especially divergent thinking, cooperation, and facing and meeting challenges. These experiences are most effective for young children.

Tip # 15- A great way to co-construct ideas is through the practice of Think, Pair, Share. The concept of Think, Pair, Share can be explained as follows: 1. We acquire an idea. 2. We are then placed in groups to share those said ideas and by sharing our findings we enhance each other's learning.

Tip # 16- Play-based learning is key in our classrooms. Playing is serious business. so much learning takes place when children play. Here is a great article on the importance of play in cognitive development https://www.epl.ca/blogs/post/importance-of-play-for-kids/

References 

Lori Blahey August 4, & Blahey, L. (n.d.). The power of play: 6 benefits for child development . Edmonton Public Library. Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://www.epl.ca/blogs/post/importance-of-play-for-kids/.

Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, October 30). Lev Vygotsky. Wikipedia. Retrieved November 3, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Vygotsky.

Map your thinking!

 

    Tip # 12- If you want to engage the minds of students, ask questions you don't know the answers to. Questioning d= 0.48

    We are not omniscient, and in order to encourage an attitude of lifelong learning, we need to model it. It is ok to not know everything, in fact, it is encouraged to dive into a topic we know nothing about with the hope of learning more. So dear colleagues here are some wise words I heard today " Don't just teach what you know, but teach what you want to know."

Tip # 13- Concept maps created with and by students help students organize and synthesize ideas and concepts. 

    Concept maps are a great way to make sense of an article, journal, or concept you are trying to learn, and understand. Above you will see my first concept map in 20 years +. Notice that a key concept of Piaget's theory of cognitive development is missing. I forgot to include the term "Schema," but guess what? We are all learning, it is ok to make a mistake, after a little discussion with my classmates I learned where this item would fit into this map. Concept maps allow you see your whole idea and find areas where key elements of your ideas might be missing.

All About Routines, and My First Eleven Tips for Classroom Management

Kuemper, C. (2021). [Class handout]. St. Mary's University,  EDFN 311

    My first ten tips come directly from class. As I have mentioned before I am compiling a list of classroom management and teaching tips for my Student Engagement course. As soon as you walk into class you learn that the number one tip is ROUTINES. 

    This first experience in the classroom took me back to my preschool teaching days. The first month of school was all about routines, where do you put your backpack, lunchbox, and coat? When is free playtime? Who is the class helper today? How do we know where to go? and what is next? For me, as a new student, I have to remember to sanitize, sign in, pick up my handout, and get ready to learn.

    The importance of routines was my first tip. Here are a few other classroom management tips learned during  first class: 

Tip # 1- It is critical that kids have a series of tasks they do every day when they enter the room.

Hang up coats, put away work from home, go to the carpet, and do some silent reading are great examplesof activities during morning routines. If you teach in a school that is faith base an opening prayer could be

a great way to set the tone for the day.

Tip # 2- Get to know your students’ names as soon as you can! We cannot emphasize that enough. As teachers, we want to build strong close relationships with our students and the first step is to remember their names!

Tip # 3 - Building relationships is critical to student learning. When they recognize that you see them as a person they will be more likely to respond. Let them get to know you so they are willing to let you get to know them.

Tip # 4 - An attention cue is essential in a classroom to bring kids back to the class discussion/activity/lesson. Some examples might include:

A clap rhythm that they repeat.

Hands on top, that means stop.

Eyes on me, It’s Uni.

Put your hand up if you can hear me.

Show me when you are done by putting your hand up.

Tip # 5 - When setting up a classroom group discussion, make sure everyone has a partner, and everyone is connected. My role as a teacher is to walk around and make sure everyone is listened to, valued, respected, and connected.

Tip # 6 - When asking questions or any input from the class it is a good idea to give students some Think time. What do I mean by think time? Wait time = Think time. Students need time to engage, organize their thoughts and respond to a question. Five to eight seconds is optimal. When we are learning we need time to think. Research shows that with increased wait times students’ answers improve and it gives students the opportunity to process their learning. 

Tip # 7- Put students in small groups. This approach gives students a chance to share their ideas with a small number of people, and it gives students more confidence when it is time to share.

Tip # 8 - The more lose the learning activity, the tighter the expectations and instructions. Independence is key to learning, but effective independence in the classroom requires a great deal of instruction before students are expected to work independently.

Tip # 9 Whenever possible encourage writing.

Writing is a great way to plan out what you want to say and it helps

you to stop, and slow down your thinking. 

Tip # 10 - First days in elementary are primarily about routines and relationships.

Do not hurry this process along!

Depending on the age of your students setting up these routines might take up to several weeks.

Tip # 11 - In all, you do in education always ask yourself "Is this method/lesson plan/activity, etc

ENHANCING STUDENT LEARNING? If YES move forward, if NOT reassess.

    Many of the teaching tips presented here, and in future posts will include the following information "d=0.15-0.4." This information relates to John Hattie's Barometer of Influence. Hattie's barometer ranks 242 influences that either reverse the effects of learning (Do Harm) to very positively influence learning. The closer the number is to 1 the greater the influence. 

The Teacher I want to Become

 

    Let me first introduce myself. My name is Monica, and I am on my fourth day (yes, the fourth day!) of a Bachelor of Education at St. Mary's University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I have toyed with the idea of returning to school for many years. I can't tell you the number of times I have called the various admission offices of all the universities in town that offer an after-degree education program. After a lot of back and forth, I took the plunge and applied to get my BEd.  And, guess what? I did it! Well, I was admitted to the program. With the support of my family and many other mentors, I am here back in school! 

    This blog is beginning as an assignment for one of my classes here at St. Mary's (Student Engagement 311, don't I sound like a legit college student!?). I am hoping to give this task a long-term approach. Rather than having this assignment become one more thing I will be recycling at the end of the semester, I am hoping to make a resource that will serve me (and hopefully others too) during my teaching career. 

    So without further ado, please check out my posts, and feel free to leave a comment. I would love to hear if these tips are helpful to you, or better yet, leave your own teaching tip.

    I will sign off with one of my favorite quotes. Thanks for stopping by!

Adios amigos!