Classroom Management Part 2

Handling misbehaving students is just one of the multiple ways that teachers are expected to manage a classroom. As an elementary as well as middle school student, I was exposed to many fights in the classroom. Fights are one of the extreme classroom management tasks that need to be faced. Teachers should calmly assess and then handle the situation as to ensure that no one is harmed and that things do not get more out of hand than they already are. As for highschool, fights were a big deal, but bomb threats were even bigger. Though this may be far-fetched and not an everyday situation, it is still something that has to be dealt with from time to time, and every teacher should be ready to handle the situation effectively may it be presented. Handling either of these situations cannot be done unless all students involved respect the teacher. Respect is something that must be earned. I believe that the students will not respect the teacher unless the teacher shows some sort of respect for the students. This starts by giving them the appropriate space that they need, not exceeding giving them control to do whatever it is that they want. That can lead to many different problems that may not be able to be solved positively.

Motivation Part 2

Students can be self-motivated though it may take some work getting them there depending on their age. More towards the age of highschool, it is easier to find a self-motivated student as they are coming fast upon college and are motivated to achieve good grades as to prepare themselves for and to get to college. No matter what age, when a students sees something that they want, they go for it. Getting a student to be self-motivated simply means finding what they want or ways to interest them in the topics that need to be taught as they will then be interested enough to want to achieve their own goals and will move forward from there. For instance, relating subjects such as math to things that students can relate to and enjoy is a big way to encourage students to be self-motivated. Once they are self motivated, it may follow that they will bring their friends along for the self-motivated ride!

Motivation

Keeping students motivated is a really big part of teaching.Without motivation, students will not be willing to put in the proper effort needed to suceed in school. As an elementary education major, I will not have to deal so much with other teachers not keeping their students motivated as they will stay in my classroom for the majority of the day. It is a teacher's job to keep her students focused on the task at hand and make sure that they do not lose interest in it. Keeping students interested in the material that is being learned is a big part of this though a student will not always be interested in what has to be taught. That's just life. For elementary school- aged children, some of the classroom motivation aspects that we discussed in class would not be appropriate. For instance, letting young students grade themselves or treating them like adults will not benefit anyone. However, setting high expectations for students and making sure that they are aware that you expect them to meet those standards is just one of the many ways to keep young students motivated. This is because young children thrive to impress and please the adults that matter in their lives such as their parents, teachers, and older siblings. I feel that the environment also plays a big part in how a student stays motivated. A classroom should be colorful and keep a child stimulated, but too much going on on the walls and ceilings of students can be very distracting. Distractions make students lose their motivation as they are focusing thier attention on other things rather than classwork. Asking questions to ensure that they are understanding the materials can also be motivating going back to the aspect of students wanting to please the people that they feel are important. This also checks to see if the students are up to date on what is being taught enabling the teacher to figure out whether or not they should be spending more time teaching that subject or move on to something else.

Classroom Management

Classroom management is a big part of a student's education. Without proper classroom management, a student may not be able to learn to the best of his/her ability. For this reason,  I plan on implementing many different ideas that I have seen work in my years of attending school, in my practicums, and what I have learned in this class along with others at Drake. I first and foremost would make sure that my students understand that though I can be friendly and we can joke around, there are times to be serious. I am to be respected as their teacher and elder. I want my students to feel comfortable enough to speak with me about problems that they are having inside and outside of the classroom. That is the best kind of teacher, in my opinion, one that you can count on when help is needed.

As a preschool/ kindergarten teacher, I will learn my student's zone of proximal development and move on from there as that is the best way to reach everyone's learning level on specific subjects. I will definately have high expectations for my students, as I have seen that when teachers have a high expectation of their students, younger children tend to thrive to reach those goals, and at times, even exceed them. I want to be able to say that I made a difference in my student's lives and that they are something great in life like the President, Cheif of Police, Doctors, or Lawyers. To think that this would have all more or less started with me would be the most amazing feeling.

I want to make sure that all of my students are more or less on the same page before I move on to the next subject. Though there are standards and such that need to be met, I believe that it is more important to ensure that all of my students understand the material rather than teaching it, moving on, and keeping my fingers crossed that they got something out of it. I don't want them to just understand some of it, I want them to understand subjects close to completely, if not completely (as I understand that it is not always possible to get everyone on the same page without boring the individuals who understood it the first time it was taught).

Our Presentation.! :)

I feel that our presentation definately went as planned. Though I do believe that it was rushed, (because everyone was so anxious to get out of class early), it still went as it was supposed to. This activity is one that I have actually done with my kindergarten students various times, and the class reacted to the game about the same way as the kindergarteners had. I did, however, notice that group two got really bored and unmotivated and therefore never had their next teammate up and ready when it was their team's turn again, which in return, caused their team to lose as they were no longer actively mentally engaged nor were they  interested. This was the only problem that truthfully bothered me when I think of how the game went.

Tuesday Presentations :)

I definitely (Totally just struggled to spell that word once again ha) though that the presentations went well. I can honestly say that I learned a little something from all of the groups. I feel that everyone put in the same amount of effort and everyone seemed more or less motivated to get their lessons done in the most efficient ways possible. I loved the creativity that came with some of them and the different age levels that were taught was pretty cool. I very much enjoyed watching my classmates teach. I definately know that they will all be great teachers very soon :)

Class So Far...

So far, class is pretty intersting. I like the fact that as a class, we all stay engaged in the conversations that take place. This would not be nearly as possible if we did not have our little table discussions. I believe this is because often times, individuals are afraid to vent their feelings or thoughts about a subject simply because they do not want to be shot down by saying something offensive, or something that may make them feel as if what they said was dumb or unnecessary. With our various mini group discussions, the classroom environment has become much more comfortable and home-like as we begin to build relationships with the individuals at our tables that we are constantly engaging in converstations with.

As for the learning theories, I am pretty much understanding everything pretty well. However, I find myself fumbling to remember what CLT stands for. As I am writing this, I can sit here and think of what the C acutally stands for (Constructivist), however, when put on the spot, it is not so simple. I do always eventually remember. It's crazy that I understand what it is and all, and yet I struggle to remember what the C stands for. Sad, but true.