Chapter 5 Toolkit 1: Classroom Management

Defining classroom management “ The moment-by-moment decisions and actions concerning organization of the classroom activities, e.g. seating and grouping arrangements, starting and stopping activities, dealing with unexpected problems, etc. ” (Scrivener, 2007)

Elements in Classroom Management Critical moments Starting the lesson Dealing with unexpected problems Maintaining appropriate discipline Finishing the lesson Grouping and Seating Singles, pairs, groups, mingle, plenary Arranging/rearranging seating Deciding where to sit/stand Reforming class as a whole group Activities Sequencing Setting up Instructions Monitoring Timing Bring an end Tools & Techniques Using the board, equipment or aids Using gestures to help clarity (instructions/explanations) Speaking clearly (volume & speed) Use of silence Grading complexity of language Grading quantity of language Classroom Management Authority Gathering/holding attention Deciding who does what Establishing/relinquishing authority Getting someone to do something Working with people Spreading your attention evenly and appropriately Using intuition to gauge what students are feeling Eliciting honest feedback from students Really listening to students

Classroom management options Look Looking at classroom events minute by minute Options Finding options Making decisions between one option and the other Actions Doing the chosen action ? ? ? ? ?

TTT (Teacher Talking Time) Vs. STT (Student Talking Time) Students learn a lot of their language from what they hear you say: the instructions, the discussions, the asides, the jokes, the chit-chat, the comments, etc. By listening to you, the learner is somehow absorbing a correct picture of the language. By interacting with you, the learner is learning to interact with a competent user of the language. This may be far more useful than talking to a poor user. Time spent talking to another learner is not particularly useful time.

Yet,… STT If you talk most of the time, how much time will learners get to speak? Imagine a class of 25, just 2 minutes? The most efficient way of learning is for a student to be really involved in a lesson. “Talking at the learners” does not necessarily mean that learning is taking place; in many cases, TTT is actually time when learners are not doing very much or are not involved

Maximizing student interaction Encourage a friendly, relaxed learning environment. Ask questions rather than giving explanations. Allow time for students to listen, think, process their answer and speak Really listen to what they say. Let what they say really affect what you do next. Work on listening to the person, meaning, and language. Increase opportunities for STT. Use gestures to replace unnecessary TTT. Make use of pairs and groups to maximize opportunities for students to speak. Arrange seating so that Ss see and talk to each other. Try out seating arrangements for yourself that allow the whole class to be the focus. If a student is speaking too quietly for you to hear, walk further away, rather than closer to them. Encourage the quite speaker to speak louder so that the class can hear.

Increasing student-student interaction: from teacher to students

Increasing student-student interaction: among students and between teacher and students

Alternative seating arrangements

Moveable seating arrangements

How to give clearer instructions (5 steps) 1. Become aware of your own instruction. (listen to yourself; record yourself; ask others to watch you and give feedback) 2. Pre-plan essential instructions. (use clear language, short sentences, sequence them sensibly, avoid obvious or visible, or unnecessary information) 3. Separate instructions clearly from chit-chat, telling off, joking, etc. (create a silence beforehand, make eye contact with as many students as possible, find an authoritative tone, make sure they are listening before you start. Use silence and gestures to pace instructions and clarify their meaning) 4. Demonstrate rather than explain. 5. Check that students have understood. (don’t assume, get concrete evidence by getting one/two students to tell you what you are going to do is a simple way to do this)

How to get the learners’ attention Start making eye contact. Establish a gesture that means you want to speak. Just wait. Don’t look impatient or anxious. Keep moving your eyes around the room from person to person, patiently. Think of this as “gathering attention”. Enjoy it. Wait as long as necessary until there is silence and people are looking your way. If this doesn’t work, add in a clear attention-drawing word such as “OK”. Say it once and then go back to the waiting.

Which role for which activity? Participate ? Monitor ? Vanish ?

Using Gestures

Using the board well

A few useful ‘board’ thoughts… Avoid long teacher-writing times while Ss are just watching and waiting. Find opportunities to write things up on the board while students are working on other things, so that you are ready when they finish.` Practice writing on the board in a way that your body doesn’t block the view for everyone (standing slightly sideways) and you can make eye contact with the students. It’s not only teachers who can write on boards-where appropriate, get learners to write up answers and ideas, draw pictures and timelines, etc. Watch out that you don’t use your own writing on the board as a lengthy time-wasting way to avoid real teaching!

Alternative positions when writing on the board

Using blackboard drawing One picture is often worth many unnecessary words. Pictures could be used for quick explanations, for setting up a discussion, a dialogue, a role-play, or for story-building. Stick figures are in many ways better than detailed figures. Pictures alone are usually only a starting point. They don’t need to do all the work - build from them with questions and discussion. Even if pictures end up like nothing on earth, they are still a rich source for language and humor!

Stick figure samples

Hints for drawing stick figures Add locations by a few simple props: railway & platform with simple lines; table, knife, fork and flowers for a restaurant, etc. Add character by giving different shapes of head, fattening up bodies, drawing in simple clothes, adding expression in the mouth and eyes.

Eliciting (technique for drawing information, ideas, and language from Ss) LEARNERS TEACHER IDEAS LANGUAGE

Using English in class Use lots of listening material to surround them in the sound of English. Put English-language posters on the walls. Negotiate the ground rules with the students. Discuss (as opposed to ‘Tell’) the point of the activity, lesson, course. Agree how it will be done, why using English is important. Respond positively to every effort at using English. Don’t tell learners off for not using English, but keep operating in English yourself. Spend time on fluency work without correction. Establish that ‘you are delighted’ for them to speak anything at all. Create pair and small-group activities that require them to use English without the loss of face of getting it wrong in a bigger group When it becomes a problem, stop the activity and negotiate again. “I notice that you are using ‘Spanish’. Is that OK? Be prepared for English to grow gradually, rather than be established for a whole lesson at the start of the course.

Intuition in class

How to “prevent” learning (Excessive) teacher talking time (Unnecessary) Echo (Too) helpful sentence completion Complicated and unclear instructions Not checking understanding of instructions Asking, “Do you understand?” Fear of genuine feedback Insufficient authority/over-politeness The running commentary

How to “prevent” learning (cont.) Lack of confidence in self, learners, material, activity / making it too easy Over-helping / over-organizing Flying with the fastest Not really listening (hearing only language problems, never the message) Weak rapport: creation of a poor working environment

Designed as a companion for “Learning Teaching” Methodology II by J Designed as a companion for “Learning Teaching” Methodology II by J. Gonzales Office of Academic Research - ICPNA