Classroom Management - Assignment Example

Classroom Management I observed various classes in order to analyze different concepts, techniques activities and form the various evaluation of each given class. The first class was an English listening class that lasted for one hour (11a.m-12p.m). The class had one teacher and three students. The main topic was “Television”. Apart from the desks and the chairs in the room, the class was equipped with other facilities, which facilitated the learning process. The facilities improved the classroom from the usual traditional form to a class that enhanced the dynamic exchange of perceptions, ideas and other concepts between three students and the teacher. It is significant for both parties to identify these things. Hopkins (2002, 10) explains that the setting of a class makes an observer to preconceive what he/she will expect when the class commences. Since the topic was about the television, the students would have to listen to the television. Since s and videos are almost inseparable, there was the inclusion of the video. It also made the class more interesting. The television was placed before the class while the instructor stood between the students and the screen. However, she made sure that she did not obstruct the students from viewing the screen. By standing between these two subjects, the teacher was able to monitor both sides thus she could manage the class better. If she stood at the back of the class, the students would be distracted by having to look at the rear of the course group and then at the front in order to follow up on both the teacher and the screen. The teacher started by pronouncing some words to be expected when viewing the video or television. The students first listened to the pronounced words, then they repeated these words and then they tried to spell them out so that they could have a better understanding of them. The teacher encouraged the students to ask questions regarding the areas they did not understand. Additionally, the teacher encouraged the participation of the students before, after and during the watching of the video. At one point, all the three students were not attentive to what was on the screen. The teacher encouraged the students to be attentive by showing the video once more. The teacher’s language and actions were also strategic in enabling the students to understand the content they were taught. Ollerton (2004, 14) states that the language used by a teacher when teaching plays a major role in enabling a student to understand a given topic. The teacher was constantly praising the students or using other words that encouraged them to correct their mistakes. Such words and phrases as “very good, good trial, can you try ones more” amongst other words characterized this classes. Through my observation, the students’ concentration was captured through this approach as compared to reprimanding the students or intimidating the students. In order to enable the students to express themselves, the teachers allowed the use of some colloquial language such describing a movie as boring instead of the use of the word unexciting. Although this is a good approach of teaching students who are not familiar with English, the teacher should explain to the students when such words should be used and when they should not be used. The teacher also used gestures in explaining some words. For example, she used hand gestures to explain about the green creatures in the movie “Avatar”. Such gestures keep the class interesting and they aid in the student’s memory of the word. The teacher made sure that his concentration was focused on all the students without acting in favor of any of the students. Each child was given equal attention when it came to individual assistance. This enabled her to know the strengths and the weaknesses of each student. Additionally, the teacher called each student by name when encouraging them to give examples of particular words or when correcting their wrongs. This enabled the students to feel that they were part of the rest of the class. The board was used to attract the class’s attention as a whole. I would like to include these strategies in my own class especially if I am given a grade level class to teach. Given that the class was one hour long and it was the last class before the lunch break, the teacher tried to keep the class interesting and to capture the concentration of the class while achieving the objectives of the lesson that day. The teacher was able to use the resources in the class within the period and thus effectively delivered the lesson. Observation 2 The second observation was made in a grammar class, which had eleven students who were between the ages of twenty to forty. This class was thirty minutes long and it lasted from 11.10am to 11.40a.m. The students were at the beginners’ level. They mostly comprised of Saudi soldiers. The class was equipped with facilities that were technologically advanced so that they would enhance the smooth flow of the learning process. Since these were mature students and not children, the teacher included diverse teaching techniques as compared to the one teaching a children’s class. The teacher started the class by asking whether anybody knew who Winston Churchill was. The teacher further asked the students whether they knew or they understood what a cigar was. Solomon (2007, 35) explains that moving from the known to the unknown is a good approach when teaching a new language or when introducing a new topic. When answering the questions, the students answered them in Arabic, an action that the teacher discouraged. The teacher went ahead to try to aid the students in remembering the lesson learnt previously. He asked them whether they remembered the meaning of the abbreviation ‘PM’. Like in a normal class, there were a few mumbles heard as the students tried to remember the meaning while others tried to translate the sentences from Arabic to English. The teacher called one of the students, Hasan, in order to encourage him to speak up. As the student spoke up, the teacher called another student, Khalid, in order to get his attention on the differences in pronunciation and meaning. The use of encouraging expressions such as smiles from the teacher was very dominant during this period. Additionally, he reassured them of the areas where they found trouble understanding. For example, Saleh had trouble with the pronunciation of the word watching where he pronounced it as washing. The use of repetition, engaging individual students and summarizing the previous lesson learnt before starting a new one, are good in the adult class as they aid in capturing the attention of individual students. Additionally, the teacher is able to monitor the weaknesses of the individual students (Solomon, 2007; 40). The writing part proved to be more challenging that the previous session. Some students depended on other students to write for them given that they were not well versed with the vocabulary and other concepts such as the prepositions. The teacher was able to handle this situation effectively although he was not hesitant to display his disappointment in those students who were not making an effort to learn and grasp the main concepts. He spent a few minutes explaining how a word is transformed into a doing word by adding ‘ing’. He further explained how the verbs with ‘e’ at the end are added ‘ing’ by eliminating the ‘e’. The teacher was also quick to reprimand those who constantly spoke Arabic instead of making an effort to speak English. I found commendable when the teacher out rightly showed his disappointment in those students who were not willing to make an effort in speaking English or those students who depended on assistance for their work. Such expressions alert the students that the teacher is keen on their progress. In most cases, it encourages the student to put more effort since he/she knows that they will fail the class if they do not try hard enough. Additionally, this is an adult class and so those who disappoint should be told so that they correct their actions. However, the teacher should be careful so that he does not reprimand so much, that the students get discouraged in trying harder. Observation 3 This observation was done in a speech class of ten students. The main topic in this class dwelt on communicating to others about oneself. The class lasted for one hour (1-2p.m). The arrangement in this class was done in away to show that group discussions would be taking place. The words ‘like’ and ‘dislike’ were introduced to the class. The teacher explained that the words would be used to express preferences. The teacher continued to state that the students would engage in communicating about their personal information. This included talking about their hobbies and their preferences. The students arranged themselves into various groups so that they could engage in discussions and thus help each other in constructing sentences or understanding the concept. The teacher talked to the whole class and then he asked the students to discuss in their various groups. In order to introduce humor to his teaching, the teacher said that the students did not have to worry about telling their age as part of the personal information. The students laughed about it. Evertson and Weinstein (2006, 26) explain that humor breaks the class monotony. It also encourages the students to be more creative in their thinking. The students were asked to formulate questions about their personal life. At this juncture, most of the students expressed their difficulty in formulating the questions. The teacher went to the board and gave a formula of how the questions should be constructed. The teacher explained that one should start with a question word such as ‘What, Where, How, Which and When’ and then follow this with the word ‘do’. This should be followed by the subject. The subject is then followed by the verb and then it is followed by the construer. The teacher gave examples of construers to be used in order to make the students’ work easier. The teacher also specified on the questions to be asked. The first question would be about the age of the family members and the second would be about the foods they liked. After forty minutes, the students still had trouble constructing the sentences. The teacher gave them suggestions of writing the activities they did the previous day. They still had trouble with this. The teacher engaged the technique of attending to the individual students in the various groups. He encouraged some students to spell some words as he identified that some students had major spelling mistakes. He encouraged such students with a smile. This action enabled the students to gain courage in doing the pronunciation as opposed to shying away or feeling embarrassed about it. In other cases, he found the students showing each other questions while they spoke Arabic. At this point, the teacher reminded them that they were supposed to ask each other questions but not show each other the questions. One interesting thing I saw about the teacher’s character is that he did such activities as answering the phone during the class session. Evertson and Weinstein (2006, 52) warn that such conduct distracts a class process. Instructors should make sure that gadgets as mobile phones, pagers or any other form of distraction is done away with until the end of the class. In all the three classes, I found that the teachers were making use of the various teaching techniques depending on the class being taught. The use of praise and other forms of encouragement was constant in the three observations showing that teachers have embraced praise as a form of student motivation. The setting of the classes incorporates technology as it facilitates the learning process. Computers, television, video and projectors were seen in some of the classes. The teachers also reprimanded when necessary, which helped the students to make the necessary improvement. References EVERTSON, C., & WEINSTEIN, C. (2006). Handbook of classroom management: research, practice, and contemporary issues. Mahwah, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. HOPKINS, D. (2002). A teacher's guide to classroom research. Buckingham, Open University Press OLLERTON, M. (2004). Teaching techniques. New York, Continuum. SOLOMON, A. (2007). Classroom management for the adult learner. New York [u.a.], Thomson Delmar Learning Read More