According to Donna Bogner, author of Starting at Ground Zero: Methods for Teaching First Year Chemistry, the first day of a course is "ground zero." This is the day that sets the tone for the year, and she says, this "is your opportunity to quell the fears of the hesitant, to capture the interest of the curious and to introduce young minds to the fascinating world of chemistry."
In this section, I want to not only deal with management practices on the first day of school, but for the an extended period of time which we will call the "beginning of the year." We will examine several aspects of classroom management that will help get the year off to a good start. These include: effective room arrangements, establishment of rules and procedures, first day lesson plans, and plans for the first two weeks of school.
Room Arrangements
Although teachers typically have no control over the size or shape of the classroom, and in some cases the movement of furniture, there are quite a number of things that can be done to arrange the classroom for effective science teaching. There are a number of management considerations to guide the way you arrange the classroom. Research by Evertson, Emmer and Anderson has indicated that effective managers of classrooms had good room arrangement which helped eliminate potential distractions for students and opportunities for inappropriate behavior, and permitted easy monitoring of students at all times. Figure 10.9 and Figure 10.10 show effective room arrangements for whole class and cooperative learning instructional formats, respectively.
Figure 10.10
In these cases furniture is arranged to facilitate easy flowing traffic patterns, avoiding congestion in areas such as the pencil sharpener, trash can, laboratory stations, demonstration table, and work areas. Desks should be arranged upon the instructional goals and needs of the students. In the arrangements shown, it is a relatively easy management function to stop the action and have the students move their desks together for cooperative learning activities. Incidentally, this can work even if the students have slanted desks. Effective teachers, according to these researchers, took stock or control of their room and created an environment that was conducive to learning.
Establishing Rules and Procedures
Good management begins with a set of classroom rules and procedures which are clearly articulated and taught to the students. The effective set of rules and procedures tend to be general which require thinking and interpreting on the part of the students. Naturally, there might be exceptions to this such as, "You may not work in the laboratory with out safety goggles," or "Only one person speaks at a time." Let's take a look at some of the dimensions of establishing rules and procedures.
Rules for the Science Classroom. Here are some of the findings from research with regard to the establishment of classroom rules and procedures.
• Effective teachers created rules and procedures to guide students' behavior with respect to appropriateness of student talk; movement within and outside the classroom; getting the teachers attention; storing personal belongings; use of equipment (computer); work during laboratory.• Effective teachers also created strategies to be used to positively reinforce good student behavior or sanction misbehavior.
• Effective managers taught the rules and procedures just as they would teach any concept or idea.
• Effective managers presented their rules over a period of days or weeks, and reteach the rules on a regular basis.
• Teachers also integrated rules and procedures into the ongoing classroom instruction by teaching rules appropriate to an instructional activity, e.g. handling acids, using a microscope, using dissecting equipment.
• Rules tended to be stated positively, rather than negatively.
What rules and procedures and how many should science teachers establish in their classroom? First, a rule is statement that describes a general expectation of behavior, whereas a procedure typically applies to a specific activity. Typically teachers should try to keep the number of rules between four and seven. For example one set of rules that I have seen in a number of beginning teachers classroom is this simple list of 4-Ps:
• Prepared• Prompt
• Productive
• Polite
These rules lend themselves to discussion and interpretation, and they encourage students to think about classroom behavior. Other teachers prefer rules to be spelled out in a little more detail. Here is a list of rules that effective teachers put into practice:
1. Bring all needed materials to class.2. Be in your seat and ready to work when the bell rings.
3. Respect and be polite to all people.
4. Do not talk or leave your desk when someone else is talking.
5. Respect other people's property.
6. Obey all school rules.
Many teachers see rules as an opportunity to teach students responsibility and try to involve students in the development of rules. To do this some teachers suggest stating rules in terms of students rights (e.g. to learn, respect for other people and property). This has the added advantage of giving students an opportunity in the ownership of rules. In the science classroom that is attempting to foster inquiry and high level cognitive thinking, this aspect of democracy seems rather important.
On the first day of class time should be devoted to teach the rules, and involve the students in a discussion of the interpretation of the rules. Some would argue, "Why do you allow interpretation, why not be specific and eliminate any argument?" The problem with this approach is too many rules would have to be stated, and student misbehavior would tend to increase given the lengthy list of rules.
What happens if students break a rule. In general, the best approach is to state consequences, in advance, if rules are broken, and relate the consequences to a hierarchy system. For example:
1st time student breaks rule: name on board = warning2nd time student breaks rule: Name 4 = One detention
3rd time student breaks rule: Name 33 = Two detentions
4th time student breaks rule: Name 333 = Two detentions (call parents)
5th time student breaks rule: Name 3333 = Two detentions (call parents, student sent to vice-principal)
Consequences ought to be used to teach responsibility. Consequences, if used properly are not punishments. For example a consequence of not cleaning up the lab table is to be told to clean it up. A punishment would be to apologize to the teacher in front of the whole class. This approach to positive discipline accepts the notion that dealing with student misbehavior is part of the teaching role; that students should be treated with dignity; and that discipline works best when it is integrated with effective teaching and management practices.
These consequences are only examples. Consequences should be chosen that are appropriate for you, and have an impact on the students. According to researchers, its not the severity of the consequence that has the impact on behavior, but the inevitability of receiving the consequence. Other consequences include:
• Last to leave classroom• Citation
• Clean-up the lab
• Letter to parents
• Campus clean-up
• In-school suspension
• Sent to vice-principal
• Send to another room
• Assigned seat
• De-merits
Good management systems also include provisions for rewards---feedback that conveys to students that the teacher appreciates the cooperation they are showing. It is especially important that rewards become part of the instructional system, e.g. One common form of reward is praise. "Class, I appreciate how clean that lab was today when you finished the experiment." Praise can be focused on an individual, a small group, or the whole class. To be most effective, praise should be given after student performance, not as a carrot to induce behavior. The praise should be sincere and genuine, and should describe the particulars of the behavior. ("I liked the way you handled the microscopes yesterday in the lab"). For praise to be seen as credible, students must be convinced that the teacher has considered the performance carefully and means what he or she says about it. "Yesterday, when we went outside to observe the soil, and collect samples, I noticed the how careful you were not to disturb plants, and how careful you were not to make distractions for other classes who were inside the building. That was great. Thanks."
Some teachers use a formalized system of rewards, thereby applying behaviorism by establishing a set of positive reinforcers that can be earned for appropriate behavior. The teacher would establish in advance a system of points that could be earned for "good behavior." As the class accumulates the points within a specified period of time, they can earn privileges such as:
• No homework for one night• Free time in class
• Popcorn or pizza while watching a video
• Class trip
• Outdoor activity
• Free homework pass redeemable anytime throughout the year
• No homework over weekend
Procedures or routines apply to more specific activities, as stated above, and need to be established and maintained. In the science classroom, there are a number of special activities that need attention, in addition to the general procedures all teachers need to attend. These include routines at the beginning and end of class, use and handling of materials, equipment, and living things, and routines for whole class instruction, cooperative learning work, and laboratory work.
Rules, consequences and rewards should be included as part of the course syllabus, and each student should get a copy. The system should also be posted in a prominent place in the classroom.
Beginning and End of Class. Communicating clearly your expectations regarding the beginning and ending of class is an important aspect of classroom management. Effective teachers communicate what is expected of students when class begins. Some teachers begin class by taking attendance by means of a seating chart (especially at the beginning of the year). This is done quickly, and routinely. At the beginning of the year, teachers prefer to call the names from the roll in order to learn the names of students, and use it as an alternative device throughout the year. You will also have to establish a routine to deal with students absent the previous day---some teachers have a folder or bin containing handouts/assignments from previous lessons so that students who were absent simply obtain their work from this place. Whatever routine is established, it should be the student's responsibility to find out what was missed on the absent days.
The beginning of the period for many teachers is when homework is collected. If you are going to go over the homework, then hold off collecting it until you have dealt with it in the lesson. Once the routines have been established, you can formally begin the lesson. Some teachers have a routine for this---walking into the center of the room, standing in front of the chalkboard or wall containing a planning schedule for the lesson. Other teachers begin the lesson with a stimulating inquiry demonstration. Letting students know that its "show time," establishes a business-like, yet friendly atmosphere of learning.
Routines are needed to end a class. You need to establish from day one on a procedure for ending the class. If during the class period the students were involved in a lab or hands-on activity, then you need to establish a clean up routine. Normally, the assignment of materials handlers can facilitate this routine. However, you need to build in time at the end of the lesson---2 or 3 minutes---for this to happen. Let students know how you want them to be dismissed. Most teachers prefer to dismiss the students directly, rather than letting them dash out the door on the bell signal.
Handling materials and equipment. In activities that require the use of materials, you should appoint materials handlers for each team. This person should be given the responsibility to pick up the materials for the group, distribute them within the group, and be responsible for coordinating the clean up of the group, and returning the materials to a designated area.
Special equipment use, such as microscopes, electronic balances and microcomputers, should be preceded by a procedural mini-lesson. If a microcomputer is housed in your room, you should post procedures and rules for its use.
If you have plants, terraria, aquaria, and animals in your classroom, you should plan to teach lessons on the use, care and observation of living things. The use of living things in the classroom, especially animals, is a controversial issue in science education. The procedures that you develop concerning living things in the science classroom can be used to teach cognitive as well as affective outcomes of learning.
How should the science teacher begin the year? How should lesson plans during the beginning of the year be structured? We now turn our attention to "the first day" and "beyond," and examine the management strategies that will promote high levels of involvement among the students.