During observations, there were many different examples of classroom management. A proactive strategy I saw in a grade 1 class was pre-tearing the paper towels for when students wash their hands. I have seen students in other situations washing their hands and pumping lengths longer than they are tall so this was something I noticed right away as it addressed that behavior before it could even take place. The students all knew to take a piece from the basket rather than reaching for the dispenser.

Another management technique that was seen differently in many classes was how to get the classes attention, whether they were getting too loud as a group or it was time for a different task. However, this went deeper than just the words or sound that the teacher used. As stated in the Edutopia.org article, “Emotions are contagious, and when a teacher is able to model a calm presence through their tone, facial expression, and posture, students are less likely to react defensively” (Terada, 2021). This was best demonstrated by a kindergarten teacher I observed in the library that I work in. She was gathering her students to sit on the carpet for a story after they had signed out their books. She had softly invited the class to join her but there were a couple of students that were focused on a book they were looking at together and didn’t notice the other students sitting on the carpet. Rather than changing her tone of voice, she started to sing a “come to the carpet” song and had the other students sing with her. This kept the tone soft and calm but had the additional volume of the other students. This immediately got the attention of the two students and they calmly closed their books and joined the others. In addition to keeping her tone calm, this also keeps her predictable which encourages trust, building the foundation of healthy teacher-student relationships.

References

Terada, Y. (2021, August 13). How Novice and Expert Teachers Approach Classroom Management Differently. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-novice-and-expert-teachers-approach-classroom-management-differently