Moreover, there is no doubt that teachers should be like an encyclopedia
full of many branches of knowledge, as students like to have interesting
content in their language lessons. If teachers manage to arouse the
interest of their students, they could raise their motivation intrinsically.
The more interest students have, the better managed classes teachers
have. Establishing positive and effective classroom management needs
knowledge as the first requisite to a high degree. He adds that teachers
“who truly know their lesson material and are effective managers can
subsequently focus on motivational strategies, student assessment, and
reflection on teaching and learning” . A teacher who has good knowledge
can be a good model to students and can feel comfortable and confident.
Humanistic teaching could be a good method in dealing
with disruptive
students because it concerns students' feelings and
motivation. Harmer (2001) points out that “humanistic teaching has
also found a greater acceptance at the level of procedures and activities,
in which students are encouraged to make use of their own lives and
feelings in the classroom” . Using this method, teachers might design
activities that make students feel good and remember happy times whilst
at the same time practice language. Teachers should take on many different
roles in the classroom. These roles are not like the traditional role
of being the authoritarian of the class. The role of the teacher is
to be the instructional leader. In order to fulfill that role, teacher
must deal with the social, intellectual, and physical structure of the
classroom” . They point out that there are three key elements that
stand out as critical components of a well-managed classroom. These
elements are efficient use of time and classroom space, implementations
of strategies that influence students to make good choices rather than
attempt to control students’ behavior, and wise choices and effective
implementation of instructional strategies. One of the most important
ways to manage a classroom is giving encouragement to students. This
is not only important for students who are successful but also for students
who exert noticeable effort. Every opportunity should be taken to give
encouragement to students who are making a real effort and not just
to those who are being most successful” .Teachers may encourage demotivated
students by such means as physical and oral reinforcement. Jack C. Richards,
Charles Lockhart. discusses the award-winning teachers model. They believe
that it is the teachers’ responsibility to motivate students to behave
and learn well by giving encouragement as rewards. They point out that
“a vital part of the role of a teacher is to enthuse, inspire, and
motivate their students” .[19, P.38].
Some teachers tend to focus on one particular area of the class, although
they do not realize it. This area may be the place
where very good students sit. It may be the front, or the area by the
window. This tendency of some teachers to consider one area of the class
more than other areas may lead to some problems concerning classroom
management. If some students feel that they are neglected, they may
behave irresponsible, so teachers should make sure that they consider
all students in the class. Underwood points out that “teachers need
ways of ensuring that every student gets a fair share of turns at asking
or responding or whatever, without all the rest of the class losing
interest” She suggests some ways of ensuring all the students like
using the class register list, thinking of the class as a set of lines
and rows and addressing a question to a person from each line/row in
turn, and inviting the one who answers to name the person who will answer
the next question. Creating a relaxing classroom environment is
one of the most important points that leads to successful classroom
management. Snyder maintains, “The classroom created by the … teacher
is a major factor in classroom management success” [31,P.64]. Teachers
face many challenges because of the rapid development of education,
and one of these challenges is students' motivation. Most students nowadays
in general and students in particular, need special treatment. These
students need classroom management strategies that create a caring and
respectful environment that supports learning. Weinstein points out
that we now distinguish between discipline—responding to inappropriate
behavior—and classroom management—ways of creating a caring and
relaxing environment that encourages learning. To conclude, much literature
indicates the importance of the emotional side of the students, and
instructors should bear in mind this element when treating and teaching
the students. Teachers should have some abilities and skills, as well
as use some strategies and techniques, to manage their classroom effectively.
Building a good rapport with students is crucial as a first step toward
effective classroom management and, therefore, to effective teaching
and learning.
The Problem of Classroom Management
Problems might become more serious. In interview
with one male teacher, he said, “Hopeless cases of back-seated students
always try to show that they exist only by too much talking and making
noise and riot.” Another male teacher in the focus group agreed with
the previous one by asserting, “Some students are always ready to
make comments to draw their classmates’ attention and the teacher’s
as female teacher emphasized that carelessness, weakness, and lack of
awareness are the main problems she has encountered in her classes.
This also causes disturbance to more careful and attentive students.
Additionally, a female teacher in an interview raised the problem of
unmotivated classes. She said, A nonactive, careless, and unmotivated
class is the most prominent problem. However, the teacher tries her
best to solve the problem, but students are still reluctant to do any
effort to improve. Being in such a class makes you feel as if you were
in a grave yard.
Moreover, one of the interviewed male
teachers mentioned, "Students are careless most of the time especially in the English
class. They work hard to waste their time and their teacher’s time.
I think the main reason is that they are very weak in English and can’t
understand the material. I think that we can’t expect satisfactory
output, if there is no input in advance."
A female teacher stated, “Weak students don’t pay attention well in the class because
they can’t speak English in front of their classmates.” A native
speaking male teacher commented, “When this weak student is not involved
in discussions and doesn’t have the ability to answer, at this point
he tries to mislead his teacher and students with wrong answers which
may not be related to what we are talking about.”
Finally, when I asked a male teacher about the reason behind misbehavior
in English class, he replied, “Probably you should know, all students’
weak background in English language and their negative personal attitude
about learning English make them bored and careless sometimes.” Some
students still think that English is very difficult to learn. Many teachers
raised the problem of lack of motivation as a major cause of misbehavior.
Some thought that some students may misbehave because they don’t have
a clear aim for learning English. One teacher in the focus group said,
“A few students have no motivation, so they like to disturb their
classmates.” Another teacher commented, “Some students are insisting
on the idea that they cannot improve at this stage. They think it’s
too late.” Many teachers stated a few reasons that might cause misbehavior.
Some teachers mentioned that the big number of students in one class
might affect the management negatively. “Gangs sitting together”
was a phrase written by a male English. He meant that disruptive students
like to sit near each other to get support to misbehave. A female teacher
asserted, “Some bad girls try to influence the other girls and lead
them to disruption.” Some other teachers attributed misbehavior to
the educational system itself. A native English teacher commented, My
biggest problem stems from a system where students remain in the classroom
and teachers go to them, in addition to the absence of a “passing
period” in between classes. This leads to a grey area of when class
begins and ends, which makes it impossible to get students to focus.
A male teacher said that the classroom’s physical arrangement sometimes
encourages students sitting in the back to lose track of the lesson.
Some students like to talk a lot during the lesson,
so the administration should find a solution. The social workers have
to interfere.” In addition, some teachers asserted that most school
administrations want students to pass exams in one way or another. As
a result, students are reluctant to study. One female teacher in stated,
“Some students do not pay attention to the lesson because they know
they will be promoted to the next grade automatically.” A female
teacher who was interviewed mentioned, “The problem is mainly with
both the teachers and the school administration.” Some teachers object
to he opinion that says some teachers are not organized or patient.
One teacher in the focus group elaborated on this point by saying, “Students
know their rights and run to the Ministry or the Zone Directorate to
complain if the teacher has reacted against their misbehavior. Frankly
speaking, teachers are overloaded, so they are not patient enough to
control the class in the right way.” Another teacher said, “Problems
may occur as a result of teachers’ inability to organize his/her tasks.”
Some teachers believed that too much leniency might affect management
negatively. One of them wrote, “Liking the teacher so much is a problem
sometimes as they think she will forgive.” Moreover, qualitative
data analysis presented some other causes of misbehavior. Some teachers
indicated that some problems are coming from outside the classroom.
Classroom management is a real problem because students have many cultures
as they come from different countries.” However, some teachers did
not support this opinion as the majority of students are Arabs and they
probably have the same culture. In addition, some teachers mentioned
that there are some outside factors that affect students' behavior in
the classroom. Students don’t study at home, so they depend on their
teachers, and the parents’ role may be absent with some students.The
absence of the parents’ role has damaged the motivation in our students.
Most parents don’t have any idea about their kids.” A native English
teacher raised another problem that might affect classroom management.
He stated, “As a teacher who doesn’t know it is sometimes difficult
to convey what you want to say to students, and that affects management.”
Another teacher from the same zone said, “Some problems come from
outside the class when some other students, particularly in the final
period, interrupt the lesson by knocking on the classroom door.”
Management can be affected by visitors and students who come into or
leave the classroom during the process of teaching." The additional
comments from teachers gave more detailed data and deeper thoughts.
All schools everywhere experience disruption. I only have experience
of one public school where I have found behavior better than some of
the private schools I have taught at. Behavior depends mainly on overall
school policies and parental support. Most behavior is not that vicious
and vindictive as we can see in the west or at least as portrayed in
Western movies and TV programs.
2.3 How to be a good teacher
Teachers and their individual teaching styles cover the spectrum.
Some are strict, some are lenient, some are funny, and some don’t
hang around long enough to develop a style at all…you get the picture.
The “burnout rate” for new teachers is shocking. Many simply cannot
handle the demands of the job, so after the first year or two, they
find another profession. The ones who are still teaching after four
or five years are most likely doing something right. They’ve found
a way to manage their classes, and they’ve been able to keep the administrators
happy enough to decide to renew their yearly contracts.
Every teacher goes about teaching a little differently. There is not,
nor should there be, a “cookie cutter mold” for effective educators.
Students benefit greatly from experiencing a variety of teaching styles.
That said, there are some salient characteristics that most good teachers
share:
Knowledge and love of the subject: If a teacher doesn’t know her material well, how can she hope
to teach it to others? The best teachers truly love the subject they
teach and are constantly trying to learn more about it. Students pick
up quickly on this! When they see a teacher who’s excited about a
subject, the sentiment can spread to them.
Management: Good teachers have to be excellent managers. It’s not easy to
keep a room full of students focused, keep up with grades and assignments,
follow all the school’s rules, keep parents happy, and jump through
all the state-mandated hoops and red tape.
Motivation: Teachers also have to serve as motivators. In order to be a quality
teacher, one has to be able to motivate students – to get and keep
them actively participating in the learning process. This is often a
daunting task. Good teachers have numerous motivational strategies in
their “bag of tricks.”
Patience: For her own sake as well as for the benefit of the students, a teacher
needs to have an extreme amount of patience. If you’ve never had the
experience of being a classroom teacher, you can’t imagine the things
we have to handle. Mischief, clowning, bullying, tears, fights, skipping
class, challenged learners, broken hearts, and downright meanness are
day-to-day occurrences in most classes. Excellent teachers usually have
the patience of Job.
Accessibility: A good teacher makes herself accessible to students and to parents.
This might include individual after or before-school help, group study
sessions, and staying in touch with parents.
Interest: A good teacher is interesting, and unfortunately, this is something
that cannot be taught in any amount of years spent in education classes
at a teacher’s college, although teaching resources can often help.
Students are almost always much more interested in Wii games, MTV, and
the opposite sex than they are in school. How do you make British Literature
fascinating to a group of teenagers? I used a wide range of interesting
lectures with interesting tidbits that weren’t in the text book, along
with videos, student-focused activities, and innovative methods of all
kinds to pique the interest of my students. In addition, I always managed
to inject a good dose of humor, which the students loved!
Approachability: A good teacher is viewed as approachable by her students. They should
not be so intimidated that they are afraid to ask questions or to request
extra help. Accomplish this by smiling and maintaining a friendly attitude.
Be careful, however – be friendly but don’t become a pal.
Empathy and understanding: Good teachers learn that few things are black or white – there’s
always a gray area. Educators have to take this into account and be
flexible. If an assignment is due on Friday, for example, but John didn’t
turn his in, which is very unusual behavior for him, find out what the
problem is. He might have a good excuse. At least be willing to listen.
I’m not saying that rules and deadlines should not be enforced –
they should. But nothing should be “set in stone.”
Transference: This is probably the most critical element and the hardest to achieve
or explain. I’m referring to the ability to somehow take what you
know and be able to transfer that knowledge into the minds of your students.
No matter how brilliant or knowledgeable an educator might be, if she
can’t transfer that knowledge, she’s useless as a teacher. A few
highly motivated, intelligent students will learn regardless of whether
or not the teacher has transference skills. Most, however, will not.
Respect: Most teachers expect or demand respect, yet all do not use respect
when dealing with their students. Respect is a two-way street. I always
treated my students with respect, never “talking down” to them,
embarrassing them, or berating them. In turn, I rarely had a student
treat me with disrespect.
Concern: Good teachers display genuine concern for their students. Kids are
smart, and they’re usually pretty hard to fool. They know which educators
really care about them and which ones are there just to collect a paycheck
and be off on major holidays. Let your students know that you care about
them as individuals and not as just another name or number on your rosters.
Fairness: This is a very important element for effective teaching and classroom
management. Your grading and discipline guidelines should be as objective
as possible. Students can easily understand which ones are your favorites.
It’s natural to like some students more than others, but this should
never influence grades, rules, or classroom policies.
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior
teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” -William Arthur Ward
Every so often, people get up-in-arms about teaching and education
in college. New studies come out, new methods are touted and tried,
curricula get revised, and pretty much everyone gets criticized. Anyone
familiar with the undergraduate experience knows that — nationwide,
at least — physics departments are often at the bottom of the barrel
when it comes to how poorly their students rate them.
1.) Take pride in being as good a teacher as you can.
I really, really mean this one. If you can’t take this step, get out. If you can’t bring yourself to care enough to really bring an
outstanding effort to your teaching, in terms of planning, preparation
and delivery, there is nothing I (or anyone else) can tell you that
will make you a good teacher.
What does this mean? It means that you’re going to commit to using
everything you’ve got and everything you know to give your students
the best learning experience you can give them in the time you have
together.
2.) Love the subject you’re teaching.
If you can’t bring yourself to come in excited and enthusiastic for
your lesson, how are you possibly going to get your students excited
about it? But if you love it like it’s the greatest thing in the world
— because for you, it actually is — your students will know. And, for the most part, they’ll
appreciate that.
Don’t even think about the pipe dream that all of your students
are going to appreciate you all of the time. It won’t happen, and
if you’re teaching to get that external validation from your students,
you’re pretty much always going to be disappointed. But if you love your subject, and you take
pride in teaching it well, you’ve got it in you to be a great teacher.
What do you have to do?
3.) Teach the right way for your own style. Not everyone can stand up in front of a class and do 60 minutes of
calculus. Not everyone can deliver a compelling lecture on black hole
formation. And not everyone can critique students’ problem-solving
ability in a constructive manner in a large lecture hall.
Teaching is as much about learning what works for students (and you
know some of this: you were once a student) as it is about learning what works for you.
I’m not saying you should never leave your comfort zone, but I am
saying that following the latest education fad isn’t going to make
you a good teacher. Figuring out your style and working your lessons
into a form that suits you and your style, however, may.
5.) Don’t fall into the trap of having to cover everything. It’s much better to do the best you can in the time you have to
do it, and to choose what you think is most
Some other tips:
You are fallible, and you should be able to admit
to your students when you’ve done something that you wished you had done better.
Model what you expect them to do. If you expect them
to solve problems, solve some similar examples for them in class.
Give them practice. If they’re going to be tested on something, give them practice
doing it. If the test questions are going to be hard, make at least
some of the practice questions equally hard.
And don’t beat yourself up over the ones who don’t try hard enough. Some of them won’t, and they need to learn that lesson for themselves,
even if it comes at your expense on your evaluations.
Don’t get me wrong; interactivity is good. Assessments are good.
But so are lots of other things.
If you’ve got a good knowledge of your subject and a dear love of
both it and of teaching, you’ve got it in you to be a great teacher.
But you’ve got to keep learning, you’ve got to take responsibility
for your own shortcomings, and you’ve got to give it your all to teach
them what you believe is important for them to learn. You’re going
to make mistakes, and so are they. But if you go, day-by-day, on the
journey of what everyone’s learning, and you pay attention, and you
work to get better at it (and to help them get better at it), that’s
how you become great. The rest of it — what most people focus on —
those are just details. Get the big issues right, and you just might
discover, for a teacher, what really matters.
2.3 Ways to practice classroom
management
1. Brainstorm classroom goals together.
This tip came from my dear mentor teacher as I was
student teaching. The idea is that students feel responsible. Students
ponder and then write their goals for the school year. I write mine
as well and we post them for all to see. Then students are asked what
they need from the class, including me, to accomplish their goals. They
brainstorm as I write all the ideas on the board. We end up with many,
many ideas. Then I ask the students if they can find similarities among
the ideas, and we begin grouping them. Then we come up with just a few
ideas that include all of the original ideas. These become our classroom
guidelines.We write them on large poster board and post them in the
room. Then we discuss what would happen if someone were to not follow
the guidelines and we again brainstorm consequences. Students do a wonderful
job at this! They see the importance and they are more inclined to be
responsible students and the consequences seem to fit very well! Discussions
about this entire process should follow regularly to ensure that students
keep it at the center of our classroom community.
2. Balance their checkbooks along
with their behavior.
Every year, I create a mock checking account system
for my 6th grade class. The students get paid biweekly and live life
in class just like they are on their own in the real world. If a student
breaks a rule in class, he/she pays a fine. If a student is a repeat
offender, the fine is doubled. The students determine the amount of
the fines, as well as the amount of their paychecks prior to starting
this year-long activity. If homework is not turned in, the student pays
a fine. If a student does extra work (i.e. straightens the library,
helps a classmate, etc.) he/she receives a bonus on his/her paycheck.
The students keep track of their accounts using "checks" and
"registers". I track their accounts just like the bank would
and issue a monthly statement stating their current balance. At the
end of the year, students who have not paid fines and still have money
in their accounts get to participate in a class auction. Items auctioned
include pencils, pens, calculators, pocket dictionaries, gift certificates,
candy bars, and a pizza party. The students enjoy it and I like teaching
them math that they will use every day.
3. Wish upon a "Secret Star"
for orderly lines.
To encourage my students to walk in a quiet and orderly
line while in the hallways, I often pick a "Secret Star" when
going somewhere (e.g. P.E., Art, lunch, etc.). I usually pick a boy
and a girl "Secret Star". I don't tell who my "Secret
Star" is and I tell the students that I am watching to see if my
"Secret Star" is walking nicely and quietly. When we arrive
back to our classroom I announce the "Secret Star" if and
only if the "Secret Star" was successful in being a good walker.
The "Secret Star" then gets a Starburst candy. Since nobody
knows who the "Secret Star" is, everybody is usually very
quiet and respectful in case it might be him or her. If the "Secret
Star" is not quiet and respectful then I simply state that "My
Secret Star did not make it this time." I don't tell who it was.
This works wonders for getting the students to walk quietly in the hallways
and it's also fun.