Managing the Classroom

Managing the Classroom

1. Classroom Management

   • It refers to the roll or work that we have to have as a teacher, take control of all students, good use of the time, considerations to take into account at the time of activities etc..

2. The teacher in the classroom

   • The presence of the teacher in the class is really important, not just to demonstrate who is the authority but generate a good learning environment.
     • Proximity: Teachers have to try as much a posible to be close with their students in order to change their behavior if is necessary.
     • Appropiacy: The relationship we create as ateacher in the classroom is really important, but in an apropiate way. we have to consider that not all students react in the same way than others, that kind of approach can generate a good atmosphere for students
     • Awareness: A good teacher is who have that ability to know his/her students, this is about that. It is a very good tool the knowledge about how te be close with our students, enter to their mind and toughts. This can help to the teacher how to handle with studnts who have a bad behavior in the class.

3. Using the voice

   • It is our most important resource. As a teachers we have to think that our tone and the way we speak can help as to managem our class sucessfully.
     • There are three issues to think about
       • Audibility: It is important to let to students hear well to get the indications or explanations the teacher gives. We have to be clearly enough, audability and volume are closely and we have to be carefully with each of them. Speak loud but understandable, speak clear but loud.
       • Variety: The rythm of the voices in the class is very relevant. Teacher can take control of that students who are talking or doing something else by speaking a little bit loud. The tone of voice it can be use in differents situations
       • Conservation: The teacher have to take good care of the voice and try to do not wear it out too much.

4. Talking to students

   • Is the way to communicate with students, parents and teachers. The way in which a teacher talks to a child is not the same as that of a parent, so it is very important to take many aspects, students cannot understand everything that teacher teaches, for that reason teacher have to use the ability to be understood by students, this is called rough-tune.But in order to use it, teachers have to take into account three things: *Firstly, they have to be aware what kind of language students are likely to understand. *Secondly: They need to think what they wish to say to students and how best to do it. *Thirdly, they have to consider the manner of how to speak( tone of voice, intonation etc...) It is important also to do not just talk with the mouth but with the body as well. The gestures that teacher do at the time to teach can help to students to get the information easily.

5. Giving instructions

   • Most of us can recall an experience where the facilitator delivered instructions, but we were unclear about what we were expected to do. And, as teachers, most of us have had experiences of giving instructions that were misunderstood or incomprehensible to our learners. While occasional foibles in giving instructions are understandable, mastering instruction-giving is a fundamental aspect of good classroom teaching practice.

6. STT and TTT

   • Overuse of TTT is inappropriate because the more a teacher talks, the less chance there is for the students to practice their own speaking and STT is maximised, but where at appropriate moments during the lesson the teacher is not afraid to summarise what is happening, tell a story or enter into discussion, etc.

7. Different study groupings

   • Whatever the seating arrangements in a classroom, students can be organised in different ways: they can work as a whole class, in groups, in pairs or individually.
     • Whole class
       • Whole-class teaching can be dynamic and motivating and, by treating everyone as part of the same group, we can build a great sense of belonging
     • group work and pair work
       • They both foster cooperative activity in that the students involved work together to complete a task. They may be discussing a topic, doing a role-play or working at a computer in order to find information from a website for a webquest or they may be writing up a report.
     • solowork
       • it allows students to work at their own speed, allows them thinking time, and allows them to be individuals.
     • Class to class
       • Class-to-class interactions are good for surveys (where students can work with students they do not normally interact with in the English lesson), discussions and lectures and presentations.

8. DIfferent seating arrangements

   • The physical setup of chairs, tables, and presentation in a classroom can significantly influence learning. Instructional communication theory suggests that seating arrangements can impact how the instructor communicates with students and how the students interact with one another, impacting engagement, motivation, and focus
     • Orderly rows
       • Orderly rows imply teachers working with the whole class. Some activities are especially suited to this kind of organisation such as explaining a grammar point, watching a video/ DVD or a PowerPoint
     • Horseshoe or Semicircle
       • The horseshoe or semi-circle offers a modified roundtable setup, where all participants face each other while the instructor can move about the room. The horseshoe encourages discussion between students and with the instructor, although this setup tends to encourage more engagement between the instructor and students directly opposite, with slightly lesser amounts for students immediately adjacent to the instructor.
     • Separate tables
       • When students sit in small groups at individual tables, it is much easier for the teacher to work at one table while the others get on with their own work.

9. Creating lesson stages

   • I don't necessarily include all these stages in every writing lesson, and the emphasis given to each stage may differ according to the genre of the writing and / or the time available. Learners work in pairs or groups as much as possible, to share ideas and knowledge, and because this provides a good opportunity for practising the speaking, listening and reading skills.

10. Using the L1

    • The focus of the class often determines how much emphasis gets placed on using or limiting L1 in the classroom. A conversation class may often be better served if students try to use English as much as possible When a student can't understand a word or phrase, or can't follow some aspect of a spoken conversation, then he has the chance to employ speaking strategies.