Педагогические науки/5. Современные методы преподавания

Tulegenova A.M., Rakhymkhanova S.Ye.

Eurasian national university named by L.N. Gumilyev

Classroom management techniques

Classroom management is a term used by teachers to describe the process of ensuring that classroom lessons run smoothly despite disruptive behavior by students. The term also implies the prevention of disruptive behavior. It is possibly the most difficult aspect of teaching for many teachers; indeed experiencing problems in this area causes some to leave teaching altogether. [1; 46]

Teachers need to behave in different ways at different stages of a lesson to manage the classroom and to successfully guide learners through the lesson. In order to achieve a high level of classroom management, teachers must be:

Role	The teacher:
Planner	prepares and reflects on the lesson before teaching, anticipates problems and selects, designs and adapts materials.
Manager	Organizes. the learning space, makes sure everything in the classroom is running smoothly and sets up rules and routines (i.e. things which are done regularly) for behavior and interaction.
Monitor/Observer	goes around the class during individual, pair and group work activities, checking learning and providing support as necessary.
Facilitator	provides opportunities for learning, helps learners to access resources and develop learner autonomy.
Diagnostician	works out the causes of learners’ difficulties.
Language resource	can be used by the learners for help and advice about language.
Assessor	evaluates the language level and attitudes of the learners by using different means of informal and formal assessment.
Rapport builder	tries to create a good relationship with and between learners.

The teachers can be planners before the lesson, rapport builders during the warm-up and lead-in phase, language resources during the language input and practice phase, monitors during role-play, pair work activities or writing, and assessors during the lesson, both formally and informally, and after the lesson when teachers are correcting learners’ work [2; 165].

Seating: Fixed, semi-fixed and large seating

Teachers could ask students to:

· Turn around and sit backwards, working with the people behind them;

· Sit on the ends of their row and work with people in the next row;

· Sit on their desks and talk with people nearby;

· Stand up, move around and return to a different seat;

· Stand in the aisle space between rows;

· All come to the front (or another open space) to talk.

Figure 1 shows an original seating plan. They can be used in rows because, although only lightly fixed, there seemed to be no other way to arrange them.

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Figure 1 Original seating plan

However, there are a number of other possible arrangements (see Figure 1.1). The horseshoe arrangement, particularly proved very suitable for the English classes.

Figure 1.1 Alterative seating arrangements

Moveable seating

Some ideas for investigating and exploring the possibilities of moveable seating:

· Ask students to move seats when you create pairs or small groups. Don’t let students get stuck in unsuitable seating arrangements when a move is preferable.

· If it’s really too noisy, make the discussion of that (and the finding of a solution) part of the lesson well.

· Figure 1.2 shows some patterns to think about.

· If the students normally sit in rows, teacher should try forming a circle.

· Turn the classroom around so that the focus is on a different wall from normal.

· Make seating arrangements that reflect specific context, e.g. a train carriage, an airplane, a town centre or whatever.

· Push all seats up against the wall and make a large, open forum space in the middle of the room.

· Deliberately place your seat off-centre (i.e. not at the front). This is an interesting subversion of expectations and immediately challenges expectations about who a teacher is and what a teacher should do.

· Divide the class into separate groups at far corners of the room.

· Ask How can we recognise this classroom to make it a nicer place to be? Let the class discuss it and agree, then do it.

· Push seats or desks up against the wall. Sit on the floor (only if it’s clean!).

‘pairs’ ‘opposing teams’ ‘enemy corners’

face-to-face (or back-to-back) ‘panel’

‘public meeting’ ‘buzz groups’ ‘wheels’

Using the board

Organization

One resource that almost every teacher has is a board, whether it is a small board on an easel, a wide chalk board, a pen board or an interactive computer board. Although it is possible to write randomly on the board as things occur in class, teacher will often find that it’s worth paying a little attention to organizing items.

At the start of the lesson, draw a few dividing lines on the board, e.g. from three working areas, like this:

Review section (for key points from last lesson)

Scratchpad for drawing, displaying words as they come up, etc

Key vocabulary and grammar

Board drawing

Teachers must not say they can’t draw! No matter how un-Monet-like teacher’s artistry, one picture is often worth many unnecessary words. For the quick explanation of vocabulary items, for setting up a discussion, a dialogue or role play, for story-building, teacher need pictures. Clearly the basic skills is to draw people in some form, and stick people are in many ways better than detailed figures because they’re so quick to do.

Giving instructions

In multilingual class you have to use English for instructions. But, in monolingual classes you have a choice: English, native language – or some mixture of both. It is certainly possible to use only English (and it’s often really helpful in creating an ‘English’ atmosphere in the classroom), but it’s often problematic because of the quantity and over-complexity of language used.

Gestures

Try to develop a range of gestures (and facial expressions) to save you repeating basic instructions and to increase opportunities for learner talk. Teachers should remember that learners will need to learn the meaning of teachers’ gestures; they will not magically know that teacher’s pointing means ‘Use the past tense’, but if teacher give the oral instruction a few times while also gesturing, they will soon associate the gesture alone with that instruction.

Eliciting

‘Eliciting’ means drawing out information, language, ideas etc from the students. It is a technique based on the principles that:

· Students probably know a lot more than we may give them credit for;

· Starting with what they know is a productive way to begin new work;

· Involving people in question-and-answer movement towards new discoveries is often more effective than simply giving ‘lectures’.

There are three steps to eliciting:

1. The teacher conveys a clear idea to the students, perhaps by using pictures, gestures or questions, etc.

2. They then supply the appropriate language, information or ideas.

3. The teacher gives them feedback.

Teachers can elicit: language, ideas, feelings, meaning, context, memories, etc. Teachers can’t elicit: things learners do not know.

In conclusion, classroom management techniques are the most important part of the lesson. In addition, it is the moment-by-moment decisions and actions concerning organisation of the classroom and activities, e.g. seating and grouping arrangements, starting and stopping activities, dealing with unexpected problems, etc. Besides, effective classroom management, i.e. organising the classroom and the learners, is dependent on the teacher adopting appropriate roles.

References

1. Scrivener, J. (2011) Learning Teaching: The Essential Guide to English Language Teaching (3^rd Edition), Macmillan Publishers Limited

2. Spratt, M., Pulverness A. and Williams M. (2013) The TKT (Teaching Knowledge Test) Course (Modules 1,2, and 3), Cambridge University Press

3. Johnston, J., Myers, J., Pollock, K. and Zoet, C. (2007 Draft document) I am the Teacher: Effective Classroom Management for Occasional Teachers, ETFO Toronto

4. Rhode, G., Jenson, W.R. and Reavis, H.K. (1992) The tough kid book: Practical classroom management strategies

5. Weimer, M., (2010) 10 Effective Classroom management techniques every faculty member should know