Teach English in Chouqiao Zhen - Huai'an Shi

CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT Classroom management is the organisation of the classroom setting to suit the teacher and students to have a relaxed and a friendly environment for effective teaching and learning while maintaining discipline. Arranging the class normally depends on the availability of space, the type of chairs available, age of the students, , ability levels, the type of activity and how to maintain effective control in the class. Managing a class involves the seating arrangement of teacher and students, grouping students ,body gestures including eye contact and teacher’s voice , teacher’s position in the class, using the board , teacher’s talking time and student’s talking time and more. THE SEATING ARRANGEMENT is very vital in teaching and learning; it includes the orderly rows where students are seated in rows and columns making it easy for teacher to see each student clearly to identify student’s movements .This is the traditional way of seating in most schools and is identical with large classes and also ideal for lecture. The horseshoe and the circles seating is also one of the arrangements for small class, it is a fun and informal way of seating where the teacher does not dominate the class, it enhances students focus and intimacy both among themselves and with the teacher. It is easy to face each other so it makes it easy for pair work. Seperate table is another kind of seating arrangement, it allows small groups and It’s easy for the teacher to work with one table while others continue to work. Here the teacher is unable to maintain eye contact with all the students thereby creating indiscipline. The teacher’s position in the classroom is sensitive to students . Depending on the class activity a teacher can stand , sit, roam about in the class ; when a teacher sits students become a little relaxed but when he roams in the class they become tensed up feeling much of his domination and monitoring. The teacher’s position before the black/white board is also important in the classroom. The fact about using the board is inevitable but a teacher must avoid writing on the board for a long time without turning to see the progress of the class; thus the teacher can adopt the method of writing a while then stopping to explain , or allowing students to explore the board by participating in writing, the use of overheard projector , vocabulary cards , teacher can also have board work already before class as well. GROUPING STUDENTS is also a classroom management strategy that depends on the class size, type of furniture, and the type of activity necessary for the lesson. Grouping students includes whole class grouping which is suitable where the teacher needs to be in control of the class, it is quick and easy to organise, it reduces the students opportunity of talking too much, nevertheless, it allows students interactions and creates sense of belonging among the whole class. Pair work is another grouping method which gives students a safe environment to try out ideas before sharing with the class, strong students are allowed to help the weaker ones, it allows students to share ideas and thoughts , yet it has its problems like working with partners they don’t really like, it creates noise because there is the opportunity of student to student talking in the form of interactions. When students work on their own , another type of grouping is created allowing the teacher to respond to individual differences in pace of learners ability. It does not stress the students to talk in front of the whole class; prevents student to student interaction but help them to be self- reliance. Group work is mostly made up of four to five students , like pair work it increases students talking time and interactions, it helps students to know their level of participation, encouraging co-operations with less personal problems among the students. It has its problems as taking longer time to organise , slowing activities because of increase in ideas ,some students dominates while the passive members don’t get adequate opportunity to participate. BODY GESTURES: Good body gestures are also used in the classroom to manage the class in the form of instructions, convey the meaning of language, add visual interest and to reduce the need for verbal explanations. The eye is used in answering students, understand what they are learning and to encourage contribution thru signals. Eye contact is used to hold the attention of students who are not being addressed and to maintain discipline, meanwhile eye contact should be avoided in activities that are not teacher centred. The voice of the teacher should be audible and clearly, if not there will be a difficulty in making the teacher’s instructions followed. EXTABLISHING RAPPORT between teacher and students and students and students is helpful in the class for effective ,enjoyable and successful lessons. Your approach as a teacher will determine whether the students will have a friendly and relaxed relationship with you or among themselves. The teacher need to show personal interest in the students, show signs of loving and enjoying the job, allow students to help each other ,encourage more student centred activities , he has to free the atmosphere with quick jokes and also should not allow individuals to dominate the class. At the same time DISCIPLINE should be maintained; there are times the teacher need to exercise control and at times a relaxed environment is needed . Most students have personal problems before entering the class which may include self esteem, family problems, boredom, lack of respect etc. Some of these can be combated if the teacher is punctual, fair, shows respect for students as he wants students to do , not making threats when students go wrong or misbehave, is always well prepared to teach with interesting lessons, set rules and regulations in class and is enthusiastic about teaching. If after all these some students seem problematic, the teacher should be calm, focus on the problem and not the student, reprimand the student privately, keep the school disciplinary code without threats, students can be re-seated and as well the knowledge of colleague teachers can help. GIVING INSTRUCTIONS is also a way of managing the class. Instructions are to be in simple language for students to understand, it should be consistent, with visual clues like real objects and pictures, simple instructions on the board with demonstrations as examples will also attract attention of students. A teacher’s instruction can also be confirmed asking the students questions that requires feedback, students can also be monitored to see if instructions are being followed. The above constitute what classroom management is and their pros and cons in teaching and learning.