In terms of classroom management, I have reflected a lot on what that means to me. I believe I was very naive upon starting my practicum of how classroom management worked. Once again, theory did not always translate into practice. Learning how to aid one student while keeping an eye and ear on 29 other students had to be built into my routine, particularly when students were doing independent or group work. I came to better understand how good global awareness can help spot and prevent problems before they arise or escalate further. I’ve had a few experiences, such as a student falling off his chair, could have been avoided if he had been warned to stop rocking or leaning back on his chair. “With-it-ness”, a sense of the classroom environment, may be in teachers intuitively; but teachers can also benefit and develop this sense by being exposed to new challenges in the classroom and coming up with creative solutions.
Having consistent consequences for misbehaviour had been a challenge for me during my practicum, but I now have a better understanding of how effective discipline looks in practice. It is much easier to be stricter initially and cut back on certain rules later, than to try and reinforce additional rules after expectations have been set. Late students were quite prominent in some of the Science 8 classrooms I had; using a simple, fair and consistent policy (e.g., have students bring a late slip from the office) make managing these students much easier. Consequences for missing tests, assignments and labs also required me to have consistent expectations while also being fair to other students. Giving students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge while making it fair for other students who completed their work and tests on time requires a lot of thought and preparation (e.g., creating another test for students doing a make-up test). Trying to balance these principles while not making things more difficult for myself as a teacher is something I have to keep in mind. After all the errors I’ve made, I want to be able to plan and think of ways in order to avoid such mistakes again. I want to be able to teach these topics again and know that I’ve taught them better than I did before.