Classroom management is one (of the many) of the things that I am learning most about during my practicum. We weren’t taught classroom management at UBC, and everyday is a do or die learning experience as I implement it. One of the most profound things that I have learnt in the last week, is that instead of praising students who are doing things wrong/ calling out/ too noisy, I should be praising the students who are doing all of these things right. Going in to practicum I really had no idea about this concept and it is only something that I am picking up on now.
Not only can constantly calling students out for bad behavior make them feel bad about themselves, but they often don’t find it motivating enough to change. Hopefully LOTS of praise for the kids who are doing it right will be motivating for the rest, as well as acknowledging them when they deserve it.
I found it hard to be giving students praise during their work time because I thought the rest of the class wouldn’t hear it when they are all talking. But I am learning of more opportunities to sneak it in when they class will hear it, like after I clap, ring the bell, or count down to get their attention (“Thank you to John, Suzie, Laura, ect. for stopping and listening when I clapped”), or when I use mini white boards with the class (“Wow John has an excellent representation on his white board”). It is harder to do it when the class is not fully quiet because I feel like I am yelling over the noise just so they will hear me praising certain students, but I will still try to do it when ever I get the chance.