Learner-Centered Innovation by Katie Martin

Author:Katie Martin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc.
Published: 2018-02-01T16:00:00+00:00

From Classroom Management to Classroom Community

Classroom management is a staple of any teacher education and/or induction program; it is seen as a foundation of good teaching. Training in this area for pre-service teachers typically means preparing them to use a multitude of strategies to ensure they know how to maintain classroom control. For example, a common practice is to use public-management displays to identify who is following the rules as a way to motivate students to choose the appropriate behavior. Alfie Kohn shares that,

Threats and bribes can buy a short-term change in behavior, but they can never help kids develop a commitment to positive values. In a consequence-based classroom, students are led to ask, ‘What does she want me to do, and what happens to me if I don’t do it?” In a reward-based classroom, they’re led to ask, “What does she want me to do, and what do I get for doing it?”

I believe that we need to have rules and procedures that facilitate productive learning environments but to create learning environments where students feel valued and a sense of ownership, we must move beyond management to creating learning environments that foster a community of empowered learners.54

As Steven Covey notes, we manage things but lead people.55 Instead of spending time managing students, what if we engage students in thinking for themselves? We demand student obedience and the following of our morning procedures with little to no buy-in or reason other than compliance to follow. Instead, Alfie Kohn suggests we ask questions such as, “How long is it taking us to get settled? Why? What can we do about that? This questioning approach saves time in the long run, reduces the number of problems, and ultimately gets kids started thinking their way through their problems.”

I love the way that Alicia Gelaro, Abby’s third-grade teacher, reframed her classroom management as a classroom leadership approach to parents at back-to-school night. “I don’t have a lot of rules and consequences. I respect students, and I hope they respect me.” When you take this approach, you don’t need a bunch of other rules and consequences.

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