Session 6 objectives: Managing classes and resources. Stimulating the
senses.
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By the end of this session you will be able to:
·
reflect on and improve the quality of your
instructions;
·
select from a variety of classroom seating
arrangements to maximise the potential for learning;
·
consider a variety of classroom management issues
with a view to improving your teaching skills;
·
analyse the ways in which classroom displays can
impact on learning.
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Before you start, do the wordsearch
which contains 15 words relating to classroom management. To highlight a word, find the beginning and
press the mouse down till you find the end of the word the click on it.
Task
1a: Before you do the quiz, think about how to give good
instructions. When you are ready, look
at this badly-worded set of instructions
and the reasons why they’re badly worded.
Task
1b: Reword the instructions.
Now, check your answers.
Instruction
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“Would
everybody like to try and say that?”
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“Jot down
some notes while you listen”
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“Work
with your partner and then you’ll be in a group with someone else from
another group over there and you’ll tell them what your partner thought. after that we’ll hear everything with all
of us listening”
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“Ask her”
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“Imagine
you’re in a chemist’s and suppose you want some aspirin, what do you think
you might say”?
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“Everybody
stand up……now you’re going to…”
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“This is
going to be easy”
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“Did you
enjoy that”?
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“I’m
handing out a piece of paper…I’m writing on the board”
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“Now,
erm, what you need to do, er, is to, erm, get into pairs…no, erm make that
threes…wait a minute there’s thirteen of you, better make it threes and one
four. Javier, do you want to work in a
3 or 4?”
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Task
1c: Knowing why you are doing what you are doing when you give
instructions is really important. Test yourself now!
Task
1d: Staging your instructions will help maintain clarity, focus and
good pace. Order the stages below in the
most sensible way.
Check your answers for this at the end of the post, after the
‘further reading’ section.
Handout
materials
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Instruct
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Re-group
learners
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Check
instructions
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Monitor
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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Instructions: key principles
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·
use language which is known to learners
·
don’t overload learners with too much language
·
make sure the instruction is clear and concise
·
use ‘direct’ language (use the imperative)
·
avoid stating the obvious
·
check instructions but DON’T say “do you understand?”
·
try not instruct learners, when they working on-task
·
make sure you have the learners’ attention and raise your voice
·
provide an example of the task to keep learners focused
·
make eye contact
·
use body language/gesture to support the verbal instruction
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As well as making sure our
instructions are clear and unambiguous, we can do a lot with the classroom
set-up to help convey our intentions in the classroom and to help learners
anticipate what will happen in our session. On this point, Kidd and Czerniawski
(2010) note:
“The professional layout of the room should
convey the very same professional values that you communicate to your
learners. As such it is a vital tool in
the repertoire of classroom management strategies. Learners should feel that when they walk into
your room from break or another lesson, they are walking into a professional
environment created by you to inspire them to learn.”
Kidd, W. & Czerniawski, G. (2010) Successful Teaching 14-19: Theory, Practice and Reflection London:
Sage Publishing
Task
2a: Take a moment to think about the seating layout in your
classrooms and the ‘message’ it conveys before looking at the representations
of different classroom layouts with their associated underpinning
principles. Which ones could you use?
When and why?
Horseshoe:
Key principles
1. The teacher
is central focus but at the same time learners can easily see each other and
the teacher.
2. Leaners can
work together easily in pairs or 3s.
3. The teacher
can easily move around in the space providing support as necessary.
Diamonds: Key principles
1) Learners can
work together easily to do group work.
2) Learners can
easily move between tables to do peer work.
3) The teacher
can remain as part of the group and monitor effectively.
4) The teacher
can differentiate easily according to ability level.
Pairs: key principles
1) The teacher
can monitor effectively and move between pairings flexibly.
2) Maximum
learner participation can be encouraged.
3) 2s can quickly become 4s to encourage more
collaboration and participation.
Circles: Key principles
1.
The teacher can make direct eye contact with
everybody quickly and easily.
2.
This encourages a fully inclusive classroom environment.
3. Learners can easily work with
the person to the left or right of them.
Task 2b: Self-assessment
checklist. The next time you teach, ask
yourself the following questions when it comes to deciding which classroom
layout to use.
Question
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What factors have influenced the way in which I organised the seating
arrangements?
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Can I make eye contact with all the learners at the same time?
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Is the seating arrangement fit for purpose? Does it match the activities
I want to use?
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Will the learners be able to work easily together in the way I want them
to?
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Does the set up allow me to move around the room easily?
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Is the set up the same as I used last week? And the week before? And the
week before that?
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Task 2c: Experiment with a
classroom layout you haven’t used before.
Discuss how your learners responded to it with a colleague. Write up a
short reflection on the classroom set-up and discussion and hand it to a peer
or someone within your institution’s support department for feedback.
Classroom interactions
Task 3a: You’re going to
listen to two ESOL teachers discussing a variety of issues relating to managing
the classroom effectively. Before you
do, makes notes in response to the questions in the grid below then compare
your ideas to theirs.
Classroom
management issue
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What should be done about learners who always speak the same
language together?
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I am doing a
pair work exercise but I have an odd number of students. What should I do?
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I don’t know
how to arrange the seating in my classroom.
What should I do?
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Where should I
place myself in the classroom? What does it depend on?
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What should I
do while the students are working together/individually?
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How important
is eye contact?
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Should every
activity last until all the students have finished it?
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How can I
attract my class’s attention at the end of an activity?
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What should I
do about students who are chatting when I’m trying to set up an activity?
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How important
is it to use the students’ names?
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Task 3b: Next time you teach, use the questions to
reflect on after the lesson. How
effectively did you manage your class? What changes might you make next time
you teach?
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Top tips for managing your classroom
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1
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Use imperatives when instructing – this makes your message nice
and clear.
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2
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Keep students’ attention by handing out materials after you’ve instructed. This will
keep learners listening rather than trying to process a handout while you’re
speaking, thereby preventing them from listening to you.
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3
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Give instructions slowly and clearly, ensuring the stages of the
task being instructed are well signposted.
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4
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Use different classroom layouts according to the needs of the
class. By varying the layout you can vary interaction, keeping things fresh
and interesting.
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5
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Ensure any materials you use are suitably stimulating – grey and
uninteresting materials leads to grey and uninteresting lessons!
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Further reading
- Kidd, W. and Czerniawski, G. (2010) Successful Teaching 14-19: Theory, Practice and Reflection London: Sage Publishing
- Riddell, D. (2010)Teaching English as a Foreign Language Oxon: Teach yourself
Answers
to 1d):
Generally follow RICH (M) staging:
1. Re-group learners first so that instructions make sense
according to the context learners find themselves in (e.g. pairs or groups).
2. Instruct with imperatives. Avoid non-essential language with
instructions; these can ‘hide’ the message you want to convey. Instructions are
functional and should remain like this for clarity. Don’t worry about appearing
rude - use a friendly tone and it doesn’t matter which words you use.
3. Check instructions with an example. You can elicit the example
from learners or give one to them. This will help guide learners with what they
need to do for their task.
4. Handout materials. By doing this after instructing, you’ll keep
learners’ attention while you speak. If you give heandouts before you instruct,
they’ll read the handout rather than listen to you, often leading to confusion.
Showing the handout on a projector screen/IWB in the instruction stage often helps
as well and removes the need to give handouts before instructing.
5. Monitor from a slight distance once learners have started. This
will allow you to check that learners are doing what they should be doing; if
they’re not, you can stop learners early on and re-instruct so as not to waste
too much time.
