Written by Professor Benjamin Clemons

The past year and a half has brought countless changes to education. We have had to reformulate and reexamine all aspects of teaching, including classroom management. As we, Lord willing, begin to transition back to “normal” face-to-face instruction, we have a golden opportunity to restart better by evaluating the routines and procedures that constitute much of the school day.

We will essentially be reteaching how to go to school. Do we want to return to what we were doing before, or is this an opportunity to rethink how we manage our classrooms?

Beliefs About Teaching
Our personal beliefs about teaching impact how we interpret student actions and the solutions we implement (Brown, 2002). It is, therefore, vital for teachers to reflect on their beliefs about education. The following questions are a sampling of fundamental issues that influence our careers as Christian educators:

• What is the purpose of education? Of Christian education? How much overlap is there between the two?
• How do I carry out classroom management? Am I proactive, reactive, or responsive in my approach? Calm or angry? Consistent or variable?
• How does the application of law and gospel relate to management in my classroom?
• What does respect look and sound like to me? To my students? Is it ok if it’s different? Am I comfortable allowing a child to tell me what respect looks like to them?
• How much student collaboration am I comfortable with? Why? When is it helpful, and when would individual work be just as effective?
• How much work should students be required to complete independently and silently? Why?
• What motivates my students to do quality work? To turn it in on time? To show up to school?
• Should I focus on treating my students equally or individualize and differentiate their work?
• Do I believe that all of my students are capable of mastering the material I teach? How do I demonstrate this in my teaching?
• How responsible am I for student failure (academically or behaviorally)?

We can only control one person in our classrooms, ourselves. When we attend to items under our direct control, such as classroom management and the delivery of instruction, we can influence our students. Since what we say and do flows from our beliefs and assumptions, however, effective management and instruction are facilitated by regular self-reflection.

Purpose of Procedures & Routines
What is the purpose of your procedures and routines? I can admit from my time in elementary schools that there is a deep sense of satisfaction in a quiet and orderly classroom. On a less visible level, I also craved a sense of control in relation to my initially negative attitude towards students. I viewed teaching as a battle of student against teacher, and their compliance was evidence that I was winning the conflict. But if control and compliance are the end goals, it is unlikely that students will engage in meaningful learning (Haberman, 1995; Saphier, 2016).

Furthermore, our management styles and strategies send a message to our students, one that conveys confidence with loving support or suspicion and mistrust. Students often live up or down to teachers’ expectations (Rubie‐Davies, 2010), but expectancy effects are more evident negatively as students live down to low expectations (Brophy, 1983). Classroom management to support the discipling of students and the facilitation of learning is necessary, but always subordinate to teaching (academic and behavioral), never an end in and of itself.

Classroom Management Adjustments
Any aspect of classroom management you might adjust with the return to a “normal” school year will be inexorably connected to what you want to teach. Also, your procedures will have to support how you want your students to handle and process information and practice new skills. This is an opportunity not only to tighten up management but also to reimagine components of your instruction. So while you may ask, “What part of my day or week regularly feels off balance?” and develop a new plan to address it, you can also ask, “What teaching strategy have I always wanted to employ in my classroom, but been afraid to try?” and then design a procedure to scaffold it.

Reflection
Reflecting on our beliefs and assumptions about education, teaching, and classroom management will prepare us to revise, improve, and maybe even replace some of our old practices. We are responsible for the students entrusted to our care, and although we cannot control their actions, we can plan to support productive behaviors. In this way, we can influence our students, encourage their academic progress, and support behavioral growth.

Professor Clemons presented on this topic for the OpenLearning@MLC Virtual Conference. CLICK HERE to View.

He also teaches EDU9523 Classroom Procedures That Work, Sep 13 – Oct 17. REGISTER HERE. 

Professor Benjamin Clemons (MLC ’03) serves as academic dean and professor of urban ministry at Martin Luther College.

References
Brophy, J. E. (1983). Research on the self-fulfilling prophecy and teacher expectations. Journal of educational psychology, 75(5), 631.

Brown, D. F. (2002). Becoming a Successful Urban Teacher. Heinemann, 88 Post Road West, PO Box 5007, Westport, CT 06881.

Haberman, M., Gillette, M. D., & Hill, D. A. (2017). Star teachers of children in poverty. Routledge.

Rubie‐Davies, C. M. (2010). Teacher expectations and perceptions of student attributes: Is there a relationship? British Journal of Educational Psychology, 80(1), 121-135.

Saphier, J. (2016). High Expectations Teaching: How We Persuade Students to Believe and Act on “Smart Is Something You Can Get.” Corwin Press.