I don’t have any recollection
of that many rules being given to me when I was in school. In fact, there was only one rule to remember
and follow: “Behave or else!” Consequently,
I learned to sit quietly and to never say anything, even if there was a very
relevant question. On top of that, it
was very difficult to find answers given my limited environment when I was
growing up. Children are resilient, and
I developed my own coping strategies. I
looked for trusted and friendly adults, who I could feel safe enough to have a
conversation and ask questions. Could I
imagine if my teacher had been that trusted and friendly adult, who could make
me feel safe enough to ask questions? Luckily, my environment was not the
opposite: a place in complete chaos due to the lack of any rules. That would have been devastating.
Research has shown that
students learn best in a safe and organized environment. But to create this environment, an effective
teacher needs to develop, establish and maintain a set of norms and procedures
in the classroom. Investing the time and
energy at the beginning of the school year will positively impact the classroom
management for the rest of the school year.
Maintaining norms and procedures throughout the school year is equally
important. Re-evaluating or creating new
norms and procedures is part of maintaining them. Classroom dynamics change throughout the
year. Consequently, norms and procedures
need to be adjusted or reinforced depending on the situations. Existing or new norms and procedures provide the
foundation for an organized learning environment.
As a teacher, I imagine
myself creating two lists prior to the beginning of the school year. One list will address behaviors I would like
my students to demonstrate during the course of the school year, such as
respect to others and appropriate use of classroom resources. My other list will address tasks that
students need to do during the school day, such as entering the classroom,
submitting homework, asking questions, going to recess, leaving the room,
working in groups and ending the day.
For each of these I can create procedures. These two lists will give me a foundation to
develop my norms and procedures in my classroom. Ideally, I will include my students in brainstorming
and defining the classroom norms and procedures. This will give me an opportunity to explore
students’ ideas, pre-conceptions and previous experiences. Correspondingly, this will give the
opportunity to my students to explore the importance of norms and procedures,
as well as to internalize the importance to follow them.
One norm that will not be
negotiable for me will be respecting others at all times. This, for me will be the basic principle
underlying all of our work in the classroom, and will give the opportunity for students
to learn to make right choices while interacting with others, including teachers,
classmates and peers in the playground. I have enjoyed learning about blending rules and procedures with academic content. It seems to be that this blending becomes a powerful tool in the learning process. The following video is a great example of how powerful this tool can be.
SOURCES:
Evertson, C., Poole, I. & the Iris Center. Case Study Unit: Norms and Expectations. (Retrieve on 2014, December 5). Retrieve from http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/case_studies/ICS-003.pdf
McLeod, J. Fisher, J & Hoover, G. The Key Elements of Classroom Management: Managing time and space, student behavior and instructional strategies. Chapter 6, 7 & 8. (2003). ISBN 0-87120-787-7
Caring School Communities & Jefferson County Public Schools. What are Standards and Norms (2009) Retrieve from https://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/stw/edutopia-stw-louisville-sel-what-are-standards-norms.pdf
TeachingChannel. Ms. Noonan: Morning Meeting. (2011, May 25) Retrieve from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH3vTEKiSTs
SOURCES:
Wagner, K.J. Routines and Procedures for Managing your Classroom. (2005) Retrieve from http://www.educationoasis.com/instruction/cm/routines.htm
Evertson, C., Poole, I. & the Iris Center. Case Study Unit: Norms and Expectations. (Retrieve on 2014, December 5). Retrieve from http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/case_studies/ICS-003.pdf
McLeod, J. Fisher, J & Hoover, G. The Key Elements of Classroom Management: Managing time and space, student behavior and instructional strategies. Chapter 6, 7 & 8. (2003). ISBN 0-87120-787-7
Caring School Communities & Jefferson County Public Schools. What are Standards and Norms (2009) Retrieve from https://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/stw/edutopia-stw-louisville-sel-what-are-standards-norms.pdf
TeachingChannel. Ms. Noonan: Morning Meeting. (2011, May 25) Retrieve from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH3vTEKiSTs
