Module 8 - Activity 1: Classroom management - with and without ICT

There were a number of interesting points that came out in this activity.  I especially liked Harry and Rosemary Wong's illustration of 'The Problem is not the Pizza' - the idea of a pizzeria with a good product but one that was still was unsuccessful because the staff really were not trained in the PROCEDURES of what they do.  This brought home the point of how important procedures really are in the classroom.

Procedures establishes routine.  Routine allows classrooms to operate in the same general way all the time which is very helpful when dealing with children.  It gives them a clear sense of what is to be done, how it is to be done, and when it is to be done.

The Wong's also pointed out that discipline and classroom management are not the same thing - ooohhh...  That one hit home for me.  This was definitely walking the plank with this one!  My school has a generally disruptive student body stemming from their external environmental conditioning.  I struggle on some days to 'manage' my classes due to many disruptions that occur.  This happens even in the most well planned out of my classes.  My experience in the past year has suggested that some routines would help and I tried implementing some, but no doubt that was too late in the school year.  I recognize now that it is necessary for me to establish clear procedures and rules from day one of the school year and to go beyond just establishing them (I do have rules for my classes all the time in case that wasn't clear).  I need to TEACH the procedures and rules as well.  That way students are quite clear about it all from the beginning, thereby minimizing the level of problems that I have been having.

"Students readily accept the idea of having a uniform set of classroom procedures, because it simplifies their task of succeeding in school. Efficient and workable procedures allow a great variety of activities to take place during a school day, and often several activities at a given time, with a minimum of confusion and wasted time. If no procedures are established, much time will be wasted organizing each activity and students will have to guess what to do. As a result, undesirable work habits and behaviors could develop which would be hard to correct. 

Procedures are the foundation that set the class up for achievement. Student achievement at the end of the school year is directly related to the degree to which the teacher establishes good control of the classroom procedures in the very first week of the school year.

When a class is managed with procedures and the students know these procedures, they will more willingly do whatever you want them to do.You can then be an exciting, creative, and informative teacher with a well-oiled learning environment."   

Harry and Rosemary Wong.

All of these ideas hold true for integrating ICT.  However, ICT naturally introduces additional management challenges, therefore, more care is needed when ICT is involved.  There are further considerations that impact safety of the students and the equipment used and thus more specific rules and procedures need to be tailored - procedures for using the equipment and how students interact with each other when dealing with the equipment (sometimes equipment has to be rotated or shared).  Teachers must ensure the software and materials used are appropriate for the students' levels and competencies as well as ensuring that careful monitoring is carried out of all activities.

There are many useful ideas in this activity that will make their way into my classroom on DAY 1!