There are two aspects to classroom management that, when handled well, can provide an effective environment for children to learn and grow. Both are equally important, and both have many nuances to them that must be addressed uniquely, depending on the location you teach, the age you teach, the personality of the students that you have, and the number of students. The first is classroom organization. This can include how your room is set up, how you prepare or research for what you teach, the resources you have including equipment, supplies and technology, and the use of visual and auditory elements such as color, lighting, noise, seating, furniture and visual culture references or classroom decor. The second aspect is managing the students themselves and student cooperation. There must be a time and opportunity to address individual student needs, and allow each student to create and learn with some freedom. However, within a flexible environment, there must be set rules and guidelines to follow, especially at the elementary level, so that students are provided with structure and a safe space, that teaches them to respect their environment, their tools, each other and their teacher.
For my first experience with clinical teaching, I was in charge of a 4th grade class. I had to set up a temporary space for the students to learn outside of their normal classroom. The first day we chose to set up in the music room, and had to arrange several tables and chairs so that the students sat together in groups. I had to keep in mind that they needed to be able to see me, hear me and still have room enough for me to move around the tables to help them on an individual basis. We set up the room with 4 tables for 29 students. I was not able to control any other visual or auditory aspects of the room, since it was a temporary space and I was only teaching there for the one day, however, the use of tables and chairs was similar to how their regular classroom was set up. I did, however, have more control over student management and cooperation. Since I had never met them before, I went around the room and asked each child to say their name and one favorite “thing”, such as a color, food, art technique, etc. Although this took a while with such a large class, it was a great way to initialize getting to know the kids, and let them know in a subtle way that I care about their individual needs and interests. The next thing I did was set up a few ground rules that centered around the word “respect.” I told them during the class time I had with them, we would need to have respect for the art, the materials, the space, each other and for me and any other teachers that were helping. I reinforced this by showing them visually on a PowerPoint presentation, and also asked them to repeat back the rules to me throughout the lesson.
Throughout the class, I was able to engage them several times by using a trick their regular teacher had taught me, by singing out “Class?” and they would say back “Yes?” to get their attention. It was important to me to get their attention first and the next step I will take is to reinforce the rules. I think that with proper timing, attention to their needs and more experience, I will be able to maintain a successful classroom environment.