Hosting a Bank Street College of Education Class
The session was meant to be an hour long, but we ended up discussing classroom management, behaviors in children, adaptive tools, ways to organize, and the importance of understanding children, for nearly two hours. It was an incredible conversation that came down to the fact that kids are people, we can't expect them to be the same all the time, and we have to understand who they are. My co-teacher and I bounced off of each other when talking about the simple systems we have in place for the daunting idea of classroom management.I felt like I told them so much, but I wanted to make sure they got the messages I was trying to deliver. As a follow-up, I sent out a Google Form to gather reflections and reactions to the time spent in the classroom. I left it to be anonymous, so they could really talk about how they experienced the time spent in the room. Here are some of the responses:
What was the most interesting takeaway? classroom management materials all around the room! it was great to see how you set up the classroom, explained strategies that worked, I've already used some in my second grade classroom and plan to implement many things in my kindergarten classroom next year as my first year head teaching (especially green and red moments)Brainstorming ways that some behavioral tools and ot tools could be incorporated into any type of classroom or for certain students.
Does classroom management sound more or less intimidating now? Why?less! still intimidating, but knowing that all teachers need to try out all different things, and that you are not alone in the process helps ease my mind a lot.It sounds less intimidating because validating the feelings students have and giving them a time and space to express them really makes a difference. Witnessing differentiation for each student with universal design and language makes me realize how important not only class community is, but also how crucial the school community is; when the entire school follows the same procedures and language set there is an incredible difference.
What do you recommend we address next time?I definitely think going through your classroom management tools, strategies for specific things, and materials used in the classroom would be helpful. i sometimes find myself worrying about not having the right tools, books, etc. and where to find them! thanks again!Maybe select two specific case studies of students from the past who have a range of needs and address your classroom/teaching style benefited or didn't benefit that specific case. Possibly include a list of goals they are working on and how you are helping them. What might their report home look like?Having these reflections is so helpful to me. I also realized that the longer I teach, the easier it is to reflect. I'm looking forward to having more opportunities to talk to new teachers and continue to demystify behavior management.