Licenciada en educación preescolar

Effective classroom management allows for learning to occur in an optimal atmosphere; teachers are able to deliver their instructional plans and students are able to enjoy what they produce. If teachers are able to anticipate their students’ needs and their management revolves around those needs, instead of reacting to them, the classroom will function effortlessly. Well managed classes bringabout structure and set routines. Recent tendencies in classroom management and organization diverge from the “management” term in the sense that they focus more on the students and their needs instead of the teacher’s strict point of view. Student’s empowerment is most significant in these types of classes. Even though behavior issues are part of daily classroom routines, the ultimate goal ofclassroom management is developing a classroom atmosphere that prevents these problems from happening so that learning happens smoothly. When teachers’ attitude is supportive, open and firm; students feel at ease and endorse their classroom management procedures. Various researchers have explored what the key components would be for a model of classroom management. Polloway, Patton and Serna (2008)propose a comprehensive model pinpointing six dimensions: psychosocial, physical, procedural, instructional, behavioral, and organizational. Following is a summary of the aspects involved in the six dimensions of classroom organization and management:
Psychosocial Dimension: focuses on setting the appropriate environment for students – their social, family and academic background, their motivation,emotions and how they feel about their education-, teachers – their expectations, their awareness of what happens in the classroom, their multi-tasking and communication skills, peers -cooperative learning strategies-; and family-related factors – family’s attitude towards education, family support and involvement, and pressure placed on the child-. Positive relationships should be fostered.Recommendations:
- Convey enthusiasm about learning and school experiences
- Support individual differences
- Treat all students with fairness
- Develop challenges for all students to maintain their interest in learning through successful experiences.
- Instill in students that they are responsible for their own behavior.
- Establish that each student has rights andeveryone is expected to respect them.
Procedural Dimension: focuses on rules, guidelines and procedures for classroom operation.
Recommendations:
- Define situations that will require procedures
- Involve students in the development of rules and procedures as much as possible
- Introduce , model and practice procedures the first week of school (one by one)
- Incorporateschool regulations into classroom procedures (school-wide policies are a tremendous help as students are aware of them from one year to another. This involves school-wide collaboration and enforcement).
Physical Dimension: focuses on accommodations of the physical space for group and individual needs -classroom layout-.
Recommendations:
- Differentiate classroom areas by type of activity- Establish which areas should be avoided by students
- Teachers should be seen by students at all times and vice versa
- Allow for more flexibility as the year progresses
- Ensure easy mobility around the classroom for everyone
- Allow for student’s participation in bulletin boards decoration. They may also be used for games, behavior management displays… not merely fordecoration
- Keep harmful equipment and materials out of reach
- Label areas and places for storage
- Make visual impaired students aware of changes in the classroom
- Accessibility should be ensured for students that require mobility assistance
Behavioral Dimension: focuses on keeping desired behaviors and dealing with inappropriate ones. Areas that should be emphasized,...