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Block 2 : Management of Learning – Teaching Process
Notes
UNIT 5 MANAGEMENT OF CLASSROOM
PROCESSES
Structure
5.0 Introduction
5.1 Learning Objectives
5.2 Management of Learning Situations
5.2.1 Creating Learner Friendly Environment 5.2.2 Management of Individualized Learning
5.2.3 Management of Group Learning
5.3 Management of Time and Space for Learning and Teaching
5.3.1 Management of Time 5.3.2 Management of Classroom Space
5.3.3 Sitting arrangement in Activity Based Classroom
5.4 Management for Motivation and Discipline
5.4.1 Management for Motivating Students
5.4.2 Management of Discipline in the Classroom
5.5 Role of Teacher as a Manager
5.5.1 RTE Act and Role of Teacher
5.6 Let Us Sum Up
5.7 Model Answers to Check Your Progress
5.8 Suggested Reading and References
5.9 Unit-end Exercises
5.0 INTRODUCTION
Knowing about the learning process, different methods and approaches of learning and teaching, learning cantered approaches with specific emphasis on the activity- based approach, is not enough to apply them in the classroom. You need to have not only knowledge of various methods and approaches, but also skills to use the knowledge in the real classroom situation. Can you imagine the difficulties you might face in the classroom while using the desired method/strategy?
Notes
Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed)
Read the following situation.
Situation 1: When Mr.Vivek entered into the class VI to teach Geography with all the required materials and with well-prepared activities, he faced a disquiet class. Two of the students were fighting with each other and others were shouting and inciting the fighting students. Papers, books and notes were scattered around the room. Rain water was falling in the room through a leaking roof. The class was in total disarray. He tried to pacify the students and to bring order in the room when some students complained that the room was wet and their seats were drenched. Some students proposed to Mr.Vivek to tell stories instead of teaching Geography.
As you can imagine, the problems Mr.Vivek was facing were:
indiscipline among students,
lack of physical safety and comfort in the class, and
students’ disinterest in Geography.
Such problems or disruptive forces can be many. Lack of several basic necessities like secured, safe and congenial environment, sufficient teaching learning materials, good student-student and student-teacher relationships, joyful teaching learning processes, and discipline among students can create disruptions in the classroom processes. A class with 40 students may have many problems depending on their learning needs, emotional frame of mind, stress in and out of the classroom and other such issues. In fact every class a teacher faces has a unique set of problems or forces which can disrupt a classroom climate and disturb even the very well designed methods and strategies.
Think about your class and note two factors that disturb your classes very often.
Hence in addition to competence in subject contents and processes of teaching, management skills are also necessary. The success of classroom teaching leading to effective learning by every student in the class largely depends on the effective classroom management by the teacher. As a teacher, you have to develop the skill of managing a classroom so that each and every child has an opportunity to learn and grow. There are several aspects of an effective classroom management such as, building congenial environment for learning, encouraging participation by every student, promoting classroom interaction, maintaining healthy interpersonal relationship, maintaining steady focus on the topic of learning, handling the problems of indiscipline etc. In other words, classroom management requires the ability to plan, control and facilitate interaction in the classroom that is appropriate to the activity and promotes learning and takes into account different needs and abilities of every child.
Notes
Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed)
the class. Certainly, these are not congenial for children to focus on any activity. What could you have done if you were in place of Mr.Vivek? Surely, you must have taken care to ensure a safe, secured and comfortable condition for your classroom. These relate to the physical conditions of a classroom which need to provide security and comfort to children. The physical environment of the classroom also includes the resource materials available in the classroom which can be used both by the children and the teachers to facilitate learning.
Suppose, you have a classroom with sound physical conditions and adequate materials needed for use by you and your students. In spite of such favourable conditions, you observe the students in the class quarrelling with each other and you are quite desperate about it. Surely the climate in your classroom prevailing at that moment is not congenial for teaching-learning process to continue. Therefore, three aspects are to be taken care of in order to build a learner friendly classroom climate.
E1. Reflect and name the three basic components of the classroom environment.
5.2.1 Creating a Learner Friendly Environment
The classroom environment should be such that each and every child feels comfortable, joyful and feel encouraged to use his/ her potentials optimally for learning. There are three possible categories of classrooms in terms of classroom management: Dysfunctional, Adequate and Orderly. Dysfunctional classroom environments are often chaotic. The teacher constantly struggles to maintain control. Little sustained learning can take place in this situation. In real terms, the class is not at all functioning so far as learning is concerned. Adequate classroom environments exhibit a basic level of order, but the teacher still struggles to maintain it. Some learning takes place sometime in this situation. Orderly classroom environments fall into two further categories - restrictive and enabling : Orderly, restrictive learning environments are “tight-ship” classrooms where the teacher maintains a high degree of structure, manages routines tightly, and uses very few instructional strategies. In this case maintenance of order through strict disciplinary measures is the main concern of the teacher. Orderly, enabling learning environments are found in smoothly running classrooms that manifest a comparatively looser (but not loose) structure. In these classrooms, teachers use a wide range of routines and instructional strategies, and the emphasis is on students making meaning of content. (Educational Research Service, 1993)
Block 2 : Management of Learning – Teaching Process
Notes
From the above discussions answer the following question.
E2. Which type of classroom environment is more friendly and effective for a child’s learning and why?
For creating an enabling learning environment, what you need is to look for reasonably comfortable physical conditions of your classroom.
Physical Environment of the Classroom
A good classroom is like a home away from home for both the teacher and the students. It should thus be safe, secured, attractive and functional, keeping in mind the grade, age appropriateness, the type of classroom activities the teacher and students will perform etc. A classroom environment communicates a bit good about what the classroom is like. The physical atmosphere of a classroom speaks about the nature of students and teacher of the class.
As mentioned earlier, the physical environment of a classroom has two major components: the physical conditions and the material resources available in the classroom.
Physical conditions of classroom
Refer to the infrastructural facilities and their proper maintenance. The classroom needs to be a part of a pucca building without any leakage in the roof. The walls and floor should be properly plastered without any edges that can cause injury to children. The room is to be well ventilated, and sufficiently lighted with large doors and windows facilitating cross ventilation which would make the environment of the room comfortable and pleasant for children. Lack of these will affect students’ concentration. Plants outside the classroom are also excellent for improving the quality of air and to have a good outside view from within the room. There should be sufficient space available in the classroom for conducting any group work. Always remember that the classroom environment should be congenial and safe for the students.
Another important aspect we do not give adequate attention is the proper maintenance of the physical conditions of the classroom. Whenever a slight damage on the floor and the walls are noticed, they need to be immediately repaired. The classroom needs to be extremely neat and clean. This not only ensures a healthy classroom environment, but also develops habit of personal hygiene from the early age. To maintain cleanliness in the classroom, you can play a vital role by involving students for regular cleaning of classroom just before the start of the school activities and when the school ends for the day. During the class hours, you might have observed waste materials like pieces of papers, leaves, flowers, chalks, and broken sticks etc. which were used in different learning activities thrown all around the classroom floor by the students. If you keep a box or a paper cartoon inside the class and develop an habit in the students to throw
Block 2 : Management of Learning – Teaching Process
Notes
Ensure that the classroom is clean before the class begins and at the end of school hours. Students need to be encouraged to share the different activities like cleaning, disposal of garbage etc. among themselves.
Place a dust bin in the classroom for systematic disposal of garbage of the classroom.
Check that all the materials are in place and properly arranged after use.
Humane relationship in the classroom
As a student yourself or as a teacher, you might have experienced that there are teachers with whom all the students of a class are attached i.e. the students love to interact with them and feel free to talk and ask questions, like to spend more time with them, obey them with love and respect and can do whatever such teachers ask them to. These teachers are quite sensitive to the needs of the students; they share the agony and happiness of the students and are always there to help whenever any individual student is in difficulty. You might also have observed that Also it is observed that the students in their class have good relationship among each other and most students perform better in the subjects taught by such teachers than in other subjects.
Thus we can say that the bond between the teacher and students determines the quality of the humane relationship. In any classroom, two types of relationships exist: ‘Teacher-Student’ and ‘Student – Student’. If these relationships are based on mutual understanding, respect and co-operation, then it is easy for the teacher to manage the classroom activity. To create a learning friendly humane environment, you have to keep the following things in mind:
Do’s
Be understanding and sensitive to the emotional and academic needs of the students.
Be always proactive to students’ cause.
Be patient and sympathetic while dealing with problem children in the classroom.
Give maximum opportunities to the students to participate in all the activities of the school. By working together, the bonds between the teacher and students and among students get strengthened.
Use pleasant words with firmness while handling indiscipline activities.
Encourage co-operation and collaboration among students.
Encourage healthy interaction among students through group activities.
Notes
Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed)
Ensure whole-hearted engagement of students in group activities.
Conduct various kinds of projects and co-curricular activities so that every student would find enough of scope to channelize his/her inner talent and desires.
Don’ts
Don’t use or encourage others to use harsh, disparaging or discouraging words.
Don’t encourage any discriminatory words or practices in the class.
Don’t encourage unhealthy comparisons and competitions among students.
Don’t demean the performance of poor performers in the class rather try to provide them alternative scopes to enhance their performance.
ACTIVITY -
You are familiar with the nature and problems of your students. Prepare a list of Do’s and Don’ts that you would like to observe for establishing healthy relationships with your students encouraging better bonding among them. ..................................................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... .....................................................................................................................
5.2.2 Management of Individualized Learning
As teachers, we are used to teach the whole class using lecture method which has been discussed in greater detail in Unit4 of Block 1. In such a method the communication is dominantly one way i.e. from teacher to students in which teacher is in total control of the process of interaction. If the teacher desires, then he/she may allow students to ask questions or discuss among themselves, which is very rare since the teacher in such a situation as he/she is under the pressure of covering the course in the prescribed time. Student-teacher communication is less and virtually there is little scope for student- student communication. It has also been established that very few students at the primary stage have substantial learning gains through this method.
However, the aim of education is to enable every individual child to become an able learner and as such individualized learning is the ultimate goal of all teaching-learning processes used in the classroom so that each learner becomes self-reliant in acquiring learning experiences. Individualized learning, also known as self -paced learning, requires individual efforts and interest to perform a task .The teacher gives clear instruction to every learner on the carefully designed set of learning activities to be
Notes
Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed)
E3. Why is individualized learning important? Give your answer in 5 or 6 sentences.
E4. Which of the following statement is true for individualized learning?
a) Student does assignment in his/her own pace.
b) Student follows the instructions of the teacher carefully.
c) Student shares the ideas with others.
Give at least one reason for your response to each statement.
5.2.3 Management of Group Learning
You might have noticed that in whole class learning and individual learning there is one major limitation which is the students cannot interact freely with each other. The importance of such interaction in providing a balanced education to the children began to be realized during the 1960’s, largely as a result of the influence of humanistic psychologists like Carl Rogers. He considered learning to be essentially social in nature and educating children in a social environment make them good future citizens. Such a social atmosphere can be created in the classroom when the children are facilitated to have enough scope to interact with each other. Group learning especially small group learning strategy is considered as appropriate for this purpose. A progressive increase in the use of group-learning methods in the classroom learning activities has been observed since the late 1980’s and 1990’s.During this interactive process, meanings are shared and information is exchanged. The classroom, then, becomes a social arena for increasing one’s knowledge. By comparing their understanding with that of others and by examining their knowledge against other’s knowledge, students develop a new understanding. For example, while solving problems cooperatively, the students interact with other; they debate, reason out, infer and conclude in the process of solving the problem.
One of the main advantages of the group-learning approach is that it can be used to achieve extremely wide range of educational objectives, especially higher-cognitive objectives of all types like problem-solving, decision-making and other complex life skills. It is also an approach for developing creative thinking and other divergent thought processes. It is effective in achieving all types of affective and interpersonal objectives. Because of its versatility, group-learning methods have been increasingly used by the teachers around the world for helping students to develop desirable attitudinal traits such as open-mindedness and willingness to listen to other people’s point of view, and for developing communication skills and general interpersonal skills. Some general features of group learning are:
Several learners can provide more time/effort/resources available than one;
Block 2 : Management of Learning – Teaching Process
Notes
A wider range of knowledge/skills/experience can be acquired through sharing knowledge and experience;
More and a variety of ideas can be generated through brainstorming in the groups;
Errors can be identified and corrected more easily;
Participation increases commitment of the students to the activity.
There are several difficulties associated with group learning which are to be taken care of while planning and managing group activity:
Absence of or lack of adequate coordination among participants.
Unequal participation, ranging from over-domination by one or more individuals to partial or complete opting out/withdrawal.
Pressures (external and internal) on individual learners to conform or polarize on the issue being discussed in the group.
Absence of a systematic approach to the work.
Unsound/ambiguous/changing decision-making procedures.
Immediate evaluation of outcomes may be quite premature.
The role of the teacher in organizing group learning in the classroom is mainly of a facilitator and guide. After deciding the topic(s) to be discussed or the problem(s) to be solved in groups, the teacher has three main functions: formation of groups, facilitating communication in the groups and consolidating the outcomes of the learning in the groups.
Grouping of students can be mainly of four types: grouping by ability, grouping by interest, grouping by choice and random grouping.
Grouping students by Ability (Homogeneous grouping): Ability grouping is a method in which you look at the ability of each student individually and place him/her in a group with other students possessing the same ability. For example, students with proven high, average and low abilities in Mathematics performance are placed in three separate groups. You can give challenging tasks to the high ability group whereas the low ability group is given simple tasks to strengthen their understanding and skill in mathematical concepts and operations. It gives the students an opportunity to put their ideas forward and with a combined effort, come up with appropriate solution as per their ability levels. The low ability students undoubtedly require your personal attention and hence this type of grouping can be done for enrichment or remedial purposes. The disadvantage is that sometimes according to this kind of grouping, students are labelled either as bright or as weak students. The weaker students are likely to be demoralized which can adversely affect their self- confidence.
Block 2 : Management of Learning – Teaching Process
Notes
of other groups. There are two possible ways for you to communicate with the groups as shown in Fig. 5.1. In the first situation (Fig.5.1a), you as a teacher (T) can directly communicate with individual students(S) in a very small group without giving any scope for peer interaction. In the second situation(Fig.5.1b) you communicate with the group as a member of the group. In this situation, you share with the students as equal partner in the group where each one (including you as a teacher) has the freedom of interacting with other members. Thus, in the first type, the teacher controls the total communication process whereas the second type is dominantly group controlled.
Fig. 5.1: The Two Communication Patterns in Group Learning Situations
( Source: Ellington & Earl, 1996)
Suppose you observe that a small number of students in your class have a specific learning problem like pronouncing English words properly or solving problems on time and work. In such a situation, you need to take full control of the group and directly discuss with each student about their problem. But, for other purposes the second type of communication gives better results.
Hence, while planning your lesson, instead of directly teaching the students together as a whole class, dividing them into smaller groups and encouraging participation in the group work would be more effective. The most important thing in forming groups is to ensure that the students in a group are able to work together comfortably and have lots of interaction among themselves.
As a teacher you need to explain to the students how to work in groups effectively. You also need to establish opportunities for students to work together in meaningful and productive ways. It is in this context that students can develop and polish their skills of collaboration.
Notes
Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed)
ACTIVITY- 3
Observe at least five classes where group learning situations are happening. List the characteristics of these classes in terms of what the teacher and students are doing. Ask the teacher why she/he has created a group learning situation in the classroom. If you have completed your activity, compare your observations with the principles for managing group learning situation in the classroom.
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You have to consider the following principles for management of group learning in the classroom:
Limit the group size to 4 -6 students;
When there is no specific need, heterogeneous group is generally preferred as it encourages peer learning.
Vary group composition so that no student feels labelled by being in a slow learner group, and let all students have an opportunity to work with every other students in the class.
Choose a group leader. Leaders will keep varying depending on the task.
The task given to the groups is to be suitable to the student’s mental ability.
Give clear and simple instructions and set time limits which are usually flexible.
Give each student in the group a specific responsibility that contributes to the success of the total group. Ensure the participation of each and every student in the group.
Provide a comfortable and free atmosphere to facilitate their discussions.
Allow students in the group to help each other to solve problems.
Give and respond to suggestions.
E6. State any two advantages of group work.
Notes
Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed)
Of course, not all your classroom time is spent in learning tasks. Some time is needed for taking attendance or moving from one activity to another. You may also take some time in tackling some off task behaviour by students.
Think about your own classroom for a while. How much time will your students spend getting ready? Do they need to wait for your attention? Do they get restless before the end of the period? How much time is spent waiting for written assignment to be collected? This waiting time leaves students with nothing to do but entertain themselves usually by talking, playing with friends etc. Additional valuable time is lost as you endeavour to regain students’ attention and refocus students for the next learning.
Your classroom management procedures should keep children lively, alert and busy. You can save time in the following ways:
Prepare yourself for the classroom activities. Make sure that you clearly know what the next step is going to be.
Keep all materials ready, and remind students what you expect from them as they move from one activity to the other.
While giving verbal instruction, be clear and specific.
Arrange the classroom so that students will not always need to leave the seat to start a new activity.
Begin your lesson as soon as possible. True, some of your students may not be quite ready. A prompt decisive start will encourage the slow learners to pick up pace. Your well prepared lesson plan will help in reducing the wastage of time.
Before starting a new activity, be sure that most of the students have an opportunity to complete it.
Students should know beforehand where they should place their completed written work or projects (subject wise) labelled with their names.
If the transition involves moving from an academic activity such as reading or solving problem or doing experiments, to a non-academic activity, such as recess, game or exercise, your students must understand how to behave and what to do as they leave the classroom.
To prevent the existence of noisy lines in the room, rearrange seats assigning each student to a specified place in the line or in other lines.
Give your students a short written activity before starting a new activity. Write the question or brainstorming activity on the blackboard. This also gives you a few minutes to arrange materials for the next activity.
Block 2 : Management of Learning – Teaching Process
Notes
ACTIVITY - 4
Observe your colleagues ,classroom teaching- learning process for a period (40 to 45 minutes). Fill up the observation format, while the activities are going on in the class. Teacher Name ............................................ Date ........................................... School ...................................................... Observer .................................... Classroom Activities Starting time Finishing time Taking attendance Collecting homework Forming groups Explaining activities/ concepts Distributing TLMs Group activity Disciplining students Correcting written work Consolidating activity Shifting from one activity to another Outside interventions Any other activity done (specify)
5.3.2 Management of Classroom Space
Well organized and well-furnished classroom motivates students for learning. It conveys the message that you care for your students. To make positive environments for learning in your classroom make sure that all necessary items are in place before the students enter the class. Even in a small school, with a few resources, a good teacher can create a well ordered classroom that encourages learning. Let us discuss some of the components of the classroom which need to be organized to make optimum use of classroom space.
Classroom’s Furniture and Floor Space: Here are some guidelines to consider for your classroom’s furniture and floor space.
In most of our classrooms in primary schools, students sit on the floor and on benches in some cases. Depending on the space available and the nature of the activity, you may use different sitting arrangements e.g. linear rows, semi-circle, circle, face to face etc. which will be discussed insection 5.4.3.Arrange all furniture in the room and make such sitting arrangement in such a way that the students can move in room comfortably and you can easily reach every student as and
Block 2 : Management of Learning – Teaching Process
Notes
promote self-learning. Even in the absence of a teacher, the students can be engaged in learning by using the wall activities.
Learning Materials
Just as the appropriate use of furniture, use of floor and wall spaces aid to facilitate learners’ interest in learning activities, a careful planning for placement of learning materials can also help in achieving these goals. Consider the following when you think about arranging learning materials in the classroom: Store materials that will be used often (e.g. books, paper, pencil, eraser, colour pencils, lab equipment) in places where students can access them easily. Learning materials that students will use less maybe kept in remote areas of the room. The materials which the teacher only needs should be kept in the least accessible area. Use boxes to keep supplies neatly organized rather than spreading them out on tables or shelves. Designate and label places in the room where students will keep their completed worksheet. In elementary classrooms, where the teacher teaches multiple subjects, it makes sense to have different boxes or trays for each subject. Use icons or colour code to help students for keeping their work if they are just learning how to read (forexample; class 1 students)
Teaching-learning materials in the classroom, their development, use, storage and maintenance have been discussed in detail in Unit 6.
5.3.3 Sitting Arrangement in Activity Based Classroom
In Unit 4 of Block 1 , you have learnt about different types of activities that you do with your students in the classroom. Sometimes you tell stories to students, or sing songs with them or conduct experiments and have relevant discussions. Do your students sit in the same position for different type of activities? Well they need not sit in the same position as there are different sitting arrangements for different purpose which is discussed in this section.
Read the following two situations:
Situation 2: Mr. Ramesh teaches class III students. One day, he told a story to his students. Students sat in rows. While telling the story, he showed different pictures that relates to the story and also asked a few questions. Some of the students sitting in the back row could not see the teacher as well as the pictures. They were busy talking with each other and eventually became inattentive. After narrating the story, the teacher asked each student to write the story in sequence.
Notes
Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed)
Situation 3: Mr Harish is an elementary teacher. One day he was telling stories to class III students. He made the students to sit in a U shape so that he was able to maintain eye contact with one and all. In the course of telling the story he was asking questions and showing pictures. He asked some predictive questions to let them think. Each and every student responded to his questions.
Which situation you think was better for telling a story and why?
The sitting arrangement of students may vary from one activity to another. Sometimes, you design an activity for the whole class, for small groups and also at times for individual students. You also design different types of activities for teaching different concepts. The types of sitting arrangement depend on the nature of the activity. Sometimes the activity demands for U shape seating and sometimes in circle.
Let us discuss different types of sitting arrangement.
Sitting arrangement for whole class teaching:
You are familiar with the sitting arrangement in atraditional classroom in which students sit in rows in the classroom and the teacher places himself/herself in front of the students as shown in Fig. 5.2.
Fig. 5.2 Sample of Sitting Arrangement for Whole Class Teaching
In this arrangement, the teacher only looks at the students sitting in the front rows and gives more attention to them. He/ She cannot give adequate attention to those sitting at the back of the class. Group work is not possible in this arrangement. Hence, in a class where students and teachers are engaged in several learning activities such sitting arrangements would be inappropriate. The arrangements would then be according to the requirements of the different types of activities conducted in the classroom.
