Office Chat: Classroom Management

In this office chat, Dr. Suzanne Houff discusses some very practical advice on classroom management taken from her recent book, The Classroom Manager: Procedures and Practices to Improve Instruction. Both in the text and in this interview, Houff tells us how we can apply Glasser’s five basic needs of:

• Survival
• Belonging
• Fun
• Freedom
• Power

In the interview, Houff relates Glasser’s needs to Maslow’s hierarchy. As she states in her book:

Glasser, although similar to Maslow, does not suggest a hierarchy but instead believes that each individual simultaneously experiences needs and fulfills those needs at an individual level. Both believe that actions are reflective of how well the needs are being met. (p. 22)

And this theme of recognizing the multifacted, multidimensional aspect of both students and teachers continues throughout the present interview.

In the school setting, survival instincts are threatened not only in the obvious case of bullying, but in instances of embarrassment at not being prepared, by being hungry, by having little sleep, by coming to school from a homeless shelter, and, yes, even by being ridiculed by an uncaring or ill-tempered teacher.

It is essential that a student has a sense of belonging, being a part of the community. This becomes difficult whenever the student is ostracized by a social clique, taunted due to appearance, or any number of ways children can be thoughtless to each other. It is important for the teacher to be observant and to mitigate and ameliorate. The teacher must establish a classroom climate of trust and mutual respect.

Freedom does not mean anarchy. A well structured classroom can offer choices to students. This differentiated instruction can happen via alternative projects, multiple types of assessment, and a recognition that students are not all the same and do not all learn the same.

Houff on Classroom Management, Part 1 of 2

Having fun does not mean all teachers should be stand-up comics. School is serious business and there are times for didactic teaching. But, as Houff relates, how would you like to sit for five or six hours of concentrated effort. Think about that. Do office workers sit at their desks and work nose-to-the-grindstone for six hour stretches? Do factory workers stick to the assembly line without a break for six hours at a time? Remember college? Would you like to have sat for six one-hour classes in a row? Possibly in the same room; possibly by the same teacher! Integrating a little humor, a little emotion into the learning will cause more retention, not less.

Glasser’s fifth basic need is power.  And power in this context is both the teacher’s power and the student’s power. Stepping back from the immediate mental image of power, ask yourself first – what is the teacher’s role in school? Is it not to facilitate learning? So, power should be applied as the teacher’s force for motivating students to learn. As Houff states in her text, a teacher’s power “is in direct proportion to … communication skills” (p. 69).  The student’s power is the power to succeed, to master the content and understanding available in the classroom.

Houff on Classroom Management, Part 2 of 2

Houff indicates that if teachers have carefully planned the management of classroom environment, anticipating the survival, belonging, fun, freedom, and power needs of the students, the instruction will be more effective. In fact, if our curriculum and instructional methodology are effective and engaging, classroom management needs will be much reduced.

Asked about the nature of classroom management in the university classroom, Houff states that it really is the same even though it manifests differently. College students may not throw paper wads around the classroom, but they can become unruly or uncooperative in other ways. A complete, well-organized syllabus and well planned classroom activities are just as important in the university setting. In an online setting, these are even more critical.

In a traditional classroom, students see the instructor frequently and can ask the off-hand question. Answers to questions are verbalized to the whole class. In short, uncertainty is mitigated by frequent communication. In an online class, it is important for the instructor to maintain channels for impromptu questions, frequent feedback, and mass announcements. The written word can be more easily misinterpreted than the face-to-face conversation in which nuance is delivered via inflection and body language.

Online students cannot succeed (Glasser’s survival) if they are unsure of expectations, deadlines, or lack feedback on performance.  A sense of community is more likely to be achieved through directed activity of the instructor rather than left to propagate on its own. The expanse of resources on the Internet allow for fun and freedom in the assignment and completion of student projects. A student can be empowered online to harness and information, netizens, and other resources in a truly constructivist learning environment.

So, as Houff explains, the classroom teacher, the university professor, and the online instructor would all be well served by a careful, premeditated and planned classroom environment which is managed to the extent necessary to achieve effective learning.

References:

Houff, S. (2009). The classroom manager: procedures and practices to improve instruction. Lanham, MD: Rowan & Littlefield.