Applying Classroom Rules and Procedures (module 4, activity 3)

 Applying Classroom Rules and Procedures

It is easy to categorize, compartmentalize and judge; but do we as educators listen too?

There is a multiplex of real-life problems and issues students face as humans, people and members of a family. They have lives outside of school and face adversity in a world bombarded with news, tabloids and war images. When these people step inside an institution such as a school in this case, they become students. They get attributed as a label: student, learner, peer. 

Within the classroom, a teacher also has a label as educator, facilitator of knowledge and upholder of regulations, behaviors and laws. Upholding rules and procedures within a classroom can be daunting on a daily basis throughout an entire day with a multitude of students who vary in their personal capacities. Students first must understand consequences and rewards before applying the rules and procedures laid out before them.

For example, a rule would be "no whistling in the classroom" or "hang your library bag on the right side of your desk". In these scenarios, a teacher can look around the class and see which students are not listening to rules. Some teachers might use a digital tool to keep track of students ability to listen, such as Class Dojo. Other methods that work include magnets with names organized into two columns. One column for good listening, the other for 'listen again for instruction'.

If the teacher writes "bad listening" it may contribute to a student feeling bad about themselves or ostracized from the group. This might tempt other students to taunt them or single them out as bad. Some students try to gain points with the teacher by pointing out the faults of the student that the teacher singled out. This is low, but it happens often. I have personally experienced this in our school as an observer, and do not subscribe to singling out children among peers. 

A rewards chart on the wall that students contribute to is powerful. They give input to how to follow rules and procedures such as lining up correctly or walking down the hall politely and quietly is a good motivator. They can choose from the list at the end of the day. I make sure that by the end of the month, every student has gotten a chance to be rewarded, so they all can feel included. Consequences also happen but I start with noninvasive interventions such as the one on page 132 of The Art and Science of Teaching.

A positive reinforcement strategy as seen on page 132 of The Art and Science of Teaching says to "never let positive behavior go unnoticed. A teacher who thanks students for their cooperation in making the classroom a positive learning environment gets immediate respect. Not only that, positive behavior is contagious as is negative behavior.

A teacher should first optimize their own learning capacity about positive and negative consequences that are established. A failure to do this can be detrimental to learning (Marzano, p.134). If used correctly, consequences enhance student learning potential.

Teachers wear many hats and have many jobs. The ones mentioned above are important: to recognize and acknowledge, to note and establish, to understand, intervene and punish, but most importantly and finally, to listen.