Classroom Management in High School Physics A Model for Classroom Management in a High School Physics Classroom Matt Greene SUNY Buffalo State College Department of Physics 1300 Elmwood Ave Buffalo NY 14222 mgreene rhnet org Abstract New teachers face a myriad of challenges in the first few years of teaching none more important than the task of classroom management The development of a wide variety of instructional routines and schemes that allow beginning teachers to feel comfortable with the organization and management of instruction appears to be a critical prerequisite for any efforts to assist beginning teacher s attempts to promote students understandings of the nature of science Lederman 1998 This is no different for a first year physics teacher A challenge for all teachers is to make a classroom full of meaningful purposeful learning moments this can be magnified for a beginning teacher while trying to establish a respectful learning community Many first year teachers plan lessons where the objectives are more centered towards student behaviors and completion of tasks than focusing on learning experiences that will enrich their students In this paper I discuss how beginning physics teachers can utilize classroom management to expand their students learning and understanding of physics Educational researchers have looked at the task of classroom management in a broad spectrum in secondary education Many different strategies have been suggested to help pre service and practicing teachers successfully manage a classroom environment The purpose of the paper is to expand on these practices and look at these practices specifically in a secondary physics classroom In a physics classroom students will have more of a need to be moving around working together in both the lab setting and on problems The set up of the classroom both as a physical environment and as a nurturing learning environment is a necessity to promote student success In this manuscript I will be discussing two main areas of classroom management the classroom environment and lesson design The Classroom environment The classroom environment sets the tone for the class Both the physical environment and the learning environment must be taken into account by the beginning teacher In the physical environment we will look at seating arraignments classroom procedures and classroom rules The setup of the physical environment will help with lesson design discourse between students and allow students to know what the teacher s expectations are for the year 1 Classroom Management in High School Physics The learning environment includes discussion discourse in a classroom student led discussions about problem solving tasks and student motivation how the teacher can get students excited about the learning process in physics The teacher will play an important role in setting up a learning community that will foster collaboration and positive discourse within the classroom The Physical Environment It is important to begin the year with set rules and expectations These can be decided on by you or done as a group discussion at the beginning of the year It is imperative as a teacher to stick to these rules and show students that they are the same for everyone Students must know you make the decisions in the classroom and that it is their choice to follow the rules or not and to suffer the consequences Blanton 2003 It is important for your students to see you as the decision maker in the classroom This gives you your authority and students will respect you for decisiveness Be consistent you can loose control by allowing one or a few students to get away with something Blanton 2003 Consistency is one of the most important parts of classroom discipline A teacher must not show any inkling of favoritism in the classroom or allow a chance for this to be seen by the students Equitable treatment of all students is essential to establish a climate of fairness Blanton 2002 If your students feel that you are operating on favorites they will begin to lose respect for you The loss of respect from your students will increase the difficulty of classroom management Classroom management is build on respect any you earn that respect by the way you prepare for class and teat students Blanton 2002 The physical arraignment of the classroom can have an impact on your students success in physics The class should be arraigned in a manner that allows students to talk to each other about physics The seating should be so to allow discourse between student to student and students to teacher Classroom setup allowed students to talk to each other about physics which helped with the learning atmosphere Court 93 By allowing students to sit in an arraignment that allows them to talk to one another not only will it help them in their problem solving tasks in physics but it also facilitates socializing between students that may not normally interact This social aspect has been shown to help students to be more successful in the classroom Everything from success in school to stress levels could be affected by making secondary school learning more exciting and more enjoyable Court 93 The arraignment of the students in the classroom needs to foster discussion within the entire class If possible students should be seated in a circle or there should be room in the class for students to gather in a circle for discussions How students interact is directly related to their ability to be seen and heard A student s position within the classroom will also affect his or her likelihood of contributing to the discussion Desbien 2002 In a smaller classroom where lab activities and classroom discussions must both occur grouping the students in small clusters around the edges of the classroom and leaving the middle of the room open will allow for an area for the class to meet for discussions Classroom climate setting an emotional atmosphere that is moderately positive with decorations positive interactions 2 Classroom Management in High School Physics The learning environment The learning environment includes discussion discourse in a classroom student led discussions about problem solving tasks a feeling of comfort allowing students to take risks allowing for socialization and how the teacher can get students excited about the learning process in physics It has been shown that secondary students in science classrooms can be engaged by doing activities that allow them to be
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