Classroom Management in High School PhysicsA Model for Classroom Management in a High School Physics ClassroomMatt GreeneSUNY Buffalo State College Department of Physics, 1300 Elmwood Ave Buffalo NY 14222 <[email protected]>AbstractNew physics 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 physics 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 managing student behaviors, keeping their students focused upon completing classroom tasks and assignments, rather than focusing on activities that will enrich their students understanding of physics. In this paper I will discuss how beginning physics teachers can utilize modeling discourse inclassroom management, and show examples of how I use modeling to expand learning and understanding of physics in a high school physics classroom.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 need to move around and work together, both in 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 discuss two main areas of classroom management: the classroom environment and lesson design. The Classroom environmentThe classroom environment sets the tone for the class. Both the physical environment and the learning environment must be taken into account by the beginning physics 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 theteacher’s expectations are for the year. 1Classroom Management in High School PhysicsThe 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 EnvironmentIt 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 lose 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 achance for this to be seen by the students. “Equitable treatment of all students is essentialto 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)I have found in my classrooms that most students are familiar with the expectations in a science classroom from the beginning of the year. Students understand that they are in a science classroom, and need to follow safety precautions in laboratory settings, and understand the typical behavioral expectations of a classroom. The area that my students are not as familiar with is within an atmosphere of group discussions. I explain to my students that they will all be responsible for our class learning, and understanding physics. We have a discussion at the beginning of the year about how we will be using small group, and large group discussions to learn about physics. I expect my students to treat each other with respect while we are in group discussions. The area of my class that most students struggle with is presenting their work to the rest of the class. It is in this area that we have a discussion about what types of comments and questions are appropriate when a peer group is presenting their work and ideas about a new concept. The physical arrangement of the classroom can have an impact on your students’ success in physics. The class should be arranged 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 2Classroom Management in High School Physicsshown to help students to be more successful in the classroom. “Everything from
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