Final Seminar Class (Fall 2022).
On the first work day of the new year, Miss Kisler plops down in your room and says, "I do not know why those new teachers are spending so much time thinking about a management plan. I think teachers need to be very, very flexible, and that when they get all bent out of shape about good behavior, it shows that they don't care very much about whether students feel good at school or not." Which of the following responses is most in keeping with current thinking about classroom management?
"I am pretty sure they put lots of thought into their management plans because they believe that students feel best when they operate within a predictable structure."
Ms. Tejera has been teaching first-grade for several years. She is known throughout the school as an efficient classroom manager and a dynamic, creative teacher who gives as much responsibility for learning as possible to her students. Which of these statements would she be likely to make about her classroom arrangement?
"I try to establish a physical space that supports my particular instructional goals and preferred methodologies."
Mrs. Stallings has her room set up as in the diagram below. Which of the following statements is most applicable to this arrangement?
Accessibility is generally not a problem, but visibility and distractibility may be issues for this teacher.
When a teacher discovers that there is a mismatch between a classroom expectation and a student's cultural norm, which of the following would not be an effective response?
Adhere to the expectation without comment, because the classroom culture supersedes individual backgrounds and experiences.
In the teacher's lounge one day, you overhear an experienced teacher commenting about one of her colleagues who has just begun teaching. She says, "Miss Wertheim is really warm and fuzzy with her students. She hugs them and praises their accomplishments. She's setting herself up for a struggle, because students won't recognize her as the authority figure in the classroom." Which of the following responses to her assertion
Being warm and affirming does not preclude the teacher from establishing legitimate authority with her students.
Effective teachers not only manage the classroom carefully and consistently, but also design interesting lessons, support and motivate students, and demonstrate good communication skills. How do these desirable behaviors relate to each other?
Effective classroom management facilitates the other teacher behaviors.
Miss Jolley is working with a class of fifth-grader students whose abilities range widely. Six students in the class have IEPs or other special learning plans, six students have performances in the average range, and six students are classified as academically gifted. Miss Jolley comes to you, frustrated, because on each assignment she gives, her gifted students finish in mere minutes, but her lower-performing students take a very long time to finish the same assignment. The higher-performing students get restless while they wait for the others to finish, and the average- and lower-performing students are beginning to resent their gifted peers. What advice might you give to Miss Jolley?
Give differentiated assignments: give the high-performing students more complex work, and adapt the lower-performing students' work to suit their ability levels while still meeting your curricular goals.
Which of the following statements is true regarding parent-teacher relationships?
In the same way teachers are intentional about building positive relationships with their students, they should carefully consider how to best facilitate their relationships with their students' parents or guardians.
Why is it so important to have planned, taught, and implemented rules and procedures?
It saves time and makes the classroom environment more pleasant and consistent.
Although they have spent years as students themselves, prospective teachers may not recognize classroom management strategies in action because
Many aspects of management are seemingly invisible to students.
Lucas enters your third-grade classroom for the first time and says, "Wow! All the desks are in rows!" If you were Lucas, what conclusion might you draw about the nature of instruction in this class?
Most work will be done individually/independently.
Mr. Browning regularly utilizes cooperative learning groups. He comes to your classroom after school one day and says, "My groups are doing reasonably well, but I'm stumped about what to do when I'm teaching a mini-lesson to one small group, and students in the others need help. If they get stuck, they either come up to me and interrupt me, or they just sit there, off task, until I can get to them to answer their questions. What should I do?" What recommendation makes the most sense in this situation?
Mr. Browning should establish, teach, and reinforce a procedure for getting help during group work.
Which of the following teacher behaviors is most obviously undertaken as a means of developing positive and supportive classroom relationships?
Mr. Granade tells students about himself and shows them pictures of his family.
Mr. Sawyer is a relaxed, down-to-earth teacher who asks his fifth-grader students to call him by his first name. He tells his students that he is a learner just like they are, and that they should think of him as another student, a co-learner. He gives them lots of choices in what they do and does not make many demands on them, preferring to let them develop their own motivation for completing the learning tasks set out for them. Mr. Sawyer comes to you, frustrated, because even though the kids seem to like him and want to come to school, they are not getting much done, and they often misbehave, contrary to what Mr. Sawyer would like to see. What do you think is at issue in this situation?
Mr. Sawyer has not presented himself as an authority figure.
Mrs. Fredericks, whose students sit at tables that seat four students each, complains to you that her children have what she terms "pencil problems." Either they do not have pencils when they need them, or they are constantly asking to leave their group tables to go to the pencil sharpener, or they are squabbling over which pencil belongs to which group member. Which piece of advice would demonstrate adherence to classroom management principles and be most efficient in eliminating the problems Mrs. Fredericks is encountering?
Place a container of identical sharpened pencils on each group's table, along with a container for pencils in need of sharpening.
Early contact with parents in the school year is very important. Which of the following is the best way to establish early contact with parents before school starts?
Send an introductory "get-to-know-you" letter.
Class meetings can contribute to the development of healthy and supportive classroom relationships. Which of the following is least likely to be an outcome when a teacher establishes a regular class meeting time and format?
Students will be less likely to interact with their peers about class issues or behavioral concerns.
Which of the following is least likely to result when a teacher takes care to establish healthy, supportive classroom relationships?
Students' investment in classroom routines and activities will be lessened because the teacher has not established him- or herself as an authority figure.
Which of the following statements is a teacher in an urban school most likely to say is false?
Teachers in urban areas should share all aspects of their lives with students as a way of demonstrating trust.
Which of the following statements most accurately reflects a caution about boundary concerns in relationship development?
Teachers must be mindful of the nature and scope of the relationships they develop with students.
Which of the following statements regarding room arrangement is most accurate?
The sorts of instructional activities you will undertake with your students should drive your room arrangement.
A substitute teacher folder can contain many things, among them a class roll, a seating chart, a daily schedule, and a list of medical information and medicine to be given. Of the information in the following list, which item would you say is most important to include in such a folder?
a copy of classroom rules and consequences
The physical environment of the classroom is
a key factor in supporting management and instructional goals.
Effective classroom managers ensure that students clearly understand classroom rules and procedures. Teachers should
actively teach, reinforce, and re-teach rules and procedures, being sure to give a rationale for their implementation.
Teachers must establish themselves as authority figures in classrooms because
authority is key in organizing social and work groups.
Mr. Damiano has a class goal of, "We always do our best work." Knowing this, what can you determine about common values Mr. Damiano would like to foster in his class? Mr. Damiano likely expects his students to
be fully engaged, be responsible, and attend to detail.
In terms of his or her role in establishing and maintaining a positive classroom climate, a teacher is most like a
benevolent dictator.
A teacher most effectively establishes procedures
by carefully considering everything that needs to happen during a school day.
When placing the teacher's desk or primary instructional vantage point, it is most important to do so in such a way that the teacher
can see all students at all times.
Although it makes sense to put the most planning emphasis on ensuring that students master curricular goals, teachers should also remember that
careful planning can lead students to become invested, interested partners in the learning process.
Classroom management is like the base of a pyramid because
classroom management sets the foundation for all other aspects of the teaching-learning situation.
Mr. and Mrs. Ortiz bring their daughter Elisabeta to your classroom on the morning of the first day of school. After you welcome her, and her parents leave, the best thing to have Elisabeta do would be
complete a simple puzzle at her desk.
A teacher who generally demonstrates high-influence behaviors and low-affect behaviors would most likely act in such a way that students
comply with directives and seek to meet expectations out of a sense of responsibility or fear.
Teachers who are sensitive to the importance of "facework" would likely
consider ways their own behaviors might impact their students' senses of identity.
In a classroom management system, the emphasis should be on
cooperation.
The most compelling reason that teachers should give elementary-aged students frequent feedback is that early and ongoing feedback
decreases the time students spend making errors.
Miss VanDevender wants her fourth graders to do research about different states. Each child will select a state and will then investigate its history, geography, primary industries, natural resources, and tourist attractions. She envisions the project extending over a nine-week period, culminating in a student poster session to which she invites families and other members of the school community. With regard to monitoring student progress, she should
define stages in the project, set deadlines for the completion of each stage, check assignments at each stage, and provide feedback.
The classroom environment is complex, and teachers must make many quick decisions throughout the school day. One way to reduce this complexity is by
developing a variety of strategies to protect classroom time, including establishing rules and procedures and giving students as much responsibility as possible for their learning.
Ms. Avery is a bit concerned about Alicia, one of her fifth graders. Alicia did not turn in a homework assignment last week, and Ms. Avery spoke with her about it. Alicia promised that she would be more diligent about doing her homework, but today she did not turn in her homework assignment. Ms. Avery decides to call Alicia's parents to talk to them about Alicia's missing work. This intervention is
effective, because teachers should not wait for a pattern of work avoidance to develop before contacting parents.
At the beginning of the year, teachers must make sure students clearly understand classroom rules and procedures. The most effective way to do this is by
giving a rationale for, describing, and demonstrating expected behaviors, then rehearsing them and giving the students feedback on their performance.
Higher-influence interpersonal behaviors include
goal-setting, explaining, and leading.
For long or multiple-part assignments, the practice of checking assignments and providing feedback at each stage is a
good idea because it helps students learn how to manage larger projects and reduces the likelihood that someone will flounder.
It is the beginning of a new school year, and, on the first unstructured teacher work day, Mr. Dennison decides to arrange his classroom instead of planning lessons or writing rules. From a management point of view, this is a
good decision, because Mr. Dennison's room arrangement and organization will be a significant factor in lesson delivery and in meeting students' needs.
It is the beginning of the school day on a cool October morning. Students in your first-grade class arrive at the classroom, and, without being reminded, they put their book bags in their cubbies, make their lunch choices, turn in their homework folders, sharpen their pencils, sit down, and begin doing their morning work, which you have placed on their desks. It is clear that your
hard work in teaching morning procedures has paid off.
Mr. Hammond wants to make sure that his students understand what they are supposed to do on a particular assignment. He gives out the assignment sheet, on which instructions are clearly written, and he goes over each step in the process. The best thing for him to do next would be to
have a student restate the expectations aloud for the class and then clarify any aspects of their understanding that indicate confusion.
Miss Mills wants to be sure that her students are completing their homework, so each afternoon, she has them copy the assignment instructions into their planners. However, even with this procedure in place, she finds that not all students are getting the homework done. One simple way to try to increase student accountability for homework would be to
have parents initial the students' notebooks after the assignments are completed.
Which of the following is least likely to be an effective method for furthering relationships with the parents and guardians of your students?
having them make copies of upcoming assignments
Research suggests that positive parent-teacher relationships are most directly related to
higher academic and social growth rates in students.
Two fundamental dimensions make up the interpersonal behaviors that are the basis for describing relationships. The words the authors use to describe these dimensions are
influence and affect.
Parent-teacher communication is enhanced when teachers
intentionally plan for continuing contact with parents.
Mr. Flitter wants to develop effective rules for his students. A good place to start would be
investigating the school rules, and making sure that his classroom rules are compatible with them.
Learning to manage a classroom is like learning how to drive because
it usually starts with a focus on the basics, building a foundation of "automatic" skills that allows the teacher or driver to focus on more complex tasks.
Miss Wiltshire is a stickler for neatness and legibility. If a student's work is messy or has too many erasures or strike-throughs, Miss Wiltshire requires the student to re-do the work more neatly before she will grade the content. This practice is
largely ineffective because it ultimately emphasizes form over correctness and because mistakes are part of learning for all children.
Which teacher behavior is least likely to be a positive influence on student outcomes?
maintaining a professional distance from students as a means of establishing and maintaining authority.
Beverly is a student who is prone to emotional outbursts when she is corrected or redirected. One morning during science class, Mr. Trurow notices that Beverly is, once again, off task. He walks over near her desk without saying anything, to see if his proximity will motivate her to begin working. It doesn't. He catches her eye and gives her a questioning look in hopes of redirecting her. She gives him a blank stare and slumps down in her seat. At that point, Mr. Trurow moves to kneel beside Beverly's desk, puts an arm across the back of her chair, and whispers to her, "I notice you're not working on your assignment." Mr. Trurow's strategy is not likely to do which of the following?
make Beverly feel that her reputation or competence is being called into question
A teacher who has not given a lot of thought to her management system might get frustrated that students begin packing up their belongings long before the school day is officially at an end. If this were your classroom, the best action to take would be to
make clear your expectations for how the day ends, and develop and reinforce procedures accordingly.
Procedures are typically established for all of the following areas, except which one?
managing those behaviors that are dangerous and always unacceptable in the classroom or school
Which of the following would the authors likely recommend with regard to managing public failure?
normalizing mistakes and failure as an integral part of the learning process
Ms. Wise encloses her "reading nook," which is set up in the back of her classroom, with four-foot-tall bookcases on three sides. This arrangement is
not a particularly good idea, because there may be times when she cannot see the children in the nook.
Mr. Pine teaches science and often requires his students to complete experiments that utilize microscopes and other lab materials. After he demonstrates the process he wants them to follow, he dismisses them to the lab tables at the back of his classroom. He commonly identifies a "materials manager" for each small group; this student is in charge of gathering the materials needed for each day's work. Given this scenario, the best place for Mr. Pine to store his materials is
on shelves or tables near the students' work space.
Miss Livingston's garbage can and pencil sharpener are located near the door to the hallway. This arrangement is likely to be
problematic, because students may spend more time than is desirable either traveling to the area or in the area itself as they look to see who is passing in the hallway.
When giving directions for group work, you should
put students in groups, give them the instructions, ask them to restate the expectations, and then give them their materials.
Which of the following academic activities might be best for Miss Tigerfish to do with her second-grade students on the first day of school?
reading a book to the class, having a discussion about it, and having students do an art project that shows an event from the story
It is most likely that a teacher will use positive and negative consequences to
reinforce students' compliance with her expectations.
During the first day of school, Mrs. Chen's class is responding well to her teaching and reinforcement of rules and procedures. Max, however, seems to be having some difficulty controlling his impulse to talk when others are talking. When she corrects Max, Mrs. Chen should
remind him of the rule that he is breaking, and communicate a gentle, but clear, expectation that he follow it.
By teaching and reinforcing rules and procedures, and by pressing for full student engagement in all learning activities, teachers can enhance students' belief that
school tasks are meaningful and that they will be successful at school-related work.
The first consideration in planning the classroom space should be
setting up the classroom so that instruction and activities can be done easily and well.
The students in Ms. Andre's fourth-grade class are on task and efficient during their writing seatwork. They access their materials, head their papers consistently, and work steadily until Ms. Andre asks them to put their work away in preparation for the next lesson. As you observe them working, you realize that Ms. Andre
should do a more has likely taught a set of procedures to her students and has reinforced them until all students do them consistently.
Miss Vickers recognizes that classrooms are busy, complex places. She knows that utilizing her knowledge about classroom management will allow her to
simplify the complex classroom environment and let students know what is expected of them.
Generally, the foundation of the planning decisions a teacher makes is the
state and local curriculum guidelines.
A teacher's major goal at the beginning of the year is mostly likely to be
strengthening students' beliefs that school tasks are worth doing and that they can be successful.
Classroom teachers are not encouraged to use which of the following methods for establishing and maintaining home-school relationships?
surveying parents about whether or not they are fully able to meet their child's educational needs.
It is almost time for a new school year to begin, and you are carefully considering what your first few days with students will be like. You know it is critical to pay extra attention when planning early-in-the-year activities because
the beginning of the school year sets the stage for the remainder of the year.
A teacher who, when correcting a student for being off task, leans over the student and whispers, "You need to get busy. I swear, you're just getting lazier and lazier as the school year progresses!" could be said to be insensitive to facework because
the comment attempts to correct misbehavior by criticizing the student's character.
You are spending a day observing in Mrs. Fletcher's classroom. For the most part, things go smoothly, except when it is time for students to transition into sustained silent reading. The general practice at this time is that students go to their cubbies, grab their snack, stop at the water fountain if they need to, and pick a book from the bookshelves. The water fountain is located at the center of the back wall of the room, the bookshelf is on the right side of the water fountain, and the cubbies are to the left. You notice that quite a bit of time is lost during this transition: a long line forms for water and students crowd the bookshelves. Two kids start horse-playing at the water fountain, and water is splashed onto a third child who is selecting a book. It becomes obvious to you that
the physical space is, at least in part, contributing to the bumpy transition because of the backlog of students around the water fountain and the bookshelves.
With regard to classroom relationships, the authors assert that
the quality of classroom relationships directly impacts student learning and behavior.
Question content area top Part 1 When a class runs smoothly and with a minimal amount of wasted time, it is likely that
the teacher has carefully planned a set of clear expectations and has taught and reinforced them with the students.
Question content area top Part 1 One problem teachers sometimes encounter when they want children to work independently is that
the teachers have not been clear enough about what the students are to do, so students keep coming back and asking for clarification.
The authors suggest that instead of pointing out students who are not meeting expectations, the teacher should call attention to those who are behaving as instructed/expected. The most likely rationale for this recommendation is that
this approach reduces the negativity that would be associated with a correction directed to those who are not meeting the expectation.
At meet-the-teacher night, Mr. Carter is pleased to see that almost every child is there with at least one family member. Mr. Carter wants to know which of his students will have home access to a computer. The best way for him to get this information is to
use a written questionnaire that asks about preferred means of contact and about technology availability at home.
Miss Dawes has a practice in her kindergarten classroom that only the very best papers get posted on the bulletin board in the hallway. This practice is
well intentioned, but lacking, because some students will rarely, if ever, produce a paper that is good enough to be displayed.
It is the first day of school, and five-year-old Markus is really upset because he does not know which bus to ride. You go to talk to him, and he is clearly feeling threatened and frustrated. You respond to his concerns by saying, "Oh no! I hope you have not missed the bus! That would be a terrible thing to have happened on the first day of school! And your mom will probably be really mad!" It is likely that your response
will make Markus feel even more upset and afraid.
Which of the following statements is a goal?
"Follow directions correctly the first time."
The teacher in the classroom next door to yours comes over to you, saying, "I just cannot seem to find enough time to teach everything I need to teach these days! It is crazy...where does the time go? And these kids! They cannot stop touching each other, talking, and playing with stuff. Today, while Ellie was waiting in line to wash her hands, she actually dropped a pencil down Javon's shirt. He got mad and jumped up, accidentally whacking Martin in the knee with his chair. It was chaotic, and I am so frustrated!" Which of these responses would be best for you to make in this circumstance?
"Have you thought about rearranging the room? Changing the traffic flow and eliminating opportunities for kids to be "too close" might reduce the time the kids are wasting."
Mr. Barron comes into your classroom and says, "Wow. I am so happy. My students are really 'getting it.' They are all turning their work in, and it is all accurate. They don't see much point to a lot of it, but they are getting it done." Given what you know about student accountability, you think to yourself,
"Hmmm...the kids aren't really engaged by the work, even though what they submit is accurate. Maybe they need help understanding the purpose of the work."
Ms. Lavender comes into your room at the end of the first day of school. "Hot dog! I taught a lot of procedures, and the kids did so great! My professors were right; students do really need to practice doing things the way I want them done. Today went so well. I bet that tomorrow, the students will be able to meet my expectations almost perfectly." You think to yourself,
"I am glad it went well, but just because students can follow a procedure once doesn't mean that they'll automatically do it consistently forever."
Mr. Walls is a third-grade teacher. A couple of weeks before school starts, he comes to you, saying, "I have heard that when teachers let their students make the rules, the students behave better, so I think I'm going to try it. I'm thinking of letting my students make up their own rules. What do you think?" Your response is
"It's not a bad idea to have students involved in rule creation, but in general, the teacher should have an idea of what behaviors must be covered by rules."
Mr. Bryson is telling you about his first day of school, and he says, "On Day One, I'm all about establishing myself as an authority figure and making sure that students understand my behavioral expectations. I don't particularly concern myself with their feelings or their attitudes." Which of the following responses would the text authors be most likely to give to Mr. Bryson?
"Making sure students behave appropriately doesn't mean that teachers can't also consider student feelings and attitudes."
Mrs. Lampkin teaches fifth grade at your school and is complaining about her students' seeming lack of motivation to complete their assignments. "I tell them exactly what they need to do, and I am even flexible about when assignments are due! As long as students get them in sometime during the grading period, I am okay with it. But even though I am as flexible as can be, they do not get the assignments turned in. I declare, students today just do not care about their work!" In reviewing the conversation, you think to yourself,
"Sometimes teachers can be too flexible. Establishing firm due dates and making only occasional exceptions is a good accountability practice."
A teacher has the rule, "Do not talk during class." Which of the following restatements would be more effective?
"Speak at appropriate times in an appropriate voice."
Ms. Abrams visits you and says, "I have been trying to be really deliberate about letting my students know why I am asking them to do each assignment or activity. We now have a 'Why Am I Learning This?' moment before each lesson." You think to yourself,
"Wow. She's doing a good job helping students understand not only what to do, but also why she is asking them to do it. I bet that helps them focus on how useful each activity is."
According to the text, which of the following teacher responses is most likely to facilitate productive teacher-student relationships?
"Wow. Your hard work on this project really shows. You put in a lot of time, and you earned a really good grade."
Ms. Fluke's first-grade students often do their work, but for some reason, they fail to turn it in. When she is grading papers, Ms. Fluke finds herself rummaging through their desks and folders, often finding complete (but crumpled) papers that she ultimately takes, grades, and returns. A principal might suggest several things to help Ms. Fluke with this issue. Which of the following is most in keeping with strong classroom management practices?
"You should develop a system for how papers are to be turned in, then teach, practice, and reinforce student compliance."
Before the school year starts, Mr. Duncan mails a letter to his students and their families. In the letter, he writes about himself and his interests; he also previews some of the things the students will be doing during the upcoming year. He includes a list of needed supplies and invites parents to volunteer their time in different ways on behalf of their children. His practice is
effective, because it may reduce some of the anxiety the students feel about coming to Meet-Your-Teacher night or to the class on the first day.
Miss Temple gives her students a "bubble gum ball" assignment sheet. The sheet shows the outline of a bubble gum machine filled with small circles. Each time a student completes and submits an assignment, he or she gets to color one of the gumballs and put the score in the center. When a child's gumball machine has the required number of colored circles, the child is given 20 minutes of time on the computer. This procedure is
effective, because it provides feedback to students, involves them in self-monitoring, and motivates them to complete assignments on time.
Ms. Jonas is teaching a mathematics lesson on telling time to the half hour. After giving a mini-lesson that contains guided practice, she gives each student a worksheet that asks them to apply their new learning. As soon as she is finished going over the instructions, she moves to her desk at the back of the classroom and begins preparing for reading groups. This practice is
ineffective, because Ms. Jonas should be circulating the room and monitoring students' progress.
Miss McGuire has recently earned her teaching license and, as part of her program, learned how to make a web page. When she is hired to teach second grade, she sets up a web page as the primary means of communication with parents. Her idea is
ineffective, because it assumes that all parents will have access to the website.
In general, phrasing rules with the word "don't" in them is
ineffective, because it does not help students think of the actions they should be demonstrating.
Mr. Twigg says, "I can't wait to spend some time really thinking about and reflecting upon different possible room arrangements for my new classroom. The way the space is set up is the first really critical decision I will make to ensure that my students and I have a successful year." Mr. Twigg's statement is
true, because room arrangement and organization are key aspects of smooth classroom management and can directly impact student achievement and behavior.
Three words that describe major considerations a teacher needs to make when considering room arrangement are
visibility, accessibility, and distractibility.