Classroom Management Strategies for Effective Instruction

Thinking About Lesson Planning

• Who Am I Planning For?
• What Am I Supposed To Do?

Two Types of Assignments…

• Ineffective Assignments:
• The teacher tells the class what is to be covered
• Chapter 7; Moby Dick; long division; ecosystems
• Effective Assignments:
• The teacher tells the students what they are to have accomplished or mastered at the end of the lesson
• Teach with the end in mind

Creating Effective Assignments…

• Think what you want the students to accomplish
• Write each step as a single sentence.
• Write in simple language
• Duplicate the list of steps and give it to the students

Effective Assignments…

• Must have structure and be precise
• Structure
• The assignment must have a consistent and familiar format that the students can recognize as their assignment
• The assignment must be posted daily in a consistent location BEFORE students enter the room
• Preciseness
• The assignment must state clearly and simply what the students are to ACCOMPLISH

• To teach for learning, use words, especially verbs, that show learning has taken place.
• Bloom’s Taxonomy
• Knowledge
• Comprehension
• Application
• Analysis
• Synthesis
• evaluation

If the classroom is a fish bowl…

• Piranha
• Catfish
• Goldfish

Piranha…..

• Are usually the “trouble-makers”
• Can be passive aggressive or overtly aggressive
• Have negative attitude
• Have attendance problems
• Are “at risk”
• Etc., etc., etc……

Catfish…..

• Go with the flow
• Are usually good-natured, but have limited motivation
• Are social beings
• Tend to cooperate; follow MOST rules
• Perform to the average or just enough to stay out of trouble with mom/dad
• Etc., etc., etc……