April Anxiety: Take your class back!

Master Teacher Behaviors R. Brian Winsor, Ph.D.

Over the past many years I have had the blessing of observing in 100s of classrooms. I have sat in awe as teachers have used music and singing to promote an enriched environment. I have marveled at the complete, positive, control teachers demonstrated over their classrooms and I sat and grinned as other teachers used celebrations throughout their lessons.

These teachers represent classrooms and students with a wide variety of backgrounds, grades, ethnicity, socio-economic status and abilities. Then, I ponder on other classrooms that are stressful and struggling. I ask myself, “What are the differences between these teachers?” The one thing that the master teachers have in common is absolute, positive authority in the classroom.

In our summer workshop series we discuss three types of teachers. The first type is authoritarian in nature. This teacher tries to control classroom behavior through emotional force. This teacher uses intimidation, threats, is frequently angry and uses high rates of negative correcting statements. You might hear this teacher make statements such as:

“This is the worst class I’ve ever had.”
“Okay, if you can’t be quiet you’ll miss recess.”
“If it’s not done right this time I’ll throw it away!”
“Excuse me!? Just because I’m with a student does not give you permission to speak!”
“Put your name on your paper… I’d hate to throw it away because I don’t know who it belongs to.”
“Jill, is there a reason why you’re talking? Didn’t I say to work quietly?!”

These statements usually ooze with a sarcastic voice tone.

I have observed enough to know with certainty what kind of classroom behavior this type of teacher produces. The students are typically unhappy, argumentative to one another, low in quantity and quality of academic work. These classrooms are normally disastrous for substitutes and ancillary teachers such as music and art.

The next type of teacher discussed is the permissive teacher. This teacher is warm and friendly but not demanding until chaos reigns. Then this teacher either flips over to the authoritarian style of teaching or breaks down in tears.

This teaching style is characterized by few or inconsistent rules or consequences. There are few if any clear procedures. This teacher is usually unprepared, lacks self-confidence and is afraid of conflict. This teacher also tends to get caught up in nagging cycles and engages in arguments with tough students.

Once again, I have observed enough classrooms to know with certainty what kind of classroom this type of teacher produces. The student academic time on task is low. The students become more loud and unruly as the day progresses. There are high rates of teasing and bullying in this classroom and the teacher experiences high amounts of stress as the day progresses.

There is a better way! This teaching style is called authoritative teaching. These teachers are characterized by absolute, positive control within the classroom. These teachers are completely in control of everything in the classroom including their emotions. They are demanding, firm, loving, consistent and persistent.

These teachers have preplanned rules, consequences and procedures. They have taught the procedures to the students and practiced them until they were automatic. When students fail to follow a procedure they remind and practice the procedure until automatic.

These teachers also have prepared lesson plans that are well thought out. In the classes that I observed with the least amount of behavioral problems the teacher had planned so much learning activity that the students hardly had time to misbehave. These teachers changed activities frequently, involved the students in the learning process, and engaged high energy, dynamic teaching strategies.

These teachers generally praise desired behavior rather than punish or point out inappropriate acts. I have witnessed master, authoritative teachers using positive praise in many ways. Each of these teachers understands that “behavior noticed is behavior worth repeating.”

Now, once again, I have observed enough classrooms to know for certainty what kind of behaviors this type of teacher produces. Each of these classrooms had excited learners with high amounts of student academic time on task. These students were friendly with one another, polite to the teacher, compliant with requests. The amazing part is that the ancillary teachers report that these are the classrooms that are the most fun to teach!

I frequently have teachers call and vent their frustrations for which I am most grateful. Please continue to call and email. As I have listened I have asked myself, “What is the one thing that this teacher is not doing now that would make the most difference?” Here is my advice to everyone who is frustrated in April.

Take your classroom back! It is yours and you have every right to reclaim control. Here are three areas I have noticed:

Procedures.
From the moment the students walk onto the campus until they go home they should be controlled through procedures. Here are three procedures that can change your classroom:

Before Class Guidelines
Line up by the door
Enter the classroom quietly
Go directly to your desk
Begin bell work
Keep eyes and ears on task

On-Task Guidelines
Listen to instructions
Keep eyes and ears on task
Knees facing forward
Begin work immediately
Signal for help when needed
Keep on working

End of Class Guidelines
Put materials away
Sit in ready position
Wait to be called
Push chair in
Stand quietly behind chair

You get the idea. Be sure to teach the procedure and practice repeatedly throughout the day, week and month until it is automatic. Reinforce the students who are following the procedure by saying their names and making praising comments.

2) Lesson Planning,
Somewhere I read that the greatest generator of fear in warfare is the feeling of being unprepared. Can you imagine showing up for a battle without a plan? (Hey, no political commentary!) And yet, a common thread amongst teachers who fail is their failure to thoroughly plan their lessons. In my opinion a lesson plan cannot and should not fit into a 2” square box. Every lesson should entail the following elements:

Anticipatory Set

Teaching to the Objective

Guided Practice

Independent Practice

Closure

Personal Reflection

3) Positive Praise and Celebrations.
During the summer workshops we have discussed some master teacher behaviors. One of the master teacher behaviors is “high rates of natural reinforcement.” The teachers who I observed being the most effective had mastered the art of praise. Here are three elements I observed in each teacher:

Name the child
Before, during or after the praise the teacher most always stated a child’s name.

Describe the desired behavior
Remember that behavior noticed is behavior worth repeating. These teachers understand that and use it to their advantage. Each praise phrase had a specific behavior attached.

Use a wide variety of praise phrases
I was observing in a classroom and tried to count the number of different praises. I couldn’t keep up. This teacher was so adept at using praises that even the students were praising each other.

Summary
I have been very encouraged and even excited by my classroom observations over the years. There are some who are frustrated. This is natural for April. There is no need to be discouraged. I promise, if we all will follow the principles of the master teacher behaviors and practices, stress levels will decrease for us and our students. And… the fun factor will return!

See you soon, Dr. Brian