Reading Response- Week 7 (Management)
- cannfitzgerald
- Oct 5, 2015
- 3 min read
Chapter 5 in Managing Diverse Classrooms by Carrie Rothstein-Fisch and Elise Trumbull discusses how to create a culturally responsive classroom orchestration. They give us specific strategies for harmony, such as redirection, transition activities, nonresponse, and direct discipline (Rothstein-Fisch & Trumbull, 2008). One topic I took away from the chapter was the discussion about rewards, which can be individual and group. I think it is important that students learn to share rewards among the group, which is currently occurring in my classroom this semester. The school has compliment castles, which can be filled out whenever a class gets complimented by another faculty member. When the compliment castle is completed, the class receives recognition on the school news and their castle is hung up for everyone to see. This relates to Rothstein-Fisch and Trumbull’s statement: “Students are recognized as a group and rewarded as a group” (2008, p. 116). My class works together to make sure everyone is walking quietly in a straight line anywhere we go to receive compliments from other faculty members. I believe there should be a balance of individual and group rewards in the classroom to encourage this classroom orchestration. As a teacher, I like to praise students individually for their work, when they work in groups, and as a whole class. In this upcoming week, I would like to follow Rothstein-Fisch and Trumbull's wise words by working on redirecting students and using transition activities. I think I need to strengthen these areas and I am looking forward to using this chapter as a guide in this process.
Chapter 4 in Principles of Classroom Management by Levin and Nolan explains the different philosophical approaches to influencing students. There are four different authority bases: referent authority (students enjoy positive relationships with teacher), expert authority (students view teacher as knowledgeable person who will help them learn), legitimate authority (teacher has legal authority), and reward authority (teacher can reward and punish) (Levin & Nolan, 2013). I found the theories of teacher influence to be the most interesting in this chapter, which are student directed, collaborative, or teacher directed (Levin & Nolan, 2013). My teacher exhibits a teacher directed theory with her fifth grade students and I believe it is due to the fact that she has been teaching for 25 years. She strives for an efficient classroom based on the academics with minimal disruption (Levin & Nolan, 2013). Students have very limited input in how the classroom functions, and that is because she knows her system works due to her amount of time in the teaching career. Above is a picture that captures her teacher-directed theory: students are focused on the academics, there is little time spent on behavior, and the teacher has the “primary responsibility for influence” (Levin & Nolan, 2013, p. 108). I believe this is an effective theory, but I also would like to incorporate ideas from the collaborative theory in my future classroom to allow for a better balance of responsibility between the teacher and students. I would like to practice this now by working on a "joint responsibility" between the class and myself. My fifth graders can be allowed to make some choices within my options and we will work on forming respectful relationships, which will help us all learn better as a class. I believe these theories will help me create a more collaborative teacher influence within my classroom.
Fisch, C., & Trumbull, E. (2008). Managing Diverse Classrooms: How to Build on Students’ Cultural Strengths. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Levin, J., & Nolan, J. (2013). Principles of Classroom Management: A Professional Decision-Making Model. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
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