Sunday, November 7, 2010
Student Managers
There are some kids in our classes who come in looking for something to get into. As soon as they walk into the door, they are playing and running around. Teachers get frustrated and the student never gets fully engaged into what is going on in the classroom. One way to channel that negative energy is to give students jobs in the classroom. Instead of looking for something to do when they enter the classroom, challenging students should be given a job or responsibility to focus on at the start of the class. If you have some good ideas of jobs or classroom responsibilities for our boys, please share them with us. To post a response, click on the title of this post or the word comments below.
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I have noticed many of the student who either look for attention or do not engage in the lesson are helped when they have something to do, especially when it has to do with leading class discussion or being a leader in the classroom. The only issue that I have is trusting students to perform certain tasks. How do we communicate our expectations so students are responsible enough to complete these tasks?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post Mr. Barton.
ReplyDeleteFinding a way to communicate expectations to students is an issue. There are several ways, and you have to watch the student to know which ways will work for him. I usually find that meeting privately (or semi-privately) with the student to establish expectations for a classroom job is important. You have to make sure you have his attention. Also, give them an option in the agreement. Let him decide something about the agreement to give him ownership. You will have to remind the student occasionally to redirect or refocus them, but it usually works better if you can remind him of what he said (and agreed to). Some kids will not be responsible enough for certain jobs. Have a list of jobs to choose from. I usually try to find jobs that require very little student interaction. Passing out papers is not good for me, because there is too much room for play. It requires a great deal of trust. Being the time keeper is a safe job. It doesn't require a typically disruptive student to interact with other students. Your classroom management dictates the types of jobs you allow.
Let me know if this helps.
Thank you for your comments, I had not thought of a time manager. I would have to agree with you on letting the students pass out papers. They do play around... plus they are not efficient.
ReplyDeleteI really love this idea of student jobs and managers. These boys really like having something to do that's important and it especially helps with those that cause frequent class disruptions. I tried this after a really hard day last week when you told me about the idea and it worked wonders! It is one if those things you always hear about and I have done in the past but it was so good to be reminded of it because it truly does work. I am going to try a create a better system of classroom managers instead of just impromptu jobs like last week. I like what you also posted as a response to Mr. Barton- about giving them a say in the job or a choice so that they can really own it. I can't wait to try implementing this next week even further. I appreciate all of these good ideas and discussion on improving our craft. - Mrs. Edwards
ReplyDeleteMrs. Edwards,
ReplyDeleteI am glad you had some success with the strategy. I will visit today to assist you with the creation of a manager system.
S. Johnson said . . .
ReplyDeleteOne idea teachers can incorporate in regards to classroom management positions is posting the Job Positions available for each core period (like in the Classified Ads). Establish a date and time (possibly during Advisory or Connections) where students can come and interview for the positions. Have them to also submit a job application and resume. This is an opportunity to tie this into some real life skills. Create a weekly job performance evaluation. Their performance can be tied to incentives (i.e., Best Bucks, Snack Bucks, etc.). Thus, for example, if by the end of a month (4 wks), a student has accumulated 80 out of 100 points on their job performance evaluation, they may receive 3 best bucks. Teachers can also create a space in the room (via bulletin board) where the classroom managers for each class period are listed and possibly a picture posted by their name and title. Also, the management jobs should be rotated ever so often to give all students an opportunity to serve. Here are some suggestions for classroom manager positions (materials manager, paper manager, time keeper, conduct manager, security manager or door keeper, line manager, homework manager, absences manager, etc.).
I like the line manager!
ReplyDelete