What is an effective classroom management?

Lee Jung Hye(Amy)

“Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in."

-Leonardo da Vinci-

One day, I watched news on TV. It was very shocking. A teacher at a high school hit a student's head on the wall. That's because the student were late for class. Then the student was in brain death that evening. All responsibility is on only teacher. Some classmates stated about the accident, " The teacher hit his head on the wall very slightly." But others said, "It was very serious." It's hard to say the exact cause. These day, many incomprehensible things as well as this accident are happening in the classrooms. More than half of the students in one class are lying down on the desk or sleeping. Teachers don't care about it anymore. They keep teaching until time is up. Then they finish their lesson without doing anything on maladjusted students. And some students make fun of young teachers asking rude questions. For a long time, we have thought that the students must respect teachers like their parents. However, it is collapsed. How can we change our classroom?

Let's think one school tries to teach their students English more effectively. They make the students speak English only. Maybe many students feel uncomfortable and won't follow this rule well. In traditional classroom, teachers scold students a lot or sometimes hit them with a thin stick or make them clean the bathrooms after school. Due to these teaching methods, the relationship between the students and the teachers got worse and worse. How about using different methods? Of course, many teachers try to find proper ways to handle the students, make them follow the rules, and make them focus on their study more. Why don't you adapt the theory of Skinner. His theory is based on the law of effect. It is called operant conditioning. When students follow the rules well, teachers can give a point or a sticker to them. It is a positive reinforcement according to the theory of Skinner. If the amount of points or stickers reaches up to the level that teachers already set up, they can choose a special gift. After they get a gift from teachers, they will try to do better. Also, teachers can make good students finish the lesson 5 minutes earlier than others. It is a negative reinforcement. However, if students don't follow the rules well, teachers strip a sticker or point of them. It is an extinction. Students will try not to do bad things anymore. And you can give them more homework than others like writing an essay or keeping a diary in English. It is a punishment according to Skinner.

We often see the students running in front of the school. Maybe they are not on time for class. Or some students often absent themselves from classes. How about changing the arrival time 5~10 minutes earlier than usual if some students are late for school often?  What about giving a lot of homework about the study that they didn't learn because of their absences if some students absent often? Sometimes, they will be late or absent because they are not interested in studying at school. They may not understand teachers because teachers don't use interesting or easy method in their class. It can be a good way to change the method  more easily and interestingly.

There are many methodologies for teaching students. Let's think about teaching English. Especially, many students feel hard when they learn English. From time to time, some students feel shy when they have to speak English because they are not good at English yet. I think the teachers need to apply TPR, total physical response that was originated by James Asher. This is exactly how an infant acquires its native language. A baby spends many months listening to the people around it long before it ever says a word. It is the same when the students learn the second language. TPR was developed in order to reduce the stress people feel when they are studying other languages, and encourage them to persist in their study. After enough listening, they will say words or sentences more confidently. The teachers should try to think about how any of this will be of use to them in their own teaching.

The problems that our classrooms have can be solved if the teachers do their best to try other methods. First, we must keep in mind that we need proper rewards and punishments to reinforce students' good behaviors or reduce their bad behaviors. It would be good that we follow Skinner's theory. Next, if we encourage the students giving enough time to understand and make them learn by doing something, they will feel more enjoyable and try to study harder than now. Apply new practical methods in order to make your class better.