DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

What is management?

Management of a classroom is the mutual agreement between students and teachers in a collective space. It is important that teachers develop a management strategy. This strategy should be concerned with student safety and respect while supporting the importance of learning new things. 

 

Responding to student behavior in a way that helps them identify that their actions impact those in the same space

Adapting lessons for students who may be resistant to being involved in the lesson 

Positive reinforcement for any student who is on task of a project, which creates a positive example for all students to strive towards

Reining students back into a lesson when distracted 

Creating healthy boundaries between students and the teacher in secondary school

Understanding and assessing a student’s work ethic when they are consistently sick due to anxiety

Electronic use in classrooms when social media is easily accessible on any type of device, even ones that are used during a lesson

 

It is crucial that teachers understand the student body that they are working with and the culture that the students are coming from.

 

Elementary education: In creating a management philosophy that contains room for improvisation, teachers have the ability to teach dynamic lessons while providing a safe space. 

Secondary education: Teachers must adapt their management philosophies in a way that will teach their students that they are responsible for their own actions.

 

Management Culture

The culture that is developed in a classroom should encourage respect and productivity. This will be achieved by the teacher taking part in and exhibiting the actions that they hope their students exhibit. By incorporating and practicing respect for students’ artwork, ideas, and opinions, a safe space is created. Having this space encourages students to push themselves and care more for the art processes involved. The students respect one another and the time that each has worked on the projects. To articulate these broader ideas, a tool I have often used is peer reviews and group gallery walks. These two activities provide a time for peers to be inspired by one another and for students to gain a variety of perspectives on their work. 

 

Macro and Micro Management

Having read about a few different management models and experienced teaching a classroom of high school freshmen, I have come to prefer macro management over micro management. “Macro” meaning how students respond to discipline in a broader picture. My interpretation of micro management is a teacher doing the project for students rather than letting them interpret and experiment individually. I have found that Teacher Effectiveness Training, where teachers hold students accountable for their actions, is the most productive and effective way for students to learn. This management model teaches students characteristics of maturity and time management while simultaneously giving the students a sense of empowerment. When a teacher micro manages an art lesson it loses the possibility of variety and creativity because student interpretation is ignored. Assertive Discipline is a management method used by teachers who prioritize micro management over macro management methods. 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.