Managing Classroom Procedures

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Managing Classroom Procedures

Seating Charts

I have subbed our current group of 6th graders since they were in 1st grade, and thus I knew our students at the beginning of the year better than the other 6th grade teachers.  So, my mentor teacher gave me the responsibility of developing seating charts for our five daily classes. We use two separate seating charts each week, one for Science which we teach Monday through Thursday, and the other seating arrangement for our Friday Math classes.

To develop our seating charts, I first determined if each student had a qualifier to consider--SAGE student (our gifted and talented program), 504 accommodations, SPED, Speech, and/or Dyslexia. Next I took into consideration information the 6th grade team received on each student from all prior elementary teachers, indicating both academic strengths and weaknesses.  I also examined the results from a math pretest we gave to all our 6th grade students to see where they currently stood with their math comprehension.  In addition, my mentor teacher and I spent the first two weeks observing students’ interactions with their peers, positive and negative, plus how they reacted to those with which they personally chose to sit during the first two weeks.  We thought of who their friends are, if they are an extrovert or an introvert, if they have positive or negative feelings toward school and learning, and anything else that make our students individuals.

  

Starting the third week, my mentor teacher and I assigned seats.  We placed the students in table groups of 3 or 4.  This configuration works well for science labs and math cooperative activities.  We did our best to place an academically advanced student, a struggling student, and one or two medium level students at each table group.  We do this to enhance all students' learning experiences.  Students often seek out similar academically achieving students, but we want to broaden their learning, as well as mentoring capacities.  To do this, we place them in groups which forces students to reach higher and wider, both socially and academically, than what they naturally would choose, usually due to the fact they simply don't want to leave their comfort zone.

So far our groups have been working exceptionally well together.  We've only had to make a couple of adjustments in our seating arrangements within the past two weeks.  I love seeing our students interact with each other as they learn.  It's such a developing time for them!  

Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures

Our campus staff had the opportunity to attend a Kagan Cooperative Learning seminar the week prior to the beginning of school this year.  Kagan offers many different ways to facilitate cooperative learning, which is not simply group learning, but structured group learning which holds each child accountable for his or her learning within group activities. For example, when working math problems with a partner, we often use a structure titled, RallyCoach, in which partners take turns, one solving a problem while the other coaches. My mentor teacher and I have been using a variety of these Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures.

Here's a quick YouTube video showing the steps of RallyCoach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNvAHN_x1hY

Another structure we have used is titled, RoundTable, in which teams (our table groups) take turns generating written responses, solving problems, or making a contribution to a project.  Students take turns passing a paper and pencil, each writing one answer at a time to make a contribution.  Here's a write up of the steps within RoundTable from the University of Texas, Teaching Resource Center.

RoundTable

"Roundtable structures can be used to brainstorm ideas and to generate a large number of responses to a single question or a group of questions.

·         Faculty poses question.

·         One piece of paper and pen per group.

·         First student writes one response, and says it out loud.

·         First student passes paper to the left, second student writes response, etc.

·         Continues around group until time elapses.

·         Students may say "pass" at any time.

·         Group stops when time is called.

The key here is the question or the problem you've asked the students to consider. It has to be one that has the potential for a number of different "right" answers. Relate the question to the course unit, but keep it simple so every student can have some input.

Once time is called, determine what you want to have the students do with the lists...they may want to discuss the multitude of answers or solutions or they may want to share the lists with the entire class."

http://www.gdrc.org/kmgmt/c-learn/methods.html#roundtable

Kagan Cooperative Learning website Reference:

http://www.kaganonline.com/

In addition, my mentor and I assign our students at each table group a designated number 1, 2, 3, or 4 as well as the letter A or B.  This helps us randomly choose students to stand up and present their groups' findings/answers, which again holds each student accountable for the learning occurring at their table.  They don't know which number or letter we will call out to share and so they must be listening and engaged so they are prepared to answer for their group.  It's amazing how even our shiest students know they may have to stand up and give an answer and they haven't balked at doing so, to my pleasant surprise!  Perhaps this is because they see our system as fair and equal to all.

Taking Attendance

There are so many duties a teacher has every day; yet, a teacher's focus must always be on her students’ learning.  I need to find ways to efficiently and effectively organize my non-instructional duties, without distracting from my instructional activities.  One so non-instructional activity is daily attendance.  My mentor and I complete this each 1st and 3rd period through a campus-wide electronic system while our students are completing their Mad Minute Math bellwork each class.  We also use this time to handout any completed work we do not need to review with our students.

Supplying Worksheets

In our classroom, we hand out any worksheets/graphic organizers our students will need in a bucket located in the middle of each table group.  We do this while our students are completing their bellwork or, if there is not enough time, we do so while we are giving instructions, discussing what our goals/activities will be for the day, or when discussing any agenda items our students have just finished writing into their agendas.  We have found that if we place all the sheets needed in the table group buckets prior to the start of the day, they spill out, get misplaced, or damaged before the last period of the day.  The procedure we now use keeps our paper supplies safe, plus allows us to be at the door each period greeting our students.  Greeting students is a priority to building relationships with them and tends to yield a more smoothly run instructional time as well.

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