Think Classroom Leadership, not Classroom Management

Classroom management is not just the application of theories, strategies, and methods. We can also think of it as a form of leadership.  Many of the kinds of decisions we make in the classroom are those that leaders make, such as a vision and mission for the class (through the development of curriculum), guidance towards objectives (through assessment), and the day-to-day interactions that encourage collaboration and cooperation (behavioral discipline/procedures). 

Of course, we have some duties that we see as managerial, such as completing paperwork on deadline and adhering to policies, but leaders have duties. Those duties don't drive their focus, though; they are professional in following through. A manager thinks:  "I've got to finish this report.:" A leader thinks:  "This report is going to help me better understand what this student/class needs to be successful."

This idea of leadership mindset in place of classroom management is relatively new, however.  In their review of the nation’s teacher preparation programs, Teacher Prep Review 2013, Greenberg, McKee, and Walsh (2013) emphasize the movement away from the traditional training regimen of classroom management (that of presenting strategies and methods) to instilling a “professional mindset" (p. 6). The idea being that those learners with a leadership mindset have the basics they need in order to respond to a variety of issues or circumstances.

The ability to respond to a variety of issues is what new teachers struggle with because they may have learned Strategy A, but they don’t see how strategy A works in Situation B. However, if they can grasp that they are leaders of people and not managers of behaviors, they may have an easier time. This image offers a strong visual:

In general, a manager functions more like a boss, making all decisions and expecting compliance. The leader involves his/her followers in the decision-making and models expectations, which leads to the embracing of principles as opposed to mere compliance.  The difference in students' behavior and contributions to the class when the teacher possesses and conveys a leadership mindset, particularly at the secondary level, is remarkable. 

In his study of teachers in Mississippi, Burkett (2011) found a strong correlation between a teacher’s ability to manage a classroom and his/her leadership traits.  His study showed that those teachers who were effective leaders demonstrated greater efficacy in classroom management. It isn’t such a huge leap, then, to consider that when teachers understand that classroom management is a form of leadership, they may approach situations more effectively. 

Stanford’s Graduate School of Education (2013) takes this theory of classroom management as leadership very seriously, to the extent that they have renamed their secondary management course to Classroom Leadership and Management: Secondary. The course emphasizes that a “tool box of simple management behavioral techniques” (Stanford, 2013) will only get new teachers so far with students. By exploring the core of behaviors and philosophies, the teacher candidates are exposed to a completely different mindset in moving forward, that of leadership and decision making.  In essence, they are provided with instruction in how to be classroom leaders, which offers a cohesion of theories and methods introduced to learners.  

One secondary educator noted that in his teacher preparation coursework he was "inadequately prepared in the day-to-day, immediate management techniques that would have made [his] first few years successful” (Greenberg, et al., 2013, p. 46).  I wonder how he might have felt more prepared had he known that he was a leader and not a manager, had he known that he didn’t need a bunch of techniques as much as he needed a mindset that conveyed greater collaboration with his students.

References

Burkett, M. C. (2011). Relationships among teachers’ personality, leadership style, and efficacy
of classroom management. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest. (UMI
number 3455430) 

Greenberg, J., McKee, A., & Walsh, K. (2013). NCTQ teacher prep review 2013 report. Washington, D.C.: National Council on Teacher Quality. Retrieved from http://www.nctq.org/dmsView/Teacher_Prep_Review_2013_Report

Milton, S., Curva, F. & Milton, A. L. (2011). Teachers from Florida teacher preparation

                programs: A report on state-approved teacher preparation programs with results of

                surveys of 2009-2009 program completers. Retrieved from: http://www.fldoe.org/profdev/pdf/ProgramCompletersSurvey2011.pdf

Stanford Graduate School of Education. (2013). Classroom leadership and management:

                Secondary. Retrieved from https://gse-step.stanford.edu/about/news/classroom-leadership-  and-management-secondary

You'll find more strategies for implementing a leadership mindset in our book,

           Transparent Teaching of Adolescents: Creating the Ideal Class for Students and 

           Teachers. Some former students and I collaborated on the development of best 

           strategies for secondary educators. Check us out!

         

Webinar Review: "Success with Strong-willed, Stubborn, or Downright Defiant Kids"

I just finished watching Dr. Charles Fay’s on-demand webinar. (You can order it, here.) 

Well, I shouldn’t say “just finished watching”, I should say:

           I just began changing the way I look at myself and my students. 

As an avid devotee of Love and Logic principles, I went into the webinar with many expectations and a few presumptions. For example, I anticipated that I’d be learning some great stuff, but I also figured eh, recorded presentation. Happily, Dr. Fay not only exceeded my expectations, but also my presumptions. At least five times over the course of my three viewings (I decided to watch the parts separately), my husband asked me, “What in the world are you watching?”

That’s because I found myself nodding, smiling, laughing, furiously typing, making strange noises (awww), intermittently calling out “Gold! Garbage!” or “Nooooo problem,” and at one point, holding back a few tears.  He could not imagine what video I had put on. 

I appreciate that Dr. Fay has a presentation style that immediately engages your interest. His knack for timing as well as his use of vivid facial expression do help us overcome the relative stillness of the recording and presentation.  I also appreciate that I could stop, pause,  and go back, things that the face-to-face participants could not do. But more than anything, I recognize the value of the message he offers to those of us who are dealing with some pretty difficult situations with stubborn and defiant students. 

The strategies offered are clear and immediately relevant to the classroom. Those, coupled with the painfully familiar examples (Do I really say those things to 

students?), afford both new and veteran teachers solid, tangible things to do along the spectrum of behavioral issues we encounter every day.

The “Three Es of Love and Logic are also very clear.  And I cringed as I saw where, exactly, I tended to mis-step, and then I thought, “My gosh, Fay!  Help us deal with other adults!!” 

Are we not our own worst enemies when it comes to setting examples, letting experience guide learning, and empathizing?  Here's a place to learn how to overcome that!

This webinar’s cost is far outweighed by the change it can invoke in your classroom. The accompanying workbook alone is teacher gold.  

If you find that a student (or students) is sometimes holding your class hostage with his or her stubborn or defiant behavior, you’ll want to check out these strategies and see how, exactly, you can develop a mindset that can cope with just about anything kids can throw at you.   

Pardon me while I let my 21 year-old son’s poor decision—to spend money on a t-shirt instead of gas to go to work—do the teaching… 

Mindy and some of her former students wrote Transparent Teaching of Adolescents, a discussion of effective teaching strategies for high school. 

Authority Means Never Having to Say You’re the Teacher

Recently, I worked with some secondary educators who were interested in developing behavioral strategies for their more difficult students, particular as it pertained to students’ disrespect of the teachers.  I observed several classes over the span of a semester, and I noticed that many teachers would state the obvious in an attempt to gain control of their classes. They would say things like, “I am the teacher, and this is my class. You cannot talk to me that way.”

This approach didn’t stop students’ disrespectful behavior; if anything, the interruptions, talking back, mocking, and mumbling escalated. Further, those teachers struggling the most with student behavior made these statements more often than their counterparts who were having less trouble. So, why did they resort to stating the obvious? Why does a teacher feel the need to proclaim that he or she is the teacher when responding to student disrespect?

These statements (coined as authority statements by Laitin, 1977) seem to be offered as a justification for making the corrective statement that follows. The underlying thinking seems to be — Because I’m the teacher and you are the student, you need to stop doing X and/or start doing Y— an overt reminder that one of you is a subordinate.  

However, the use of explicit authority statements is ineffective. They work a lot like “but” statements: I love you, but you’re too impulsive.  The listener only hears you’re too impulsive; the but negates the I love you.  Similarly, explicitly stating your obvious and inherently authoritative role negates the more important information that follows it: I am the teacher. I am trying to teach. You keep interrupting me.  Adolescent students probably don’t hear the important part (you keep interrupting me) over the sound of their eyes rolling. 

Imagine your principal telling you: I am the principal, and I want everyone on board for the roll-out of this new system.  Wouldn’t you kind of get stuck on the idea of the principal making a hoopla about being the principal?     

The use of this phrasing comes across as weak and ineffectual.  No wonder students just smirk or yawn when they hear it. If you’ve reached that level of frustration and start spouting out the obvious, consider that what you’re really doing (most likely) is reminding yourself that you’re in charge.

Stop saying you’re the teacher and go for the nub.
What do you want the student to do or not do?

Teachers using explicit authority statements may not realize the greater effectiveness of simply implying them. Harmin and Toth (2006) define authority statements as “making a simple direct statement of our authority as teachers” (p. 439).  The following are some examples in their Inspiring Active Learning handbook for educators:

         I do not want even minor distractions or disruptions in our lessons.
         I need you to stop talking to your neighbors. It’s time to control that.
        We do not do that here. (Harmin & Toth, 2006, pp. 111-112)

These examples differ from explicit authority statements in that no explicit mention of the role of teacher is made. Though Harmin and Toth’s (2006) definition states that the statement is of our authority, these examples more aptly reflect a statement from our authority.  This distinction is important. We don't have to say it. We just have to be it. Implying authority carries more weight, and though decidedly unspoken in the examples above, “I am the teacher” is nonetheless clearly asserted.

Words matter, and what we say conveys how we feel about ourselves and our role in the classroom. You don’t have to say you’re the teacher.  You are.


References

Harmin, M., & Toth, M. (2006). Inspiring active learning: A complete handbook for today's teachers (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.

Laitin, D. D. (1977).  Politics, language, and thought: The Somali experience. Chicago, IL:  University of Chicago Press.
 

Mindy and some of her former students wrote Transparent Teaching of Adolescents, a discussion of effective teaching strategies for high school.

The Importance of Student Feedback

I had no idea how important it was to my high school students that I asked them for their feedback on our courses. The impact was far more profound than I ever imagined.

In light of the recent Duncanville issue, where student Jeff Bliss offers criticism to his teacher, the time to discuss listening to student feedback, particularly on how they're learning, is now. Had his teacher taken the time to establish a learning environment where criticism was not considered a form of disrespect, but rather, a constructive dialogue, things might have turned out differently for both of them.

Some of my former students offered their perspective on just how much they appreciated being asked for their feedback.