Theme: How do teachers manage their classrooms?
There are a bunch of things to question in regards to discipline and classroom management. But the first and biggest question that comes to mind in respect to the classroom I am student teaching in is this: How do you get students to become independent thinkers? The reason why I ask this is because so many times I see that students, instead of trying to work on something that takes a little thinking or a little effort because they may not know the answer right away, they stop trying and they turn to other classmates and start chatting about un-related things. I think this is where some of the discipline issues come up and/or where the class starts to feel less managed than it did before.
One good way is to never call on students. A teacher shouldn’t enable students to slack off. Each student should be responsible for thinking and experiencing content. Always call on students randomly because you never know what they can achieve when you hold the bar incredibly high. Inspire them to work.
This is a tough topic to tackle, and it is one of resiliency. I have the same problem with a number of my students. Some kids just give up when faced with a difficult task (and it is very frustrating to watch). In situations like this, I have found group work to be particularly successful. This gives you less places you need to be as opposed to seeing individual students and making your rounds that way. You can have either mixed ability groups or homogenous groups depending on what sort of activity it is and what you are trying to accomplish. If you decide on homogenous groups, this will allow you to spend more time scaffolding and working with students that need your attention in these situations. Mixed ability groups give higher-performing students a chance to take a leadership role. If they are teaching and helping another student, they too are learning. It’s really up to you and the activity/lesson you have planned.
I’m not a teacher but when I was a student, I noticed that most of my teachers who caught the attention of their class was well-respected and well-prepared on their lessons meaning they have a lively class not robotic. They also have a very good rapport and know how to play/deal with their differences.