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Middle School Classroom Management: Part One: Theoretical Background

The document discusses several theoretical concepts important for effective middle school classroom management including: understanding the developmental stage of 11-14 year olds experiencing puberty; using psychology to prevent behavior problems; making age-appropriate lessons; the Pygmalion effect of positive expectations; scaffolding learning; building relationships; establishing a safe and supportive environment; and analyzing case studies of behavior issues. It also prompts the reader to reflect on their own experience as a middle school student.

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Lorena Lopez
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127 views11 pages

Middle School Classroom Management: Part One: Theoretical Background

The document discusses several theoretical concepts important for effective middle school classroom management including: understanding the developmental stage of 11-14 year olds experiencing puberty; using psychology to prevent behavior problems; making age-appropriate lessons; the Pygmalion effect of positive expectations; scaffolding learning; building relationships; establishing a safe and supportive environment; and analyzing case studies of behavior issues. It also prompts the reader to reflect on their own experience as a middle school student.

Uploaded by

Lorena Lopez
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Middle School Classroom Management

Instructor: Celeste Coleman

Part One: Theoretical Background

What is a middle-schooler?
Age:

11-14 (end of Primary School) In some ways, still behave like little children, in other ways becoming more adult-like Beginning of puberty, many physical and mental changes are occurring May look more physically mature than they actually are

Why is psychology important for classroom management?


Allows

us to understand the nature of kids this age so that we can avoid problems before they start Prevention is better than Cure

Making Lessons Developmentally Appropriate


Piaget:

concrete vs. formal operations Implications for decision-making Kinds of tasks ok for each

Pygmalion effect
The

greater the expectation placed on students, the better they perform (and vice-versa!) Students internalize positive and negative labels

Scaffolding
Supporting

the learning process by helping/encouraging a child to something slightly too difficult for him (Vygotsky) i+1 (Krashen) In this way, kids can be encouraged to transition to formal operations more quickly (but not until their brains are ready!)

Relationship-building
Important

to get to know kids on a personal level as much as possible This will help to build respect and caring Student who knows you care less likely to be totally out of line Intervene with concerns when you see them: nip it in the bud Do not look the other way about bullying

Affective Environment
Important

for students to feel safe, secure, challenged, and supported in order to take risks in language learning A harmonious classroom is a productive classroom Dont let them walk all over you, but dont just scream at them all day! Broken-record syndrome

Case studies
Read the following scenarios of behavior problems in middle school classrooms. Based on our discussion today, try to pinpoint the underlying cause of the disruption.

For your consideration


Think back to the time when you were a middle-school student. Try to remember one situation in which a teacher did an excellent job of controlling a difficult student/class, and one situation in which a teacher did a terrible job of it. Can you explain why one approach worked better than the other, using the theoretical material we talked about today?

References

Piaget, J. (1983). "Piaget's theory". In P. Mussen (ed). Handbook of Child Psychology. 4th edition. Vol. 1. New York: Wiley. Feldman, Robert S.; Prohaska, Thomas (1979). "The student as Pygmalion: Effect of student expectation on the teacher". Journal of Educational Psychology 71 (4): 485493. Wood, D. J., Bruner, J. S., & Ross, G. (1976). The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychiatry and Psychology, 17(2), 89-100. Richards, J., & Renandya, W. (Eds.). (2002). Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

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