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How does one maintain classroom management, while working with experiments and stuff of that nature? Are there any ideas to creating a fun and innovative environment, without losing control of the class?
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That's a question that has been pondered by teachers since the start of time. There is no one easy answer. But one thing that helps to keep in mind is to be organized. Have all your materials ready to go so you and students don't have to spend time looking for equipment and materials. Have containers with materials ready to set out on tables. Have any additional items handy and easily accessible.
Some teachers like to assign lab jobs so that each students knows what their responsibility is.
Move around the room as much as you are able to observe, discuss and ask questions of the students.
The more interested students are in their activity, the less likely they are to disrupt the class.
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Hi Mary,
Depending on what grade level, the rules may change slightly; however, having clear expectations are very important and may help ward off unsafe student behaviors. That usually means starting the year with a safety contract that both parents and students sign and return. FLINN Scientific has one that can be downloaded from their website. Once a student understands that the expectations must be adhered to in order to participate, you will find overall classroom management easier to maintain. Prior to any lab activity, I always had a plan for how to approach a student who was abusing the lab participation privilege. That may have included talking to the assistant principal ahead of time to determine if he/she would be available to talk with a student who might need to be removed from class because of unexpected behaviors. We must expect appropriate behaviors from all of our students in order to maintain a safe learning environment for everyone. So explicitly teach your expectations, then expect your students to adhere to them. If someone does not, remove him/her immediately. Then have the conversation later as to how he/she may earn the privilege to participate in the next lab activity.
There are few discussion threads in the Learning Center community forum arena that have excellent suggestions for setting up and maintaining good classroom management and safe learning environments. Here is one:
Classroom management
Wishing you a happy, safe teaching and learning year!
Carolyn
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Although I do not have experience in a classroom, I have been told to start the school year in control. If you manage your class from the beginning, the students will know and respect the rules that you have in place.
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Hi Mary,
I would also add that it is important to train your students in lab safety. Most teachers have a lab safety unit as the first unit of the year. Your students need to know the importance of appropriate behavior during all lab activities. They also need to understand why certain behavior is not acceptable.
NSTA has a myriad of resources that can help you establish some classroom lab procedures. I did a keyword search of the Learning Center's resources using the words "lab safety." There are over 150 resources that might be of use to you in determining what your classroom procedures should be. I've put a couple in a collection for you to view. (There are only nine resources in the collection I posted even though the post says that there are over 10,000 in the collection.) I could recommend some more age appropriate ones if you could tell me the age of your students.
Lab Safety for All Ages Collection
(9 items)
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Mary, Carolyn and Ruth have provided you with some really wonderful resources on safety.
Jennifer is right on the nose too. You can’t just have control of your classroom on lab days. Control has to be there from day one. It is easier to slowly let up than it is to try to get control later. High expectations, rich and engaging lessons and activities are all a must. If you keep students hands and minds engaged, they don’t have time to get into trouble. I try to teach bell to bell. When I do that, students are always surprised that the period is up and leave wanting more.
Overall, you need to know what will work for you and your personality. With time, you get better, I promise.
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There is another conversation on this topic in the New Teacher's forums.
Here the focus seems to have been safety and this IS an essential element albeit not the only one. Somebody earlier mentioned that have clear expectations is also essential. Students need to know what they are doing (I will call these kinesthetic expectations. They also need to understand the learning expectations. If these are not clear students can get off task quickly. I also add a "challenge" activity for the precocious few who finish early.
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