Dialogue #4: Classroom Management and Establishing Classroom Culture

Last week, after observing Ms. R’s class, you asked me to consider pragmatic strategies on how I would handle the classroom. Honestly, seeing her class terrified me; I couldn’t parse all the variables that I would have to tackle, let alone come up with strategies that might help. However, after some thinking, there are a few things I would like to try.

Dialogue #3: Discussion

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking this past week about discussion facilitation. I was trying to come up with strategies and ideas that might help me build an arsenal for effective discussions. When I watch you lead a one, I constantly find myself thinking, “Oh, that was cool. I would have never thought to connect it like that.” I think your biggest strengths are your confidence, your ability to recognize the teachable moment, and your knowledge of the students. The week before last, you had mentioned that maybe the reason behind students’ lack of participation is simply that they do not feel like they know me personally. In trying to think about what I can do since I have yet to develop aforementioned skills, I think you’re absolutely right – students don’t quite trust me yet. With that in mind, I started researching some discussion strategies that might alleviate that distance. My professor gave me a wonderful site (http://www.nsrfharmony.org/protocols.html) and I would like to try some of those strategies in class.

Also, I remember you telling me that you weren’t always good at discussion, which brings me to my next question: how did you become so comfortable and effective? I would love some insight on your past struggles and revelations. What did you try in the beginning that may not have worked? Did you eventually get those strategies to work? Do you run your discussions differently now? And if so, how differently?