EDE 4504 Blog 5

Chapter 5 Culturally Responsive Classroom Orchestration

Although traditional classroom management strategies have been geared toward an individualistic orientation, this chapter discusses the benefits of a less individualistic and more culturally responsive approach. It takes us through the journey of the Bridging Cultures teachers and how they "have used their understanding of students' culture-based values and strengths to choose strategies that result in smooth orchestration of their classrooms"(Rothstein and Trumbull 101). The four strategies for harmony used by the teachers were: redirection, transition activities, nonresponse, and direct discipline. Redirection is a management strategy I see used in my classroom often. My CT or I am often required to shift a student's focus from one thing to another. It is very common and inevitable to lose a child's attention after a certain period of time. Therefore, this is one of the necessary strategies. Another strategy for harmony is transition activity. One of the purposes this strategy is to give students a break, which is usually much needed during a long task or activity. Another purpose is to get students to transition from one activity to another(Rothstein and Trumbull 103). One day in science class the kids were completing a lengthy task and in between we did a little brain break and allowed them to get their energy out by dancing along to a kid-friendly music video. The teacher incorporated what they had been learning into the movements of the dance video which was great. Next, there is nonresponse. This is the strategy used least by the Bridging Cultures teachers. Although I have used this strategy before I do not find it effective unless accompanied by complimenting a students who is behaving. For example, "I love how Jacob is silently reading just like I asked." The last strategy was direct discipline. This was the one used most by the teachers, however there were only nine occurrences and "eight of these occurred in one classroom on the last day of school before an extended break"(Rothstein and Trumbull 104). The use of direct discipline is seen often in the elementary grades as well as the secondary grades.

Rothstein-Fisch, C., & Trumbull, E. (2008). Managing diverse classrooms. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Chapter 4 Philosophical Approaches to Influencing Students

Many new teachers try coming in to the classroom with a "bag of tricks" for behavior management. However, what's more effective is when teachers come in having a systematic plan for classroom management. This systematic plan "must be congruent with their basic beliefs about the nature of the teaching and learning process"(Levin and Nolan 87). Teachers must have their teaching philosophy in mind when developing this plan and also need to know that it may change depending on their students. Some may believe that one well-developed plan will be successful no matter what, but "what most experts fail to mention is that the efficacy of a technique is contextually dependent"(Levin and Nolan 87). There are two ways teachers can ensure that the way they are handling behavior management will be effective and will match their teaching philosophy. "First, they can understand their own basic beliefs about influencing student behavior" and "they can develop, based on their beliefs, a systematic plan for promoting positive student behavior and dealing with inappropriate behavior"(Levin and Nolan 88). This chapter discusses four types of teacher authority bases. Some require a high need for teacher management of student behavior and others require a low need of it. The first type of authority base is referent authority. This means there is a positive student-teacher relationship. The students see the teacher as a real person and notice the effort the teacher makes to get to know them and in turn, they respect the teacher. The second type of authority base is expert authority. With this authority base, "students behave as the teacher wishes because they view him as a good, knowledgeable teacher who can help them learn"(Levin and Nolan 93). The third type of authority base is legitimate authority. The teacher has "legal"authority and acts as a teacher is expected to act. in the past, this authority base was probably used more often because of how they were viewed. They were views as always knowing what is righ. Now, more and more people, such as parents, question teachers and their practice. So, due to societal changes, this authority base is less useful. The last type of authority base is reward/ coercive authority. This is where the students see the teacher as someone who will reward them if they behave and punish them if they misbehave. It requires a high need for teacher management and emphasizes extrinsic motivation. Increasing extrinsic motivation is known to decrease children's intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is very important because students are doing it for themselves and not for outside reasons. Though extrinsic motivation is often seen in the classroom and does work, the significance of instrinsic motivation cannot be forgotten. "Whenever possible, use intrinsic motivation and encouragement rather than extrinsic tangible or verbal rewards(Levin and Nolan 96).

Levin, J., & Nolan, J. F. (2014). Principles of classroom management: A professional decision-making model. New York, NY: Pearson

***Jacob is a pseudonym***

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