Student Group Meetings
In many classes, teachers struggle with maintaining a controlled learning environment. Most common disruptions are students who call out without raising their hand and unmotivated students. Holding class meetings may help teachers turn a new leaf with these difficult classes.
Why Hold a Classroom Management Team Meeting?
Every teacher would be quick to agree that more instruction can occur when students are focused and motivated to learn. Classroom management problems, including the common issue of talking out of turn, can make any teacher less effective in the classroom. By holding classroom management team meetings, teachers allow the students a chance to take control of the problems and come up with their own solutions. This builds problem-solving skills while at the same time providing teachers another classroom management option.
What a Classroom Management Team Meeting Looks Like
If possible, students should be arranged in a circle shape to promote open conversation. If necessary, teachers can split the class up into small groups for the discussion question. Meeting rules should be explained explicitly and include some sort of talking stick or other method of enabling every student to share equally. It should be made clear ahead of time that no one should make fun of any options and everyone must be supportive of their classmates. Finally, finger-pointing is not allowed. Students are not to blame any classroom management problems on any other individual students.
The goals of the meeting should be outlined clearly as well, and should include two main points:
1. What behavioral problems need to be addressed in class.
2. What are some solutions for these behavioral problems?
Students should be encouraged to discuss the behavior problems that occur in the class openly and with clarity as to why they happen and what can be done about them. Teachers need to promote problem-solving strategies that encourage students to suggest ideas for increasing student motivation and cooperative learning in the classroom. Teachers need to encourage students to set goals for themselves and for the group as a whole.
By asking the students to become involved in the classroom management, teachers make opportunities to teach problem-solving skills while building student motivation.