A Personal Perspective on Classroom Management for Computer Education

Rules and Procedures (1/5)

What a teacher wants to have is effective classroom management skills. No one was born with these skills. Everyone has gained or will gain them while experiencing day by day. Therefore, let’s begin with the Rules and Procedures.

I have already known importance of this part of the CM skills from TEGV* seminars. I have participated to their seminars but I’ve never got a chance to practice my knowledge there for some reason like having no time to go there, and so on. Anyway, I think that the most important thing, as a teacher, is to believe in what you do and yourself. As Napoleon Hill famously says, “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

Rules and Procedures

Let’s firstly think about the “Rules and Procedures”. I think I will pay so much attention to this part since rules and procedures is very important in Computer education. Let’s see why:

Most essential rules:

1. DO NOT bring beverages and food to the computer labs!
2. DO NOT start the computer until the teacher says you can!
3. DO NOT play with cables!
4. DO NOT hesitate to ask help from the teacher, if you have a problem with computer!
5. DO NOT use the computer or any other electronic devices if your hands are wet!
6. DO NOT disturb your friend or the teacher, while they are speaking!

Procedures:

1. If you come to the lab sessions with beverages and/or food, eat them out of the classroom door but in front of it!
2. If you find the computer already started, let the teacher know it, but if you start it before teacher allow you to start it, you’ll be given extra work to do individually and on the lab after the class.
3. If you play with cables, you will get -10 points from your bonus grades. The reason to be applied this rule and procedure is that playing with electronic cables are DANGEROUS! If you have a broken cable, the cables may cause you to die!!
4. If you have a question, please raise your hand and wait quietly!
5. If you come to the lab session with your wet hands, DO NOT use computers or even touch them and any cables! They can also be DANGEROUS and FATAL! Please raise your hands quietly and say the situation to teacher, he will give you napkin.
6. Without any important reasons If you disturb someone while he/she saying something, you’ll get a warning first. If you repeat this for a second time, you will cause your bonus grades to decrease by -5.

Note: This is a part of a whole article written by me. That is, you will find its continuation with this link.

Writer: yazar@yokartikya.com

Positive Classroom Management

Positive Classroom Management (3/5)

I believe I will be a teacher like a friend but like an adult. I love teaching, and children. I will have some certain rules, and some procedures but I will behave not like a robot teacher or not like a traditional teacher. I am an open-minded person, so I will listen all to my students and their concerns and comments about life and my lesson. I will believe that they can reach the achievement level that we expect from them.

I will also make them not only about the topics included in the lesson but also about themselves. I’ll make them see that I believe them to achieve the levels that I expect, and I‘ll make them realize if they also believe themselves, they will succeed and gain whatever they aim at. In my lesson, I can motivate to pay attention to the lesson by saying you will get “LCE”!. “LEC or FCT” stands for “Leave Class Earlier or Free Computer Time” and that means if they complete their group or seat work earlier, they will choose one of them. First one can be done if they complete their tasks and if there is 5 minutes left for the end of the lesson.

What about the off task behaviours during class? I will extremely support to behave in a friendly way that we use generally body-language or eye-contact. I will use most probably eye contact as a first approach to the off-task behaviour. After I try to give an interesting example about the topic including his/her name. Then, I can use body language and physical proximity. But I exactly avoid behaving in an offending way.

Note: This is a part of a whole article written by me. That is, you will find its continuation with this link.

Writer: yazar@yokartikya.com

Group Work, Seat Work and Recitations

Group Work, Seat Work and Recitations (5/5)

As you know, my favourite classroom design for the computer education is exactly support the group work, seat work and recitations.

This picture and classroom design belongs to me. They all are designed by me.
For use, please ask permission!

At the beginning of the each class, the students will sit the chair around the table located in the centre of the classroom. This table will be used for the decision of the group work, seat work, recitations and discussion.

For the group work, they will sit their chairs around DDT*.  I will explain the task and assign them to the groups. And if they are supposed to use the computers after my explanation and assignment the groups is done, they can use them and they are free to move during the group work and free to talk. In this way, they will enjoy the class.

For the seat work, they will sit their chairs around DDT* again.  I will explain the task and steps that they have to follow. Then, they will move on to their computers and do their seat works there. They are not allowed to move on and talk during the seat work. If they have a question about the work, they can raise their hands and I will stand by them. After, they can ask their questions quietly.

For the recitation work, they will sit their chairs around DDT* again and I use the whiteboard for the recitation section.

*Discussion/Decision Table

Writer: yazar@yokartikya.com