Más que para compartir esto con el mundo, es para no perderlo de nuevo.
Area of Concern
For middle level teacher one of the most difficult situations is to deal with the behavior and emotional changes of their students. Often, students’ misbehaviors and emotions destabilize the comfort of your learning ecology. Therefore, it is important the application of effective classroom management to address those challenge situations and to provide students the support needed to take advantage of this unique changes.
Social and Emotional Changes in Middle School
There are many things happening in students during their adolescence. Brown and Trudy (2014) mentioned that some of the predominant changes in students’ social behavior are: the continue seeking of acceptance in community, school, and home environment and the development of their identities. Moreover, Gill (2007) claimed that students form their identity based on which clique would accept them and that “peer feedback permits young adolescence to gauge their new patterns of behaviors” (Brown & Trudy, 2014, p.36). Therefore, teachers must bear those changes in mind in order to support each student to find an emotional balance that becomes a positive aspect on their school academic achievement. According to Cossa (2006), during adolescence, there is a unique opportunity for therapeutic intervention that exists at no other time in the life cycle. Additionally, Brown and Trudy (2014) stated that effective middle educators respond to students’ social and emotional states with acceptance and empathy (Brown & Trudy, 2014), so that educators become a trusted person for students. Therefore, it is vital to understand that “most of teen’s social activities are conducted online or via texting” (Brown & Trudy, 2014, p.39). This will give teachers access to students’ world and to share interests and preferences.
Causes and Consequences
Social and Emotional changes may provoke different misbehavior and involve students in some problematic situations in school and society. Consequently, it is crucial for educators to understand which are possible causes that influence students to take risk and the consequences that bring this type of behaviors. Cossa (2006) stated that one of the main causes that lead students’ misbehaviors is that peer group start assuming a role of support and influence parallel to that held by the family during childhood. Additionally, because of their rapid changes and the need of identity development, they start breaking some rulers and standards that align the ethical, moral, and legal aspects of society.
As a consequence, according to Charles (1987), these emotional and social needs take them to be involved in suicide, homicide, eating disorders, sexual activity, restless, and substance use and abuse. Moreover, Charles and Charles (2004) mentioned that it damages learning and personal relationship. That is, if middle school students do not have an adult figure that guides them to positively address those behaviors, they can negative affect students’ academic achievement and social interaction in huge dimension. Fail in school and legal problem in society may be long-term consequences that those behaviors may cause. However, educators need to have a clear understanding of what misbehavior really mean and not only see it as “a label teachers and parents apply to any behavior they disapprove” (Charles & Charles, 2004, p. 130).
Educational Implications
One of the main misconceptions that teachers face on supporting middle level education is that they “focus on content while ignoring the developmental and academic needs of their students” (Brown & Trudy, 2014, p.2). Therefore, there are some key aspects that educators must keep in mind about students’ social and emotional development to offer the comfortable and safe learning ecology that adolescents require. According to Cossa (2006), students are testing the safety of adult world, and need the support of thoughtful and caring adults. Basing on this need, Brown and Trudy
(2014) claimed “learning experiences must be vibrant and exciting to promote the greatest intellectual development (Brown & Trudy, 2014, p.6).
The learning environment is another aspect to bear in mind to support students to overcome their struggles during adolescence. According to Charles (1987), adolescents seem to do better in term of self-esteem and behavioral, if there is some “aren\a of comfort’ in their lives during period of multiple change. Furthermore, Charles and Charles (2004) stated that intellectual capacities does not develop property without practice, consider using instructional activities that involve problem solving and abstract reasoning. Therefore, educators need to create learning ecologies that “eliminate conditions that might encourage misbehavior, to be good models for our students” (Charles & Charles, 2004, p. 132). Finally, McCarthy and Banally (2003) emphasize the important of involving culturally responses to address important diverse classroom.
Classroom Management
In order to apply effective classroom management educators need to understand the type of students that we often find in our classroom. Figure number 1 portrays some characteristics and educational implications to understand and to manage some of the behaviors of typical types of students in our classroom
Adapted from: Gill, V. (2007). The students you will meet in your classroom: Classroom management tips for middle and high school tecahers. Thousand Oaks, California, United States: Corwin Press.
Effective classroom management provides students the opportunity to express their unique learning goals as well as to take advantage of their rapid social and emotional development. Charles (1987) mentioned that a supportive environment with adults who give guidance not only seems to act as buffer against negative social influences, but as a promoter of positive social behaviors and skills. Additionally, teachers need to know, understand, and to have some professional development that allows them to involve students in a safe a trusted learning ecology. According to Brown & Trudy (2014), the best structure would be teams of from three to five students who would be responsible a heterogeneous. That is, the group configuration needs to foster “cooperative or responsible social relationship” (Charles, 1987, p. 3). Therefore, it is important to maintain an effective environment based on “personal relationship, develop self-control, and responsibility” (Charles & Charles, 2004, p. 132 - 133). Charles and Charles (2004) stated that good management allow teachers to provide a positive atmosphere with little conflict where energy is concentrated on purposeful activity (Charles & Charles, 2004); and it work efficiently with young adolescents in order to make them realize “who they are, and to offer support for their educational journal” (Charles & Charles, 2004, p. 33)
Effective Classroom Management Strategies in Middle Level (ML) schools
“Teachers of adolescents need to understand how to behave in their classroom” (Tierno, 1991, p.34). Some researchers have proposed different classroom management strategies to support students’ difficulties during adolescence period. For instance, Lindberg, Kelley, and Swick (2005) claimed that “room organization” is one of the most important aspects in effective classroom management. Teachers must arrange their classroom in a way that allows them to have a clear view of the entire class. It will involve all students in the learning ecology and to provide a great harmony. They also propose the application of independent activities, and the implementation of some leisure and incentives time to better address students’ emotional and physical changes. Furthermore, Charles and Charles (2004) discussed the importance of technology and group configuration to create a safe and engaging ecology for middle school students. As a final statement, I would quote Tierno (1991) and emphasize that most of middle level teachers should focus on classroom management than to enhance control over students. In other words, they should create a learning environment that promote and support differences rather than control and limit students to freely express and develop.
Effectiveness of Involving Classroom Management to Address ML Students’ Cognitive and Emotional Development
Some research conducted by Baker, Grant, and Maes (2008); Boyse Verschueven, Doumen, Van Damme, and Maes (2008); and Murray and Pianta (2007) has demostrated that effective classroom management strategies have great positive impacts on students’ social interaction, social competence development of moral and social justice, academic achievement, and it also reduces school failure (as cited in: Alderman, 2011). Moreover, Alderman (2011) proposed the “social power model” to develop problem solving abilties while attending adolescents needs and changes.
Additionally, Mitchell & Bradshaw (2013) conducted a research in 37 schools school in Maryland to address classroom-base positive behaviors. They demonstrated how effective classroom management is in order to enhance school climate and condition that support adolescents’ disciple and social, emotional, and academic development.
Personal Application
The information discussed in the literature review gives me a strong support to better understand and address students’ social behaviors in middle level schools in Ecuador. Moreover, the application of effective classroom management strategies will permit me to support adolescents’ emotional and social challenge experiences.
First of all, I will apply some pre-assessment strategies to gather information about students’ cognitive, social, and academic abilities as well as prior schooling, background knowledge, and interests. This data will permit me to create a safe and trusted learning ecology that involves all students’ cultural and diverse learning needs. Then, it will permit me to choose meaningful classroom management strategies that transform students’ social and emotional difficulties to strong assets in order to enhance their cognitive and academic achievement in school and own reality. Furthermore, the implementation of some strategies like “project menu” and “spin-off,” proposed by Heacox (2012), will permit me to provide my students the individual attention and freedom their need to become more independent learners. Those strategies will also support my students to develop their cognitive abilities through discussion and real world problem solving. Having in mind the rapid development and changes that students experience during middle school period, I will guide them to take fully advantage of this in order to become better learner, thinkers, and society advocators.
Finally, as an Ecuadorian Master Students, I will provide different workshop to middle level teachers in order to share the information learned during this course. I believe that it will enhance the educational system in Ecuador and reduce the number of students who fail in schools and who are involved in society and legal problems.
Conclusion
Adolescence is one of the most difficult periods of time in human being life. It can give people strong tools to succeed or to fail in future situations. Moreover, it is directly affected by the instruction and the adults guided that society, school, and community provides them. We, as middle level teachers, make great and significant impacts on students’ life. Therefore, teaching middle level students is a great challenge that not everyone is able to do since there are many aspects that teachers need to consider to apply effective instruction. Taking in mind all the social and emotional issues that students experience during this time, teachers need to address those need and not only based their instruction on content and cognition development. As discussed in this paper, effective classroom management strategies, group configuration, and a sense of caring and understanding students behaviors are necessary to address and support adolescents struggles and needs.
As a final conclusion, I want to encourage teachers and educational researchers to continue studying how to address adolescents’ changes, keeping in mind that we are living in an ever-changing world. That is, teenagers’ culture and social and emotional needs will continue changing through the years. Moreover, as a middle level teacher, I would say that the influenced we have on students is enormous and the most rewarding thing about teaching according to Gill (2007) is to have the heady experience of a students letting us know “You have change life, thank you” (p.72)
Reference
Alderman, G. L. (2011). Social Power and effective classroom management enhancing teacher-student relationshsip. Hammill Institute on Disabilities , 47 (1), 39-44.
Brown, D., & Knowles, T. (2014). What every middle school teacher shouls know. Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States: Heinemann.
Charles, & Charles, M. (2004). Classroom management for the middle grades teachers. Boston, Massachusetts, United States: Pearson Education, Inc.
Charles, I. (1987). Adolescent Social Behavior and Health. San Franciso, California, United States: Jossey-Bass Inc.
Cossa, M. (2006). Rebels with a cause working with adolescents using action techniques. Philadelphia, Pensilvania, United States: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Gill, V. (2007). The students you will meet in your classroom: Classroom management tips for middle and high school tecahers. Thousand Oaks, California, United States: Corwin Press.
Greene, D. (2012). Teens, TV, and Tunes: The Manufacturing of American Adolescent Culure. Jefferson, North Carolina, United States: McFarland & Company, Inc.
Lindberg, J., Kelley, D., & Swick, A. (2005). Common-sense classroom management for middle and high school teachers. Thousand Oaks, California, United States: Corwin Press.
McCarthy, J., & Benally, J. (2003). Classroom Management in a Navjo Middle School. Professional Development Collection , 42 (4), 296-304.
Mitchell, M., & Bradshaw, C. (2013). Examining classroom influences on students perceptions o scholl climate: The role of classroom management and exclusionary discipline strategies. Journal of School Psychology , 51 (5), 599-610.
Tierno, M. J. (1991). Responding to the socially motivated behaviors of early adolescents: Recommendations for classroom management. Professional Development Collection , 26 (103), 569.
