Ch+8+notes

Authoritative Input from ** HARRY WONG ** and ** ROSEMARY WONG ** : // The First Days of School  // __ Fundamental Hypothesis of __//__ The First Days of School __// Discipline problems largely disappear when students are carefully taught to follow procedures for all classroom activities. Harry Wong, now an educational speaker and consultant, taught middle and high school sciences classes for many years. Rosemary Wong taught grades K-8 and served as media coordinator and student activity director. Their book // The First Days of School // is a best- selling education book. They also have produced an award-winning video series entitled // The Effective Teacher. // The Wongs’ websites: www.Teachers.Net and www.EffectiveTeaching.com. The Wongs place major emphasis on classroom management, especially structure and procedures that enable students to work diligently, behave responsibly, and reach high levels of achievement. Their approach is eminently // pragmatic //, built from valuable, practical ideas from many sources, with no attempt to make their suggestions fit any particular theory. Their informal writing style and their use of aphorisms make their ideas stick in the mind. • Poor classroom management is the main problem in teaching. • The single most important factor governing student learning is not discipline, but how a   teacher manages a classroom. • Teachers’ four stages of professional growth: fantasy, survival, mastery, and input. Good management moves teachers quickly from fantasy to mastery. • // Effective teachers // spend most of the first two weeks of school teaching students to follow classroom procedures. Then students are able to learn and conduct themselves better. // Ineffective teachers // begin the first day of school attempting to teach a subject. They then spend the rest of the school year running after the students. • The three most important things a teacher must teach the first week of school are discipline, procedures, and routines. • A well-managed classroom is task-oriented and predictable. • The more capable the teacher is in classroom management, the more successful the student. • School should be challenging, exciting, engrossing, and thought-provoking, but it must have structure to ensure success. • Discipline plans, that begin the first day of school, should state the kind of behavior you expect from students. They are written, posted, and reviewed with the students on the first day. • To establish good procedures, first decide what routines are necessary for the activities that will be provided. Make lists of the procedural steps students must follow in order to   participate in and benefit from the activities. Then teach the procedures by explaining, rehearsing, and reinforcing. • // A First Day of School Action Plan // considers: preparing the classroom before students arrive, academic expectations, time frames, lesson plans and activities for the first days of school, steps in establishing working relations with students and parents, class schedules, maintaining a good learning environment, and procedures in documentation and evaluation of student practice. (refer to Sarah Jondahl, teacher) • A // self-manager plan // begins by teaching students to manage their own behavior in a   responsible manner. Behavior standards are established through class discussions about responsible behavior, treatment of others, and working promptly to the best of one’s ability. The // self-manager application // uses evaluation by the students and parents of their behaviors and standards. (refer to Jane Slovenske, a National Board certified teacher, at   http://teachers.net/wong/JAN05/) • Group procedures and social skills are taught to // support buddies // who work together in  // support groups // (collaborative learning groups).
 * Chapter 8 Discipline through Pragmatic Classroom Management **
 * Main Ideas **

__ APPRAISAL OF THE MODEL __
The Wongs’s approach is pragmatic, procedural, and built from valuable, practical ideas from many sources. The Wongs make no attempt to fit their suggestions to any particular theory, and their informal writing style and their use of aphorisms make their ideas easy to absorb. Their primary focus is on the structure and procedures that are taught to students the first days of   school. The views of the Wongs have their challenges. Their ideas are supported by experience, rather than by formal theories. They provide suggestions and cautions that are helpful in setting up the initial days of school. It is for teachers to adapt the suggestions to their needs and realities. For those who want to use these ideas in their own way, this will be a strength. However, for others who want—or need—a clear structure they can administer with immediate results, this will be a   weakness. The Wongs do not offer specific suggestions for managing challenges that may occur later. Time is needed for both organizing the routines and procedures and for teaching them to   the students. Results may be somewhat slow, but they probably will be more permanent than those attained in discipline systems based on reward and punishment. Secondary teachers sometimes comment that The Wongs’ suggestions appear to be too elementary for use in high school. ** Fundamental Hypothesis of ****// The First Days of School //** Discipline problems largely disappear when students are carefully taught to follow procedures for all classroom activities. ������ Emphasized classroom management and procedures as most essential for effective teaching and learning. ������ Validated that well managed classrooms are task-oriented and predictable. ������ Stressed that the most effective teachers spend most of the first two weeks of school teaching classroom procedures and routines. • A pragmatic approach to discipline that is built from valuable, practical ideas from many sources. • The informal writing style and the use of aphorisms make their ideas easy to absorb. • Suggestions and cautions that are helpful in setting up the initial days of school. Focus is on the structure and procedures that are taught to students the first days. • Online support includes management tips and lesson plans. • Teachers must adapt the suggestions to their needs and realities. For teachers who want—or need—a clear structure they can administer with immediate results, this will be a weakness. • No specific suggestions are offered for managing challenges that may occur later. • Time is needed for both organizing the routines and procedures and for teaching them to the students. • Secondary teachers say that The Wongs’ suggestions appear to be too elementary for use in high school. • School is where students go to learn how to be productive citizens and reach their potential as   human beings. • School should be challenging, exciting, engrossing, and thought provoking, but it must have structure to ensure success. • Teaching is a highly skilled craft that can be learned. • Good teachers ask “What must I know that will help me accomplish what I need to do?” (not   “What am I supposed to do?). • What teachers do the first day of school determines their success the rest of the year. • Learning is most effective in supportive communities of learners where students work together responsibly. • Interspersing questions often during a lesson significantly increases student learning and retention. • Students usually learn more from an activity-question approach than from a textbook-lecture approach. • Teachers’ four stages of professional growth: fantasy, survival, mastery, and input. Good management moves teachers quickly from fantasy to mastery. • The single most important factor governing student learning is how teachers manage classrooms, not discipline. • // Well-managed classrooms // are task-oriented and predictable. • // Ineffective teachers // begin the first day of school attempting to teach a subject. They then spend the rest of the school year running after the students. • // Effective teachers // spend most of the first two weeks of school year teaching students to   follow classroom procedures. Then students are able to learn and conduct themselves better. • Discipline plans, that begin the first day of school, should state the kind of behavior you expect from students. They are written, posted, and reviewed with the students on the first day. • Rules of behavior set limits and create a work-oriented atmosphere in the classroom. • Behavior associated with rules must be taught through discussion, demonstration, and practice. • Consequences should be attached to the rules—positive consequences for compliance, and negative consequences (not punishment) for non-compliance. • If a student cannot demonstrate learning or achievement, it is the teacher’s fault, not the student’s. • Use criterion-referenced tests to evaluate student performance, and grade on what is learned, not on a curve. • Have the classroom ready for instruction, and make it inviting. • Organize the classroom with a script. • Greet students at the door as they enter. • Give students a seating assignment and a seating chart. • Position yourself in the room near the students. Problems are proportional to distance. • Post an assignment in a consistent location for students to begin when they enter the room. • Display your diploma and credentials with pride. Dress in a professional manner that models success and shows you expect achievement. **// A First Day of School Action Plan //** (refer to Sarah Jondahl, teacher) considers the following: • Preparing the classroom before students arrive • Academic expectations • Time frames • Lesson plans and activities for the first days of school • Steps in establishing working relations with students and caregivers • Class schedules • Maintaining a good learning environment • Procedures in documentation and evaluation of student practice • Teach discipline, procedures, and routines. • To establish good procedures, • First decide what routines are necessary for the activities that will be provided. • Then make lists of the procedural steps students must follow in order to participate in and benefit from the activities. • Then teach the procedures by explaining, rehearsing, and reinforcing. ** A ****// self-manager plan //** (refer to Jane Slovenske, a National Board certified teacher, at   http://teachers.net/wong/JAN05/) • Students are taught to manage their own behavior in a responsible manner. • Behavior standards are established through class discussions about responsible behavior, treatment of others, and working promptly to the best of one’s ability. • The // self-manager application // uses self-evaluation of behaviors and standards by the students. Parents also review and give input to the student’s self-evaluation. • Cooperative learning groups are called // support groups //. • Each member of the group is known as a // Support Buddy //. • Each student in the group has a specific job to do. The main job is to support others in the group. • Group procedures and social skills must be taught clearly.
 * Wongs’ Contributions to Classroom Discipline **
 * Strengths of The Wongs’s Work Challenges of The Wongs’s Work **
 * // About school  //**
 * // About teaching  //**
 * // About classrooms and procedures  //**
 * // About discipline  //**
 * // About testing and evaluation  //**
 * // About the first day of class  //**
 * // About the first week of teaching  //**
 * // Procedures for cooperative work groups  //**