Classroom Management: Creating a Positive Learning Environment

8 - Collaboration with Colleagues to Improve Classroom Behaviour

8 Collaboration with Colleagues to Improve Classroom Behaviour Hue Ming-tak People must help one another: it is nature’s law. Jean de la Fontaine (1621–95) Synopsis In this chapter, it is suggested that effective classroom management can be achieved through collegial collaboration, which can be promoted at two levels: school-wide and between individuals. At the school-wide level, it can be established by adopting a whole-school approach to behaviour management in which the school takes the initiative to build up an organizational structure where colleagues are encouraged to collaborate with others. It aims at engaging all school members to work together as a team on the classroom issues with which they are concerned, and so to develop common aims, beliefs, practices and action plans in promoting positive behaviour management (Axworthy et al., 1986; Brown et al., 1984; Rogers, 1995). At the individual level, the collaboration is initiated “bottom up” by colleagues themselves rather than in a “top down” fashion. The social networks of collaborating colleagues may vary in formality and flexibility depending on the patterns of interpersonal relationships among them. Objectives After reading this chapter you should be able to: 1. recognize that all teachers have collaborative roles in implementing a wholeschool policy on discipline, both inside and beyond the classroom; 2. explain the benefits of developing a whole-school policy on discipline as a way to encourage collegial collaboration; 3. understand the phenomenon of classroom isolation and the advantages of collegial collaboration; 150 Classroom Management 4. provide ideas on ways of working with your colleagues to improve students behaviour; 5. recognize the ineffectiveness of referral systems in schools. Pre-Reading Reflection and Discussion 1. What kinds of school culture and organizational structure are more favourable for encouraging collegial collaboration? 2. What types of colleagues do you like and dislike working with? 3. If you were the form tutor of a class and found that a teacher who taught your class was completely unable to manage the students’ behaviour, in what ways could you give him/her some support? 4. If you found some students’ behaviour unmanageable and intended to seek support from other colleagues, what inner feelings would you have? 5. In what ways could you work with the form tutor to improve the behaviour of a difficult student in your class? 6. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of referring difficult students to a senior member of staff? Introduction The classroom is a setting in which teachers can collaborate with each other to manage student behaviour and promote their learning. Collegial collaboration gives support and professional confidence to teachers, and it reduces their feelings of stress and depression when they face problems in managing their classes. When teachers work together closely on classroom issues, they can exchange information about students on, for example, their classroom behaviour, emotional intelligence and academic ability in different school subjects — and in the process, they come to realize that they face many difficulties in common and can learn from each other’s classroom experiences. Overall, working with colleagues as a team can help to promote the learning and growth of all students. In the case below, Miss Lee was teaching a difficult class. When she found that some students’ disruptive behaviour became unmanageable, she decided to ask the discipline teachers for some help. What are advantages and disadvantages of making such a referral? If you were Miss Lee, would you ask discipline teachers for assistance? Can you think of any other ways to manage the students’ misbehaviour? Also, what advice would you have given Miss Lee to prevent the situation reaching this stage? Collaboration with Colleagues to Improve Classroom Behaviour 151 Classroom scenario Class 3E was having a lesson in the music room. After a few minutes, some students started throwing chalk at a student while the teacher, Miss Lee, was writing some notes on the blackboard. She warned the class that they would be punished if they continued to do this. The students involved blamed each other for throwing the chalk and the classroom became very noisy. While Miss Lee was talking to these students, others began to engage in casual talk and other activities not assigned by the teacher. Miss Lee stopped the argument and began to teach, though she realized that this incident had ruined the atmosphere for learning. Having taught for a few more minutes, Miss Lee found more students...