Classroom Management with Paulina Andruszkiewicz-Glińska

Classroom Management

           Reflection on the 1st webinar: Classroom Management in young learners’ English classes                                   

-by Paulina Andruszkiewicz-Glińska on 24th November 2021

It was really fantastic to have an online webinar on the topic of classroom management. Although the topic is not new to me, I learned much not only theoretical knowledge but also ways of practical operations.

In the webinar, the presenter showed us all her priceless collections based on her research and hands-on experiences. I loved the two keywords (distractions and disruptions) she gave because it is exactly what classroom management aims at paying attention to. When she mentioned classroom rules, she used examples that almost everyone could relate to. It made me think about my previous studying experience and reflect on my teaching experience as well.

She also mentioned attention span, which is significant to be taken into consideration. Teachers should plan stirring and settling activities for students so their attention span can be prolonged. Meanwhile, I conclude that classroom management is also intertwined with teaching plans because some activities about classroom management should be taught firstly and revised repeatedly, so teachers should plan when they teach students what those activities are and how they need to behave. For example, attention grabbers - songs and rhymes, such as "hello" songs and "goodbye" songs are smooth transmitters, which can be planned at the beginning and end of the class.

Then, students’ needs are necessary, too. I like the idea of making classroom contracts together because it is connected with them; therefore, students will have a sense of participation and be more willing to agree on them. What is more, I had not thought about "Subject requirements" before I watched the webinar because parents are ignored occasionally. "Subject requirements" can be used as a trick to bridge the communication between schools and families. As for classroom management, I believe it will be way easier for teachers when parents know the classroom contracts and possibly extend them to family education. Also, there are other instructions are given to help manage the classroom. Thus, the topic can be combined with giving instructions as well.

In addition, she also gave us an interesting website (https://bouncyballs.org/) that she would not probably use in class. It simply helped us avoid being in an awkward situation, in that the purpose of the website is for classroom management; however, it may have a negative impact on the classroom environment from another respect. Because it is too intriguing and students may ignore the disciplines and produce loud noise to watch those appealing balls bounce, it is not a wise choice to use it sometimes. Nevertheless, I believe we can still use it but for different purposes. For instance, if we want to hear their voice when we want them to read vocabulary or something else aloud, especially when it comes to repetition, we can use it to make students more engaged in the drilling of vocabulary.

In conclusion, it was hard for me to concentrate on the 1.5 hours webinar all the time because of loads of information, but it was once in a blue moon. I still insist this is the right way to deliver it for us, but we should think about how we would do it if we were her. As we have all the recommendations, a gift she prepared for us and the recording which we can always refer to, we can take our time to explore them on our own.