Classroom Management Matters: The Social--Emotional Learning Approach Children Deserve

by Gianna Cassetta, Brook Sawyer

Overview

"We can do better, but expectation alone is not enough. We need answers and examples like the ones Gianna and Brook provide with great insight from research and practice and great compassion for teachers and students. My hope is that this book will become a touchstone for all of us."
—Carmen Fariña, Chancellor of New York City Schools

“Positive, supportive relationships with children help them develop socially and emotionally and help you to effectively manage your classroom,” writes Gianna Cassetta. She shows you an approach to creating that environment that can actually be planned for, taught, and supported from the first day of school—or anytime you want to reset your classroom community.

Gianna has been a teacher and leader, and the classroom management strategy she shares in Classroom Management Matters shifts you away from professionally draining rewards-and-consequences systems that threaten children rather than connect with them. Instead of tips and techniques Gianna presents a plan for explicitly teaching children how to be effective learners and accountable members of the classroom. You’ll quickly learn to:

• know your students better and understand the causes of individuals’ misbehavior
• assess children’s development along a provided social–emotional continuum—just like any other skill you teach
• teach these self-management skills to support a positive classroom and academic growth
• set and maintain boundaries with students
• respond to disruption with effective teaching language.

With reflection questions, classroom examples, and summaries of supporting studies from researcher Brook Sawyer, Classroom Management Matters helps you be a learning leader in the classroom instead of an authority. “I’ll show you detailed strategies that prevent and minimize your difficulties with students,” writes Gianna, “so you can focus on constructive action that will have a lasting, positive impact.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780325061825
Publisher:	Heinemann
Publication date:	08/11/2015
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	7.40(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.28(d)
Age Range:	5 - 13 Years

About the Author

Brook Sawyer is coauthor of the new Heinemann title Classroom Management Matters as well as No More Taking Away Recess and Other Problematic Discipline Practices, part of the Not This, But That series.



Brook was a middle school language arts teacher and an elementary guidance counselor and is now an assistant professor in the College of Education at Lehigh University. Her research aims are interdisciplinary and center on promoting the development of young children who have disabilities or who are dual language learners (DLLs). Specifically, her work aims to support the development of preschoolers who are at risk for poor school performance by examining and enhancing the practices of teachers and teachers as well as by enhancing partnerships between educators and parents.



She has published her work in numerous journals, such as Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Journal of Early Intervention, and Journal of Research in Reading. She has presented her work at national and international conferences.

Gianna Cassetta is coauthor of Classroom Management Matters: The Social and Emotional Learning Approach That Children Deserve; No More Taking Away Recess and Other Problematic Discipline Practices; and, The Caring Teacher: Strategies for Working Through Your Own Difficulties with Students.

She began her teaching career in New York City, where she became one of the first 25 National Board Certified Teachers in the state. Her passion for education led her to co-found and lead a public-to-charter conversion school in Harlem, NYC, which outperformed the district it was housed in as well as the city. She helped launch the Office of School Reform and Innovation at Denver Public Schools, where she shepherded aspiring school leaders through a new school application and start-up process, before starting her own school in Far Northeast Denver.

Gianna has led statewide professional development initiatives and consulted nationally. She is a certified Goleman EI Emotional Intelligence Coach and an International Coaching Federation Associate Certified Coach. Contact her at The Plain Red Horse Coaching and Consulting.

Table of Contents

Foreword Carmen Farina viii

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction: When Things Don't Feel Quite Right, We Can Do Better xiv

"His Behavior Is No Longer Our Problem" xv

Reflection: What Troubles Me About My Classroom Management? xviii

Chapter 1 Who Am I? Who Are My Students? 1

Teacher and Student Demographics 2

Understanding Our Responses to Race and Gender 3

Color-Blindness 4

White Guilt 5

Lack of Perspective 5

Fear 5

Teacher-Student Relationships 5

Reflection: What Do I Know About My Students? 7

How to Build More Positive Teacher-Student Relationships 9

Learn About Your Students' Lives Outside of School 9

Use What You Learn About Students to Grow a Connection

Show Children That You Will Keep Them Safe 11

Show Students Who Are Having a Hard Time That You Care and Are Available 12

Spend Nontraditional Academic Time or Nonacademic Time with Students 12

Validate Their Feelings 13

Speak with Positivity and Compassion 13

Chapter 2 What do I Want for My students? 15

Reflection: What Behavior Do I Expect from Other Adults? 18

Social-Emotional Competencies 20

How Should Child Development Inform Our Expectations? 22

How to Identify Social-Emotional Learning: Continuum Tool 25

SOAR SEL Continuum 28

Rewards and Consequences Don't Work 34

Chapter 3 How Do I Set boundaries and teach expectations? 38

Any Expected Behavior Must Be Taught 40

How to Teach Expected Behaviors Through Classroom Rules and Procedures 42

Imagine the Procedure: What Should It Look Like, Sound Like? 43

Co-create Rules with Your Students 45

Follow Through: Remind, Reinforce, and Redirect 46

How to Communicate Emotional Objectivity 53

Extending Emotional Objectivity to Teachers 53

Reflection: How Can I Evaluate My Emotional Objectivity? 59

Chapter 4 Why Do Children Misbehave And How Should I Respond? 61

The Cause for Misbehavior Matters 62

When Misbehavior Occurs, Offer a Positive Choice 64

How to Respond to Misbehavior: A Change-Over-Time Approach 64

Reflection: How Can Inquiry Inform My Response to Misbehavior? 68

Formalizing Peer Feedback 70

Suspensions Don't Work-and Aren't Fair 74

Chapter 5 How Can instruction help students practice and reflect on Behavior? 77

Our Academic Lives Promote Specific Behaviors 78

How to Create Instruction That Develops the Learner 80

High Expectations 81

Opportunities for Active Engagement 81

Scaffolded Support 82

Just-Right Challenges 83

Opportunities for Social Interaction 84

Reflection: What Opportunities Does My Instruction Offer Students? 92

Control What You Can 94

Conclusion: Defining Responsibility 95

References 99