TCM Table of Contents – Classroom
Management Resources – School
Climate – John Shindler
– TCM Workshops
ABOUT THE BOOK
Transformative Classroom
Management
Available in August from
Wiley Press
John Shindler
This book is
a synthesis of what I have seen to be effective in the area of classroom
management. It is reflects my own experience as a teacher, observations of
hundreds of classrooms, my research, and the best ideas that I have read or
heard. This book is intended for anyone who works with young people now or
plans to. Practicing teachers, pre-service teachers, parents, administrators, support
staff and coaches may all find it useful.
The content
of the book is intended to cover the topic of classroom management
comprehensively -- from the practical techniques for achieving ease, clarity
and smoothness, to the more transformative
techniques that will lead to student growth and development, from helping
students with a habit of disruptive behavior to increasing each students’ level
of motivation; from the practical steps for developing classroom rules to a
comprehensive system for creating a classroom community.
At the heart
of the book is an examination of what it takes to create a “psychology of
success” within our students individually and collectively. This concept is explained
practically in Chapter 7, revisited throughout the book, and provides the
framework for what is required to achieve transformative
classroom management results.
I have been
an educator for 25 years, K-University. I have been in hundreds of classrooms
and have taught thousands of students. When I reflect on what I have observed
over the years, I find much of it perplexing. I have witnessed smart teachers
who struggle with classroom management. I have observed skilled teachers who
elect to use strategies that create more problems than they solve. And to this
day I see so many great ideas that are seldom used.
What I have
concluded is that what makes a teacher successful in one school is the same
thing that makes a teacher successful in the next school. There is an operating
assumption floating out there that some things work with some kinds of students
and some things won’t. It is true that all students are unique and group
dynamics, cultural backgrounds and experiences vary, sometimes dramatically.
But for the most part sound ideas will get positive results and unsound ideas
will get mixed results at best. Some ideas can seem promising, but fall short
of translating into effectiveness because at their core they are flawed. As a
teacher I used many of these flawed ideas, even defended them -- believing that
they worked. But time, experience, and the chance to research and reflect (a
chance that too few of us get) have given me a perspective that I did not have
when I began my teaching career. Some of the insights in the book have come as
sudden “lightbulbs” of inspiration. Most have come from watching teacher after
teacher apply particular practices and observing what occurred as a result.
I have found
that not all ideas sold in the marketplace of classroom management strategies
will lead to desirable results. In fact, what I have observed is that many of
the most popular ideas result in more harm than good. For that reason, a good
portion of the book is devoted to explaining why many of the most popular ideas
in use today are flawed, and what to do instead.
In each
chapter you will find chapter
reflections within the text that relate to the content immediately
preceding it.
At the end of
each chapter, journal prompts are
included. These prompts will be useful for readers who would like to process
what they have read. Some or all of these prompts may be assigned as part of a teacher
education course to promote retention and provoke a deeper examination of the
content.
Finally, each
chapter includes at least two chapter
activities. These activities are intended to help those working
independently or in groups to process the content of the chapter, synthesize
material, and/or create components of a “classroom management plan.” Practical
guidelines are offered for the development such products as a classroom social
contract, a process/participation assessment system, a set of logical
consequences, and a series of technical management strategies.
Rather
quickly the reader will notice that the book enters some relatively uncharted
territory –- the realm of teacher thought and mindset. There are two primary
reasons that I have chosen to venture down this road. First, the vast majority
of our activity each day occurs between our ears. If we are intentional about
it, we will be much more effective. Second, I have found that what primarily keeps
teachers from effectiveness and/or growing into the kinds of professionals that
they would like to become is most often found in the domain of their thought
processes and habits. What holds us up is not usually a lack of information or
insufficient talent, but patterns of thinking.