Curriculum, Instruction, Classroom
Management, and Discipline
Gain a clear
understanding of the differences in
order to pinpoint the cause of a
problem.
Curriculum
Curriculum refers to
what is to be taught.
Sources include state and local boards of
education, professional associations,
textbooks, teacher preferences, and
increasing influence from the federal
government.
Instruction
A) What the teacher does
It
is the teacher's responsibility to make the
curriculum interesting, relevant,
meaningful,
and/or even fun. Activities
that create interest, challenge,
inspire creativity or are personal
are excellent approaches. A good starting
point
is for the teacher to ask, "Why
am I teaching this?" and then share
the reasons with students.
Every lesson
should have
planned time for reflection in
order to enhance understanding, reinforcement, and
retention.
B) What students do
Learning that is retained requires
participation. Consider the following regarding
retention:
We remember:
10% of
what we read
20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we see and hear
70% of what we say
90% of what we say and do
Classroom Management
Classroom management deals with
how things
are done.
It has to do with procedures, routines, and
structure.
It is enhanced when procedures are:
1.
Explained to students,
2. Modeled for students,
3. Practiced by students, and
periodically (when necessary)
4. Reinforced by practicing again.
When procedures are learned, routines
are established.
Routines give structure to instruction.
Classroom
management is the teacher's
responsibility.
Discipline
Discipline is the
student's
responsibility.
Discipline deals with how people
behave.
It is about impulse
management and
self-control.
So, if you have
an unsuccessful lesson, ask
yourself,
(1) Was it the curriculum? e.g., I
just didn't make it appealing,
or
(2)
Was it instruction? e.g., I had a
wonderful lesson planned, but I did all the
work; the students were not engaged enough,
or
(3) Was it classroom management?
e.g., I had a wonderful lesson, but it took
10 minutes to get everything organized,
or
(4)
Was it a discipline problem?
e.g., I prompted the students' curiosity,
taught a good lesson with meaningful student
activities, had everything organized, but
Jason still interrupted the lesson.
Asking yourself
these questions
is a significant step toward increasing your effectiveness.
