Blog #8

This week our assignment was to write a literature review that analyzes the sources cited in our annotated bibliography. I found the literature writing process a little bit frustrating. I was unaware of how much work it would actually be and I should have taken better notes throughout the class on my research articles. I think the most difficult part for me was going back through all my sources and separating the material into my three major findings that I wrote about in my literature review. Writing this literature review has affected the way I will do research in the future. In the future, I will take better notes during my research so I do not have to go back and redo all my work (that’s what I felt like I was doing while writing my literature review). Also, while conducting my research in the future, I will start to categorize my literature as I find it so I do not have to do it at the end when some of the material is not as fresh in my head. I do not have any unanswered questions after completing my literature review. I feel like my research could make an impact on a wider audience, including my colleagues, because we are all instructors and we are always looking for ways to better manage our classrooms. Also, during my research I found some good techniques for dealing with students with disruptive behaviors which I plan on using in my classroom in the future. Also, I think my research would help all teachers who are new or are looking for different ways to manage their classrooms.

Blog #7

In my annotated bibliography I included two new sources that I had not used in previous assignments; however, I did find these articles during my research for previous week’s assignments. One of the new articles I included is titled, What Kind of “Managers” Do Adolescents Really Need? Helping Middle and Secondary Teachers Manage Classrooms Effectively. This article filled a gap in my research by identifying four manager qualities that are essential for successful student achievement. If you are interested the four qualities are identified in my annotated bibliography below. The other new article I included in my annotated bibliography is titled, Exploring the Complexity of Classroom Management: 8 Components of Managing a Highly Productive, Safe, and Respectful Urban Environment. This article filled a gap in my research because it gives eight keys to creating and maintaining a successful classroom by giving a scenario of a disruptive student and how the teacher handles the student. After completing my annotated bibliography and reviewing all my sources, I believe I have covered all aspects of my research question. I have discovered many different techniques to manage your classroom effectively and how these techniques enhance student behavior. I have also found many techniques for managing and improving disruptive student’s behavior.

The three major findings of my research are:

1. Effective classroom set-up will enhance student behavior.

2. Effective teacher management styles for dealing with disruptive students will in the end enhance the student’s behavior.

3. Making an effort to get to know and care for your student’s well-being will enhance student behavior.

My research question:

How does effective classroom management enhance student behavior? 
 

Annotated Bibliography

 

Bucalos , A., & Lingo, A. (2005). What kind of "managers" do adolescents really need? helping middle and secondary teachers manage classrooms effectively. Beyond Behavior, 14(2), 9-14. Retrieved from http://libproxy.chapman.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid,cookie,url&db=eric&AN=EJ845888&site=ehost-live

 

            This article is an article I did not use for a previous assignment; however, I did find this article while doing research for a previous assignment. This article covers four manager qualities that are essential for successful student achievement. These four qualities include teachers who (1) make a regular and focused effort to know their students as individuals and care about their well-being, (2) understand how to communicate with adolescents and who are appropriately assertive, (3) understand that different strategies must be used with different students depending on individual needs, and (4) are committed to culturally responsive classroom management. This article then goes into detail regarding those four qualities. Another thing I liked about this article is that the author talks about 10 ways to foster teacher-student relationships. This article specifically addresses my research question because it focuses on how to be an effective manager in the classroom. Anne Bucalos, one of the authors of this article, serves as the Director of Faculty Development at Bellarmine University. Her     research interests include educator dispositions, adolescent behavior disorders, and generational differences. Amy Lingo, the other author of this article, works at the University of Louisville as the Assistant Department Chair of the Department of Special Education. Her research interests include positive behavior supports in school settings and relationships between challenging behaviors and academic achievement.

 

Hue, M., & Wai-Shing, L. (2008). Classroom management: Creating a positive learning    environment. Aberdeen, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press

            This book covers some main points to include: understanding classroom behavior and      situations, effective classroom management, managing misbehavior, and enhancing communication and strengthening teacher-student relationships. Although this book does focus on Chinese culture and Hong Kong classrooms, the preface mentions that this book examines classroom management in both Chinese and Western societies. This book gave  me a better understanding of my research question because I have learned that there are four goals of misbehavior. When students feel that they do not belong in the classroom they turn to these four mistaken goals that include: attention-seeking, power-seeking, revenge, and helplessness or inadequacy. I do feel that the authors are qualified to write this book. The back cover of the book mentions that the author Hue Ming-tak is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling and Learning Needs at the Hong Kong Institute of Educations. Li Wai-shing, the second author, is an assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the Hong Kong Institute of Education.

 

Jones, K., Jones, J., & Vermete, P. (2013). Exploring the complexity of classroom management: 8 components of managing a highly productive, safe, and respectful urban environment. American Secondary Education, 41(3), 21-33. Retrieved from http://libproxy.chapman.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid,cookie,url&db=eft&AN=89935757&site=ehost-live

 

           I found this article very interesting because it is an extended vignette that goes through how a teacher handles a disruptive student. According to the authors, there are eight keys to creating and maintaining a highly productive, safe and respectful classroom. Those eight keys are: student-teacher relationships, setting expectations, non-verbal cues, redirection and teacher consistency, teacher persistence and assertiveness, capitalizing on human resources, restorative justice, and school wide consistency. This article is not one that I used for one of my previous assignments; however, I did find it while doing research for my empirical article. This article specifically addresses my research question because it demonstrates a teacher effectively managing a disruptive student and how in the end the teacher enhances the disruptive student’s behavior. The first author of this article is Karrie Jones who is a teacher of mathematics at Tapestry High School in Buffalo, New York. The second author of this article is Jennifer Jones who is a Special Education Coordinator at Oracle Charter School in Buffalo, New York. The third author of this article is Paul Vermette who is a professor in the Department of Education at Niagara University in New York.

Spaulding, A. (2005). The impact of high school teacher behaviors on student aggression. Current Issues in Education, 8(17). Retrieved from http://cie.ed.asu.edu/volume8/number17/

 

            This article focuses on how a teacher’s behavior can have an impact on student aggression and as a teacher how you can modify your behavior to have a positive impact on the student’s learning environment. This article helped me gain a better understanding of my topic because it specifically points out ways that teachers can de-escalate violent situations when it comes to classroom management, student attitudes and behaviors, and student skills and knowledge. This article also helped me gain a better understanding of my topic because it also points out specific actions and traits used by teachers that may increase mismanagement and aggression in the classroom. The author of this article, Angela Spaulding, is an associate professor of Educational Leadership at West Texas A&M University. She has over 40 publications in the research areas of group dynamics, communication, conflict management, and micro politics. This article was found in an open access journal database.

 

Trussell, R. (2008). Classroom universals to prevent problem behaviors. Intervention in School & Clinic, 43(3), 179-185. Retrieved from http://libproxy.chapman.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tru        e&AuthType=ip,uid,cookie,url&db=aph&AN=31464819&site=ehost-live

                       

            This article provides clear descriptions and examples of classroom universals that, when applied consistently and collectively, help create safe and effective classrooms. Some of the main points covered in this article include: general classroom environment and setup, procedures, and instructional interactions. This article helped me gain a better understanding of my topic because it presented me with new ideas I had not considered before. For example, this article mentions how when there is unscheduled time in a classroom students have an open invitation for disruptive behavior. This relates to my research question because it shows that when you do not use effective classroom  managememt techniques student behavior can be affected negatively. The author of this article, Robert Trussell, is an assistant professor of special education at the University of Texas El Paso. His research includes emotional/behavioral disorders and school wide positive behavior support. This article is a peer-reviewed article.

 

Williams, P., Sullivan, S., & Kohn, L. (2012). Out of the mouths of babes: What do secondary     students believe about outstanding teachers?. American Secondary Education, 40(2), 104-119. Retrieved from http://libproxy.chapman.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,uid,cookie,url&db=eric&AN=EJ986838&site=ehost-live

 

            This article is an empirical article that examines what secondary school students consider to be traits of outstanding teachers. The researchers in this wrote friendly letters to seventh through twelfth graders asking them what makes outstanding teachers. The students were at four different secondary schools with diverse settings: a private Christian academy in an affluent suburb, a rural high school in a low socioeconomic community, a rural middle school also in a low socioeconomic community, and a large high school in a heterogeneous, middle class suburban area. In the research, students emphasized that they want teachers to be able to connect with kids by caring about them, actually listen to what a student has to say, and to teach for the mere satisfaction of making a difference in at least one student’s life. They also want teachers to have great personalities, treat students like young adults, and have heart. I believe this research article confirmed my research which answers my research question of how effective classroom management enhances     student behavior.

 

 

         

Blog #6

 

Two new ideas I have been introduced to this week from my assigned readings and tutorials is that of intellectual property and creative commons.  In regards to intellectual property, I did not realize that I own a lot more intellectual property than I have ever realized. I was also unaware that me doodling in my note book is considered intellectual property. Prior to this week’s readings, I had never heard of creative commons. I find it interesting that there is another option besides copyrighting your work to protect it. I like that idea that you can choose the conditions (attribution, noncommercial, share a like, and no derivatives) that you want to apply to your work using creative commons.

One more new idea I was introduced to while completing the assigned reading this week came from the Leatherby Libraries website about academic integrity.  I was unaware that I could not take a paper I wrote for one class and turn that same paper in for another class. That seems weird to me because it is not like I copied the work from somebody else, it would be my own work. However, I do understand how I would be using work from a previous class to fulfill credit for a current class and how that could be considered cheating.

 

Blog #5

The empirical research article I selected this week, Out of the Mouths of Babes: What Do Secondary Students Believe about Outstanding Teachers was written by Patricia Williams, Sam Sullivan and Lawrence Kohn. The research in this article did not introduce me to any new ideas or arguments that I had not already been introduced to in my previous week’s research. The phenomenon I was introduced to is that empirical articles can be a valuable resource in my research because they can validate certain aspects of my research that I had found in previous weeks.

The researchers in this study I read about wrote friendly letters to seventh through twelfth graders asking them what makes outstanding teachers. The students were at four different secondary schools with diverse settings: a private Christian academy in an affluent suburb, a rural high school in a low socioeconomic community, a rural middle school also in a low socioeconomic community, and a large high school in a heterogeneous, middle class suburban area. Although all the students who responded to the letters were from different backgrounds and schools, they all had similar views about what they believe makes an outstanding teacher. Based on this study, I do not plan on reconsidering the focus of my research question. The answers the students gave all apply to classroom management techniques I have previously researched and fit into my current research question.

There were 35 resources mentioned in the reference section of this article. After scanning through the titles of the reference material, I have found quite a few resources that I will consider looking into for my future research. Some of the titles that stand out to me include: Top 11 Traits of a Good Teacher, What Works in the Classroom? Ask the Students, and Lessons Teachers Beg to be Taught.

 

So far, I feel my research skills are improving dramatically. I now have a good technique to evaluate the information I find with the CRAAP test. I can find books online and have learned how to use the Leatherby Libraries multiple databases. Although I believe my research skills will continue to improve overtime, my research is already 100 times better than it was prior to this class. I look forward to continuing to improve and learn even more techniques to help me in the future.

 

Blog #4

The article I selected this week, Classroom Universals to Prevent Problem Behaviors, was written by Robert P. Trussell. There are two pieces of knowledge I gained about my topic as a result of the article I selected this week. First, this article mentions how it is important for teachers to develop daily schedules for their classroom and to make sure that the schedule is clearly visible to all students. The article mentions how when there is unscheduled time in a classroom, that gives the students an open invitation for disruptive behavior. I had never really thought about how important displaying the daily schedule would be before reading this article. I have noticed at my daughter’s middle school the daily schedule is displayed but I never knew why. Second, this article mentions that wait time is the amount of time a teacher waits for a student to respond after being asked a question or a prompt. According to this article, the longer a teacher waits for a response, the higher the student’s cognitive achievement is due to the students having ample time to think through the question or prompt. I did not know this information prior to reading this article.  

Some search strategies that were particularly helpful for me in locating this article included using the advanced search in the Academic Search Premier database. I have used this database for past classes but really had no idea on how to use the advanced search options to narrow my results. For our Assignment 1 this week, I narrowed my search by limiting my search to scholarly (peer reviewed) journals and references available. I also limited the search modes and expanders to boolean/phrases. After setting up the advanced search settings I wanted, I searched a couple different terms but found my article using the search terms “effective classroom management AND classroom behavior.” I did not have any difficulties or frustrations while searching for articles. I just used trial and error to limit my search results to articles that contributed to my research. As I continue to research my topic, I hope to find out more about how wait time is an effective way to enhance student’s cognitive achievement.

Post #3

The book I selected this week, ClassroomManagement: Creating a Positive Learning Environment, is written by Hue Ming-tak and Li Wai-shing. I gained two pieces of knowledge from this book that I would like to share. The first piece of knowledge I gained from this book comes from chapter five, Approaches to Students’ Misbehavior, which mentions that there are four goals of misbehavior. When students feel that they do not belong in the classroom they turn to these four mistaken goals that include: attention-seeking, power-seeking, revenge, and helplessness or inadequacy. The second piece of knowledge that I gained from this book comes from chapter three, Effective Classroom Management. I learned that you can break down classroom management into four smaller components so that it is easier to tackle, especially for novice teachers. The four components include: management of the physical environment, management of learning, classroom procedures and rules, and managing discipline.

This week I used some new search strategies that were particularly helpful in locating the books I found. I began by using Leatherby Libraries and narrowing my results by three search terms and e-books. This was not very helpful for me because I only received two results and neither had anything to do with my research topic. After that failed attempt, I changed my search to only include two search terms. This time I received more results and I found one book that would be helpful for my research, but I did not want to finish my research here. I decided to try the Google Books database. I put in my search terms and found one book that would be very helpful with my research. I liked using the Google Books database more than the Leatherby Libraries and will probably use Google for the majority of the research I do in the future. The only frustration I had with the Google Books database was that the book I found was not an e-book. However, the book had a very large preview that included the majority of all the chapters, the foreword, the preface, and the table of contents. I can overcome that the book was not available in an e-book version by going to my local library and checking out the book to continue my research.

As I continue my research I am hoping to find even more ways to effectively manage the classroom and student behavior. I am interested in finding out more information about the physical environment of the classroom. For example, I want to find out about seating arrangements and visual aspects of the classroom like wall colors and decorations. I am also interested in finding out more information about ways to discipline students who misbehave.   

Post #2

After beginning my research, I was trying to find information about using the credentials I have received in the military to become a high school teacher after I retire from the military. During this research I found some articles that had to do with classroom management and student behavior. I decided to change the focus of my research to classroom management and student behavior. I find classroom management and student behavior an interesting topic and there is a lot of information that I found on this topic in the little research I have completed so far. I find classroom management really important to having an effective classroom. Another aspect I believe is important to an effective classroom is the teaching methods used. For my future research, I may start looking into classroom management and teaching methods and how they tie together.

For our research assignment this week, I had to locate two sources, one from the Library’s e-reference collection and the second from a Google domain search. The way I conducted my research was different than I have ever done before. In the past, I go to Google and type in what I am looking for. I would look at the first couple search results hoping they would be helpful. Today, I went about doing my research a little differently. When I was using Google, I used the advanced search option to limit the search results to .edu domains. This approach helped eliminate results that would not pass the “CRAAP Test.” When using the Library’s e-reference collection I was not exactly sure what I was doing. It was hard to find a document that I could actually use, but once I did it was a really good article. I think to be able to use the Library effectively I will need to “play” around on it some more to figure out what I am doing. Overall, I think I had a pretty successful week of research.