A Must Read for New Teachers: Don’t fear the chaos. This is #howkidswork.
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Teachers, new and old, are told to fear chaos. We are constantly told to stop the slightest noise or disturbance in the classroom lest it turns into a jungle in the blink of an eye! But essentially, we are told to watch out for those who defy ouri authority as teachers and educators — we are dubbed into believing these are the “dangerous” trouble-makers who could turn our entire teaching career for the year and years to come into an intolerable hell of disrespect.
It’s time to throw all of that out of the window.
“Controlled Chaos” is not a myth. I am a teacher who was thrown into a classroom without the slightest preparation on the first day. Aside from a single ESL teaching course I took in college, I was never trained on becoming a teacher. Day after day, I would desperately search through blogs and videos on classroom management, but found none that were truly helpful to my situation. I was stuck with 60+ high school teenagers who mocked me, teased me, and ignored me. At the start of many weeks, I’d come in with a new “disciplinary plan” for misbehavior, and it always inevitably failed. Those kids who started off loving me (and those who started off hating me) now all feared me, and no actual learning took place.
At that time, I wish someone had knocked me over the head with the notion that “controlled chaos” exists.
And it does.
The rules to “controlled chaos” are simple. If followed effectively, they will yield results in about a week (when the kids get used to them).
Rule 1: Everyone should play a role. You are a facilitator of activities. A T.V. host, if you like. There is nothing for you to do beyond giving instructions, and your kids will run the show. Before going into class, have a role prepared for every single one of your learners. If every learner knows what role she or he will be playing in today’s activity or inquiry hour, commitment will come naturally.
For Example, one class I taught was too overcrowded, and speaking out too loud was a major problem. Every time my learners had English Language stations, each station would have 4–6 members, and each member would be given a color-tagged role. Reds would be “managers”; greens were “supply officers”; blues were “writers”; and yellows were “volume controllers”. Without having to use signals or quiet down anyone, my “volume controllers” would keep their group members in check, insuring that the speech volume is kept at 1 (1 stands for “whisper”!)
Rule 2: Let your kids do the talking. At any point you realize that you have been talking for 25 minutes straight (and seldom do teachers notice sooner), stop immediately! Your learners are not here to suck off your expertise by soaking up your divine wisdom. You are not a prophet.
For Example, in Units of Inquiry hours (exclusive to the IB system), the general planner I should follow often suggests a “5 minute” discussion period to unpack the lines of inquiry. Instead, I took those pathetic 5 minutes and turned them into 25, ensuring that every learners gets at least one minute of speech to contribute.
Another Example, not all learner-to-learner or learner-to-teacher interaction has to be verbal. Strategies such as chalk talk allow learners to exchange ideas with their peers simply through writing. It’s your own “classroom facebook” where learners get to “post” ideas on paper and “reply” to others. A real prior-knowledge kick-starter, and an awesome reflection strategy!
Rule 3: Let your kids move! Not only does movement tackle those hands-on learners, but it is also a way to completely transform your learning environment. You can encourage learners to move around by having open-access posters, regrouping strategies, and clock-buddy arrangements. Don’t worry, I’m discussing these below:
Open-access posters allow learners to get up in the middle of the discussion and add new ideas, insights, or questions to various posters found in several corners of the classroom. For my English Language class, I had a “word wall” poster where learners would freely leave their seats whenever they run into a new word, and add its definition on the “word wall” for everyone else to benefit from. During Science lessons, learners would freely get up to post new questions on the “wonder wall” to be answered later during another inquiry hour.
Regrouping strategies ensure that your learners always work with new partners. You can either have these randomized using something as simple as a random team generator or a popsicle stick draw, or something pre-planned such as a regrouping chart. My class had several regrouping charts, always accessible inside the classroom. Each chart had a “formation”, and I would simply have to ask everyone to get into that certain formation. In a single minute, learners will have changed seats and found their new group/partner.
Clock-buddy arrangements can be generated online for your entire class, or done during a class with any simple clock-buddy layout. Learners are then asked to find their 6:00 o’clock or 7:00 o’clock buddy, and there we go!
Rule 5: Create signals and use them consistently. Agree with your class on 1–3 signals to use throughout the unit, month, week, or day. This signal has one purpose and one purpose only: grabbing everyone’s attention for new instructions. This signal is not for you to grab attention to yourself as a teacher, but to a new set of information the learners need to know during the hour or lesson.
For Example, when I do stations in my classes, and it is time for my learners to switch to a new station, I clap once and stop, then twice and stop. For the learners to signify that they heard my clap, they clap for three times and bring their attention to the new instructions. “Everyone, switch to your next station!” is all I have to say. My learners already know what station is next, what activity they have to focus on now, and what their role in each station will be. Usually, instructions for each station are written on a paper glued to a table, and one group member is usually in charge or reading and explaining them to the rest.
To an outsider peeking through the window or classroom door, it may seem as if my class is a bunch of wild rabbits running around a jungle. The truth is, my classroom is utterly under control. If someone is looking at your class from the outside, lure them in and lock the door. Allow them to experience true controlled chaos, where everyone knows exactly what to do.
