Skip to main content

Classroom Management In A 1:1 Learning Environment



Yesterday, a frustrated teacher pulled me out of a meeting requesting assistance. She explained there were several students in her classroom playing games on their iPads. Her frustration and sense of helplessness was evident in the tone of her voice, and the look on her face. By the time our short conversation concluded, it became apparent that she was blaming the technology for the lack of control in her classroom. As a high school technology coordinator, this is a message I hear frequently.




When things don't go well, technology provides an easy target. All of us have encountered frustrating instances when technology fails us, and while it's true there are times when technology interferes, or distracts students from learning, often teachers will mistakenly blame technology for classroom management issues.


Here are some suggestions to better manage your 1:1 classroom.

Instructional Design

  • Classroom management should focus on the students. What worked previously in managing the students will continue to work, even in the technology supported environment.
  • Anticipate the worst, hope for the best. Have a plan to deal with off-task, or disruptive behavior.
  • Be attentive to instructional design. Create and use lesson plans that emphasize student learning
  • Challenge the students to be continually active and engaged. Leave no time for off-task behavior or boredom
  • Differentiate and personalize student work. Accommodate ability levels, learning styles, and learning challenges with a variety of learning, and assessment options.
  • Empower students by helping to make their learning personal and meaningful. Inquiry-based, connectivist, constructivist lessons will create opportunities for students to take responsibility for their learning.  (self-regulated learners)


Student Management Strategies

  • Facilitate learning and promote attentiveness through proximity. Move around the learning area and use distance to influence behavior.
  • Set expectations for hands-on, hands off time for learning tools. If the teacher closes the iPad, only the teacher may reopen it. The technology tool time out.  
  • Take time to practice putting the iPads into sleep mode. This instant on, instant off capability comes in handy when requesting undivided attention from students.
  • Foster a learning community that thrives on collaborative work. Create back channels for students to stay engaged during classroom discussions (Today's Meet, or Twitter chat)
  • Use timers to help students stay focused and on task. Time limitations and expectations help keep students on a challenging, but productive pace.
  • Clearly share expectations and guidelines with students. Empower students to help create and communicate behavioral expectations. Model digital responsibility, social media etiquette, and digital learning for your students.
  • Use the room layout to influence learning experiences, and promote periods of cooperation (pods) vs. periods of independent work or assessment (rows).
  • Take time to practice using the iPads for specified purposes. Establish procedures to deal with technical issues when they occur. Identify student tech leaders who can assist you and other students with technology use.
  • Identify tell-tale signs when students are off task. These may include; screen-fixated eyes, typing off normal pace, color reflections that don't match the rest of the class, reactions or emotions that don't match the activity.


Other Considerations

  • Technology won't fix pre-existing student management issues
  • Boring lessons are still boring with technology
  • More technology doesn't necessarily mean more, or better learning
  • What are your consequences for misbehavior? Is there complete classroom awareness?
  • Just as with learning targets, establish clear behavioral expectations and practice them often.
  • Keep learning at the forefront. A classroom of compliant students doesn't necessarily mean the students are learning.

What strategies do you use for effectively managing a 1:1 learning environment?


References & Resources




photo credit: crackdog via photopin cc

Comments

Anonymous said…
Great entry! I totally agree. It's not the technology that causes the behavioral issues - it's the classroom management. In fact, technology is a good tool that can enhance student engagement provided that the technology is tied to a lesson that is meaningful.
Thank you Mr. M. - Not only for being the first to comment on my blog, but for making a great point. I agree, technology, when properly used, can also be an effective classroom management tool. At some point, the distinction between instruction and technology will disappear as connected devices become as common as #2 pencils.
MissElaineKao said…
Thanks for sharing! As a pre-service teacher, classroom management is one of my biggest worries before heading into the field! I shared your entry on my teaching blog here: http://dreamsandinspirations.weebly.com/teaching-blog.html

Thanks again! :)
Thank you Elaine. Classroom management is a concern for veteran teachers too. However, I find that those teachers that engage their students in meaningful learning activities deal with fewer incidents of off-task behavior. Best wishes as you embark on your teaching career. Never stop learning!

Popular posts from this blog

What Teachers Can Learn From Effective Coaches

In my educational world teaching and coaching involve the same processes. The people that impacted my own learning most significantly were coaches. Could it be that great coaches were ahead of their time with respects to instructional best practices? Let's take a look at ten coaching practices that thankfully have found their way into the classroom. http://www.coachwooden.com/files/PyramidThinkingSuccess.jpg Standards-based Grading - coaches aren't concerned with arbitrary measures of success such as letter grades. Great coaches identify a requisite set of skills that are necessary for advancement and success. Promotion and achievement are based upon clearly identified levels of skill mastery.  Authentic assessment - coaches are looking for their athletes to demonstrate their skill mastery under game-like situations. The best coaches incorporate game simulations and competitive, game-like drills into their practices. Winning coaches will use the contests as assess

Board Games in the School Library: 3 Reasons Why It's a Winning Play

"Play is the highest form of research."  - Albert Einstein “Play is the work of the child.”  – Maria Montessori In our recently remodeled school media center, we have a space dedicated to active engagement in fun learning activities. Part maker space, part literacy lounge, board games are being incorporated to promote a culture of joyful learning. Whether it's a game of Rummy , Yahtzee , or Scrabble , family game night serves as a communication elixir and solidifies our domestic climate of togetherness. Shouldn't similar opportunities for interaction, challenge, and fun exist somewhere in our schools? Broken families, cultural fragmentation, and poverty are impacting opportunities for children to play. As we unpacked and tagged our new media center games, I was more disappointed than shocked by the number of students who had never played Monopoly , Boggle , or Sorry . One skeptical teacher commented, "Oh great, now we're letting students pl

Self-Directed vs. Self-Determined Learning; What's the Difference?

"We need to move beyond the idea that an education is something that is provided for us, and toward the idea that an education is something that we create for ourselves." - Stephen Downes In this age of abundance of information, shifting classroom pedagogy isn't nearly enough to make learning in school more relevant and authentic for the learner. Self-directed learning ( andragogy ), and self-determined learning ( heutagogy ) are the ideals necessary in making students " future ready " to live and learn in a web-connected world. While original research applied these concepts to mature learners, it has become apparent that even young children have an abundant capacity for recognizing and directing their learning. Anyone who has observed toddlers learning how to walk and talk understand the motivation and skill development that quickly develops during these processes. Considered by some to be on a learning continuum, self-directed learning, and self-determined