Ryan Lucas

University of Colorado-Denver

Information and Learning Technologies Portfolio

Relationship Based Classroom Management

Problem Statement (top)

As an active supporter of the Mt. Evans Outdoor Lab School, I teaching high school leaders (HSL) how to effectively work with and teach sixth grade students during an all day Saturday training. As funding becomes increasingly more tight, the time allowed for training has decreased and my time working with HSL has been reduced from four hours to two hours. The problem is that I have to provide the same high quality training in half the time.

Situation Analysis (top)

Since HSL are the primary providers for sixth grade students the week that they attend Lab School, it is important to provide them with the skills to help students have a successful week. Since high school leaders work with sixth grade students in a variety of environments (bunkhouse, on trails teaching, in buildings teaching, flag ceremony, meal times, evening programs, moving from one location to another, etc) it is important that the skills that HSL use when working with sixth grade students are high adaptable. Due to time constraints in teaching HSL these skills, it is also important that the skills are taught in a meaningful, interesting, and effective manner.

As a result of this problem and my situation I want to:

• Create a two-hour presentation that:
  • is interesting
  • is interactive
  • is easy to learn
  • can be applied to every day life
• Have visual aids that assist in teaching
• Provide high school leaders with guided notes to facilitate their thinking

Rationale for Approach (top)

In the two hours that I have with high school leaders, I need HSL to realize that one way that they can have effective classroom and bunkhouse management is by working within a relationship that they already have with sixth graders. As I present to the HSL they are able to watch a PowerPoint presentation that corresponds to their guided note-taking worksheets. I also have the Presenter's notes to work from. In this way, HSL are actively engaged for two hours while they learn the skills necessary to help them and sixth graders have a positive experience at Lab School.

Results (top)

Overall, high school leaders seemed to find the PowerPoint engaging. I believe that it helped that keep HSL interested and on task. Using the guided note-taking worksheets also helped keep HSL engaged. By providing a task to complete, HSL knew what was expected of them.

It is important to note that while the vast majority of HSL were attentive, two Jeffco high schools celebrated Prom the Friday before the Saturday training and a few students were not as attentive as they might have been.

Evidence of Value (top)

Given the time constraints and the documented deficiency of lecturing, providing potential high school leaders with a task to complete and an eye-catching visual that supports and correlates with their task not only keeps HSL engaged and attentive, but it also provides them with a concrete resource when they are preparing for their week with sixth graders. Additionally, since the guided note-taking worksheets are bound into the official High School Leader Handbook, the notes that HSL take are readily available, and teachers responsible for other supplemental in-services have reported that when they are reviewing with HSL how to work with sixth graders HSL refer to the notes that they took.

Reflections (top)

Since there are two sites, I will share both my successes and the PowerPoint with our sister site and encourage them to take the .ppt file and make it their own. This way the individuals responsible for presenting to high school leaders at Windy Peak Outdoor Lab School can continue to own their presentation and HSL will receive the same high quality presentation and consistent message no matter which site they are trained at.

As a result of creating the learning materials for high school leaders I learned how to better teach to a high school audience. High school students don't need nearly the MTV style presentations that middle school student seem to prefer. Instead, high school students seem to value their time and become agitated when they feel that their time is wasted. Perhaps the cut from four hours to present to only two hours is an example of the value of quality over quantity.

Responsibilities Fulfilled (top)

Responsibility 1: Continued improvement of professional practice that requires critical inquiry, professional development, and reflective practice

Teachers often say that they spend the majority of their time in class on a small minority of students. Often this is because they engage in power struggles with students or set themselves up to fail in the area of classroom management. By reflecting on a classroom management model designed by a Jeffco social worker I created a presentation that not only is engaging, but also communicates effectively how to avoid power struggles with students and help teachers set themselves up to succeed with managing their classrooms. My project report on my Relationship-based model for classroom management presentation that I presented at the CAMLE conference demonstrates professional development and reflective practice.

Responsibility 2: Designs instruction or human performance strategy to meet the needs of learners

As middle school students begin to break away from their parents, research shows that they often begin making more personal connections with the other adults in their lives such as teachers, coaches, and religious leaders. With this in mind, I developed handouts and a PowerPoint presentation designed to accompany my presentation to help high school leaders and teachers capitalize on students’ need to feel accepted.

Additionally, not only did my presentation have the potential for success, it was successful. High School Leaders reported that they enjoyed the presentation and when they had to revisit the ideas that I presented, they asked to view the PowerPoint again.

Responsibility 4: Understands how to capitalize on the capacities and abilities of each learner

In the classroom, students need to know that the number one priority of their teacher is to provide a safe learning environment. By giving teachers the skills to create this safe learning environment, students are afforded to the opportunity to take educational risks with the knowledge that no one will tease them. Additionally, given the nature of high school students working and teaching sixth graders, the relationship based model is a good "fit" for the Outdoor Lab schools.

Additionally, by capitalizing on the learning environment by not simply lecturing, my presentation more than adequately demonstrates my awareness of the range of learners by providing not only guided notes for High School Leaders, but also aural and visual stimulation as well.