I had my first real opportunities to teach at Chapin this week. Most of my lessons were short activities or warm-ups, however it was a comfortable way to start teaching in a new school. Although this was not my first experience in front a class, I was still learning classroom expectations and management procedures in this particular music class.
My first lesson was such an eye-opening experience. I was self-conscious for several reasons. This was my first solo teaching experience at the school, I was being observed by both my cooperating teacher and my supervisor, and these students really don't know me very well. I tried to go in confidently knowing my lesson plan was clear and that the song would be engaging and fun for the students. Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared very well for classroom management. I was constantly being talked over, several students were very disruptive, and I felt as if some students really weren't respecting me as their teacher.
After discussion with my supervisor and cooperating teacher, we came to some conclusions and ideas about how I can best control the classroom. One of the most surprising techniques we discussed, was my voice volume. I naturally have a very resonant and strong speaking voice. Without realizing, I had started the class at my normal speaking volume, but gradually got louder as the class became disruptive. My volume seemed to be feeding their rambunctious energy. Although I would tell certain students to calm down, listen, or turn off their voices, I was trying to continue the lesson while still experiencing a lot of disruptions.
When I was able to repeat the lesson with another class later in the day, I really focused on a few specific parts of my teaching. I spoke with a light voice. This made the students listen closer and quiet down so that they could hear what was going on. If I had to tell students to stop talking or stop moving, I really waited until the whole class was completely silent and still. It takes up class time, but is extremely useful at managing student behavior and makes the lesson much more effective and enjoyable.
During my first lesson with the very disruptive class, we were singing the song "The Littlest Worm." What I found most curious and reassuring about that class, was that when they came back a few days later, they all asked about "The Littlest Worm" and wanted to sing it again. With my new classroom management tools, we were able to come back to that lesson and have a really engaging and exciting class time. Even as they were leaving music, they were asking if we could sing it again next time and if they could show their homeroom teacher their song.
It was so comforting to see that they really did enjoy the lesson. Being strict with classroom management is not being mean, it is allowing students to get the most out of the activity.