The Progressive Teacher Vol 04 Issue 03

classroom management
–Payal Adhikari
After joining the graduate
school in New Hampshire
role reversal from teacher
to student was a significant
change and helped me view
things from a completely
different perspective. I have
tried to cull five major general
learnings that could be useful to
others in the profession.
Physical space matters –
Classrooms are extremely
structured both in terms of space
and purpose. As multi-tasking
teachers, we are so engrossed
with our lesson plans that we
don’t consider enhancing the
physical settings that we operate
in. The arrangement of chairs
and desks is the last thing that
draws our attention. However,
minor modifications can have
a significant impact on the
classroom interaction. In the
graduate school, the teachers
would often re-arrange the
seating guided by the activity
of the day. For example, the
chairs were arranged in a semicircle
when there was to be a
discussion in the class. They were
arranged in rows the day we had
to compose individual essays.
As a student, the physical set
up helped me to psychologically
orient to the task at hand. For
example, sitting in a semicircle
and facing other students
did help in creating the right
atmosphere for an informal
discussion.
Variety matters – We as teachers
have a very difficult job as we
teach the same content year
after year. We have to constantly
innovate to maintain freshness in
our teaching. Besides the lectures
and discussions, it was wonderful
to be exposed to a variety of
teaching methodologies such as
field trips, videos, interaction
with subject matter experts, role
play, etc. Each method brought
a unique insight because it
focused on a different aspect of a
particular topic. I was delighted
to see that some classroom
time was allotted for individual
assimilation. For example, some
of the teachers often laid out
books connected to the topic and
we were given time to browse
through them. An insight during
one such browsing session
germinated into a huge project
once I was back in my classroom.
That individual time for reading
was crucial to digest all the
information that had come my
way earlier.
‘Doing’ matters – Classroom
study can be mentally rigorous as
A student once more…
After fourteen years of teaching I was understandably tired and depleted
and needed to bring some freshness into my teaching. So, I took some
time off work and attended a short course on education at a graduate
school in New Hampshire, USA.
we tend to focus on the cognitive
skills of the students, ignoring
other forms of intelligence like
musical, kinesthetic, spatial, etc.
In the graduate school there was
a lot of activity based learning,
such as garden landscaping,
acting, bookbinding, monologues,
etc. Every activity involved a
different set of problems which
required different skills (not
just cognitive ones). One had
to use (and develop) one’s
interpersonal, spatial, kinesthetic
skills, etc. to deal with the tasks
at hand. All this made learning
more engaging, personal and
interesting.
‘Human touch’ matters– I was a
foreign student entering a session
mid-way and so naturally there
were some jitters on how I would
fit in. However, I must say that I
felt very welcome and safe in the
classrooms. Both the teachers
and students were extremely
kind, considerate and helpful.
Despite their busy schedules, the
teachers took time to interact
with me at a personal level
and we shared some wonderful
conversations. In our classroom
set up we tend to focus on ‘the
class’ as an entity and not much
time is spent individually with
each child. However, a personal
interaction with each student can
go a long way in helping the child
feel accepted and psychologically
comfortable. A one-to-one
relationship with each child also
helps teachers to guide them
effectively.
Mindset matters – The single
Payal Adhikari has been teaching English and History in
both urban and rural schools for the past 14 years. She is
keen on enriching the classroom experience and creating
a holistic learning environment for the children. She can
be reached at silence1677@gmail.com . You can follow the
author’s tweets on education, history, culture and heritage
on Twitter @Payal_swar
most important theoretical
concept that I picked up from
the course is ‘growth mindset’.
The term was coined by Dr.
Carol Dweck and describes a
particular mindset that helps
people in their development.
When our underlying beliefs do
not allow us to move forward
then we are operating under
a ‘fixed mindset’. The ‘fixed
mindset’ promotes status-quo.
A person with a fixed mindset
believes that one is born with a
certain amount of intelligence
or capacity and they can’t
do much to change that. The
feedback from teachers and
parents is crucial in shaping
these mindsets. As teachers
we can help the child acquire
a ‘growth mindset’ by giving
them honest realistic feedback
and at the same time teaching
them that intelligence and
capacity are malleable and can
grow. There are some specific
feedback strategies that help
in this endeavour and can lead
to a marked improvement in
motivation and achievement.
18 The Progressive Teacher Jul/Aug 2017