C-C-C in the arts

Public Schools of Robeson County Arts Education

Sandra Carter

content - culture - classroom management

Building a successful arts education practice for beginning teachers

Through discussing & understanding some key components of the teaching & learning 

process we will start to build a successful classroom practice. 

Content  - What does content mean to you? 

- knowing what I teach.

- knowing how to break down that knowledge into parts. 

- knowing the vocabulary associated with the content. 

- understanding that students may learn the content different from me. 

Culture - What is school culture? What does school culture look like? How does school culture affect what happens in the classroom? Why is it an important piece?refers to the way teachers and other staff members work together.

• the set of beliefs, values, and assumptions they share.

• Can be positive or negative. 

• school culture promotes students' ability to learn.

Classroom Management - What is it? How does it affect the teaching & learning in the class? How does it affect students? How does it affect the teacher? What can you do to maintain classroom management? What can’t you do to maintain classroom management? 

• set of expectations used in an organized classroom.

• Includes expectations

• Procedures and routines

• Rules and consequences

• Can disrupt teaching and learning. 

• Can make you feel powerless, angry & frustrated. 

• embarrass, restrain, grab or otherwise treat a student that can be deemed unprofessional. 

How do we build a great teaching & learning environment? 

• CONTENT Make a plan for teaching following the district’s pacing/curriculum guides. 

• CONTENT Make TIME/set TIME aside to develop/find lesson plans to support the content.

• CONTENT Test run projects BEFORE teaching to understand the (project) process. 

• CONTENT Connect with another teacher for support/guidance/advice/shareables. 

• CULTURE Develop a relationship with co-workers at school and within your content throughout the district. Teachers benefit greatly from these connections. 

• CULTURE Think about/write out your beliefs/expectations for your school, classroom & students. This is a living document that can change over time.

• CULTURE  Know and try to understand where your students come from, especially if your experiences are different. Are you empathetic? 

• CULTURE Be positive. Accept bad days are a part of all professions and that one bad day does not determine the rest of the day, week or school year. 

• CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT Create a routine. Establish a set of classroom procedures. What do the students each day - create a list and TEACH that to your students starting with Day 1. Students do better when the routine is clear and consistent. Reteach as necessary. 

• CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT Create a list of expectations - can vary with activity. Make them short & clear. TEACH them to your students starting with Day 1. KEY TO SUCCESS - BE FIRM, FAIR & CONSISTENT in applying. Each day is the same no matter how you feel.  Reteach as necessary. 

• CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT Create a list of rules and consequences. Make them short & clear. TEACH them to your students starting with Day 1. KEY TO SUCCESS - BE FIRM, FAIR & CONSISTENT in applying. Each day is the same no matter how you feel. Reteach as necessary. 

• CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT Don’t try to argue with a student in front of the class. Pull the student aside and talk one-on-one. Getting into a verbal battle with students never work out positively. 

• CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT Don’t let a student get you so angry you lose it. Take deep breaths and count to 10. Student behavior can be very frustrating. Can make you feel helpless and powerless, but losing your temper will only add fuel to the fire. 

What are some things I can do to build a successful teaching practice & classroom environment that is made for learning? 

• Invest time to be prepared for my classes. What does that look like? It might mean working at home on the weekends for a few hours to prep my lesson. The time will pay off with a lesson that runs smoothly with known expectations!! 

• Be FIRM. Be FAIR. Be CONSISTENT each day. Firm doesn’t mean yelling or being mean. It means you are confident in your expectations & directions to students. Fair is everyone is treated the same no matter what. Consistent is you do what you do EACH & EVERYDAY - no matter how you feel. We don’t take the day off from consistency! 

• Start each day as the first day. Students & teachers have bad days - don’t make a bad day a life sentence for a student. 

• Call home to communicate with parents. Make misbehaving students room helpers - give them an important job with a title to make them feel important & noticed. Ask for help when you’re at your wits end - someone may have a great solution! 

• Get rest! Your first years, especially the first one, is hard work. Don’t burn yourself out by working 24/7 - enjoy the outside & friends to recharge your batteries!!