Happy class, happy teacher

Providing accommodations to learners should be the first step in getting the best out of your students. Assessing your class needs is vital. Here are some things to consider.

1. Your classroom setting - how many learners do you have? What space do you have to utilise? 
2. The dynamic of the class layout - what works and what doesn't. 
3. Working partners - finding good partners that study well together and finding out who doesn't and how you can work around it.
4. Involving your students - get them involved in creating their own positive learning environment.
5. How to combat a difficult dynamic - finding ways to keep your environment on an even keel without confrontation.

It can sometimes be a challenge to get the balance right, especially when working with a difficult dynamic that disrupts your study/teach time. We want our learners to be motivated and enjoy being in the classroom with you. Not everyone gets along all of the time, so it's important we use strategies to help with this so that you can get the best out of everyone.

One of the most important things to remember is never to sit your challenging students at the back of the class. In fact, do the opposite. 

It's a teachers' instinct to move problems to the back, out of the way. This is counteractive because it moves the student from being motivated to being more distracted by those in front of him/her. Moving them to the back tells the student that you don't want them involved within your classroom and this can have a negative impact on their future experiences in other classrooms with other teachers and students. It seems weird to do what instinctively feels wrong - but moving your student to the front and pairing them with a strong student (if you have one) can have a positive effect.

We often feel exasperated when dealing with challenging students. The repetitive "sit down", "stop talking please" and "pull your chair in and turn round" can often leave us unwilling to really deal with the root cause because we only focus on the symptom of the disruptive behaviour. Look around you. Take into account the other students actions as they can (without deliberate cause) have these negative effects on those students who find it the most difficult to stay within the class. This is what we need to work with. 

Let's look at the list.

1. Your classroom setting.

How many learners do you have in your classroom? A typical classroom in my school has between 17 and 25 students. The classrooms are not particularly large so I have to make do with what I have. Our desks are quite large, and we have plenty of chairs and this seems to fill the room. There is also a lectern with wheels, which, to be honest, takes up a lot of unnecessary room. The students end up falling over each other which isn't healthy, so you can imagine the dynamic of our classes. What set up do you have in your classrooms? How many learners do you have? How does a typical day feel/flow in your class? Leave some comments below. Let's talk about it!

2. The dynamic of the class layout.

Where do your tables and chairs go? Do you leave them in the same order? It is useful to reshuffle a class layout. Obviously, for autistic students, we can give them some familiarity by allowing for their own place to remain much the same (same place in the room, with the same layout of their desk etc) but on the whole, having a good old shuffle round can really help maintaining a positive classroom atmosphere. Kids become complacent which can stifle kids, which can in turn cause them to lose their inspiration and desire for learning. It can be hard to imagine a layout for a classroom that works for you. Look at the examples below. Have the kids help you to organise their environment. It's a great teamwork activity and they will feel accomplished. 

3. Working partners.

In every single classroom around the world, no matter where you are, there is always a dynamic between students that just doesn't work. I guarantee you can name at least 3 people who should not be sitting together in class, and you know why, but no matter what you do, these kids keep migrating back together. It never gets fixed. And now you're laughing because you know I'm right.  

There is one who instigates the disruptive behaviour, but pretends that he/she doesn't know what's going on. There's one who feeds off the instigator, who continues the behaviour but somehow doesn't get in trouble and then there's the reactor, who seems to get the blame for the other 2 because they can't ignore them.

Pairs is generally useful. I often sit my students with those who they don't usually have interactions with. This can be beneficial because of the vast personality differences so they can either bond, or put the student in a situation where they have to work. Those with SEN are better off at the front of the class with other quiet types. These are my preferences, but of course, you may disagree with what I perceive to be effective. And that's good. Where do you normally sit your students? Comment below. I would like to know what works/doesn't work for you. 

 4. Involving your students. 

Getting your students involved in their environment is great for team building. It helps them learn soft skills and lets them think about what feels good in their classroom. It creates positivity. Each student should have an end goal. By organising it efficiently, you can avoid conflict as much as possible. You can also prepare this event in advance; another good routine change for autistic people - given plenty of notice they will respond better to it. Let them design their classroom. Set out boundaries, rules and requirements. "You can design your classroom. You have X tables and chairs, you have to consider X and X and make sure X, X and X are sitting at the front." Or something along those lines. 

5. How to combat a difficult dynamic.

I often give difficult to manage students some form of responsibility because I find that they respond well to a sense of accomplishment, no matter how small the responsibility. I communicate well with them, give them my attention in a constructive way, not just in response to their demands to be heard. Some kids will deliberately misbehave because that's how they get attention even if its negative. These behaviours often transfer over from home life. Once they understand your intentions, these behaviours can be curbed and you can guide them into giving you positive communication that becomes constructive. That isn't always the case but I find that when it gets tough, keeping an open door to the parents creates trust which can help you to help them. As a parent I usually request that I work with the school to help my own children. It's a 2 way street, after all. A lot of parents put the entire onus on schools but it can't work that way - we must work together to ensure a more positive educational experience. When one side closes it's doors, it can be more difficult to overcome and sometimes, impossible. 

Not all strategies work all of the time. There are days when nothing seems to work at all. Sometimes I wonder if the full moon is to blame. But whatever the case, these tips and pieces of advice can help, and, I hope, will give you a little more peace of mind when the going gets tough. Sometimes we can't see the woods for trees.