Teaching
Suggestions
Tips and Hints for Working with Students
A: Points About Role Playing
B: Classroom Management Suggestions
C: Suggestions for Working with Middle Schoolers
D: Just for You, Volunteer
Teachers
A: Points about Role Playing
Role
playing provides students with a chance to act out, rather than merely talk
about, ways to solve problems effectively. Many students find this to be an
enjoyable and instructive supplement to class discussions. It also gives
teachers the opportunity to provide students with supervised practice in
dealing with "real life" problem situations.
Role
playing can be an effective way to help children integrate their social problem‑solving skills. Role playing
enables students to (a) practice calming down during a problem situation; (b)
act out solutions in an effective, cooperative way; (c) observe the
consequences of their actions; and (d) practice persistence and overcoming
obstacles.
Below
are some general guidelines about conducting role plays and some tips about
ways to carry them out effectively:
1. When introducing role playing, it is helpful to have the
teacher take a part as an actor in the initial role play in order to get things
off to a good start.
2. Keep initial role plays short. One or two minutes is
generally sufficient for making key points.
3. Initial role plays work best if there are no more than two
or three actors.
4. It is very important to structure role plays by clearly
defining both the situation and the roles to be played by each actor. A teacher
can exercise considerable latitude in how detailed a role play script can be.
If students cannot function without complete structure, it may be necessary to
write out all lines in a skit from start to finish and to have students read
them rather than act them out at first. On the other hand, it is also fine to
encourage students to generate their own topics for role plays. When this is
the case, it is still critical to provide structure from the outset by (a)
asking students to state clearly their problem and feelings, goal, and
solutions to be enacted; and (b) discussing the situation and roles to be
played. Students should be encouraged to be realistic in role plays. It is
helpful to tell antagonists in role plays to let the protagonist solve problems
if the solutions they enact are effective ones that would work in real life.
5. It is generally instructive to enact a role play more than
once. Occasionally, you should ask students to reverse roles or ask for a new
volunteer in the second or third enactment.
6. It is fine for teachers to coach students to portray their
roles effectively as the action is going on. This coaching provides students
with support and feedback.
7. Expect a considerable amount of excitement, nervous
laughter, and noise during role plays. This is fine as long as students are
paying attention to the skits. Discontinue specific role plays if: (a) an actor
or the audience begins acting in a silly or off‑task manner; (b) a
student gets aggressive or emotionally upset; or (c) there is prolonged
negative behavior or confusion about where the role play is going.
8. Role plays may begin with a student saying, "Lights,
camera, action!" They can be interrupted by the teacher saying,
"Freeze!" so that students can discuss or redirect the current scene.
To restart or resume a scene, the teacher can say, "Thaw!" They can
be ended by the teacher saying, "Cut!"
9. Only volunteers should be asked to role play. No one,
especially a shy child, should ever be forced to participate. Additionally, it
is best to cast students against their parts. For example, do not assign an
aggressive individual to be a person bullying or an overweight individual to be
teased.
10. Praise all role‑play efforts. Always say what you liked
about a role play first. At most, suggest only one thing a student might try
differently in a reenactment.
11. It is very important to structure things so‑that the
audience is actively involved in a role play. First, it is ideal to arrange
desks in a circle or horseshoe around the stage where actors will perform.
Secondly, assign audience members to observe specific points such as:
a. Was the person calm when he/she tried the
solution?
b. What was the problem, and what feelings did the
actors show?
c. Was the solution a cooperative, positive one? Did
it make the situation better?
d. How was the person's timing, tone of voice, and
body language as he/she carried out the plan?
e. Was there an obstacle to the first solution? If
so, how well did the actor handle it?
f. Are there other solutions that could be used to
solve the problem even better?
B: Classroom
Management Suggestions
I. Be
Prepared.
Have all materials ready and
organized ahead of time. The quickest way to lose control of a class is to
spend five minutes trying to find the markers and to put your notes in the
right order, or to spend time talking to your co-teachers discussing or arguing
about which order to do things in or which activity to cut when time runs
short. Students will perceive this as evidence of your lack of control and
authority, and this will open you up for challenge. (Students' regular teachers
can afford to do this occasionally because they spend more time with students
and can provide structure over the long term that counters any loss of control
during these temporary down times.) All decisions and contingency plans should
be made ahead of time so that a quick look or comment between you sets
alternative plans in motion.
II. Make sure activities
and materials are at the appropriate level for your students.
A sure-fire
way to lose control of a class is to present materials or activities that are
at an inappropriate level for the students. If materials are too difficult,
students will become frustrated, and may choose to act‑out rather than
face failure at a task that is portrayed as being fun, interesting, and easy.
If materials are too easy, students become bored and will begin to spoof on you
or make fun of the activities. You should pay careful attention to how students
respond to the level of the materials and activities presented. After each
session, spend some time discussing students' reactions among yourselves. Talk
with the teacher and ask him or her whether the level of the activities seems
appropriate, and ask for recommendations on how to create a better fit with the
class members' abilities. The lessons in this curriculum should serve as a
guideline for you, but you should adapt the activities to fit your class,
making them more complex and sophisticated or simpler and more concrete,
depending on the needs of your students.
III. Identify ahead of time
the activities or topics that might elicit problems.
Some of the topics and activities in the Peace by
PEACE program can create feelings of discomfort among young adolescents. The
silliness and acting out seen during these activities should be recognized as
manifestations of this anxiety and discomfort. Be especially attuned to this
kind of reaction, and, if it happens, calmly acknowledge that talking about
certain topics makes us all a little nervous (be sure not to say "Makes
you nervous," or you may get a defensive reaction). Tell students that
this is normal, back off the topic, or make it a little more clinical for a
moment to allow students time to re‑group, then move on with the lesson.
IV. Be respectful and treat
students as responsible, mature individuals.
This seems
a bit cliché, but it really works. Assume that your students will cooperate and
treat them according to this assumption. They will pick up on your view of them
and will likely behave in accordance with it.
V. Know the class rules and pre-specified consequences.
If students are accustomed to following class
rules—and facing certain consequences if they do not—make sure you know and
enforce these rules in as much the same way as the teacher as possible. If you use a system that has already been developed, you will spend less time defining
your own limits and more time interacting with students around course content.
VI. Talk with the classroom
teacher.
The
students' regular teacher can provide a great deal of information about the
class. At the beginning of the semester, establish good communication with her
or him. You may not have immediate questions or problems to solve, but if you
spend time establishing a good relationship, you will have a valuable resource
if and when problems do arise.
I. Intervene early,
before things get out of hand.
The most
important thing to remember in addressing problem behavior in the classroom is to
stop it before it really gets stared. Once disturbances get started, they
rarely go away on their own, particularly with students of this age and with
instructors other than the regular teacher (like it or not, you fall into a
category with substitute teachers). Students will test your limits and
management skills in an attempt to find out where the boundaries are. Making
the limits clear and firm will help students feel more secure in the class
while you are teaching, and avoid escalation of problems.
II.
Get
the students who are initiating the disturbance to help you.
Students who start trouble are often leaders among their peers. While it is
often tempting to speak critically of negative behavior and appeal to the class
to ignore it, the reality is that the instigator is likely to possess more of
the group's loyalty than you are. If you can get this student on your side, or
at least engaged in activities that facilitate your work, you will have better
luck than if you get in a power struggle with the student. Examples of this
include asking her or him to pass out materials, to be the recorder at the
board, to be a volunteer for a demonstration, and so on.
This strategy works best if you catch things early,
before they get out of control. If you wait too long, your strategy will become
transparent, and your attempts to engage the instigator will backfire. Another
disadvantage of waiting too long is that it will look as if you are rewarding
students for acting out, a perception that can coax other students into the
game.
III. Proximity control can
work to manage some behavior if it is used preventively or early.
The main idea behind this technique is to put a teacher in close proximity to
students who are showing signs of getting off task. If you know from prior
experience that a particular group of students is likely to disrupt class,
standing or sitting close to them while you lead an activity or give directions
will quell a fair amount of the unwanted behavior.
IV. Avoid losing your
temper.
Students
who are trying to get you know they've got you when you lose your temper. It is
a sure sign that you have used all of your other resources and that this is a
last ditch effort to maintain order. It is a sign to students who are not yet
involved in the disturbance that they can now do as they please without the
fear of consequences: all classroom order has been suspended. This description
is a little extreme, but use yelling more than once and its shock value wears
off—chaos will follow. It actually may work better to lower your voice and
continue talking. The students closest to you will hear you and begin to
listen. As other students recognize that you are speaking and they are missing
something, they will stop what they are doing to try to hear you. Make sure
that you are saying something interesting that the rest of the class will want
to hear, embellish it to draw it out, repeat points if necessary to inform
students who "didn't hear" the first time, and enlist the help of
your fellow instructors to deal with the few students who may still be acting
out.
V. If things get really
out of hand, ask for help.
Although it
may feel like you will lose the confidence of students if you ask for help, it
may actually have the opposite effect. Even if you are not able to bring an
extreme situation under control by yourself, letting students know that you
will ask for help from school personnel tells them that you know how to handle
the situation. Letting things go to the point at which someone from the school steps
in on their own tells the students that you don't know your own limits. This
will lower students' confidence in you. After an extreme situation has been
resolved, discuss it with students (with school personnel present). Make sure
they know that the behavior displayed is not acceptable and that you don't want
to see it again. Problem solve with them to find a solution to your positive
goal to cover the material and complete the activities without disruption.
C: Suggestions
for Working with Middle Schoolers
·
Do
not avoid or skirt controversial topics. Often, the topics that are
controversial or uncomfortable for the educator (e.g., racism, sexuality) are
the ones students this age most need to discuss in order to make good decisions
for themselves.
·
Provide
the opportunity for adolescents to express their own ideas through their work.
Avoid relying too heavily on lecture style teaching and structured worksheets.
Instead, provide activities that allow them to think more independently.
·
Provide
the opportunity for adolescents to feel useful and important. Use activities
that encourage students to take on roles that are critical for the success of
the activity (e.g., spokesperson for the work group, participant in a role
play).
·
Avoid
asserting your own values and judgments. Encourage adolescents to develop
decision‑making skills that they can apply when judging situations for
themselves.
D: Just for
YOU, Volunteer Teacher
·
After
you teach a lesson and you’ve talked things over with your co-teacher, jot those
thoughts down. Reflect on what worked
well, what didn’t work so well, what some student said that made you think, or
what you want to reinforce later.
Learning through repetition works best.
If somebody made a strong point in one class, bring it up again. Also, if there’s a question or a
misunderstanding that needs clearing up, make sure you review the issue the
following week. Each class is going to
benefit from these key specifics that just don’t show up in the curriculum, but
that you definitely want to mention when you teach. Cater to your students and make the experience as strong and as
memorable as possible. From class to
class, especially with vacations and snow days in between, it’s tough to
remember these details. That’s why
there are blank “Notes” pages in the back of this book!
·
During
some of the lessons, a student may say something in class that alarms or
concerns you. If any such remarks
arise, contact the school principal right away. The school principal should be the first one notified if you have
any concern for a student’s health or if you have any concern regarding illegal
activities. You should also tell the
Peace by PEACE at Yale co-directors.
·
Finally,
while it’s tough at first to think of everything that goes into teaching a
class, remember one very important thing:
these kids have unending beauty, talents, and knowledge from which we
can learn. Enjoy them!!!