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Authors: Demestress Williams, Kemeka Johnson
Keywords: classroom management, cooperative classroom, culture, transformational teaching
Abstract: Who is at the center of your class sounds like a rhetorical question of sorts, but it is much more. This question takes a deeper look at classroom management and why teachers are deciding to leave their jobs. We are in what is called an Educational Fugitive Crisis, where teachers have abandoned the field and students are simply different than in times past and are in need of a different type of classroom structure. The generation has once again shifted onto something new. Neither models have worked in the past 10 years and have caused teachers to feel unsupported and students to feel somewhat entitled. In this session, attendees will learn how you can have both a teacher-centered and a student-centered classroom that works. It is called Culture-Focused Teaching. It is a term that was coined by looking at what research is saying about the importance of understanding culture as we create plans, systems and modalities. This paper will provide Transformative Strategies that will build a cooperative classroom culture through what is called the Culture Focused Teaching Method. With this information, the culture of Teacher-Centered vs. Student-Centered Classroom Management Models are refuted; and in its place, educators will be provided with a system that will aid them with the tools needed to create a cooperative classroom culture that truly works for both teachers and students. The culture-focused teaching method will reveal a culture that serves all types of students and educators. Classroom teachers will learn how to craft language that encourages students to have respect for each other, value individual differences, give every child a voice, and discover that teaching and learning as well as instituting discipline are not entirely teacher-centered nor is it entirely student-centered - it’s both. Taking a look at three key transformational strategies, teachers will discover that the notion of building a classroom management plan does not have to be an "us" against "them" mentality. It truly involves everyone, teachers, parents, school administrators and students. This paper will also provide teachers with ways on how to invite parents, administrators, and support staff into the conversation regarding a cooperative classroom culture. Finally, this paper provides a framework for individual teachers to set up classroom management plans in a way that benefits everyone involved, teacher and student alike.