Christenbury, Leila

From WikEd

"I also trust you will find what I found: that teaching can be a marriage of soul and mind, that the classroom can be a place of discovery, passion, and very real joy. While not every class is wonderful every day--for there is occasional bitterness and pain and disappointment in this business--teaching is, for me, a consuming and deeply satisfying profession. Once I emerged on the other side and realized that I was a teacher, had become a teacher, I realized that I had also found, in essence, my calling, my life's work."

1 Leila Christenbury's background
2 Theories on Discipline and Classroom Environment
3 Evidence of effectiveness
4 Critics and their rationale
5 Signed �?life experiences�?, testimonies and stories
6 References and other links of interest

[edit] Leila Christenbury's background

Professor of English Education at Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond)

(She teaches young adult literature, the teaching of writing, teaching methods for both secondary and middle school, and instructional theory and design.)

Former high school English teacher
Well-known writer and researcher in English education
Past English Journal editor
President of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

[edit] Theories on Discipline and Classroom Environment

Suggestions on How To Establish A Clearer View of What You Are Doing In Your Classroom

Have someone observe your classes
Watch other teachers' classes
Try to become more self-perceptive
Videotape yourself

Principles to Establish and Maintain Good Discipline

Be firm; be fair - Once you decide on a procedure or a consequence for behavior, stick to it. Of course, be sure the procedure or consequence does not favor or punish in an inequitable manner. Thus if something goes for one student, it must go for the other, and, unless it is an unusual circumstance (a judgment call in and of itself), you should not be talked out of or into anything different for different students.

Be consistent

Use "I" messages

Single out students but don't humiliate them

Use praise and rewards

Make your students too busy to misbehave

Classroom Environment

"Most school buildings, despite the best intentions of the architects and the district administration and the local school board, are relatively bare, antiseptic institutions, and the heart of those schools, the classrooms, are rarely better. You want to think of bringing color and light and, yes, beauty, into what may at first appear a sterile space. Without spending a huge amount of money, you can purchase or scrounge (yard sales are great sources) some of the following for your classroom:" (Christenbury 73)

http://www.np.k12.mn.us/School/ISD721/Elemschool/tour/Classroom/classroom.jpg

Posters (Inspirational, informational, touting new authors/books, bands)
Bulletin Boards
Books and bookcases (Magazines, paperbacks, crossword puzzle books, etc.)
Rugs
Plants

Room Arrangement

Consider placing your desk somewhere other than centered in front of the blackboard to get a different perspective on the students as they sit at their desks. Three different options include: the side of the blackboard, either side of the room, or the back of the room.

Also, consider how the students' desks are arranged.

For large group discussions think of putting your students' desks into a horseshoe or in four long rows, two rows facing two rows (remembering to leave space between the left two and the right two of the rows so that you can comfortably walk between them).

There is nothing wrong with students sitting facing the front in long rows while taking tests or listening to short lectures or presentations.

Do not become attached to a single room arrangement. Shift the desks in accordance with what the students are doing.

Creature Comforts

"Beyond the classroom itself, there is the issue of you and what you need to be comfortable as well as productive. While much of this may not be true for the school in which you teach, you can never assume that what you need will automatically be accessible in the building--and in most schools, teachers are expected to stay in the building the entire contract day" (Christenbury 77).

Depending on your individual needs those items may include:

some form of aspirin
some form of antacid tablets or liquid
eyedrops
Band-Aids and disinfectant
bottled water
cleaning solution for contacts
small sewing kit
extra sweater or jacket
tissues and/or paper towels

[edit] Evidence of effectiveness

Leila Christenbury was awarded the Rewey Belle Inglis Award for Outstanding Woman in the Teaching of English (NCTE)

Christenbury was the first woman to win the highest faculty honor at Virginia Commonwealth University, the University Award of Excellence. She has numerous other awards she has received over the years.

[edit] Critics and their rationale

Christenbury states that what she believes to be important in teaching is to know how people learn and why they learn. To have an extensive background in ones subject matter is important, but she believes the study of pedagogy to be very important. A poll commissioned by the Educational testing service shows that those polled preferred "having skills to design learning experiences that inspire/interest children" (42 percent) compared with (19 percent) who valued "having a thorough understanding of their subject" (interversity.org). The poll was conducted by Democratic pollster Peter Hart and Republican pollster Robert Teeter.

[edit] Signed �?life experiences�?, testimonies and stories

Personal Testimonies

Through my experiences I have learned that classroom arrangement is important because it can--without a teacher even opening his/her mouth--lose or gain a student's attention and investment in the class. For example, from observation in a senior speech class, if the four students that made up the class had been seated randomly throughout the classroom there would be NO focus in the room. On the same note, in my observations of a freshman literature course I was also impressed with the condensed seating arrangement of the small group. It is crucial to take class size into consideration when planning classroom arrangement because students are naturally more motivated when they feel recognized and important in the classroom. This was evident in the intimacy that my field mentor encouraged through her tight classroom arrangement.

-Bryn Gunning

I agree with the views that Professor Christenbury presents in regard to discipline and classroom climate. The five points of: be consistent, use “I�? messages, single out students but don’t humiliate them, use praise and rewards, and make your students too busy to misbehave have all worked well in my classroom. I also strongly believe in the physical environment of the room as an important asset to the overall learning atmosphere and that room arrangement can add greatly to classroom management.

-Connie Early

I recently tape recorded myself in a few of my classes. I thought that this suggestion by Leila was a great idea. I got a chance to look at what things worked and did not. I also realized that I was not as "with-it" as Kounin would say then I thought. I had such a hard time with my last period class. Most people do because of just the fact that it was at the end of the day, but I would not accept that as an answer anymore. So, I found out through my recordings that I could not use the same ways of teaching that I had throughout the rest of the day. By 9th hour, I needed to spice it up. I started to gear myself up for a energetic lesson. When they all have their eyes on me it is hard to talk. It kept them wondering what I was going to do next. Just the other day I was pretending to be a cheerleader and shouting out the DNA codes for the class to repeat. The problem is that I am 5 months pregnant and know I won't be able to keep up this high energy the rest of the year.

[edit] References and other links of interest

Relevant Books

Writing on Demand: Best Practices and Strategies for Success by Leila Christenbury, Anne Ruggles Gere, Kelly Sassi

Books for You: An Annotated Booklist for Senior High Students 1995 by National Council of Teachers of English Committee
Both Art and Craft: Teaching Ideas That Spark Learning by Leila Christenbury, Diana Mitchell
Virginia English Bulletin: Developing Lifelong Readers
Questioning: A Path to Critical Thinking by Leila Christenbury, Patricia P. Kelly

Related Links

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) website's depiction of "Linda Christenbury: Portrait of a Volunteer" NCTE - Leadership Opportunities

Redesigning the classroom environment

Classroom environment: the basics

Classroom Management - Arranging Teaching Space Effectively - PEAK Learning Systems

References

Christenbury, Leila (2000). Making the Journey: Being and Becoming a Teacher of English Language Arts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

http://interversity.org/lists/arn-l/archives/Jun2002/msg00531.html

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Categories: EPSY400 ClassroomLearning | EPSY406 ClassroomManagement | EPSY490 ClassroomLearningAndManagement(CTER)