Classroom Management with Google Meet

Classroom Management with Google Meet 
This is a potential plan that you could use. Feel free to have a different plan in place. The most important thing is that you have a plan, that you follow it consistently with all students. 
You may have a student who needs something different due to an IEP or other behavioral challenge. In that case, create a plan specific for that student and ensure that you teach it to the student as well.

(You need to teach it at least twice as many times as you teach the regular plan. Otherwise, you are setting yourself up for frustration.)

Rules: 
  1. Listen and follow directions 
  2. Stay visible and on screen if possible during lessons
  3. Use digital hand raising to be called on (or an actual hand if that does not work)
  4. Be kind to your classmates and your teacher 
Guidance: 
  1. Reminder or reteach if necessary. 
  2. Place in waiting room for 5 minutes and try again. 
  3. Place in waiting room for 5 minutes and try again. Parent notified. 
  4. Notify the administration of what rules were broken, guidance given, and response. 
Teach your rules: 
This is such a new experience for all of us. For students to be able to follow the plan, they need to really understand it fully. 
I think we all know how unsettling it is when things are unclear or when things change frequently. (This school closure being an example of a changing experience, which brings up lots of anxiety for many people.) 
When expectations are unclear, it is unsettling for students and teachers. That creates anxiety, discomfort. Those feelings create the foundation for misbehavior. When we clearly teach the rules, students know what to expect. This allows them to settle emotionally and helps everyone have a better time with online learning. 
To be most effective, we need to clearly define and teach our rules and what they mean. If you already did this in class this year, it should not take very long to review your expectations again. When possible, I encourage teaching in a fun manner. You can use a sock puppet to teach your rules, or something else to make it engaging and fun for students. 
Model your guidance: 
I recommend that you respond to mistakes with rules like you would respond to mistakes in subtracting numbers. If a child is trying to subtract 19 from 37 and forgets that they need to regroup or use a friendly number, you would not write their name up on the board or call them out on the mistake with any sense of frustration. 

Repeat as many times as you need. Behavior is a skill. Behavior is a skill. It can be learned and taught. But only when the time is right.

(When is the time right? When everyone is calm. No misbehavior is happening. Lecturing is not teaching.)


Step 1 is a reminder. 
Modeling with subtraction: With subtraction you might say - Remember to regroup or remember to find a friendly number first. Once you know a child can subtract with friendly numbers or regrouping, the reminder might be shorter. __ (student name), remember to use a friendly number.
For behavior: For behavior, you could say something similar. Remember to use the digital feature. Do you need help using that? Can someone remind us how to use the digital hand raising feature?  After some days have past and you know the child knows how to use the feature, you might say: ___ remember to use digital hand raising features. This is a reminder. 
You need to be explicit with students that if you say this, you are also going to write their name down with a reminder. It is best if you can say it in a totally neutral tone of voice. Teaching behavior is no different from teaching subtraction. Some children need more practice to get the skill and to remember to use it consistently. 
Step 2 is a 5 minute break in the waiting room.
Modeling with subtraction: If a student was making the same error more than a few times, even after you retaught, you would probably take a break from the problem. You might say - let us take a five minute break from this. We will come back at another time. The reason for taking a break is to allow the mind to calm down and be ready to try again. We have all experienced feeling frustrated with something. The harder we try the worst the situation tends to get. Modeling take a break is a healthy way to teach children to regulate themselves. 
For behavior: You need to decide if you will give students one or two reminders before moving to this step. In the beginning, it might make sense to give two reminders. A break in the waiting room is similar to a time out. It is a chance for the student to calm down and become ready to learn again. 
In the meeting feature you can remove a student from the meeting and place them back into the waiting room. I suggest doing this for five minutes. Letting a student know that they are going to be placed in the waiting room is like a reminder. Kindly say, I am sorry, this is the third time Ie given you a reminder about raising your hand. I am going to place you in the waiting room for five minutes. There is no need to lecture. Just like with math, you would not say - how many times have I told you to use friendly numbers etc. Kindly let the student know that they are going to the waiting room and then allow them to come back in five minutes. 
Step 3 is a 5 minute break in the waiting room and the adult contacted: 
Modeling with subtraction: If you taught a child to use friendly numbers and then retaught, and then retaught and they are still making mistakes, you would want to let their adult know. You might send home an assignment for them to work on at home or an activity to get signed or email them. And as a parent, you would want to know that your child was struggling with subtraction so you could support at home. It is no different with behavior. 
Ideally, you would then have a problem solving conversation with a parent about how you could work together as a team to help the child with subtraction. 
For behavior: Follow the steps for the five minute break as before. If a child disrupts the learning of themselves and their classmates three times in a meeting, their family has a right to know about this. I recommend emailing the rules broken and the reteaching/consequences given. There is no need to explain much beyond what rule was broken. Just stick to the facts - what the child did to break the rules. It works well to be brief and kind. Just like with subtraction, we are all on the same page trying to help our children learn the best we can. 
Ideally this contact leads to a problem solving conversation. Maybe something else is going on. Maybe someone in the family just lost their job? Maybe the child is getting up for 1-2 hours a night with fears and anxiety? Maybe the child has a family member who is sick or is working in a hospital? Maybe something else is going on. Listen with an open heart and with curiosity. We are all in this together.


Step 4 is letting the administration know. 
 Modeling with subtraction: If you taught, retaught in a tier 2 group, contacted family, and the child was still not getting concepts, you would refer a child to the student intervention team (in an ideal world at least). You would fill out a detailed report. You would know that the intervention step would go faster the more detailed, objective information you are able to give. You need dates, specifics, examples, worked samples etc.


For behavior: For our administration to be able to be effective, they need to know how steps 1-3 went, what the child did etc. It is also helpful to know if there were any other circumstances that impacted what was going on. Details. The administrator does not need all of your interpretations, they need to know specifics. What exactly did you say (to the best of your recollection), what happened before this. Is this a pattern? What works better? What escalates the problem. etc.

(Yes, your administration might be totally useless and not do anything. And the child might know that. But, I think there is value in letting the family and child know that you took this step and why. And in the case your administration is not going to do anything, you are going to have to work it out the best you can. And that is going to have to be good enough. It won't be perfect, but you will do the best you can. )
Best of luck in this new teaching environment.

My hope is that you leave this experience a better teacher than when you came in. And that you are happier, more connected and more focused on what you believe matters in your own life. (Something only you know!)

If this is useful, please write a comment to let me know. It really means a lot to hear if my writing makes a difference to you. 

If you know someone who you think would like this, please share. Thank you. 

Most importantly, thank you for all of your hard work. You are amazing. You make a difference. Thank you and please take care. 

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