Minute Masterclass Episode 233

Welcome to your one-minute masterclass. I’m Andrea Trench. If you enjoy our minute masterclasses, consider continuing your professional development as a student in our Foundations Course for Early Childhood Dance Educators and as a member of our DiscoverDance Experience online community. You can learn more about both of these opportunities at DiscoverDance.com.

 This week’s DiscoverDance term is classroom management. I’ll admit, when I first heard this term I thought It meant I had to have a discipline system in place for when students were “bad”. A three strikes you’re out kind of system. However, as I studied the developing child and the best practices for teaching the developing child, I quickly learned that classroom management is not about controlling or disciplining my students. Rather, it is about having consistent procedures in place to avoid distractions and misbehavior, so I wouldn’t have to discipline.

 I began to observe my classes carefully to recognize where off-track behavior appeared. Then I put a system or strategy in place to nip the behavior before it even has the opportunity to begin. By weaving these systems and strategies throughout the structure of my lesson plan, I am ensuring that I am setting my classes up for success. You can learn more about these systems and strategies inside module 3, lesson 1 of the Foundations Course for Early Childhood Dance Educators.

 For more information, to enroll in the Foundations Course, or to join the DiscoverDance Experience, visit DiscoverDance.com.