EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE FOR EFFECTIVE CLASS ROOM MANAGEMENT

Dr. Beena Salim Skyline University College,P.B 1797. Sharjah beena@skylineuniversity.com

 Understanding emotions IN teaching.. Like many kinds of jobs is not just a technical or cognitive practice but also an emotional one. (Norman Denzin, 1984) Caring professions like teaching not only require emotional sensitivity but also emotional labor. (Hochschild, 1993) There is a coordination of mind and feeling in teaching.

 Teaching is a passionate vocation and good teachers are passionate about their ideas, learning and their relations with students.

Daniel Goleman
Emotional Intelligence is a term coined by Daniel Goleman in his book in 1995. The Harvard Business Review called emotional intelligencewhich discounts IQ as the sole measure of ones intelligence a revolutionary, paradigm-shattering idea and chose his article What Makes a Leader as one of ten must-read articles from its pages. Emotional Intelligence was named one of the 25 Most Influential Business Management Books by TIME Magazine.

Daniel Goleman
Many of us are good in self management, getting up early, being self-driven, etc. But a teacher is a leader. You need to work with groups of children or adults through influencing, developing, inspiring, motivating --- thats social intelligence. The whole business of teaching is about relationships. Students need understanding, and compassion empathy.

Five points
Self management-consistent in values and beliefs, stick to your plan, be flexible and accountable, educate yourself for any change, stay physically fit. Self regulation- self control is to control your emotions, desires and actions. Its a direct aftermath of the type of pressure one is facing good pressure is positive and non harmful- motivates one to self regulate bad pressure is critical and harmful neutral pressure is not pressure Self awareness- the ability to know ones own skills, knowledge, values, responsibilities, strengths and weaknesses. Its the first step towards any change. Self motivation-walk towards a cause by oneself, dont feel compelled by others, make conscious effort not to give up, dont live in your past failures or successes, utilize positive thinking, read stories of successful people

Empathy- the ability to understand the other person and their problems

 When we start questioning how our behavior affects others, then thats the point we start improving our performance. Other people affect us positively or negatively. But our brains are designed to have social relationships. All our decisions come from wisdom of emotions which is from the base of the ganglion. Part of decisions is the ability to respond to those gut feelings of ours. The Ganglion does not know to connect with the cerebral cortex where we think verbally. But emotions come nonverbally with feelings.

What we need to add to our classrooms hence are Interest

Enthusiasm Excitement Inquiry Discovery Risk taking and fun and, finally, EMOTIONAL BONDS

 Teachers should be:

Tactful and have the ability to understand the emotions of their students. Intuitive and caring nature in teachers is important.

http://www.youtube.com/Teachers You can use youtube videos where pictures and videos help address the emotional cortex of students.

 Why emotional intelligence is important for teachers:

I felt emotional intelligence in me when.. I have felt emotional stress when

How did you feel in both situations. Can anyone volunteer to share their experiences of positive and negative classroom situations.

The Changing Teaching Scenario

Todays classroom is different. Expectations of students and administration and management are different. True????? Emotions are dynamic parts of ourselves whether positive or negative. All schools are filled with emotions.

Teachers are not just Well-Oiled Machines???!!!!

A good teacher is charged with more positive emotions. Its not just the matter of knowing the subject, using the right tools, having the correct competencies and right techniques. But it is a matter of having the right emotions at the right time to match the right audience. We are emotional, passionate beings who connect with our students and fill their work and classes with pleasure, creativity and challenges.

 Personal, psychological and philosophical choices of the teacher usually get entanlged with the social, institutional and politcal dimensions of education. Emotional intelligence according to Daniel Goleman (1995) is a personal choice.

 Watch this Video on emotional intelligence in the classroom.

Obstacles
Over-personalising and over-moralizing about teachers personal emotional commitment. Emotional stress and burn out among teachers. Gender marginalization of women in teaching professions is there and with institutional policies where women occupy few politically relevant positions, the caring nature of teachers is underplayed in real policy and educational reform situations. The emotional havoc that external inspection bodies and processes have on teachers is high.

Strategies to Tackle Classroom Emotional Problems

Self awareness- Understand your strengths and weaknesses. Prepare and structure your class delivery. Self management- Be on time for classes, be fair- use very strict guidelines in assessments so that the students realise why they are getting low or high scores. Social skills, empathy and self regulation- Plan surprises and rediscovery. Keep evidence of classroom activities. Understand the needs of the students- personal and academic. Build relations- Develop a relationship with your students, Emphasize competencies like sincerity, hardwork, leadership and other co-curricular activities.

NO Noooo activities self regulation

Never delay in setting ground rules for the classroom and acting on them. Never use you while involved in a class room deviant behavior. Never enter into an open argument. Never go with a negative attitude. Never allow your students to overpower you.

Strategies for Emotional Self- Regulation

Always try to display the emotions that you are feeling- But at times you have to keep your deep level emotions under control and show what is appropriate for the situation.

 Build classroom exercises: having student activities is important I want you to be in teams and list emotionally stressful classroom situations. Write down your strategies in managing classroom stress.

Social Skills Humor helps at times.

Have some small practical games in the classroom to build relations. Provide extra sessions in grooming appropriate behaviors in students. Show them videos.

 Daniel Goleman (2011). The brain and Emotional Intelligence, New insights. More than sound LLC. Northampton. Daniel Goleman (2007). Social Intelligence. The new style of human relationships. Bantam. Daniel Goleman (1995). Emotional Intelligence at work place. Bantam Daniel Goleman (2000). Working with Emotional Intelligence. Bantam. Neal M. Ashkanasy (2000). Emotions in the Workplace: Research, Theory, and Practice. Westport.

References and Further readings

Teaching is a Joy Use the Right Emotions !!!

Thank you Dr. Beena Salim Associate Professor, MBA program Skyline University College, Sharjah. Dr_beena9@yahoo.com beena@skylineuniversity.com