2.)Introduction:
Classroom Management is a term used by teachers to describe the process of ensuring that classroom lessons run smoothly despite the disruptive behavior by students. Classroom management is very important because it creates a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, self motivation and maintains an organized learning environment.
There are six areas of responsibility for classroom management and discipline. The first being select a philosophical model of classroom management and discipline. The second area is organize the physical environment. The third area is manage student behavior. This means making guidelines for my students to promote order in my classroom. The fourth area is creating a respectful, supportive learning environment. In order to establish this area as a teacher develop teacher-student relationships, promoting students self esteem, and building group cohesiveness. According to Burden and Byrd teachers can be most effective in creating a respectful, supportive learning environment when they have an understanding of the diverse learners in their classroom. The fifth area is making sure I manage and facilitate instruction; which means certain factors in a lesson have a bearing on classroom order, and teachers need to take these factors into account when planning lessons. Promoting classroom safety and wellness is also a very important area because students need to feel physically and emotionally safe in my classroom. Making sure I interact with colleagues and families is also very important because it will help me know the people I work with better and help support student learning.
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3.) Principles for Working with Students and Preventing Misbehavior As a teacher I want to make sure my classroom all about learning. In order to do that I have to address certain factors within the classroom. There are seven principles that I believe that will help working with students in a manner that establish a positive and productive classroom. First I focus on my major tasks in teaching which is to help students be successful in achieving educational objectives. In my classroom make sure I understand my students needs and how to meet them. Coming up with a creative way to understand my students likes and dislikes is how I understand their needs. For example have my students have two cards one that says ME and one that says NOT ME. Ask questions and have the students hold up one of the two cards. The third principle is understanding their ethnic and cultural differences. As a teacher I need to understand what causes misbehavior and how to deal with it. This is where a behavior management plan is critical. According to Burden and Bryd you have to provide clear rules and procedures to guide my students conduct. They state that rules and procedures need to be clearly identified and taught so students understand the behavioral expectations. An example of my rules is staying positive and showing respect. I have a specific plan for responding to misbehavior with a hierarchy of interventions which will be further explained in my behavior management plan. Which will include my plan and consequences the students receive. An example of these consequences would be the student getting a call home or being sent to the office with sentences to write. These sentences will tell me what they choose to do differently next time Last but not least ,reduce the use of punitive methods of controls. Coercive or punitive environments promote
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antisocial behaviors so instead I plan to create a positive learning environment by using positive reinforcement method such as praise and rewards for desirable behavior.
4.) Preparing for the School Year and First Day of School
On the first day of school, I prepare the environment. Organize materials and welcome students by writing my name on the board so as the students know they are in the right room. As a teacher, I think it is important to greet your at the door so I will make sure to greet each and everyone of them with a smile. I frequently have some soft music playing in the background. I will tell them to find their name already printed on their desk. For example in a 3rd grade class, on their desks will be a crossword or wordsearch so they have a comfortable and easy going activity to start the day. After I introduce myself I start by touring the rooming and allowing them to see where everything is located. This will make it easier for the students because they will know where everything they need is located. I then take the class to the library or carpet area and do an ice breaker such as likes, dislikes, sports or hobbies. Next, I introduce the classroom rules and give them real examples of how to follow these rules. I also reinforce positive behavior by finding a book about positive behavior and explain to them my behavior management chart and how to get rewarded. I also include role playing where the students role play good and poor behavior. A helpful hint according to Burden and Byrd is for teachers to call on students as helpers for various classroom tasks. On the first day of school I already have a student picked who can be the teachers helper for the first week of school. Each week this helper will change so that each student gets a chance to be my helper.
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Prior to the first school year I would do a lot of planning over the summer because I would need to think of several things to hang around the classroom or small objects to incorporate in certain lesson plans. After I got the topics or standards I need to cover in class that year I make a yearly calendar. Planning lesson, activities and holiday breaks. I typically leave a few free days a month because even though I will need to stay on a tight schedule I know many things will not go as planned. Additionally I make sure to have the classroom rules and behavior management strategies already filled out. I would also plan how to organize my room and supplies.
5.) Making Instructional Preparations- (and how it relates to classroom management) Before my first school year I carefully consider several different instructional issues. For example in the area of planning, I have long-range plans which sets general timeframes and tentative decisions for the amount of time we will spend on specific units. I also need supplementary materials and start an ongoing list of related supplementary materials for upcoming activities. I think it is very important that I have a skeleton plan which is just a brief overview of intended accomplishments. According to Burden and Byrd a skeleton plan is a brief overview of intende accomplishments. They strongly agree that skelton plans include more details than the long-range yearly plans but not the detail needed for daily lesson plans. Also, I generate a weekly time schedule so my students always know what is going on at that time in the classroom that week. A weekly time schedule will also help me with time management in the classroom. Preparing daily lessons are important because even though I have a skeleton plan, I need to have a more indepth plan. Preparing a syllabus and policy sheets are something I share with the students and families to prevent a clear understanding of the rules and procedures are
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expected of them. A huge part of being a teacher is being able to assess the students throughout the entire year and making sure to get a baseline assessment of developmental skills at the beginning and end of the year. This tells me how much they have learned and or grown in the 1st grade. It is important that I plan and assign homework with an open mind. It is very useful for me to have backup materials incase something does not workout in a certain activity. My classroom runs more smoothly if the students know every morning what they are suppose to do which is why I have an opening class routine.
A teacher taking my place for a day when I’m absent seems like a scary though because I am with these students five days a week. In order for my substitute teacher to run a successful and smooth day I make sure to provide a substitute teacher folder just in case something I have an emergency of some sort. Making these instructional preparations in my classroom are important for classroom management because they will help you be prepared for anything that comes your way. Even if my students are prepared it is equally as important that I am just as prepared as them.
6.) Managing Assessments, Record Keeping, and Reporting
In order to manage assessments, keep records, and manage assessments a website account that I created for my class is located at http://www.classdojo.com. At the beginning of the school year I add each of the students names.On the first day of school, the students choose their own monster to be their character on my computer. Every day, I give the students behavior mark on the website such as participating, on task, working hard, and monitoring behaviors and expectations to include no homework. A portion of this website will be able to be viewed by their guardians as a means to communicate their child’s classroom behavior. Burden and Byrd
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strongly stated that as a teacher I need to communicate students’ progress to their families in various ways and this is my way of having easy communication with them. I can also send out newsletters through this website and post the students homework everyday so their parents know what they have to do. On this website I can also take attendance and send it to the school secretary everyday.
When technology is available, I allow my students to access this on their iPad so that I can message them and they could ask me questions through the website so I can receive them instantly. If I have a conference with a few students that day I can make small notes on this website so that I always be able to access where the student is academically. Another great resource that this website has is the ability to use a timer. This will be a great resource so I can put the timer on the smartboard and allow the students to see how much time they have left. For example, if a child is struggling with writing her S’s I write this under her name and make sure I help her with writing her S’s.
7.) Organizing Your Classroom and Materials
Organizing my classroom is very important because it has a huge effect on classroom management. A picture below shows an example of how my classroom is set up.I arrange the student’s desks in groups of four so it is easy for them to work in groups and also not too much distraction so they can work independently. This classroom layout allows enough space between the groups of desks that one group is not distracting the other group of students. All of my students face the front of the classroom which means it is to regain their attention because they all know where to look. At the back of classroom I have a place where students can come and work with me at a circle table or I can help a group of students at once. This circle table is used
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for math help, reading groups and using large maps to understand social studies as well as several other uses. This circle table has multiple uses. Next to this circle table I have a reading rug. According to reallygoodstuff.com it is imporant for students to have a quiet reading area where they can because it is a challange for many students to sit at their desks all day. This reading rug gives the students a place to go where they don’t have to feel like they are in a confined place. All over the classroom I have many posters and useful bulletin boards to guide the students. I strongly believe that the way I set up my classroom gives all the students different areas to visit and allows the students to have what they need to succeed in my classroom.
8.) Classroom Rules and Expectations
In my 3rd grade classroom I have implemented the “ High 5” classroom rules. According to Buden and Byrd there are eight rules I’ve considered when making classroom rules. These eight rules are:
1. Make sure classroom rules are consistent with school rules.
2. Involve the students in making the rules.
3. Identify appropriate behavior and translate them into positively stated classroom rules.
4. Focus on important behavior.
5. Keep the number of rules to four to six.
6. Keep the rules short and simple.
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7. Have rules address behaviors that can be observed.
8. Identify rewards for when students follow the rules and consequences for when they break the rules.
Burden and Byrd’s eight rules, expect and encourage the children to evaluate their own behavior based on Burden and Byrd. Which is why I use the “High 5” classroom rules in my classroom.
These include:
1. I am positive.
2. Being engaged.
3. Show respect
4. Participate
5. My actions, my consequences
A way of accomplishing this is to teach these rules to my 1st grade class on the first day. I teach the rules to them by putting them in small groups and having them come up with two ways to be positive. Have another group come up with two ways to be engaged. I have these rules posted in front of the classroom so the students won’t forget them. As far as consequences go, I explain my behavior management plan to them after they understand the rules. Students will be able to move their name tag up if I see them following the rules and if they are not following the rules I will have them move their paper clip down. This shows the students how important following the rules really is.
9.) Behavior Management Procedures
The behavior management plan that I use in my room is called level up. In the back of my classroom I have 10 different color sheets on a poster board. These ten colors start at white and move down all the way down to black. Everyday the students will start on orange which is close to the middle. Throughout the day, if the student makes a good choices such as following the classroom rules they will move their clip with their name on it up one color. If a student
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makes a poor choice like not following the classroom rules they will move their clip with their name on it down one color. If a student chooses to make a good or bad choice they can only move up or down one color at a time. At the end of the day, if a student reaches yellow they will get a piece of candy or prize and if they reach white they will get either a free homework pass or free recess. If a student reaches brown at any point in the day they will be getting a note sent home or a parent phone call explaining to their parents what the problem is. If a student reaches black they will be sent to the principal’s office and have further punishment until the problem is fixed or resolved. The picture below shows a line of the colors and possibly a good visual of what my behavior management plan is. According to behavioradvisor.com, in order to have a successful behavior management plan you have to set up rules such as classroom rules,devise consequences for when the rules are violated, use positive reinforcement and stay consistent. I strongly believe that my behavior management plan has all of these components which is why it will be successful in my classroom. If my classroom is having a tough day I may try to lower the expectations so that rewards will seem more reachable. But throughout a whole day I think I am being reasonable with what I think the students should be able to reach on my level up behavior management plan.
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10.) Reinforcing Desired Behaviors
It is important to recognize and understand how to reinforce desirable behaviors in a classroom. There are three techniques that I use in my classroom to reinforce good behavior from my students. Recognition is the first technique which is a social reinforcer serving as a positive consequence to appropriate behavior. Praise is an expression of approval by the teacher after the student has attained something, and social reinforcers are often used to express this praise. Recognition and praise are both social reinforcers which should be done privately with the student, but some may be done publicly. For example, a 3rd grader might be somewhat embarrassed being praised in front of the class. Token reinforcers are also something I use in my classroom which are a tangible item that can be exchanged for a desired object, activity or social reinforcer at a later time. An example of this would be if one of my 3rd grade students voluntarily helped another student pick up their crayons they dumped. I would reward that student with a sticker which is a token reinforcer. Another reinforcer according to Burden and Byrd is activity reinforcers which include privileges and preferred activities. A great example of this is listed above in my behavior management plan where if the student moves their way all the way up to white they get extra recess time. A few more great examples that Burden and Byrd talk about is helping the teacher take attendance, cleaning the wipe board, and taking a note to the office. A few examples of positive verbal responses would be like saying “ great job Ryan I like how quietly you are standing.”
Meg Quinn 