Classroom Management Plan

 

I believe that classroom management is very important in any educational setting.  If students are in a safe environment, then learning can take place.  It is critical to have an engaging curriculum that includes all students and meets their needs.  The main goal of the classroom management plan is to help create an environment for all to be able to learn in.

I will work hard to make my classroom a safe place for all to learn. The classroom must be democratically run with constant input from the students.  I feel that if students are actively involved in the workings of the classroom that they’ll feel ownership over it and will be further motivated to engage in the class and therefore learn.  The needs of the students are crucial and will always be kept in mind when making decisions.  I will be an advocate for the students and will make sure they know that I care about their life outside the classroom as well as in class.

 

Room Arrangement

I believe that there should be as much natural light as possible.  The classroom should be a vibrant, fun place to walk into.  I will have many plants and interesting posters from various cultures and places as well as bookshelves filled with an eclectic mix of books and magazines which are not limited to the subjects which are taught in the classroom. 

I believe the desks or tables should be arranged in a circle or a horseshoe.  This would maximize communication amongst the students and with the teacher.  It would also allow adequate open space for student presentations and other activities.

My desk would be in the corner of the room inconspicuously tucked away.  It would be for administrative tasks such as grading and doing attendance.  When doing a lesson I would have a seat in the circle or walk around the room.  I would try to have a plethora of information sources in the room about the unit which we would be working on.  I would love to have a few computers that the students could use to research questions that they have as they come up.  I would encourage students to volunteer some of their work for public display on the walls.  I believe this would give a great sense of belonging in the class.

 

Rules

We need a classroom where learning can take place and if we all respect each other then there is no need for other rules.  I would abide by school-wide rules, although, if I had a problem with any I would meet with administration to see if there were any arrangements that could be made.  As long as it didn’t interfere with learning I would allow students to eat and drink in the class as well as chew gum.  I would also allow students to wear hats.  I would make it clear from the beginning that if any of these things were abused or became problematic, that they could lose their privileges.

If behaviors are consistently bad, then the class might have to put together a constitution or contract.  This document would spell out the rules in more detail and address problem areas.  I believe that having student involvement in the drafting of the constitution is not only the right thing to do; it would also lead to more buy in and less struggles.  The student, the parent and myself would sign the constitution.  It would be posted in the classroom where all can refer to it when needed.

I would have set times when the class can discuss how things are going and specifically address what’s not working and how we can make it better.  This would be like an open forum where ideas are shared and hopefully changes could be implemented.  This would be a time to talk about school-wide rules as well.

I would also put together a monthly newsletter to email or send home.  I believe in involving the parent as much as possible.  I believe that involved parents are much more supportive to their children.  If they have important information coming from the teachers than they can better address concerns that might come from their children.

I would try all means before sending a student to the office.  I believe that sending students to the office is drastically over-used and often does not help the student or the teacher’s relationship with the student.  If there were consistent misbehavior from a student I would first ask the student to talk to me after class.  I would start by sharing something positive about the student such as their involvement in the class.  Then I would tell them why their behavior is disruptive/inappropriate for the classroom.  I would have them meet with me later to put together a plan for how they can stop the behavior.  If it continues I would call home and possibly set up a meeting with the parents.  The only time I would send a student to the office is if he/she is being harmful to him or herself, other students or myself.

 

Classroom Procedures

Classroom procedures need to be consistent.  I would always have the agenda on the board with homework assignments and other projects so the students can copy it into their notebook when they walk in everyday.  I will have a warm-up ready for them to do for the first few minutes while I take attendance.

I believe it is important to have a wrap-up on the major topics covered for the day.  Knowledge is better processed if this is done and it can be used as an assessment of how well they learned the material.

I would like to stay away from standard tests as much as possible.  I will use alternative means of assessing students such as projects and essays.  It is important that students learn the material as well as how to use higher-order thinking skills to analyze, interpret or evaluate the material.  I would like to give out assignments or tests that enable the students to choose the means by which they will show their learning.  This increased flexibility allows students to use their creativity to help show their competency.

I will do my best to only give out meaningful homework that supplements what is being worked on in class.  I will avoid the trap of giving homework for the sake of homework or for a grade.  I also want to give the students advance notice on assignments to help them with time management skills.

If a student is struggling with getting homework in or is doing poorly on tests or projects I would set up a conference to help them get back on track.  Some students just need an extra push and I want to be there to give it to them.  I want students to understand that they do have control over their learning; it’s not genetic or naturally occurring.  I want them to help students who need it most, working one-on-one with them if necessary.

 

Supporting All Students

I believe it’s important to have a discussion with the students at the beginning of the year that focuses on rights and responsibilities and the balance that is needed between them.  It should address that they have the right to feel safe, be treated with respect and the right to learn.

It is very important to give the students the choice to act appropriately.  I believe that this means that redirection should be done in the subtlest way possible.  The various stages that can be used include positioning yourself strategically, making eye contact or if needed quietly giving a student direction and saying thank you and moving away right away to avoid confrontation.  It’s all about giving them choices in which they won’t feel pressured to be tough or cool, but instead can reflect on what is best for them.

I believe that other students can often times be best at getting things back on track.  For example, when the class is really loud while I am talking I would choose to stop and wait.  After a little while students start trying to get everyone to be quiet. 

I must always remember to act from the head and not from the gut.  When a teacher acts out of emotion things go wrong.  It makes the teacher vulnerable and often can push the student even further with the behavior.  I need to remind myself to have the patience necessary to address conflicts with a level head.  One way that I can do that is when I am very angry is by telling the student that I’m afraid of talking about what they have done or said because, “I’m so mad that I don’t know what I’ll do.”  I would then tell them to, “Come meet me after school to figure out what we can do about this.  Don’t worry about it until then.”  They most definitely will think about it quite a bit before the meeting, which is the whole point. When communicating with students, I will use the least threatening means possible.  I will use “I” statements and, if necessary, describe how the behavior made me feel.

Consistency is very important as it relates to enforcement of rules.  If a student isn’t held accountable for an action that has been deemed inappropriate and they know that you know about it, it well just perpetuate itself.  The teacher needs to act on it immediately.  Any punishment that may be used must be fair and reasonable.  This will help the student understand that their actions led to this outcome.

I will do my best to think about and address the reasons why students are acting out in class.  It is most likely because some needs of the student are not being met.  Once again, I will be an advocate for the student to help them get what they need and deserve. 

 

 

Positive Reinforcement

 

I believe a central part of developing and maintaining a productive classroom revolves around positive reinforcement.  I will focus on the good behavior and attitude in the classroom as well as addressing the misbehavior.

This should not be praise based because students can become dependant on praise.  Instead, I would work on a system of specific feedback, which enables me to have something positive to say about everyone.  I believe that having a system like this will facilitate having an equitable classroom that limits the hierarchical attitude that there are good students versus bad students.  It will also help students focus on making progress and putting in effort instead of only thinking about the final product.

 

I believe that a good classroom management plan can foster a safe space for students to learn in while limiting behavior problems.  I believe that the most important thing is to develop a meaningful connection with the students, encouraging them to succeed and setting high expectations for them.

 

 

 

 

Classroom Management Plan

I designed this classroom management plan as an assignment during my pre-student teaching experience.  It hasn’t been implemented anywhere and is subject to change.

Wisconsin Teacher Standard Alignment

I believe this artifact aligns with standard # 5, The teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.

 The plan discusses room arrangements, rules, procedures, supporting all students, positive reinforcement, and democracy.  According to many professionals including Nancy Doda and Michael Apple, democratic classrooms are important.  Having the direct involvement of the students to determine what the classroom rules are would lead to more integration from the students.  Their personal motivation would be positively affected by this involvement.  The focus of the plan is to create a safe and positive learning environment  in which the students have the opportunity to learn.  This would be accomplished in part by focusing on the positive while having consequences for negative behavior.

 

UW-Platteville School of Education Knowledge, Skill, Disposition Statement Alignment

KSD2.b.  Establishes a Culture for Learning: 

I will emphasize that everyone in the class, including myself, are here to learn.  Having the students determine the themes that they will be learning about through a process of curriculum integration would go a long way to adding value to the content of the school year.  This will also lead to more pride and ownership of the curriculum, according to Jim Beane.

 

What I learned about teaching

Through my experiences talking to and observing Jim Beane at Sherman Middle School and my cooperating teacher, I learned that having collective ownership over something leads to pride.  I saw the look in the students’ eyes and the genuine enthusiasm they had when they were brainstorming about what they wanted to learn.  When someone is proud of something they will respect it and be motivated to protect and nurture it.  Even when one has collective ownership, some will still have disrespect, making it very difficult for them to be meaningfully engaged in their “community.”  A vicious cycle can quickly establish itself, in which disrespect fuels reduced participation which in turn leads to more disrespect.  I found that praise for accomplishments, however small they might be, can help someone get out of that cycle.

I want to foster true democracy and a collective ownership of the classroom.  I will do this by using an integrative curriculum approach as well as involving students in the rule-making process.  I want students to have a written contract that states what the expectations are and what repercussions they can expect if they behave a certain way.  This contract would be signed by them, their parents and myself.  This would give me additional leverage because it’s something that they agreed to.  I can say, “Do you remember our deal?”  I also want to have a wall that is devoted to the students, where they come up with a theme which could change every month or every quarter.  This would be a way to keep creativity flowing in the classroom as well as having something that can relieve anxiety.

 

 

What I learned about myself

I have learned that I’m committed to democratic ideals and plan on implementing them in the classroom.  Through the limited experience I have had in the classroom, I have discovered that I will have to work on being more of authority figure.  I found that I try to be friends with the students.  While this is good, I found that I was being tested by the students as to how far I would let them go with goofing around and such.  I had a difficult time asserting myself due to a fear of them not liking me.  This, I will have to change to be an effective teacher.