Classroom Management Plan 1

Classroom Management Plan 1

Classroom Management Plan

Abigail Schwendeman
EDUC-351: Classroom Management and Conflict Resolution
November 21, 2011

Descriptive Statement:

This document is a classroom management plan to address how I would run my classroom and deal with disciplinary issues should they arise. I believe that the most important aspects when trying to create a community of learning are respect, responsibilities, and relationships with one another (not only teacher-to-student, but also student-to-student). My classroom management plan supports these beliefs and supports them with theories and practices that have been found to be beneficial and effective in the education field.
Philosophy of Classroom Management:
I believe that an effective and inviting classroom needs to be built on the foundation of mutual respect between the students and the teacher. Students should feel like their teacher is not only their teacher, but also their friend. Students should be responsible for their own actions and should want to do well in the classroom to please the teacher and show respect. While I realize that all students do not have this intrinsic motivation—I feel like there are certain things that teachers can do to help students build this motivation. My “Top Ten Beliefs” will help me to create a respectful environment in my future classroom.

Like Spencer Kagan, I believe that teachers need to be aware positions that students may be in that predispose them to misbehaviors. Instead of punishing for the misbehavior, teachers need to evaluate why the student misbehaved in the way that they did and address the root cause of the behavior. Kagan identifies seven student positions that predispose students to behave in certain ways. He says that students may be attention-seeking, avoiding failure or embarrassment, angry, control seeking, energetic, bored and uninformed. I feel that it is imperative that educator’s identify which position the student is and address that—rather than only addressing the misbehavior. If we do not address the root of the problem, the problem will happen again.

Kagan’s method of having students create their own personal improvement plans is another idea that I plan on implementing in my classroom. I feel that these self-created plans will help students to own their behaviors and by having them create the ideas of what they need to do better gives them a sense of responsibility. I would keep these personal improvement plans in the students’ files so that we could refer back to them if needed. I feel that this individualized and personalized way of behavior intervention will help students to understand that I value their imput and that we need to work as a team to make our classroom the best that it can be.

I also agree with Fritz Redl and William Wattenberg’s idea of group dynamics. When different combinations of students are put together, you will see different behaviors out of the students. As a future special educator, it is very important for me to consider group dynamics in my classroom because students may have behaviors that bother other students and will make for an ineffective classroom. I also see value in the idea that students may act differently when they are in groups than when they are acting as an individual. That is important to note because some students may be able to learn better when they are placed in cooperative groups, and others may learn better when in an individual setting.

Rudolph Dreikurs believes that all students have the genuine goal of belonging. I completely agree that many behaviors that students display in the classroom are for the benefit of their peers. In working with older children and adolescents, I definitely can see the students trying desperately to fit in. Dreikurs says that students mistakenly go about trying to belong by displaying the behaviors of attention-seeking, power-seeking, revenge-seeking, and inadequacy. He believes that you need to identify why the student is acting the way that they are and then provide them with logical consequences. I completely agree with logical consequences to a behavior, rather than less effective and unrelated punishments.

Similar to students to wanting to fit in, students also wish to be treated with respect and dignity. Curwin and Mendler have a theory of “Disciplining with Dignity”—allowing the students to maintain their dignity and asking the teachers to help students do so by dealing with misbehaviors in privacy and being careful about what is being said. I believe that it is extremely important for students to have their privacy and that it is important to take time to calm down and reflect on the situation before taking any actions. I plan on implementing this idea of disciplining with dignity by allowing my students to have as much privacy as possible when dealing with disciplinary measures and I will also make sure that I am calm and collected before I speak to a student so that I am not offensive and I can make the best decision possible for the student.

Similar to the idea of disciplining with dignity, one of my top ten beliefs shows educators how to respect students through their choices of words. HaimGinott says that educators should use “congruent language” to help develop respectful relationships with students. The idea of congruent language means language that addresses the situations rather than the student’s character. It asks that teachers don’t label students, don’t use rhetorical questions, don’t give moralistic lectures and especially don’t make sarcastic comments to students. I see this all as important in forming good relationships with students and I think that by setting this model for my students, I can also teach them to use “congruent language” with each other—bettering their peer relationships.

I also feel that it is extremely important that students take responsibility for their actions and misbehaviors and correct themselves in order to become a better individual. For this reason, I strongly agree with Diane Gossen’s theory of self-restitution. Self-restitution is a three step process in which students: (1) reflect on their misbehavior, (2) identify the need of condition that prompted it and (3) create new ways of behaving that are in keeping with the kinds of persons they want to be. I like that this process does not focus or dwell on what was done wrong—rather, it asks students to think about what they could do differently to become a better person. It also helps students to understand that they need to “right what they have done wrong” and work better to behave in a way that they would be proud of. Her visual representation of the restitution process, known as the Restitution Triangle, is something that I would consider hanging in my classroom for students so that they have a visual reminder as to how to deal with misbehaviors as they occur. A sample of what Diane Gossen’s Restitution Triangle looks like is provided below. I would simplify the triangle based on my students’ needs and level.

Diane Gossen also writes about “Following the Least Coercive Road”, which includes four phases. I especially connected to the first stage, which she labeled “Opening up the Territory” or “Maximizing Freedom”. There are two driving ideas with in this phase: “Does it really matter?” and “Yes, if…”. The idea of “Does it really matter?” is based on prioritizing what is important to you as a classroom teacher. For instance, does it really matter that your student is chewing gum if they are effectively and quietly doing their work? I see this as a very important thing for teachers to consider, because I feel like a lot of instructional time is wasted on telling students to stop doing something, when it really has no impact on the student’s learning and shouldn’t really matter. The “Yes, if...” belief says that teachers should use positive terms to set parameters in the classroom. For example, if a student asks if they can go to the restroom during the middle of the lesson, a teacher’s first reaction might be to say: “No, I’m teaching a lesson right now.” Gossen suggests putting a more positive spin on it by saying, “Yes you may, but please wait until I am finished teaching this lesson.” This allows students to feel like they have more freedom in the classroom as well as fosters a positive relationship between students and teacher. I definitely will implement this positive approach to guiding a student’s behavior in my own classroom and will try to keep my classroom as least restrictive as possible.

As a future classroom educator, I value the idea of moral intelligence and hope to instill good character within my students. Michele Borba believes that teachers are responsible in helping students to develop moral intelligence and should help students to uphold the seven virtues of goodness. Borba describes the seven virtues of goodness as: empathy, conscience, self-control, respect, kindness, tolerance, and fairness. I feel that all of these virtues match with my classroom management plan and are goals that I have for myself and my students. I plan on implementing her idea of moral intelligence and the seven virtues of goodness in my classroom by explaining them to my students and posting the virtues as a visual reminder of what I expect of and hope for my students.

Harry and Rosemary Wong believe that “the main problem in teaching is not poor discipline, but poor classroom management.” I agree with this idea wholly and agree with their solution of classroom procedures. They believe that a procedure should be created for every time you want a student to do something. While it may seem a little extreme—it will cut down on the confusion in the classroom that can lead to unwanted behaviors. I also think that it is extremely important to explain, rehearse and reinforce all of the procedures at the beginning of the school year. While it may seem like a waste of time that could be spent on academics at the beginning of the year, it should be noted that it will save a huge amount of wasted time later if the students can follow the procedures correctly from the beginning of the year. I plan on implementing important procedures in my classroom and implementing them from the very first day on. I also feel that they should be posted in the classroom so that students have visual reminders about what is expected of them.

Going along with my top ten beliefs, and especially with my belief in strong procedures in place in the classroom, I have compiled a partial list of procedures that I have created that I feel would work best in my classroom and with my classroom management style. I feel that my procedures will help me to create a learning community that values my main ideas of respect, relationships and responsibility. These aspects have shaped my classroom management plan, as well as my philosophy about how a classroom should operate and function.

Procedures and Routines:

Procedures and routines are imperative to making a classroom run smoothly. They confusion that students may have about what is expected of them and give them the specific guidelines and steps that so many students need to be successful. Procedures help lead to consistency in the classroom, making the classroom effective and eliminating wasted time. Below I have outlined procedures and routines that I would use in my own classroom that will help my classroom operate effortlessly.

One of the most important procedures that a teacher can put in place is a routine for the beginning of the day. This will help students to start off the day on the right foot and will set the tone for the way that the rest of the day will go. I believe that students should be engaged the moment that they come into the door of the classroom. I will use morning messages on the board to provide my students with instructions and a journaling prompt. Journaling will not only help the students settle in for a day of academics, but it will also help with their reading and writing skills. Journaling can also be used to communicate with the teacher and the teacher can write individual responses to entries. This will help students form relationships with the teacher and will lead to a mutual respect, which is one of the overriding concepts of my classroom management plan.

Another important procedure that I would have in place in my classroom is calling to order or signaling for the students to be quiet. Because I am not a naturally boisterous or aggressive person, I feel that a chime or xylophone would be the easiest way for me to command my students’ attention. I have seen success with the chime method in classrooms and it is a lot more respectful of the students than hollering at them to quiet down and listen to instructions. I feel like this non-verbal reminder to stay quiet will help me to keep my students on task and make sure they have vital information that they need when working in cooperative groups which tend to get noisy. For instance, when I ring the bell or sound the chimes, all students should put down what they are working on (including their pencil) and look at me. I will not give instructions or speak until every student is looking at me and is paying close attention to what I am saying. Hopefully this will help reduce the amount of times I have to repeat directions or reiterate things that I have already said.

It’s important to establish a procedure for lining up and exiting the classroom as well. This will cut down on transition times between activities and going to special classes. I think the easiest way to have students line up is by alphabetical order—because that way, all students know their place in line and do not have to push and shove to jockey for a “better spot.” To reduce chance of injury that may occur during mass movement to the door, I also would dismiss students by creative groups (such as: “If you are wearing blue today, you may line up” or “If you have an ‘A’ in your name, you may go get in line.”). This also makes the students stay engaged with the teacher, rather than having separate conversations and missing important directions that the teacher may give to the line.

Going to the restroom is another important procedure to establish in the classroom, especially if one is lucky enough to have their own restroom inside of their classroom because that can cause a major distraction to other students who are trying to work. My procedure would be for students to raise their hand and politely ask to use the restroom. They should exit and enter the restroom/classroom quietly and with purpose. The student also should remember to use manners and procedures when in the restroom—such as flushing the toilet, washing their hands, and making sure that trash ends up in the trashcan, not on the floor. This shows a respect for themselves (with the proper hygiene) as well as other people (with keeping the bathroom clean and staying quiet as to not disturb others).

Because of the rise of the use of technology in the classroom, I feel like it would be extremely important that I set up procedures for when using the classroom computers. First off, so that students do not spread germs, I would ask that all students please wash their hands or use hand sanitizer before working on the classroom computers. I would also ask that students ask before getting on a computer and then specify what they are going to do on the computer and only work on what they have asked permission to do. I also would ask that no more than two people are working on a computer at a time, to reduce overcrowding and noise at the computer stations. After the students are done at the computer session, it would be procedure for them to log out of the computer and leave the computer as they found it. Nothing should be left on the computer desk and the computer should be ready for the next student who needs to use it.

Communication with parents is also a vital procedure to establish in a classroom. I plan on using a weekly newsletter to help keep my parents informed on what is happening each week in my classroom. I also would use a “take home” folder to communicate with parents—one side being homework that their student needs to complete, and the other side would be for newsletters, flyers from the school, and personalized notes home (if needed). I feel that this is the least invasive mode to communicate with parents, but if needed I would call parents for significant situations or misbehaviors.
All of the above procedures will help me in managing my classroom and setting up a cohesive and consistent learning environment for my students. The procedures also all emphasize respect and relationships which is in tune with my top ten beliefs about classroom management. I feel that these procedures will help me to become and strong and effective teacher because they will help me cut down on time that I need to spend disciplining or correcting students’ behaviors. The focus can simply be on learning.