Classroom Management Plan
Amanda Waterman-Howell
March 23, 2008
A. THEORETICAL INTRODUCTION
Philosophy of Classroom Management
A classroom that is managed well creates an environment that is beneficial to both the students and the teacher. Classroom management is key to having a successful classroom. It is important to have rules, procedures, and routines. All three are crucial for behavior management, productive learning, and efficient use of time. The students and the teacher need to work together and have mutual respect and understanding for one another. The teacher always needs to make decisions based on what is best for the students and what can be done so that each student has the opportunity be successful.
Amanda Waterman-Howell
March 23, 2008
A. THEORETICAL INTRODUCTION
Philosophy of Classroom Management
A classroom that is managed well creates an environment that is beneficial to both the students and the teacher. Classroom management is key to having a successful classroom. It is important to have rules, procedures, and routines. All three are crucial for behavior management, productive learning, and efficient use of time. The students and the teacher need to work together and have mutual respect and understanding for one another. The teacher always needs to make decisions based on what is best for the students and what can be done so that each student has the opportunity be successful.
I am committed to making my classroom an organized, safe, and challenging environment. I will have many routines and procedures that will help our classroom stay organized and functional. These will include methods for coming in to the classroom, turning in homework, passing out papers, lining up, etc. Students will have many opportunities to practice these procedures and they will quickly become routine. I also want to know all of my students and will accomplish this through one-on-one interaction. I believe that it is important to meet the needs of my students. I want every student to feel comfortable with their classmates and myself. This will allow for there to be meaningful interactions and discussions. I also want my students to be motivated to learn and therefore I plan to have an engaging curriculum. I want challenge them every day to learn and accomplish more. I feel if I can do these things, my classroom will be well managed and therefore successful.
Theorists
There are three theorists that I feel I can identify with the most: Howard Gardner, Albert Bandura, and Robert Gagne. Each of these theorists has ideas and tips that I believe would be extremely advantageous in my classroom. I plan to use ideas from other theorists as well, but theories from these three helped create the foundation of my classroom management plan.
The Multiple Intelligences Theory from Howard Gardner is something I think is extremely important to take into consideration in the classroom. This theory states that people learn and express their knowledge in different ways. Some people learn linguistically while others do better with spatial knowledge. I know that all of my students will not have the same way of learning or the same intelligence type. Thus, I will create lessons that provide information in various ways. I will use several methods of instruction. Sometimes I may just be lecturing, other times the students will be working in groups. I plan to try and provide ways so that all of my students have the opportunity to learn in a method that is best for them. In addition I will provide different forms of assessment. My students will have choices on how they would like to be assessed. Some of their choices may include taking a multiple choice test, creating a project, or giving an oral presentation. Another important part of Gardner’s theory is cultural importance. Different cultures emphasize particular intelligences. I find this to be important because this means I will need to know the culture of my students and take that into consideration when planning lessons, activities, and assessments.
The second theorist, Albert Bandura, has a theory about people and self efficacy. Self-efficacy is the belief that one is capable of performing in a certain manner or attaining certain goals. Bandura believes that people are more inclined to take on a task if they believe they will succeed. The more self efficacy someone has, the more motivation that person will have to complete a task. In addition they will produce better outcomes if they are motivated and confident in their abilities. As a teacher I will work hard to increase my students’ confidence. Thus, I want my students to believe they will succeed. I plan to be a role model and a cheerleader for them. I will encourage them and praise them, so that their self efficacy will increase. Bandura suggests building self efficacy through interactive and collaborative learning. I plan to use these methods of learning in my classroom by providing opportunities to work and learn in groups. By doing these things students will gain more than just knowledge. They will gain a feeling of pride and success that will help them in future learning.
Robert Gagne, the third theorist I identify with, developed the “Nine Events of Instruction”. This is a guideline for how to teach something. I use these nine events as the basis for my instruction. First the teacher has to “gain the attention” of the students. This can be done by finding a way to get the students interested in the topic. For example the teacher can connect the topic to their real lives or a plan a fun activity. It just needs to be something that draws their attention. Next it is important to “inform the students of the objectives.” I plan to always explain to my students what I want them to learn from the lesson and what I will expect them to do with the knowledge. Personally I find it easier to learn something new if I know the goal ahead of time and so I think it will be beneficial for my students to know the objectives before they learn the material. The next important part of teaching is to “recall the students’ prior knowledge.” First of all this helps the students to start thinking about the topic so they are ready to learn more. Secondly, this will help me as a teacher to identify how much my students already know. Much of what teachers do is build onto the knowledge their students already have. Thus by recalling their recalling their prior knowledge I can assess where they are and build up from there. The next part is just “presenting the material.” This is the actual lesson part of teaching. As I have previously stated I plan to present material in a variety of ways so that I can reach all of my learners. After presenting the material, I will “provide guided learning.” I will assist my students in learning the material. I plan to do this by providing visual guides, meaningful activities, etc. The next step in the “Nine Events of Instruction” is to “elicit performance.” This is when I will have my students practice what they have learned. Students need an opportunity to show not only their teacher, but themselves that can use the knowledge from the lesson. After they practice what they have learned, I will “provide feedback.” This will be done even as they are practicing. As their teacher I will be circulating around the room giving advice and helping my students. Once the students have had an opportunity to practice and have been given feedback, I will “assess their performance” and provide even more feedback. The final step in Gagne’s plan is to “enhance retention and transfer.” I believe it is important to use the information the students have learned more than one time. Often times a concept is taught and never referred back to again. If one does not use the knowledge they gained, they will lose it. I plan to have reviews about the material and include the material in other lessons so that my students will have more than one opportunity to practice what they have learned.
The ideas from these three theorists have helped me to develop a plan for my classroom. Of course, I will continue to learn more about educational research and use theories from other researchers in the future. I believe Gardner, Bandura, and Gagne have provided me with a good starting point.
B. CLASSROOM ARRANGEMENT
Student Seating Arrangement
The usual arrangement of student desks is in groups or pods and many people believe this is the best layout for student seating. In my own experience I find this setup to not be effective. I plan to have my students in rows with all desks facing the front of the classroom. They will be arranged in pairs, so two desks will be next to each other in rows. The best situation would be for the pairs to be made of one girl and one boy. I find that at the elementary age when children are seated next to the opposite sex, less talking occurs. The reason I want my students arranged in this form is because I feel that it keeps students on task. They are facing the teacher when he/she is talking so they are more likely to pay attention. In addition, it prevents too much socializing while instruction is taking place. However, since I plan on having many lessons that involve group work I want to make sure the desks can easily be turned around to form a group of four students in a pod. I also plan to rotate the students around the classroom so that they are not always sitting in the same place or sitting with the same people.
Displays
My classroom will be visually stimulating, but not over stimulating. I have gone into many classrooms and there are so many things on the walls, ceilings, tables, etc. that I cannot focus because my eyes are constantly roaming the room. I find this to be distracting to students and I would like to have the least amount of distractions as possible. Therefore I plan to have to have decorations on my walls, but there will not be a lot and they will be relevant to what my students are currently learning. Thus I will be periodically changing the decorations. I also plan to display student work at all times. I want my students to feel proud about the work they do and so I want to show-off to the other students and anyone who visits my classroom the work that my students have completed. One of my goals is for my students to feel some ownership in our classroom. I do not want my classroom to just be a place where students spend seven hours of their day in; I want it be a kind of home away from home. So I plan on having my students help me decorate and design our classroom.
C. RULES, PROCEDURES, AND ROUTINES
Rules
I believe it is important to have rules established for successful classroom management. I want my students to take part in creating the rules for our classroom. This will be done on the first day of class. Students will give suggestions for rules and together the students and teacher will narrow down the list to five rules. I already have in mind rules I want for my classroom so I will help direct the students in suggesting the rules I already want; however if the students believe they created the rules for the classroom they will be more likely to follow these rules and it will increase the sense of community I hope to establish in our class. After we create the rules together, they will be written on a piece of poster board and every student will sign it. This will be our contract together and will be posted on the wall so they can always see it.
If any of the rules are broken there will be consequences. The system I have set up is one I feel will be effective and non-disruptive to the class. While I am teaching, if someone is breaking a rule or misbehaving I will simply go over to them and place a post-it on top of their desk. This is their warning. If they misbehave again I will go and write a check mark on the post-it. This means they will have to see me after class and will be given homework. Finally if that student is acting inappropriately again, I will write a second checkmark on the post-it. This means not only will they have to see me after class and be given homework, they will also have to eat lunch with me and talk more about this issue. I find this post-it system to work really well, because I can continue teaching while I am “warning” the student. It is not disruptive my lesson or the other students.
Procedures and Routines
Procedures and routines are the most important part of a classroom management plan. They help keep the students organized and working. This is what is important for a successful classroom. For this reason I have created procedures and routines for everything. I have included in this plan five of the most important procedures and routines I plan to use in my classroom.
First Thing in the Morning: As the students are coming into the classroom I will be seated at the door to greet every student with a “hello, how are you?” and a handshake. I believe this is very beneficial. It allows me to see what kind of mood each of my students are in, so I know what to expect for the day. It also helps form a stronger and friendlier relationship between teacher and students.
B. CLASSROOM ARRANGEMENT
Student Seating Arrangement
The usual arrangement of student desks is in groups or pods and many people believe this is the best layout for student seating. In my own experience I find this setup to not be effective. I plan to have my students in rows with all desks facing the front of the classroom. They will be arranged in pairs, so two desks will be next to each other in rows. The best situation would be for the pairs to be made of one girl and one boy. I find that at the elementary age when children are seated next to the opposite sex, less talking occurs. The reason I want my students arranged in this form is because I feel that it keeps students on task. They are facing the teacher when he/she is talking so they are more likely to pay attention. In addition, it prevents too much socializing while instruction is taking place. However, since I plan on having many lessons that involve group work I want to make sure the desks can easily be turned around to form a group of four students in a pod. I also plan to rotate the students around the classroom so that they are not always sitting in the same place or sitting with the same people.
Displays
My classroom will be visually stimulating, but not over stimulating. I have gone into many classrooms and there are so many things on the walls, ceilings, tables, etc. that I cannot focus because my eyes are constantly roaming the room. I find this to be distracting to students and I would like to have the least amount of distractions as possible. Therefore I plan to have to have decorations on my walls, but there will not be a lot and they will be relevant to what my students are currently learning. Thus I will be periodically changing the decorations. I also plan to display student work at all times. I want my students to feel proud about the work they do and so I want to show-off to the other students and anyone who visits my classroom the work that my students have completed. One of my goals is for my students to feel some ownership in our classroom. I do not want my classroom to just be a place where students spend seven hours of their day in; I want it be a kind of home away from home. So I plan on having my students help me decorate and design our classroom.
C. RULES, PROCEDURES, AND ROUTINES
Rules
I believe it is important to have rules established for successful classroom management. I want my students to take part in creating the rules for our classroom. This will be done on the first day of class. Students will give suggestions for rules and together the students and teacher will narrow down the list to five rules. I already have in mind rules I want for my classroom so I will help direct the students in suggesting the rules I already want; however if the students believe they created the rules for the classroom they will be more likely to follow these rules and it will increase the sense of community I hope to establish in our class. After we create the rules together, they will be written on a piece of poster board and every student will sign it. This will be our contract together and will be posted on the wall so they can always see it.
If any of the rules are broken there will be consequences. The system I have set up is one I feel will be effective and non-disruptive to the class. While I am teaching, if someone is breaking a rule or misbehaving I will simply go over to them and place a post-it on top of their desk. This is their warning. If they misbehave again I will go and write a check mark on the post-it. This means they will have to see me after class and will be given homework. Finally if that student is acting inappropriately again, I will write a second checkmark on the post-it. This means not only will they have to see me after class and be given homework, they will also have to eat lunch with me and talk more about this issue. I find this post-it system to work really well, because I can continue teaching while I am “warning” the student. It is not disruptive my lesson or the other students.
Procedures and Routines
Procedures and routines are the most important part of a classroom management plan. They help keep the students organized and working. This is what is important for a successful classroom. For this reason I have created procedures and routines for everything. I have included in this plan five of the most important procedures and routines I plan to use in my classroom.
First Thing in the Morning: As the students are coming into the classroom I will be seated at the door to greet every student with a “hello, how are you?” and a handshake. I believe this is very beneficial. It allows me to see what kind of mood each of my students are in, so I know what to expect for the day. It also helps form a stronger and friendlier relationship between teacher and students.
Turning in Homework: After the students enter the classroom in the morning they are to go to their desks, unpack their bags, and find their homework from the previous night. They will then turn it into the homework tray. By having the students unpack and get the homework at their desks, it cuts down on having the homework tray area overcrowded with books and bags. All homework must be turned in before the morning bell rings. If the homework is not turned in, it will be considered late and the student will receive a consequence such as losing five minutes of recess time.
Morning Work: Once a student has turned in their homework, they are to return to their desk. One the board will be the morning work. This will vary from practice math problems from the previous day’s lesson to correcting the spelling and grammar of a sentence. This morning work is designed to prepare the students for the day’s lesson by getting them to sit down at their desks, be quiet, and get into a study mode. The morning work is also a time saver, because during this time I can take attendance instead of wasting five or ten minutes later to do a roll call.
Group Work: The students will be involved in many group activities and so I designed some procedures for group work. Students will work in the same group for two weeks at a time. After the two weeks, students will be assigned to different groups. This ensures that all of the students get an opportunity to work with everyone and will help our classroom community grow closer. Another procedure for group work is the assignment of roles. Everyone in a group will have a specific duty in that group. The jobs will include secretary, materials collector, representative, etc. These roles will vary depending on the subject and the activity. I think assigning specific jobs to students in a group makes everything go much more smoothly. Students will not be arguing about who gets to do what and it ensures the assignment will get done because everyone knows what they are doing.
After Students are Finished: Some students work faster than others and because of this I felt it is important to have a procedure for when students finish their work. After a student has completed their assignment and others are still working, they will go place their assignment in the designated place (which will usually be the homework tray) and then return to their seat. They then have the option to work on other work or read silently at their desks. This procedure ensures that those who finish early are not disruptive to those who are still working. It is also beneficial to me as the teacher because I don’t have to hear “I’m finished” twenty or thirty times and it allows me to easily see who is still working.
Each of these procedures was created after I noticed an issue in a classroom and I felt as though it needed to be managed. They are designed to prevent problems from occurring. I believe these procedures and routines will help my classroom to be well managed and help my students to be productive and successful.
Each of these procedures was created after I noticed an issue in a classroom and I felt as though it needed to be managed. They are designed to prevent problems from occurring. I believe these procedures and routines will help my classroom to be well managed and help my students to be productive and successful.
D.Implementation and Effectiveness
Unfortunately I was unable to implement many parts of my classroom management plan because I did not have my own classroom during my student teaching in Korea. One strategy I have been able to use includes designing and implementing my lessons as I would want to in my own classroom. I plan activities that meet the needs of diverse learners. This includes kinesthetic, fine art, visual, auditory, and other types of activities. I also am very encouraging to my students just as I planned from Bandura’s self-efficacy ideas. I consistently give praise and reassure my students of their capabilities. Both of these have been very beneficial. From looking at their assessments, I can see my students are successful in learning the material. I have also noticed since the first day of class, the students’ level of self-efficacy has increased. This is especially true when they speak English or raise their hands to answer questions. In the beginning only a handful of students from each class would raise their hands to answer questions because they were either unsure of their responses or uncomfortable speaking English. Now almost the entire class will raise their hands and be eager to answer any question.
Another part of my classroom management plan that I use is my method for behavior control. It involves the use of post-its being placed on students’ desks when they are behaving inappropriately. The first post-it is a warning and if they break the rules again they receive a check mark on the post-it and have to talk to me after class and will receive extra homework. If the student acts inappropriately once again they receive the second check mark and will not only has to see me after class and complete extra homework, they will also have to eat lunch with me and discuss their behavior more. This system has worked out wonderfully. I have given some extra homework to a couple misbehaving students, but I have not had to make them eat lunch and talk with me. Usually if someone is misbehaving, I simply have to pick up the post-its and start walking to his or her desk and the student immediately self corrects themselves. I feel this system is very successful.
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