Classroom Management

Classroom Management Plan

My Philosophy of Classroom Management

Social Studies is one of the most important disciplines to learn. Through social studies, students learn about the people, places, and concepts around themselves which give them a clear understanding of the world they live in. The sole purpose of social studies is to help young adolescents become informed and actively engaged citizens within our democratic society. In a social studies classroom, there is ample time for students to explore and discuss the concepts covered in class in depth. This allows for a community of learners to develop and for students themselves to formulate their own opinions. It is a perfect example of how I plan to meet the developmental need for self-definition at this developmental level. At this developmental level, students need to have positive interactions with adults and peers, structure, goals, creativity, physical activity, meaningful participation, and self-definition experiences (Seven Developmental Needs of Young Adolescents). One way to do this is to make the classroom a community. Vatterott states that “the classroom community is a place in which students feel cared about and are encouraged to care about each other. They experience a sense of being valued and respected; the children matter to one another and to the teacher. They have come to think in the plural: they feel connected to each other; they are part of an ‘us’” (105). This is exactly what I want to create in my future classroom.

Lee and Marlene Canter’s approach to classroom management has many of the same beliefs and outlooks as I do. Their assertive discipline model is one that sets clear expectations for the classroom. This model allows for the expectations of the teacher to establish and maintain a safe and productive learning environment for students, so they can stay engaged and not cause disruptions. It is the teacher’s job not only to set these clear expectations, but also explain why they are needed and what the consequences will be if misbehavior occurs in the classroom. When these expectations are not met, students know the teacher will be assertive and follow through with the stated consequences. I whole heartedly agree with everything this model is about. Not only is the teacher creating a safe learning environment, but at the same time is teaching the students that the need to be accountable for their actions if it takes away from what they are supposed to be doing.

William Glasser’s model is another approach to classroom management that I closely agree with and want to implement in my future classroom. This model allows for students’ basic needs to be met. These basic needs that should be met are survival, belonging, power, fun, and freedom. When these needs are not met, students will become frustrated and will affect how the classroom runs. Teachers create an environment in their classroom that has fun elements to it, allows students to have some power and freedom, and makes each student feel a part of a learning community. This is done through teachers planning meaningful work and holds the students to high standards. I want nothing more than to create an environment in my future classroom where students can have fun but at the same time be productive and learn the content. I also think it is very important not only for student-teacher relationships to strengthen, but also student-student relationships that students get a little freedom and power in their learning in the classroom, so they can be more actively engaged in the learning process. In this case, I believe that students should have power with the teacher.

Haim Ginott’s model for communication is another approach to classroom management that I closely agree with and want to implement in my future classroom. This model relies on congruent communication, or communication that is about situations rather than student character or personality. When misbehavior does arise, teachers address the behavior by addressing the situation that students are in and invite them to cooperate instead of directly attacking the student’s character or personality. By doing this, focus can continue what needs to be done rather than what was done wrong and the teacher models desirable behaviors. This is very important especially regarding middle schoolers. The way a teacher reacts to a student can make or break how that student will perform for the rest of the year. To keep a student engaged and feel safe in their classroom environment, we as teachers must not attack a student directly. All three of these theorists serve as guides to planning and developing good practices that not only engage students but also motivate them.

My Expectations of Students

The classroom is a place that should feel safe and like a community. All students in the class are expected to contribute to the learning going on. Therefore, I will hold and have high expectations of my students. I expect my students to:

Always be ready to learn and actively participate
Take responsibility for their learning
Respect myself and one another
Trust myself and one another
Work hard

My Students’ Expectations of Me

Along with the expectations I have for my students, I as well have expectations for myself as a teacher. This shows students that they should always be able to expect me to:

Always come prepared to class
Will be excited and enthusiastic in my teaching
Display a positive and professional attitude
Work hard
Respect and trust my students
Always display fairness within the classroom

Classroom Climate

The classroom should always be a safe place where students can share their thoughts and opinions without fear of ridicule by peers or the teacher. This is how I plan to manage my classroom. I also believe that the environment should allow for students not only to learn from me as the teacher, but from their classmates as well. Harry Wong believes that students learn while collaborating with one another and states that “learning is an individual activity but not a solitary one. It is more effective when it takes place within a supportive community of learners” (Wong 2012, p.212). Middle schoolers are at the point in their lives where they have the need to developmentally to gain freedom and independence. Taking this into account, I plan to let students have a choice in their seating but will express to my students that I do have the right to change this arrangement if problems arise and cause disruptions to the learning going on. I also do plan to every so often change the seating arrangement, so the students have the ability to socialize with others and move around which also meets two of the other developmental needs of young adolescents.

Routines and Procedures

In order for a classroom to be productive and effective, there needs to be routines and procedures that are set in place. The most important thing I can do here as a teacher is to make sure I enforce the routines and procedures with consistency. At the start of class, students can freely move about the room to prepare for class, write down their homework for that night which will be displayed on the board clearly, and talk with others until the bell rings. If there are any papers or handouts that are needed for that day in class, students during this time will also pick those up from the front table when they enter the classroom. Once the bell rings, students are expected to start on their bell work assignment which will be projected on the screen. While students are working on their bell work, I will pass back any graded papers I have so I do not have to disrupt the learning that will be taking place later in class. When it comes to makeup work, students will be responsible for getting the materials they missed and completing it. In one corner of the room, there will be a resource area with folders with the class periods number on them containing any work that was missed that day. When it comes to turning in work, students will place their work in one of the two different slots for their class period. One of the slots is labeled “class work” while the other is labeled “homework”. When it comes to homework, students are responsible for completing homework on time and turning it in at the beginning of class in the homework slot for their class period unless otherwise instructed. There will not necessarily always be homework each night, but students will be expected to complete it when there is. Late work and missing assignments are not acceptable. For every day the assignment is late or missing, 10% will be deductive from the final grade of the assignment. If there are any concerns with completing an assignment on time, students are encouraged to come and speak with me and set in motion a plan to accommodate for their instance. If an assignment is finished early, students are welcome to either read a book, help me with anything if I have things, or work on other work quietly. If a student should need to use the restroom during class, students will need to ask for permission and get the mini globe which will be our classroom hall pass. At the end of class, students will be dismissed by me. The bell is not who will dismiss the class. Once I have finished last minute instructions, students will be dismissed. The class however should not be held over after the bell for more than one minute so students can get to their next class on time and my next period can prepare for their class time.

Agreements

In my classroom, the term rules will not be used. I firmly believe that students especially young adolescents respond and engage more when they are invited into the process of establishing rules for the class as a whole to follow. In this way, students are allowed to have a voice in the classroom. My plan is to have my future classroom create a list of agreements that will mimic The Preamble where students get to have an input in the rules and can always see them displayed in the classroom. Some examples of what these agreements might be include: Participate in activities and discussions, respect one another, be prepared for class, etc. The rules should be stated in a positive manner as well. Agreements will be developed at the beginning of each class period on the first day of school where students will be able to voice what they believe should be potential rules when thinking about how they would like the classroom to be run and their peers behave. Students will continue to narrow down the list of agreements as a class which will produce no more than five rules for their class period. Students will sign the Preamble for their class period and it will be hung up in the room on display for the entire year.

Consequences

In any classroom, there is always going to be a time where behavioral issues occur. This is why its very important for me to have a plan in place for how to handle these types of situations and the consequences that go along with them. It is very important to me that when discussing with a student their behavior that I do so in a way that communicates to them that I respect them and their concerns. Students especially young adolescents, are very sensitive to how a teacher deals with behavioral issues so it is very important for me here to have a discussion with a student about their behavior privately and not to address it in front of the entire class. Students could take a “break” where they can remove themselves from a situation where they can reflect themselves on what they did and why for a few minutes. Once students begin to work on something else in the class period, the student on a break and I can have a conversation with each other.

Instructional Strategies

In my classroom, it is vital that I create and implement engaging lessons for students. When it comes to young adolescents and their developmental needs, it is crucial that the instruction that is taking place in the classroom is not heavily teacher-focused but student-focused. By planning the learning that is happening within the classroom on that given day with the students’ in mind, the more effective and engaging the content will be which is also help prevent students from acting out. Some different ways in which this can be done is by letting students have a choice in how they present information or through doing an activity that they can connect with on a personal level. Also, it is important here as well to make sure students understand purpose and why it’s important, so they can be engaged in the learning going on. Wong suggests that teachers can do this by writing the objective on the board so students during class can self-evaluate themselves and check their understanding of what is being learned that day in class.

One student-focused instructional strategy that I plan to use in my future classroom is cooperative learning. It is important for teachers to able to distinguish the difference between informal and formal cooperative learning activities. Informal cooperative learning involves groups being formed quickly so they can work together few a brief amount of time. Some examples of informal cooperative learning that were given were the use of think/pair/share, buzz groups, and heads together. Formal cooperative learning involves groups who work together for longer periods of time and make students actively engage in their work which helps the students learn content as well as social skills. Both ways allow for teachers to have their students engage in cooperative learning but at different levels and depending on how much time they have/want to do it. Along with cooperative learning, it is important to know as a teacher how to manage the classroom while cooperative learning is taking place. As teachers it is important that first and foremost group norms and expectations must be established and expressed to students. Another important thing to remember during this time is that as the teacher you are not only assessing the groups’ progress but also each person within the group as well. If these two things are always in your mind as a teacher when utilizing cooperative learning, then you should be able to effectively manage the classroom.

Another student-focused strategy I plan to implement in my classroom are the use of simulations, role-play, and dramatizations. It is important to keep in mind the differences between simulations, role-playing, and dramatizations because each have different attributes that will be better suited for your lesson’s intended purpose. Simulations allow for students to experience a replicated environment and require students to use a high degree of analysis or evaluation skills. Role-play helps students learn about, and act as, someone different than who they and an example of a role-play that can be used in a social studies classroom would be mock trials. Dramatizations give students the opportunity to act in a given role during a scene with a script. Another thing that is important to keep in mind is the strengths and benefits in using these strategies in the classroom. These activities get the students to engage more in the learning that is going on in a fun and different way. They also allow for students to be physically active during the lesson which is a developmental need middle schoolers need met and these strategies give teachers the opportunity to meet that need. Also, there is an improvement of communication skills and confidence building that happens when students engage in these activities. Also, it is important to keep in mind that these are excellent strategies to use with ENL students. These strategies are natural ways to encourage listening, speaking, and reading English in a fun and interesting way while giving them ample opportunities for support. Also, it might be helpful to use the debriefing strategy called Numbered Heads Together with ENL students.

One more example of a student-focused strategy I plan to use often in my classroom is discussion and debate which are especially useful and important in a social studies classroom. Often teachers struggle to use discussions frequently in classroom but they are very valuable. Through discussions students develop skills and abilities in civil discourse, criticism, and argument which are important for two reasons. Democratic life requires citizens to interact using civil, critical discourse to make policies about important public issues and discussion also requires students to learn the content so they can talk about it. A Social Studies classroom is a great place for students of all different ethnic, racial, social, and economical backgrounds to learn how to engage with one another on issues of concern which will prepare them more for the real world. Also, it is important to keep in mind are the guidelines for deciding if discussion/debate is appropriate for the content of your lesson. One of the questions you should ask yourself is will the discussion help students learn about the topic or issue? Here if the purpose of probing questions and discrepant viewpoints is to encourage interactions and to encourage students to respond with the most powerful evidence available to them then yes discussion/debate would be appropriate. You also need to ask yourself if your students can discuss issues. It’s important here that teachers make sure they preteach discussion skills to their students and make sure students are creating a community where everyone and their views and opinions are respected. This will ensure that students can discuss issues in an effective way. The last thing to ask yourself is about what types of interactions do you want during the discussion. Teachers need to make sure that the emphasis of “winning an argument” is shut down. Classroom discussions need to value the learning that comes from the process of interacting. Also, another important thing to consider is controversial issues and how they are used in the classroom so they can promote appropriate and effective learning.

When it comes to meeting the needs of all my students, it is very important that I keep in mind that students do not all learn the same way. Therefore, it is crucial to make sure during my planning process, I consider all the students and their learning styles. By doing this, I then can make sure the lesson incorporates multiple different instructional strategies and opportunities that meet the needs of all different learning styles.

Assessment Strategies

In my classroom, I intend to utilize multiple different assessments. Students at times will be assessed using diagnostic assessments where students will engage in activities that will help students reflect on what they already know so far about this certain topic or concept. These types of assessments could be KWL charts, concept maps, pre-tests, observations, as well as many others. Formative assessments in my class will be to help students understand and gather the information they are learning about during class. Some different examples of formative assessments that I plan to use in my classroom are quizzes, graphic organizers, classwork, homework, exit slips, think/pair/share, chalk talks, and many others. The information the students relay back in these assessments will help me to gauge where my students are at in their understanding and allow me to decide if something needs to be explained better or if they understand completely what I taught. The summative assessments for my class are intended to show me what the students have learned after a unit. Summative assessments in this case could take form in tests, projects, or presentations. I also would like to give students some choice and at one point during the year, allow students to choose a topic and create their own project that displays what they have learned overall about it.

I plan to always make sure to give my students corrective feedback on their assessments in a timely manner. It is very important for students to understand and see what they might need to review especially before a test. Because of this belief I have, I plan to return students’ work with my feedback and corrections if need be but plan to count these formative assessments more towards their participation grade. This will allow students to go back over their completed work and see what they need to review before their summative assessment.

Motivation

The students in my classroom will be both extrinsically and intrinsically motivated. In a short-term basis, my students will experience extrinsic motivation while in the classroom. “Extrinsic motivation is the motivation brought on by external factors we believe will produce desirable outcomes” (Larson 2017, pg. 51). I will extrinsically motivate my students through meaningful praise. One thing that is important to keep in my when it comes to giving my students praise is their developmental needs. It is imperative that I make sure how I go about this aligns with the students’ developmental needs as young adolescents in order to not embarrass or offend any of them which could possibly cause them to not be as motivated. In the long term, my students will experience intrinsic motivation as well in a few different ways. Intrinsic motivation is described as the motivation to engage in an activity because of the satisfaction derived from the activity itself (Larson 2017). When it comes to intrinsically motivating my students, I will do this through the curriculum and classroom climate. Students will be given several opportunities to have a choice in the learning that is happening in the classroom. Students, especially at the middle school level, are more likely to show intrinsic motivation when they can make a personal connection with the content that is being learned. These students have greater potential to get excited about the content if they have some control over what they learn and how they learn it (Vatterott 2007). Another opportunity for me to keep students intrinsically motivated is to allow them also the opportunity to share connections they have made to the content learned each week. The social studies curriculum is especially a great place for students to choose and relate the content to real-life examples. In my classroom each Friday at the beginning of class, students will have the opportunity to share a connection made in their lives to the content they learned that week. It has been proven that students connect personally with content when they identify with people or feelings, connect the content to something in their everyday life, or use the content to understand the world around them or to wrestle with moral or ethical dilemmas (Vatterott 2007). This also allows for the classroom climate to be more culturally responsive. The classroom climate here allows for students to share their opinions and ideas in a respectful manner in an environment where students feel safe. Some other things I could do to increase student motivation would be to have high expectations and give students a sense of purpose in the lesson, foster excitement about new ideas, ensure that low-ability students have an equal chance to respond, ask my students low-risk and open-ended questions, and encourage them to persist with difficult problems.

Building Relationships with Students

Building relationships with your students is crucial to creating a safe classroom environment. I personally really value relationships and believe that it is very important for teachers to develop positive relationships with each of their students. Once relationships are established between students and teachers, the classroom environment and the actions we make as teachers will make students feel safe and establish trust. This is exactly what I want to do. Once students feel safe in my classroom and can trust me, students will feel more comfortable coming to me if they need anything, whether that be school related or not. My plan is to be outside my classroom to welcome the students every day and ask them about their day and what they are involved in and how that is going. Also, like Wong suggests, I will make it a priority to try to go to my students’ school and extracurricular activities. As a teacher, I could also use a classroom website to post examples of student work as well as communicate homework and upcoming projects. By doing all these things, I can express to my students that I do care about them not only in their academic success but in their success outside of the classroom as well.

Building Relationship with Parents

Parental involvement is also very important because it involves them into their child’s learning. On the first day of school, students will be asked to take home a newsletter to their parents that will introduce me and give them information they might need about the class as well as my contact information. This newsletter will contain information like behavior expectations and class expectations. At the bottom of the newsletter will be a place where parents can fill out their contact information and their students can return the forms to me so I can keep in contact with them over the school year. There will be a place for their names, phone numbers, emails, and address(es). There are a few different ways that I plan to communicate with parents. I plan to create a class Twitter page where parents as well as students can see important information and what’s happening in the classroom. On this class Twitter page, I will post links to resources for study materials, reminders of important dates, and also share what is happening in the classroom. I will also utilize Remind which is where parents and students can receive a text message. Remind will be a way to communicate reminders about assignments, due dates, or share materials digitally with them. On our class website, a newsletter will also be posted each week where parents can see what will happen during that week. Lastly, emails will be sent to parents every few weeks updating them on their child’s achievements, progress, and address any concerns if there are any. I will also utilize conference calls that will go over the student’s behavior and academic goals. Also, a few weeks after school has been in session I will hold a Parent/Student open house where they can come to our classroom one evening and learn about how our class has operated so far in the school year and I can answer any questions parents might have. This also allows me the opportunity to meet my students’ parents and start developing a positive relationship with them.

The Vision

Once the bell for the passing period to start goes off, that will be the cue for me to step out of my classroom and stand by my door so that I can greet my students and ask them about their days so far as they come into class for the day. On their way to their seats, students will pick up the handouts they need for the lesson from the front table. Students will be moving around freely in the classroom getting prepared for class. During this time, students are encouraged to write down their homework for that night if they have any which is displayed on the board clearly. Once the bell rings for class to start, students will silently begin to work on their bell work assignment which is projected on the screen at the front of the classroom. After about five minutes, students are asked to share their answers to the bell work that day.

Once we have finished bell work, students will then be given the opportunity to work in groups or individually on the activity planned for the day which is to create a political cartoon for the Election of 1800. Over the past few classes, students learned about the candidates in the election and are challenged to create a political cartoon that will represent a particular perspective from one of the candidates in either the Federalist or Democratic-Republican party during the Election of 1800. Students will have the entire period today to plan and create their political cartoons which they will present to the class the following day. During this work time, I serve more as a facilitator and float around and make sure any questions students may have get answered if they need help. At one point, a group of students begins to get too much off-task and I make sure to remind the group of the agreements and ask them to please follow them which the students respectfully do without a fuss.

With about five minutes left of class, I give students directions to clean up and put any last finishing touches on their cartoons before they hand them into me. During this time students are free to talk and put away all the materials they used to create their political cartoons. The students are very respectful and know there are other classes around and keep their noise level down to a minimum so it does not become distracting to surrounding classes without me having to even ask. The bell finally rings and the students are dismissed by me.

Conclusion

As I have expressed throughout my classroom management plan, I believe that managing the classroom is one of the most important things a teacher must do in order for their students to be successful and motivated in the learning process. It is very important that there is power with the students and not power over them. At this developmental level, it is crucial that teachers plan and implement instruction that will meet each and every one of their students’ developmental needs. This can be done through the student-focused instructional approach which is what I plan to use. I will always plan and develop with my students in mind and make sure they are getting the necessary components that will set them up for success.