Classroom Management Plan
I. Context
This classroom management plan draws from my coursework in Gene Edgar’s “Adolescent Development” classroom and my student teaching experience at Bellevue High School, Odle Middle School and Tyee Middle School, where I taught students in the 6th, 7th, 9th and 11th grades. My full-time student teaching at Tyee Middle School from January 5 to March 20, 2009 was especially useful for constructing this piece. I taught two 7th Grade Honors LA classes and two Chinese 1B classes every day and assisted in the 7th Grade LA Support class. During my interaction with my students, I began to test and revise the management plan I came up in Prof. Edgar’s classroom and finalized it as this version. This classroom management plan will serve as a guideline for my future LA or Chinese classroom.
II. Core Beliefs
I sincerely believe that all students can learn if the teacher gives them enough care, support, encouragement and stimulation, and the goal of the teacher is to create an environment that is conducive to the students’ learning. In this classroom, students not only learn the knowledge and skills, they also acquire the dispositions important for their future careers and life, such as honesty, diligence and spirits of teamwork.
In order to achieve this goal, several standards should be met:
First, the teacher must do the best to insure that she is providing the students a safe classroom, “safe” not only in the sense that bullying and teasing are not tolerated. Furthermore, students should feel they belong to this classroom and everyone is equal. They are free to express their opinions without being censored by the teacher or being laughed at by their fellow students. Only when students feel free and comfortable will they be able to perform their best.
Second, the teacher must make sure that the classroom can stimulate students’ learning. In order to achieve this, an open but orderly classroom is needed. Both the teacher and students should be open to free choices and options, and adaptive changes won’t be ruled out if the previous model does not work. Teacher is not controlling the students; instead, they are guiding the students towards being responsible for their own behaviors. Students’ autonomy should be respected, and support to cognitive autonomy (letting students decide the content and ways to learn) is more important than procedural autonomy (letting them decide how the class goes) (Stefanou et al, 2002). However, there is no absolute freedom. There should be a set of classroom norms and regulations that serve as the guidelines for students’ behaviors. These guidelines, also developed by the teacher, should be agreed on by the students and be implemented by both the teacher and the students. Violations of the norms will entail consequences, though not punishment. However, “prevention” of possible misbehaviors, not regulation or censure afterwards, is the key to creating an orderly classroom (Jones, 2001).
Third, in this classroom, teacher must develop a caring but demanding relationship with students and students should develop friendship and camaraderie between themselves. The teacher shows that she is concerned with the students so that she wants them to do better (Kleinfeld, 1975). She respects the students and also expects respect in return. The students, being equal, also demonstrate that they care for each other and are willing to help each other – in this way, they feel the “relatedness” they need besides the “autonomy” that motivates them (Stefanou, et al, 2004).
Last but not the least, the teacher should respect and adjust to the diversity shown in the classroom. Being a minority teacher, I have the strength of communicating and motivating students from different backgrounds. But I should not take for granted that I will understand different students without any effort. I will try to incorporate diverse cultures into my classroom and get ideas of teaching and classroom management from other sources.
III. Community Building
When I started my student teaching at Tyee Middle School, it was in the middle of the semester, so I couldn’t use some of the strategies I learned in the “Adolescent Development” classroom to help build community. I only tried my best to get familiar with my students by remembering their names and blend into their community. When I do start teaching in a new classroom, I’ll first get to know students and let the students know each other. First, I will get to know the students by asking them to fill out a questionnaire on the first day of class, which includes information about the students’ backgrounds (without invading their privacy), their interests, and the best way for contact. Thus I can build a rough profile of each student based on the questionnaire they answer (Cushman et al, 2003). I’ll also let the students do some self-introduction in class. At the end of the class, if we still have some minutes, we’ll play a game I learned from Prof. Nolen’s class: list on a card something you share with most classmates, something you share with several, and something that only describes you. The first student, selected randomly, will read the things on one card, and when each item is read out, only those who share the fact will remain standing up. Needless to say, in most cases, the only one standing up at the end will be the student who wrote the card, and he/she has to answer some questions about what’s so unique of him/her. This is a good way to let the students know each other, and I’ll definitely try it in my own classroom.
During my student teaching at Bellevue High School, I let the students sit in a U-shape in the classroom, and in this way, they were all able to look straight at the teacher. But at Tyee Middle School, students in the LA classroom were seated in traditional rows and students in the Chinese classroom were seated in groups. I think all these seating arrangements can work as long as they fit the needs of the students. When I have my own classroom, I’ll try several ways and see which works the best for a certain grade. I will give the students the liberty to form their own groups in which they feel comfortable. However, students tend to form groups with people near them, thus I will require the students to change seats once in a while so that they get to know some people they were not familiar with before.
I’ve also noticed the discrepancy in learning ability between the students as soon as I started student teaching at Bellevue High School. A good way to foster community building is to pair up “studying buddies.” When I was at teaching Tyee Middle School, I encouraged those who demonstrated strong capability in learning to pair up with someone who needed academic help. For example, a high-achieving but overactive student completed his essay in the computer lab first and started disturbing other students. So I asked him to help an IEP student finish his essay. The two worked quietly for the rest of the period and the struggling learner completed his task.
IV. Norm Setting & Classroom Rules and Consequences
On the first day that I took over the LA class at Tyee, I set the general norms of the classroom:
· Respect the teacher and your fellow students
· Contribute to the learning environment
· Be responsible for your behaviors
I also sent a letter to their parents outlining my teaching goals and my requirements for my students.
In my future classroom, I will also outline the classroom rules and let each student write a short passage on what these rules mean and then discuss them. The general rules are:
Be on time and be prepared when you come into the classroom
Be courteous to the teacher and fellow students
Pay attention in the class
Do not disturb the teaching or group discussion
Meet the deadlines for homework
I will ask a student with art talent to make a poster of the norms and rules and put it on the wall so that all students will be able to see those norms and rules and be reminded of them constantly. I’ll also post the norms and rules on my website for students’ reference.
Although “prevention” is the main idea, violations of the rules will also have consequences. For serious problems like drugs or fighting, I will immediately report to the administrative staff. Fortunately, I have never encountered such happenings so far; however, I need to be prepared for such problems. Most frequently, I had to deal with minor infractions. In my 4th period LA class at Tyee, there were two students who were especially disturbing. They often talked among themselves without permission and distracted other students. At first I tried to let them know by body language or mild reminders that they were violating the norms. When this didn’t work, I decided to hold a short conference after each class and briefed with my cooperating teacher with how they behaved. I told them the further consequences, such as calling parents or even detention. This worked well in the end. In my future classroom, I will use also use such strategies. I will especially remember to keep a record of what kinds of violations they commit so that I can clearly tell the students what is permissible and what is not permissible.
V. Teaching of Procedural Routines
I think it’s essential that students know the routines of the classroom. Observation of these routines should be applied as universal measures in the classroom (Edgar, 2008). When I was student teaching, I mainly followed the procedural routines of my cooperating teachers and students were familiar with them. However, I’ve found that it is important, when I have my own classroom, to let students understand and follow the routines. For the first one or two weeks, I will find interesting ways of engaging students in learning the routines – for example, I will let some students demonstrate the correct ways of practicing routines while let some others put on a play of making some mistakes for the class to correct them. Some other creative ways to teach rules and routines will also be considered (Jones & Jones, 1986).
Some of the routines involve students’ participation in the classroom, such as how to indicate one is ready to speak, how to respect others and not interrupt them during the discussion, and how to maneuver around in the classroom. Some of them concern students’ accountability (Jones & Jones, 1986), such as handing in assignments on time, and meeting the requirements of the assignments (even small things like using pen or pencil, single or double-spaced). Others concern making the students form good habits in learning, such as how to use the school planner and how to put works and papers in the binder. The most important thing is “consistency.” I don’t expect my students to learn the procedural routines in a week or two; however, I will constantly be reminding them of the routines and correcting wrong behaviors. The ultimate goal is for the students to regard routines as part of the class and put them into action. When I was teaching Chinese 1B, I initiated some routines and found them very effective. Since I was not very familiar with the Smartboard software, I differed from my cooperating teacher and used PowerPoint files to organize my classes. At the beginning of the class, I showed students the learning goals of the lesson, and at the end of the class, I showed them the homework assignments and they recorded the assignments in their school planners. In this way, students were clear what they were expected to do, and could follow the procedure without confusion. What I’ve learned from this experience will continue to guide my future classroom management – I will also use some classroom techniques to make clear my expectations and teach students to use tools such as school planners.
VI. Addressing Persistent Misbehavior
Although I did not label certain students as “black sheep,” I have dealt with some persistent misbehavior. Punishment is the worse way to correct misbehavior, and the student punished will hold a grudge against the teacher. Once a student was speaking rudely in my LA classroom, and I forbade him to give a presentation as other students did. He felt he was singled out and cried. This led me to think about how to let the student know he’s made a mistake without punishing him. One way is to encourage the students to see the benefits of good behavior and the destructions bad behavior brings. Like Jones (2001) says, “Teachers must have an effective way of dealing with common disruptions if they are to increase time-on-task in the classroom. It is in dealing with these typical disruptions that teachers first demonstrate to the class the skills of meaning business” (p. 15).
I let the student draft contracts to ensure he will behave in the future and this proved effective. The contract was reasonable, but didn’t attempt to solve the problem overnight. I also devised a consistent system to reinforce the correct behavior, such as awarding time on computers. I told my students if contracts did not work, and the students still did not honor the codes, then further actions will be taken, be it referring to the administrative staff or conducting a parent-student-teacher conference.
For my future classroom, I have come up with some possible solutions to misbehavior:
Behavior
Solution
Talking aloud in the classroom
Stern look; data recording; consultation with student
Disrespecting teacher and other students
individual discussion; contract: find respective corrective measures
Not doing class work or homework
Contract: consequences of violation (such as staying after class) + awards for good behavior (computer time)
Cheating or plagiarism
Individual discussion. Contract.
If serious, meet with parents. (Pay attention to students from different cultures who might not think some behaviors count for cheating and plagiarism.)
Bullying
Intervention (even it happens outside your classroom); discussion or even class meeting
Fighting
Report to administration; refrain from body contact.
Contact parents.
Alcohol, drugs, weapons, etc…
Report to administration.
VII. Communication with Parents
I tried my best to reach out to parents during my field experience. When I first took over the classes, I sent the parents a letter to introduce myself, clarify my teaching goals, and provide my contact information. Some parents warmly responded to my letter, and one especially asked me to help her son. These responses provided me critical information in understanding and assessing my students. For example, one parent was concerned that I might be giving her son low grades because he was an IEP student.
We had a parent-teacher conference and I pointed out that her son failed to turn in a lot of the homework, which was something he could work on to improve his grades. I learned from this experience that it was important that the parent and the teacher see eye to eye about the kid’s problem and work together to help the student. Next time, I will also keep a detailed record (written) of the student’s misbehavior and show the parent when I call for a conference, in the circumstance that serious and persistent infractions happen, such as attendance problems.
VIII. Consulting with Other Professionals
I think it essential to know the school counselors as soon as I start my teaching, because they are usually the ones to turn to when tension that cannot be solved in classroom occurs between teacher and student. Most students who cannot help misbehaving need psychological help, and some even have hidden disabilities, such as ADD or ADHD (Gene, 2007), thus communicating with special education teachers is also on my agenda.
In addition, I will make good use of the English or World Languages Department meetings and Critical Friends Group meetings. In such meetings, I can consult my colleagues, both hearing their opinions about the misbehaved student and seeking their advice in dealing with such situation.
Sometimes when meeting parents, I will ask a colleague or an administrator to be present, so that we can better communicate with the parents. And for serious problems such as alcohol, drugs, or weapons, I will immediately report to the administrators and help them deal with the issue.
IX. Conclusion
To build a successful classroom, it requires consistent efforts from the teacher and the students. The teacher will work on establishing clear norms and routines in the first few weeks then continuously enforce them. The students will learn to form good learning habits and behave properly. What’s essential to an effective classroom management plan is a caring relationship between the teacher and the students signified by mutual respect.
REFERENCES:
Cushman, K. et al. (2003). Fires in the Bathroom. New York, New York: The New Press.
Edgar, G. (2008). Classroom management: An overview (pp 1-6): University of Washington.
Edgar G. (2007). Gene’s overview of special education (pp 1-11): University of Washington.
Jones, F. (2001) Tools for teaching. Santa Cruz, CA: Fredric Jones Inc.
Jones, V. & Jones, S. (1986) Comprehensive classroom management: creating positive learning environments. Boston: Allyn and Bacon
Kleinfeld, J. (1975). Effective teachers of Eskimo and Indian students. School review, 301-344.
Stefanou, C. R., et al. (2002). “Supporting Autonomy in the Classroom: Ways Teachers Encourage Student Decision Making and Ownership” from Academic Motivation of Adolescents ed. Pajares & Urban. Greenwich, Connecticut: Information Age Publishing.