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Jennifer Hutchison
Classroom Management Plan
EDUC 5903: Classroom Management
Anne Hewson
St. Thomas University
To be an effective teacher you need to be an effective classroom
manager. The most important factor that governs student learning is classroom
management. (80) Classroom management determines not only teacher
success but also it is also a primary determinant of how well the students in your
class will learn. Some things that I have come to see as important in classroom
management over the past few months are as followed: Organization, routine,
rules, strong relationship, sense of community and freedom of choice. These are
just some of the values I believe to be important as a teacher. Over the following
few pages I will highlight the values that I hold as important in managing my
future classroom.
Organization
Classroom Management needs to build on a strong foundation. The strong
foundation should be built on organization, consistency and routine. A
disorganized teacher does not have time for classroom management.
Organization of classroom resources, and classroom time is key. In my
classroom I will employ effective time management during and after school time.
I plan to use strategies such as having a timer on the smart board to help me, as
well as my class keep track of time spent on each classroom activity.
Routines
I believe that if you do not spend that time up front setting and establishing
routines you will end up spending more time on them in the long run. Routines
must be established starting on day one and carried on everyday, all year.
The number one problem in the classroom is not discipline; it is the lack of
procedures and routines (165) I believe that routines eliminate power struggles
and that teachers must make sure there classroom routines are clear and
consistent, if not it will just lead to headache for you and the student. You need
be consistent in implementing and following your own routines because students
need to know that your words have meaning. As a teacher the first month should
be filled with teaching, practicing and modeling the classroom routines. If routines
are not explained and demonstrated step-by-step it may lead to students acting
out because they do not know what is expected of them.
Procedures and Rules
Students should have a hand in creating the rules and procedures in the
classroom, this will give students a sense of ownership in the daily classroom
activities. Procedures can be taught as the first lesson on the first day and
reference every day there after. The rules should not be a huge list they should
be short, clear, specific, use appropriate language, and for younger students be
paired with visual cues.
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Rules should be guided by values and not be values rules should say
what to do and how to do it and values are just why we do it. Be Respectful, Be
kind, Be generous is not concrete enough for young children to understand and
implement. Be respectful is a rule that all children may not understand depending
on their home life. Respect means something different to everyone so it is
important to discuss respect as a class. In my classroom I will choose a broad
value and then create rules in collaboration will the class that follow that value
system.
I plan to encourage students to follow the procedures and rules through
coaching, modelling, practice, and by leading by example each and everyday. I
will let the children know that my rules will be more then rules to follow in just my
class alone; they will be guidelines for life. I plan to get the students to model
correct and incorrect procedures and rules to help reinforce the ideas.
Discipline
Whenever you place a rule into a classroom you need a consequence that
follows that rule. Consequences are not meant to be a punishment. Punishments
and Discipline is not the same thing. In my classroom I plan to have an effective
discipline strategy that does not include punishments. I plan to have student
generated rules and consequences that fit with those rules. Your discipline
choices should be fair, but in saying this they may not always be equal.
In my classroom I plan to incorporate the responsibility Model into my
discipline plan. I hold the idea that a child should not just be in trouble to be in
trouble (ie, sitting in a classroom all lunch by themselves), but as a teacher we
should teach the children to make responsible choices (ie. getting them to do
some critical thinking, practicing appropriate behavior). The responsibility model
gives a child room to make mistakes and in turn learn from those same mistakes.
In my classroom I want students to feel encouraged to make choices, decisions,
and mistakes when theyre young.
There is a delicate balance between meeting the needs of the group by
maintaining social order and meeting the unique needs of each student. I plan to
discover a balance of letting the children have a voice, allowing for choice and
freedom while still maintaining structure and control.
Building Strong Relationships and a Sense of Community
My main goal as a teacher is to allow every student to feel safe, engaged,
included, important, free and stimulated to learn in my classroom. When I enter
my own classroom for the first time, on top of creating rules and setting up
expectations I want to get to know the students and not only their strengths and
weaknesses but there interests and personalities as well. I will challenge myself
in the first days to learn one thing each child loves and add those things to my
curriculum each day to help each kid feel connected to the class.
Along with myself building strong relationship with the students I want the
students to build strong relationships with each other. I plan to build a classroom
community through the fostering of relationships between peers. The students in
my class will sit in groups and engage in group work regularly. I feel that through
group work students will learn to appreciate the differences in one another. I will
encourage my students to find values in each others differences and celebrate
them. In my class I hope to celebrate diversity in every way shape and form.
Freedom of choice and Movement
In my classroom choices and movement will both be of top importance to
me. I will allow many opportunities for choice my classroom. When teaching
young students it is a great idea for teachers to hand pick a few diverse options
and allow the students to choose between those. An endless list of choice may
be to overwhelming in elementary.
In my classroom I will allow many opportunities for movement by having
brain breaks where I will recognize when the students are in need of a break and
provide time for talking, dancing, singing, story time and even something as
simple as everyone getting up and touching the far wall.
In Conclusion
Overall I want the physical environment of my classroom to be one
conducive to learning, and a place that the students have had a hand in creating.
I want my classroom to be a balance between organization structure and creative
choice. I truly believe that if you build a strong foundation of structure, students
know your words have meaning and they will respect and enjoy your classroom
environment. When a strong foundation is laid strong relationships are more
easily built. I will encourage responsible behavior in students by valuing what
students think, seeking their input, and teaching them how to make good
decisions. If I expect the best I believe the students will in turn do there best.
Citation
Wong, H., & Wong, R. (2009). The first days of school: How to be an effective
teacher (Second ed.). Mountain View: Harry K. Wong Publications.
