Responsive Teaching and Classroom Management 1

Responsive Teaching and Classroom Management

Yesenia Muñoz

November 19, 2018

California State University, Dominguez Hills

Observing a classroom with a master teacher has helped me understand the process to

teach a diverse community of students. I conducted my fieldwork at Jefferson Elementary School

in the city of Hawthorne and observed a fourth-grade class. Jefferson Elementary schools serve a

diverse group of 528 students, 411 students that are Hispanic, 74 African American and 13

White 20 Asian, 10 Pacific Islander. During my fieldwork, I was able to observer fourth-grade

classroom with a total of 33 students. I observed one English language learner students, one

student who needed emotional support, and one student with an identified learning disability.

Student A would ask many questions, and he tried very hard to understand what the teacher was

saying. The teacher used a lot of visuals and one step directions. I noticed that he would ask his

group for help and the group helped him as well. Student B would not participate and is very

quiet which told the teacher that something is wrong. At the beginning of the year, the teacher

was told that the student had problems at home, immediately the student started getting extra

support from teacher and staff. She would get emotional and cry as soon as she got in the

classroom. The teacher would try to cheer her up by keeping her busy and having her help by

passing out papers. If that didn't work, then the student would go to see the counselor. Student C

is autistic, he only wants to read his books, talks to himself, low attention span, and one step

directions are given to him. Student meets with special needs teacher every day for an hour to get

the extra help with the coursework. He needs to be able to move a lot and can't sit still for long

periods. I noticed he distracts other students and the teacher has a signal to get his attention back

to her. He also has a sign to let the teacher know when he needs to take a break and step outside

of the classroom.

Teachers will have their own individual representation of their classroom management

because there are a lot of approaches. After my observations I realized that the classroom
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management spectrum needs the focus of engagement. I believe that the engagement focus is

important because it allows interaction with each other and the teacher. The teacher learns about

the students and that will help the educator know how to teach each student.

While observing a fourth-grade classroom, I learned that it is essential to have a routine.

That will help students understand how the teacher wants things to run in the class.

Implementing methods can be combined with activities that will help teachers learn more about

the student. As a future educator, the first routine I will use is assessing the moods of the students

by having a class activity called HAT (How are things?), which is discussed in one of the

strategies for Pinto. The routine will be a short one on one discussion with the teacher and

student at the beginning of class ending with a high five. I think that will be a meaningful way to

start the day, and students will feel important. The second routine will be going over the agenda

of the day. By knowing what will happen the rest of the day students will not feel surprised or

overwhelmed for what is to come. That will motivate them to do better in class because they

already know what they have to do next. During my observation, I noticed how the teachers

would ask the students after lunch if there were any issues out in the playground, and it works

well to let the students give their feedback. A third routine that is similar to the one that I

observed in my fieldwork can be to have a community circle at the end of the day, and it will be

a safe space to share feelings. Letting those emotions out can help start the next day fresh

without any hard feelings or grudges. It can also help to hear positive feedback of how the class

went, and if the teacher understands them, then the students know there will be a change the

following day. It is essential for educators to acknowledge the student’s feedback overall. It is a

sign that we care about their opinion and they are valued as a person. Todd Finely reminds

teachers that they should not judge students by their behavior they bring from their home
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because they can be taught differently and not know any other way. We should not

misunderstand their behavior, instead learn about the students and where they come from.

Having classroom expectations and rules is essential for classroom management. At my

observation site, the teacher had the table set up in where she had her desk with the projector in

the center of the classroom. Around her were five groups with five students in each group. Ms.

Muñoz explained that every six weeks she rotated the seating chart, to give each student a chance

to get to know each other. I think that was a good idea and that is how I would like to set up my

classroom. This will help the teacher keep everyone close and to hear what everyone says and

does. In each group I would want to mix up students, for example; have an ELL student with a

student with the same language to be able to help the ELL student, one high performing student,

one special needs, and one special behavior student. I believe this strategy will work because

students will be different, and no one will feel alone. Students will know the what is expected of

them because on the first week of school I will have each group make a poster of one rule they

want to follow throughout the year, they will think of this rule on their own. Having them to

choose students will feel independent. The posters will be placed on the walls of the classroom,

every morning each group will read out loud their rule while breakfast is being served. We

would call these posters our promise to be successful in the classroom. Pinto states by giving

them the chance to come up with their own rules you are telling them that bad behavior is not

acceptable (Pinto, 2013).

Learning how to take responsibility for our actions is a life skill everyone needs. Working

in groups is harder because there are several people working and everyone has their own opinion.

As educators, we need to teach them how to be organized and take control of their part. One

strategy is giving them a role in the classroom, this helps the teacher and teaches responsibility to
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the students. For example; a line leader, calendar monitor, pass put papers, collect papers, and

door monitors. By implementing these jobs, it will teach students that they need to be responsible

for their learning. Another way is to have each group have papers with their names folded up

inside a cup and each time something is needed in a group project they can choose from there to

assign a part.

Time is critical in the classroom; six hours is not enough time to teach everything in the

curriculum. Teachers have to use the time wisely, appropriately, and need to be prepared for the

unexpected and distractions that will occur throughout the day. Working with kids will lead to

disturbances that will block off time to use to deal with those issues. One strategy is to plan and

prepare ahead of the time all the lesson plans of the week. It saves so much time to have each

day with its lesson plan and materials ready to go in effect. In strategy three, Davis discussed

how including extra activities is excellent, it is better to over plan then to under plan. We don't

want students to be left without anything to do but to stare at the ceiling, and this strategy will

help keep students busy. There are situations where some students finish their work faster than

others. By using another approach by having instructional activities ready for those students. We

can have them make a group with the students who have finished and do study groups for the

next test. Students can make a study guide to share with the class. Having strategies to maximize

instructional time is necessary for classrooms to be successful.

When working with kids, we must understand that not all students learn the same. As

educators, we have to study each student to see what their best way of learning is. Providing

visuals and modeling will help students. While conducting my observation hours, I noticed the

teacher would introduce the lesson by showing pictures, videos, and asking for students to give

their opinion about what the reading was about. Teachers can use audio books, small groups, and
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one on one interventions to help those students in need of more instructions. Universal Design

Learning is to be able to provide an equal learning opportunity for individuals. It will help meet

the requirements, talents, skills, and include their experiences based on how they work.

Accommodations are alterations that can be provided for students who are ELL, specials need,

and struggling academically. Teachers will provide the help they need, and students will have the

confidence they need to be successful at school. Using the Multi-Tiered System of support in the

classroom, it will not let any student feel as if they will fail or that they are close to just quitting.

For my English language learners, I will pair them with another student who knows the same

language. Together they will help each other. Using pictures and videos can help before starting

the lesson, so they have an idea of what they will learn. Letting students know ahead of time not

to laugh because the ELL students have an accent can help guide ELL students to volunteer to

read out loud, which is good practice. Working with special needs students as educators we have

to remember to be patient, and that will be doing much repeating throughout the lesson. Again,

having visuals, audio, and the large print of the material can help with instruction.

Peer interactions are essential to have a positive learning environment to have social

interactions between classmates. Cooperation with other classmates helps the students develop

excellent social skills. One strategy is to have a jar with all the student’s names, this will make it

easier for the teacher to pull a random name and no one will feel like he or she are being picked

on. Another strategy is to have learning centers, and the student will be able to work together as a

team. It will give them a chance to share ideas and help each other in their weak spots. Strategy

three will be to have a class meeting like Pinto discusses it on strategy thirty, I will use this

strategy to talk and express any concerns the students have. This will allow students to give the
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teacher feedback on how the lesson can get better if something wasn't explained clearly and

needs more explanation.

At Jefferson Elementary School I noticed that the parents are always present at

workshops or any activity. The students would get happy when they saw that their parent or

family member came to the school. Parent communication and involvement are vital to the

student’s success in their learning process. As a future educator, I will like to build teacher-

parent relationships to show the importance of everyone coming together to help our students.

Translating classroom paperwork that goes home in the home language of the student, like

project assignments, parent conferences, and notes. I learned that when teachers plan a musical,

act, or performance by the students' parents are motivated to come to the workshops,

conferences, and award ceremonies. The third strategy I would like to be able to build

relationships with parents by setting updates in which I can meet with them to have coffee before

the bell rings or lunch. During my observations at Jefferson Elementary School, the principal has

coffee with the parents once a month to discuss issues and ideas to help students be successful.

Having conversations with the principal makes the parent feel heard and a key to the school's

success. Another strategy is assigning projects to the parents, for instance, an art activity where

the parents will go to the classroom and help the students create a puppet for the lesson. Also

remembering to not only send notes that are wrong but positive notes or calls will help build that

connection with the parents. Receiving a call home that their child is doing great can motivate

parents to continue to be involved. Even if a student is misbehaving, and then the student has

improved they should get a call again it shows the parent that their hard work is noticed.

To see respect from students' teachers also have to be respectful. Teachers are the role

models of the school. At Jefferson Elementary School, there is a bulletin board with the five
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eagle expectation rules which are; respect, no bullying, honest, work hard and help each other

out. In my classroom, I want to follow these rules and teach students that if we want to be treated

equally, we have to show the same for others. Having an anti-bullying assembly for each grade

each trimester to show students that at the school everyone is together as one and no one is left

behind. I want to treat all my student equally to teach them that they deserve to have all my

respect and fairness. For instance, if a student is a misbehaving call the student to the side not

just blurt his name out or scream at what he is doing. Calling them to the side and whispering

shows respect to them. Getting to know the student’s culture and information about their culture

is important because that will help me to provide the proper education. It is essential in the

classroom to accommodate students with IEP and to not put them in the spot of the school for

other students to know that they have special needs. They need to feel like they are just like all

the other students. As read in the article, “Teaching Tolerance” it states how at schools the three

words that start with a B are posted around the school to remind students to “Be respectful, be

responsible, and be resourceful” I would like to have those words posted in my classroom

(Teaching Tolerance, 2008).

Now that I have finished my thirty hours of observation at Jefferson Elementary School, I

have gained so much knowledge of what it is to be a good teacher. Having a positive learning

environment where students are free to voice their opinion, be engaged, interact with classmates,

and to feel supported by their parents and community is the key to a successful education. This

classroom management plan will help me as a teacher do my job correctly, it might not be

perfect, but it will be a learning day by day experience.

Works Cited

Anderson, K & Davis, B. (2012). Self-examination. In Creating culturally considerate schools:

Davis, B. (2012). How to teach students who don't look like you: Culturally responsive teaching
strategies (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.

Finley, T. (2014, August 14). Relationship building through responsive classroom management.
Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/relationship-building-culturally-responsive-
classroom-todd-finley

Pinto, L., Pinto, L., Vogel, L., Vogel, Glenn D., & Ebooks Corporation. (2013). From discipline
to culturally responsive engagement: 45 classroom management strategies. Thousand
Oaks, CA: CORWIN A SAGE COMPANY.

(The building blocks, 2008) Teaching tolerance, 34. Retrieved from