Theoretical Introduction

My philosophy of classroom management is that of eliciting student responsibility for their own behavior. I will as much as it is possible always include students in setting classrooms rules and consequences. I feel doing this is part and parcel of their education. What they learn by collaborating in making the rules and consequences is probably one of the most valuable lessons they will get out of school. This will hopefully translate into knowing how to participate in the larger community and making contributions as adults. This being said, I believe this method is more effective in setting boundaries and having an orderly classroom so that academic learning can go on. The reason why I assert that this method of allowing students to contribute in making the rules and consequences is more successful is, since they themselves made the rules they will not feel it was imposed upon them. They will feel they were partners in making the rules and therefore will feel responsible in following the rules.

Once the rules and consequences are set they will be followed consistently. We will review them periodically to see how well they are working and make modifications accordingly. I don’t believe in making long lists of rules. Only important rules that are absolutely essential for keeping order will be implemented. If it is too long it will be hard to implement and is too restrictive. Rules and consequences will be stated clearly and there will be a range of consequences so that its implementation is not too rigid. As a teacher I would like to show positive expectation of my students and trust them to behave in an appropriate manner in most cases. Rules come in only where they are having the most difficulty. Positive expectation from the teacher goes a long way.

I believe that students can be shown that following the rules have intrinsic reward and not much extrinsic reward is necessary, unless the extrinsic reward comes as a natural consequence of following the rules. To give an example, if we finish a lesson early because there was no behavioral problems there might be time for a fun activity. But this shouldn’t give the students the idea that they can do a lousy job just to finish early.

Publicly humiliating a student when rules are broken doesn’t bring about good behavior. It will mostly cause the student to be resentful and rebel. Therefore as much as possible I will give the consequences in private or if it is done publicly do it in a manner that is not humiliating. I would like to create a classroom community of learners where there are a lot of cooperation and collaboration and minimal if any competition. In the microcosm of the classroom I want to show the students the interdependence of life. We fair much better cooperating than competing. Everyone has something valuable to contribute and when we put our heads together what can be accomplished is far greater than can be accomplished individually. In order to have a community of learners, we need to show respect and not just tolerate but also embrace and celebrate our differences. This is another valuable lesson that teaches them how to behave in the larger community as adults.

As a teacher I would like to show my students care and respect. I would like to show interest in each of them individually by taking the time to get to know them better. I would like to be seen not as disciplinarian but as a facilitator and as a resource for their learning and growth.

If we can show students that learning is its own reward then we probably will have much less disciplinary problems. For that we need to know our subject matter well, be well prepared and present the material in an interesting and engaging manner. As much as possible meaningful connections should be made to the real world as well as making connections between lessons and subjects. My assumption about students then is that given care, respect and trust they will thrive and grow to become responsible adults. All these may sound too idealistic but I believe it is a good place to start.

Expectations/Policies/Rules/Boundaries

I as a teacher would like to have high expectations of students in their behavior as well as in accomplishing their work. I expect that students will follow the rules that we established together with very few problems. They will accept responsibility for their actions and the consequences that follow and learn from their mistakes. I expect since students are capable of thinking through or reasoning out about most situations for themselves, they will make wise choices on their own without me acting as the policewoman. In other words the more responsible their behavior the more they get freedom to make their own decisions about classroom activities.

I expect my classroom climate to be one of taking responsibility for one self and of cooperation and developing ones own unique talents to the utmost. Sitting arrangements will be conducive to these outcomes. Groups of four seating together facing each other is one example of such arrangement giving the student the chance to work by herself, with someone else or with a group. The bulletin boards and walls will be stimulating and reflects what the students are engaged in. As much as possible it will be made collaboratively with the students. The classroom in general will be neat and organized.

In making rules for the classroom I will first introduce to the class my philosophy of how a class or a community of learners should be run. It will include such things as respect and care for each other, cooperation instead of competition, helping each other and doing our best work at all times. This will be explained in different ways such as giving examples and role- playing. Then I will get students’ input as to what is important to them in their learning community. From this discussion we will make the classroom policy. Then we will go own to make the rules and consequences that will make it possible for us to have this kind of a learning community. The rules and consequences will be made in collaboration with the students and will be discussed and role- played thoroughly to make sure everyone understands and agrees to it. Some possible rules will be 1. When there is a speaker we give that person our undivided attention. 2. When we work in groups we take turns in using material and resources that we have to share. There will be a range of consequences to allow for various situations. It will then be written up in a clear and concise manner and copies given to each student to sign and study, as well as posted in the classroom were all could see it easily. Students then will be tested on them to see if they know and understand the rules and consequences. I as a teacher will consistently implement the rules and consequences with little anger and blame as possible and always getting the students to take responsibility for their actions.

Instructional and Assessment Plan that Promote My Management Goals

To meet the students instructional needs I will have well thought out unit plans that show progressively complex lessons. By the end of the unit we will have mate the goals that have been stated at the beginning. To accomplish this I will have clearly defined objectives for individual lessons. Lesson will be presented with enthusiasm and interest in the most logical sequence as will bring clarity. At least two different modalities of learning will be used for each lesson, for instance visuals such as diagrams and videos or manipulative for tactile learners. In order to engage students, lessons will be taught in meaningful context and connections made between lessons and different subjects (lateral connection}. I will use various questioning techniques to keep students’ interested as well as gage their learning. I will continually assess the progress of my students by means of oral questioning or written tests and if and when necessary modify the lessons. There will be various activities to reach all students. This will include whole class presentation and discussion, group collaboration, independent work and learning centers.

The students’ need to act out will be very minimal if they are engaged and find learning interesting and intrinsically rewarding. As an instructor I will come to class well prepared with unit plans and lesson plans that have clear goals and objectives. I will start off each new unit lesson by first assessing prior knowledge and if need be going over the knowledge and skills needed for the unit. Then I will give a general overview of the unit and what the specific objectives for each lesson will be always presenting clear and concise objectives. This should hook-in the students and helps them know what to anticipate. The lessons will be presented using various modalities and strategies such as direct and indirect instruction, questioning and collaborative groups. Next to presenting lessons in the above manner there are other important instructional procedures that are important to classroom management. Monitoring is one and that is looking for alert eyes during discussions, observing if students are looking down at the book or worksheet during seatwork and if they are participating in classroom discussions. When monitoring one should keep the eyes moving through out the class and thus being able to know what is happening in every part of the room. This awareness should be communicated to the students. This tells student you are in control of the class and discourages them from acting out. Making smooth transitions from one lesson to another is very important. One of the times a classroom could get very noisy is when switching from one activity to another. A teacher needs a good strategy for transitioning if she is to have order in her classroom. One way to do this is letting students know what they are going to do next ahead of time. Another is building routine into their day. Giving assignment is another classroom procedure that needs to be handled well. Students usually dislike homework assignments and if not handled right it become a cause for them to act out. Effective classroom managers give assignment right after the lesson to which it relates to and motivate their students to engage in them. They give the reason for the assignment and why it is important for instance or how it will help them pass a test or do a project. Finally bringing closure to a lesson is really important to keep students engaged to the end. Reviewing, summarizing and highlighting the important points helps keep the momentum going, clarifying the lesson and enabling students to put it all together.

Assessment tells me whether students are getting it or whether they are lost. It helps me to redirect or modify my lessons so that I can get students back on track. In other words it helps me keep students engaged not lost and bored, which is one of the main reasons students act out. If I am doing a good job of assessing I will keep students on track and progressing along fine. Which helps students have self-confidence and keep them interested in learning and therefore minimizing the need to misbehave

To allow for variable styles, cultures and circumstances a teacher needs to know her students Background such as their values, socialization practices, interests and concerns. This allows her to develop lesson plans that will interest them and keep them engaged. The teacher should go further and create a social environment in the classroom that allows the students with diverse cultural and socioeconomic background and students with various other circumstances to feel free to be themselves.

Motivation

There are different reasons why students might be motivated to learn. There is internal motivation where they want to learn doing something well for its own sake, that is for the pleasure of learning how to do it. Then there is external motivation, which is just the opposite. Students are motivated to do things because there is an award, a prize or a praise given to them at the end of accomplishing a task. The other external motivator is the fear of loosing love, money or other rewards. One may be successful in motivating students by using external rewards for the short term but I don’t think it is very successful in motivating students to develop a love of learning. A lot of the times students loose sight of the greater reward and pleasure of learning and finding out about the world they live in, because there is too much focus on external rewards.

Students seem to be mostly motivated by external rewards than internal rewards. They maybe afraid they will be punished or will be disapproved of by parents and teachers if they don’t do their schoolwork or they do the work for a good grade or a prize. But I believe students can be motivated internally if external rewards are de-emphasized and the value of internal satisfaction brought out.

My goal as to how to motivate students will be to foster internal motivation in students because that is what is going to produce long -term academic success. The way to do this is tied to how one teaches. Well- thought out and organized unit and lesson plan is a starter. I should make an effort to get to know my students. That is get to know their background, culture and individual personalities. This will help me build lessons that the students can relate to and cue me into what will motivate them internally. I believe it is motivating to always communicate the goals and objectives of lessons clearly and why the students need to learn them. Running a student centered class where students are responsible for their learning under my strong guidance should be quite motivating. This will help them enjoy the process of learning and not just the outcome. There will be rewards such as being given more freedom as they show more responsibility, acknowledgement of their efforts and accomplishment and giving them care and respect. My style of motivating student is therefore student centered and internal.

Vision

My ideal class will be one where students are engaged in their learning for its own sake at least mot of the time. It will be a class where I have tapped into each individual student’s interests and motivations and am able to guide them to be the best they can be.

My class will be set up for student centered group collaboration and discussion. Tables will be arranged so that groups of four are sitting together facing each other. Bulletin boards and walls are covered with all kinds of stimulating and colorful student creative work. It has a friendly but intense atmosphere. Every student is accepted and feels at home here. It is one of our classroom principles that we accept and celebrate our differences.

At the start of a day in my classroom, there will be a morning routine everybody knows what is expected of him or her. There will be monitors to take care of homework collection, sharpening pencils etc. to help us have a smooth start. Then students will sit on the rug and I will lead the class in what I will call “sharing time”. During this time three students a day will take turns in sharing any concerns and questions they might have about our class and what they are learning. We will address the issues that they bring up. Every student will get a chance to voice his or her concerns.

Students will then go back to their seats and I will start the day’s lesson by eliciting prior knowledge or getting the class to help me summarize the prior day’s lesson. I will ask the class what they remember about yesterday’s lesson and what the important points are and using their responses I will introduce today’s lesson and show how it is connected to the previous lesson. I will go on to describe what we are going to cover for the day, what our objectives are and how and when we are going to do them. I will write all this down in an outline form on the board. Right after this, I usually play a video or read a book that further helps us delve into the subject at hand. Then we will have a class discussion. I use the different questioning methods to guide the discussion and lead students to their own findings. Work sheets will be handed out for working individually and to give everyone a chance to reflect on what has been taught. This will also give me some assessment information and give me a clue as to whether or not modification of the lesson is needed. Then after explaining the activity and discussing it with the class, groups of four will come together for hands on activity, group discussion or writing activity. I will circulate among the groups offering guidance and encouragement. Finally we will come together as a class again and present our findings and have a discussion. Any questions the students may have will be addressed at this time. This final step cues student that we are going to transition to the next lesson and at this time I let them know what we will be doing next. If there are behavioral problems at this time as it is the tendency during transition, I will deal with it swiftly. I will call the student or students involved aside and privately give them their warnings per our classroom rules and consequences, which we have made collaboratively. In my class everybody knows their responsibility and that there is a price for not following the rules. I keep my eyes open and am alert and know what goes on in every part of the room and the students know it.

I like to vary the way lessons are presented. If I had a writing group activity for the first lesson the next group activity will involve a hands on activity like a science experiment or the use of manipulatives. I also like to insert art or musical activities in between lessons to refresh students. As much as it is possible lateral connection are made between different subjects. This will help students retain what they learned and make sense of the large amount of information they receive daily.

Towards the end of the day the children will be writing in their journal about the day’s events and to express any concerns they might have. I will walk around as they do that and converse with them about what they are writing about. This gives me another chance to get to know them so that I can serve them better as their teacher.

At the conclusion of the day we come together as a class and summarize the days lessons as I list the main points on the board. As we summarize I assign the homework explaining how it all fits together after which class is dismissed.