Classroom Management Main Page - EDEL 414 - EDSE 415
Anna Foutz
1. Philosophy of Classroom Management
My philosophy of classroom management is that it should be used to meet both the students’ and the teacher’s needs. It should be constantly evaluated and re-evaluated in order to maintain an environment that is effective for both learning and teaching. An effective classroom management plan will enable the students and the teacher to respect each other. It is important in order for classroom organization and for efficiency in teaching.
Effective classroom management begins with the teacher. The teacher must plan well so that the students will be able to meet their learning and behavior objectives. A good lesson plan will help the students to feel a need to learn the material and will help them maintain positive behavior. It is also important for the teacher to deliver the lesson plans well. In order to not have classroom management problems, the teacher must be sure to teach for each type of learning style of the students. The topics should be relevant to the students’ lives and should keep them interested. In order to prevent misbehavior and to keep students focused, the teacher needs to keep the lesson going and progressing.
2. Assumptions of the Nature of Young People and
Learning
I
have assumptions about the nature of young people and learning. I feel that most young people today are
externally motivated. They engage in
most activities because of external motivations such as being rewarded for
their actions or out of fear of losing these rewards or being punished. However, I also feel that humans are
basically good. Therefore, as
3. A Discussion of 3 Theorists that Clarify My
Perspective
There are three theorists that clarify my perspective as a future teacher. These theorists are Linda Albert, Jacob Kounin, and Alfie Kohn. I would like to prevent misbehavior, effectively handle misbehavior that may occur, and encourage critical thinking, which these theorists also have an interest in.
Kounin’s ideas will help me with preventing misbehavior. Kounin believes that preventing misbehavior virtually eliminates it. A teacher should be perceived of as being aware of everything going on in the classroom, or having “withitness.” Kounin also feels that teachers should be able to do more than one thing at a time and should have carefully paced and planned lessons to ensure smoothness. We need to keep the whole class engaged while individual students are responding as well as encouraging a lot of participation. Students are also aware that they can be evaluated at any time. Using Kounin’s techniques, he believes, misbehaviors are not even able to occur.
Linda Albert’s ideas also help me with preventing misbehavior, while also being realistic that even with excellent preventative skills, sometimes misbehaviors may still occur. Therefore, she gives techniques to prevent misbehavior, while also giving techniques for when misbehaviors occur. Her theory of cooperative discipline explains her three C’s, which help the student meet basic needs. These three C’s include helping students feel capable, helping students connect, and helping students contribute. These things help students feel that they belong to the class, and therefore, help them to choose to cooperate to display good behavior. She believes that students can choose to cooperate and have good behavior when they feel a need to. She also advises to develop a classroom code of conduct with students. This helps to prevent misbehavior as well as when misbehaviors actually occur. Since the code of conduct and the consequences were made along with the students, it makes the consequence be removed from being the teacher against the student. It is impersonal, and the student agreed to the consequence long before the situation at had ever arose.
Kohn’s theories enable me to help my students become critical thinkers and to help students to self-question what type of person they want to become and what type of classroom they want to have. I want my students to learn because they want to, not because they will be rewarded or punished. I like that his technique involves the teacher giving students constructive feedback and coercive praise. This enables the students to evaluate their own work and try for constant improvement. I have high expectations for my students, such as wanting my students to be critical thinkers. Kohn’s theory helps them to be self-motivated and learn because they want to. I want my students to be excited about learning and to anticipate what comes next in their learning. Using Kohn’s theory, students will be lifelong learners. They will have the skills to keep them going in life and in furthering their education.
1. Expectations of Students
I have high expectations of my future students. I expect them to learn the material presented and to do very well in my class. I also expect them to do very well in all of their classes. I expect them to respect each other, materials in the classroom, and me. Therefore, they will listen me and to each other while someone is talking, they will be careful with the classroom materials and will not destroy them, and they will respect other’s ideas. I expect my students to come to class prepared with the proper materials and assignments. I expect each of my students to be successful in life. Therefore, I expect them all to go to college to obtain higher education.
2. Expectations of Classroom
Climate
I expect my classroom climate to be a very open-minded, hands-on environment. I feel that science is much more interesting when you can experience it first hand, rather than simply only hear lectures or read about it. I do feel that the lectures and text are important, but they can be much more understood by the students if they are able to do experiments or labs that pertain to these lectures and to the text. I also feel that the experiments and labs should be more fun than work. Otherwise, the students will only go through the motions of doing the assignment, rather than really learn what is being done.
Flexible learning structures will be part of my classroom climate. I would like to teach in a way that all students would be able to learn the material. I will not move on to new topics unless I feel the class is ready. Many things in science build from one concept to another. Therefore, if the class does not understand a concept, I will be flexible in my lesson in order to not move on until I feel they have understood it. Otherwise, the students could be lost for the rest of the year. The labs that I plan will be another way of having flexible learning structures. Not only will the students have heard a lecture or had a discussion on the topic, but they would have done some interesting reading about it as well as then do an exercise or lab involving it. This will help everyone to learn science in a way that works for them.
Respect will be an essential part of my classroom. Therefore, I will teach and model respect myself. I will teach respect by talking with students about the importance of respecting each other, the equipment we will be working with, and myself. I will discuss with them why this is important. This will involve discussion of how we will need to work together in labs. The discussion will also involve talking with the students about the lab equipment and how we need to be very careful with it. They will be told that in order to do the labs, which will be very fun, we have to have equipment. Therefore, they must help me in respecting the equipment, so that we have it to use the next week. I will model respect at all times, in and out of the classroom. The student will see that I respect them by treating them all the same, and fairly. They will also see that I respect them by being interested in them as individuals. I will ask them questions such as how their other classes are going, how their weekend was, or how their family is doing.
Encouraging students to develop respect for diverse cultures and backgrounds will be another aspect of respect that I would like in my classroom. Therefore, they will know that racial slurs and cultural disrespect is never okay and will not be tolerated. Therefore, the language that will be used in my classroom will only reflect respect of others and their cultures. Also, I will integrate cultural awareness in my lessons. I can talk about scientists from many other countries who have contributed to the field, as well as show pictures and samples of rocks from all around the world. Not only will I used a general multicultural approach, I will also make sure to incorporate the specific cultures that reflect my actual students. There is not a place in the world that is not important and that cannot be incorporated into geology.
3. Rules and Policies
My class will have few rules, but each rule will be very important to me and to the class. The rules will be written in a positive way, which will not be so threatening to the students and will help them to want to choose good behavior. My students will help me to develop the rules and consequences so that they feel a greater need to follow them. This will also help to develop a sense of “We” in our classroom. I want my class to feel that they are all part of our group and that we can work together to have a collective success. We will engage in discussion on these rules as well as go over examples in the classroom that may come up over the year. Discussion will help the students be engaged in understanding the importance of the rules, which will in turn help hem to obey the rules easier.
I will also include a few of my own rules if the students do not include them themselves. These specific rules are very important to me and include: 1. Please respect each other, the teacher, and the lab equipment, 2. Practice safety at all times, and 3. Try to be open to new ideas. The first rule, please respect each other, the teacher, and the lab equipment, is important to me because if each student follows this rule, there should not be any discipline problems. This will enable us to have full advantage of our class time, and will promote an environment of learning. Also, if the students respect the lab equipment, the equipment will be carefully handled, and less breakage will occur. In order to do many of the labs, we will need equipment. Therefore we must respect the equipment as a tool for our learning and for fun. The second rule, practice safety at all times, is important to me because it is very important to ensure safety. If someone is not being safe, they are not only putting themselves in danger, they are also putting others in danger as well. Therefore, it is important to be very careful and practice safety at all times. The third rule, try to be open to new ideas, is important to me because this is necessary at all times in the scientific field. Even if there is something that we do not originally agree with, it is important to still listen to the viewpoints and data being given. Then, when you fully understand what the data shows, you can make interpretations. There have been many times in science that theories have been disregarded because of people being closed-minded. Later, these same theories are proven, and we can’t believe that we ever thought differently. A good example of this is the sun being the center of the solar system. I will share my reasoning with my students. Parents will also be informed of our class rules and consequences.
4.
Are your expectations more student-centered or
teacher-centered?
My expectations are more student-centered. I want my classroom to be a place where students feel that they are in control of their own education. I will be there to help and assist them, but I want to play the role of a facilitator or a guide in their education rather than an authoritarian. I want them to think for themselves and become critical thinkers. Therefore, I do not want to simply give directions and have them perform the task. I want and expect them to develop the skills to manage and control their own performance in life. The hands-on technique and the interesting lessons that I plan to use will help me to meet my students’ needs and my expectations for them. Even the classroom rules have a purpose to serve the students. They enable the students to learn in a safe and respectful environment. The expectations that I have for my students will be structured and communicated in every aspect of my classroom. My lessons, the hands-on activities, the classroom rules, and the overall classroom climate will all help the student to achieve.
C.
Instructional and Assessment Strategies that
Promote Your Management Goals
1.
What do you do instructionally to meet student’s
academic needs?
I will instructionally do things to meet students’ academic needs. These include having a challenging curriculum, providing clear expectations of assignments, and having interesting and hands-on lessons.
A challenging curriculum helps students to fulfill their academic need to achieve. It pushes them in order to have a sense of accomplishment. If work is too easy, students see it as a waste of their time and it seems meaningless. Therefore, a curriculum that challenges them helps them to see progression and purpose of their work. However, I realize that the curriculum and the assignments must be attainable and realistic so that students are not overwhelmed.
Clear expectations of assignments help the students to achieve their academic needs. Clear instructions on how to do the assignments as well as what is expected of them is important. This helps student to understand what is being required of them so that they can actually do the work. If we give assignments that are too vague, students may not understand what to do even if they understand the content. This would prevent us from having a true assessment of our students’ work and knowledge. Therefore, clear directions and expectations enable students to achieve their academic needs.
Having interesting and hands-on lessons also help students meet their academic needs. Students learn in many ways. Making my instruction and lessons interesting helps students to learn. If students are interested in what is going on, they will want to pay attention and therefore, will learn. Having a hands-on instruction will help students to better understand and retain the lesson. Therefore, this will help students to achieve their need of retaining material and performing well on tests.
2.
What will you do instructionally to prevent
students’ need to act out?
I will do things instructionally to prevent students’ need to act out. These include keeping students busy and having carefully planned out and interesting lessons that apply to the lives of my students.
Keeping students busy will help to prevent students’ need to act out. They will realize that since there is a lot to accomplish, there will not be time to get off task or to act out. Students tend to act out when they are bored or don’t find meaning in doing assignments. Therefore, the work I give students in order to keep busy will not be “busy work.” It will directly apply to what they are learning and will not be boring or meaningless.
Having carefully planned out and interesting lessons will also help to prevent students need to act out. They will see that I am organized and ready to get started at the beginning of each class. They will also realize through my presentation and the activities in class that the subject directly applies to their lives and that there is purpose in learning it. I will have interesting lessons that involve a short lecture as well as fun, hands-on activities that will help the students to further understand the topic. Therefore, changing activities often will help to keep the students’ attention and keep them involved. These instructional methods will help to prevent students’ need to act out.
3.
How does your assessment promote the goals of
your management?
My assessment will promote
the goals of my management. I will
assess both the final product of my students’ work as well as the process of
them working on the assignment. I want
my students to constantly improve.
Therefore, I will evaluate the process and improvement that they will
make in doing assignments. I realize
that we are all learning, so mistakes will happen. However, the important thing to remember is
to learn from our mistakes and keep challenging ourselves. I will also make sure that students are aware
beforehand what is expected of them.
Therefore, I will use rubrics in my evaluation of their work, which the
students will have before doing the assignment.
This will allow students to see exactly what they will be graded on and
what they specifically must do. I will
also grade students on their participation in their group settings. This will help them to be an active
participant in their group and will help them focus in order to achieve.
4.
How do you allow for variable styles, cultures,
and circumstances in meeting the diverse need of your students?
Variable styles, cultures, and circumstance in meeting the diverse needs of my students will be accommodated in the way that I teach. This will be accomplished by first being aware of my students individually, which can then be used to vary my instruction for each type of student.
Each different learning style will be accommodated in my lessons. Extroverts will benefit from the group work and hands-on activities. Introverts will like the lecture part of the lesson. Sensate learners like routine and order. I plan on my instruction being very organized and to have order and routine. The format of the lessons will remain basically the same. Intuitive learners are imaginative and dislike routine. Therefore, even though the format of the lessons will be the same, the activities will change and imagination and abstract thinking will be used. Feelers will be accommodated in the group setting of the activities. Since they are very interested in other people and focus on personal relationships, they will also like to learn in the group setting. Thinkers will be accommodated in the fair and reasonable classroom setting that I want to develop. They also will be involved due to the presentation of the subject matter, which will involve fascinating ideas. Judgers will be accommodated by order and organization of the lesson as it progresses. Perceivers will be able to use their curious natures to work on the hands-on activities. I will teach for each of the learning styles so that I can help all of my students succeed. Therefore, I realize that I will not only be teaching to students with my same learning style. I will constantly be evaluating my lessons to ensure that each type of student is being accommodated.
Cultures will be
accommodated during lectures and presentations that I give my students. I will involve real world examples from
around the world in my class as I teach science. I will not only involve general cultural
applications, I will specifically apply the cultures of my students in my
class. I also realize that students come
with different circumstances to my class.
I will accommodate for each circumstance individually as needed in my
instruction. However, it is important
that each student realize that I have high expectations for them, and that I
still expect them to achieve.
1.
From your point of view, what motivates students…
Students are motivated in the short term by extrinsic motivation. They will engage in activities because of external motivations such as being rewarded for their action or out of fear of losing these rewards or being punished. Examples of external motivation methods are grades, candy or other food items, classroom “money”, etc. These methods are appropriate to use occasionally to motivate students on the short term. They help to give students a basic motivation, but these rewards do not last our students their whole lives. They only motivate students in the short term. Therefore, I feel that we should not rely only on these methods to instill motivation for our students. Otherwise, once these extrinsic motivation methods are taken away or are no longer used, students soon loose their motivation.
Students are motivated in the long term by intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation involves the student wanting to do the activities or to learn for themselves. They want to learn in order to improve themselves and to feel that they have accomplished something for their own satisfaction. They are not doing the activities in order to get something from someone else. They do it because they personally want to better themselves.
2.
Why will your students do what you ask them to?
My students will do what I ask them to because they are motivated to do so. They will be motivated to respect both me and the classroom code of conduct, which will help my students to do what I ask them to. I will have a good teacher-student relationship with my students. They will know and feel that each of them is valuable and special to me, which will help them to value the assignments that I give them. Since we will have a mutual respect for each other, my students will want to do what I ask. They will also realize that they must follow the code of conduct, since they themselves had helped to create it.
3.
How do you plan to motivate your students?
I plan to motivate my students by using both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. I will use extrinsic motivation sparingly in order to give students grades as well as some praise for good efforts and work. However, I do not plan on giving students extrinsic rewards such as candy or “money.” I feel that too much extrinsic motivation will not help my students. Instead, I would like to help my students to become more intrinsically motivated. I want them to learn out of enjoyment and for a personal sense of accomplishment, not for the hope of being rewarded for doing the work.
I will help to intrinsically motivate my students by making the material and my lessons very interesting and fun. Students will be motivated to attend my class since they will know that it will not be a waste of their time. They will feel that there is a purpose to every lesson and will want to attend my class and do the required work. They will also know that they will feel that they will be missing out if they do not attend my class or participate. This will motivate my students to want to be in my class, participate in the activities, and come prepared.
I will also use motivational stories, speeches, and biographies to help motivate my students. This will help them to see examples of people who have overcome hardships that they themselves may have in order to be successful. This will help to give them intrinsic motivation as well as an example to refer to when they may be feeling like not trying or giving up. This motivational strategy will also help my students to care about each other. It will help them become aware of others around them and will give them a desire to help others to get through difficult times. Students will learn to support each other and help each other in their learning and understanding. Therefore, I will not use a curve in my classroom or grading procedures that are based on student scores or their averages. Instead, I will have a set grading scale that I explain to my students. When I discuss the grading scale, I will also discuss the importance of helping each other. I will specifically discuss that there is not a curve, so we can openly assist each other without holding back for fear of the other student raising the curve and hurting our individual score. Helping each other with the material will improve everyone’s grades, since there will not be competition by using a curve.
I will also use my students’ progress to help motivate them. I will occasionally refer back to work and subjects that we have covered in order for students to see that they actually have learned quite a bit and that they are succeeding. This will give my students a sense of personal accomplishment and will help them to be motivated to continue their learning. Using portfolios will also help me to do this. We can look at previous work and see improvement as well as successes. Students will see that they have been challenged in the past and have gotten through it and succeeded. This will help them to be motivated to continue to do the work and to continue to want to learn in my class.
I feel that there should be a balance between external motivation and internal motivation techniques used in my class. Since we live in a society that will evaluates my students on external achievements, such as college degrees and grades, I want my students to achieve these external rewards. However, I want them to achieve these rewards by being internally motivated to do so.
4.
How would you characterize your motivational
style/approach?
I would characterize my motivational style between that of behaviorism and progressivism, but more toward progressivism. Ultimately, I want my students to be intrinsically motivated in life, which follows the ideas of progressive education. I want them to learn because they have an internal desire to do so, not because they will be rewarded by some external source. Therefore, I will motivate my students by ensuring that my lessons are interesting to my students and applicable to their lives. I will help them see their improvement by using portfolios of their work. They will be able to see their own development, which will help them to want to continue to challenge themselves further. However, I do realize that students today are motivated mainly by external sources. I will be trying to modify their motivational style to be more intrinsic. Therefore, I will still use some of the external motivations of behaviorism such as grades and praise for improved and excellent work. I want my students to earn good grades in my class, an extrinsic reward, but more importantly, I want them to learn the material from my class and to learn to become motivated to become lifelong learners. I will stress the importance of getting good grades, since in order to further their education in college, they will need to show proof of how motivated they are to learn. Therefore, I want my students to receive extrinsic rewards, such as good grades, but I want them to do so because they are intrinsically motivated.
As students enter the room, I greet them at the door. This helps my students to see that I am organized and I am ready to begin the day’s lesson. It also helps my students to realize that I care about them individually, since I also ask them how their day has been or other questions specifically related to them personally. I have learned over the past year that this interaction really helps my students to see that I care about them, which they respect me for. This type of relationship helps my students to want to behave during class.
The bell rings, and class officially starts. Without needing a prompt, the students are already busy working in their daily review journals and are responding to the review question that I had already placed on the board, nest to the day’s agenda and California Standard. They are used to this as part of the daily routine. These few initial minutes allow me to do the managerial necessities such as taking attendance. This also helps the students to get in the mindset of learning. They are able to be reminded about where they left off the previous day, and this journal activity then leads them into today’s lesson. I have found that these journals are very useful for me to check for understanding. I am able to see what topics could use more discussion and to see how much the students are retaining daily. After a few minutes, I have the students put their journals away and take out the materials they will need to take notes on today’s lesson.
I begin the lesson
by pertaining it to their lives. I ask
them, “Have you ever felt an earthquake before?” This helps to motivate the students to want
to learn about earthquakes and faults.
This also helps to build the lesson on prior knowledge. Their prior knowledge is mainly a personal
experience of being in an earthquake. I
also build on prior knowledge by telling them that for the past 2 weeks, we had
been studying other natural disasters, and now we will be discussing the
natural disaster of earthquakes, and specifically, the
four types of faults for today's lesson. I explain that it is important to
learn about earthquakes and faults because they are all around us, more than
you are now aware of, especially living here in
The
lecture begins with a case study of
Next, we look at slides of actual faults showing their type of displacement. I ask my students to answer as a group as to which type of fault each one is and why. They do so and get them all correct. This activity checks for understanding as well as order to engage students’ diverse cultural backgrounds. The photos I show them are examples from many different countries all around the world. While I am showing the slides, I notice that two students are talking to each other rather, than paying attention to the slides. I continue the exercise while walking over to stand near the two students. They stop their conversation and get back on task. I continue my walk around the classroom and notice that the same students begin talking to each other again. I still continue the lesson and walk over to them again. This time, I quietly tell them that I need to see them after class. This time, they stayed on task.
I then describe to the
students that they will work in their lab groups (four pre-assigned students)
to do the next activity. Each group has
2 blocks at their lab station. These
blocks will be used to demonstrate the four types of faults. I show the examples of how the blocks should
look. They are to put the two blocks
together and draw a railroad track STRAIGHT across the blocks, making sure that
the blocks don’t move. Next, I tell
them that they are to discuss as a group how you can use the blocks to
demonstrate each type of motion. I have
found that this provides a structure for group learning and for student
teaching. I monitor the activity, making
sure that everyone is fully understanding today’s lesson. I am able to see if they really grasp the
material as well as see how they are teaching each other. I am also able to provide feedback to the
students as I monitor them. I give them
messages of positive reinforcement as well as assist when I am needed for
clarification.
To
provide closure for this lesson, I bring the students back together as a group
and ask them what they learned and did in today’s class. Therefore, their answers are a summarization
of the lesson and will help the students refocus on what they really did
today. This helps to set the new
learning away and provides closure, as well as another time for assessment of
learning. After the closure discussion,
I hand out and explain the homework assignment, which directly relates to
today’s lesson. Independent practice for this lesson is in the form of
homework. It is a reinforcement of the
lesson and activities we did in class.
It is a handout that includes illustrations and actual pictures of
faults that the student labels with the correct fault type. It also has a spot for the students to list
and define the 4 types of faults. This
work reinforces learning independent of myself and
other students. I also mention to the
students that there will be a short quiz to start the day tomorrow that will be
very similar to the homework assignment.
The
bell rings and I excuse them to leave. I make eye contact with the students who
I told to see me after class. They both
come up to see me and I explain that our class time is very valuable and that
we do not have time to get off the subject and talk to our neighbors at
inappropriate times. I remind them of
our classroom code of conduct which we all agreed to follow. I tell them that
this is their formal warning, and that the next step is to call home, a
consequence that we all made and agreed to.
They said that they understand, truly apologized, and said that they
would not waste class time again.
Over the past year, I have found that many different types of activities help to accommodate all types of learners. Some students learn from lecture situations, some are visual, and some would rather have manipulatives. This lesson provides for the need of all of these types of students. There are always students who do the work quickly and those who need additional help. Therefore, by using many methods, I am able to determine which students need more help as I monitor the guided practice activity. For the students who learned the lesson quickly, they have the opportunity to teach it to the other students in their lab groups. Therefore, the students who need more help are able to get it initially from their peers. As I monitor the groups, I also help the students who need more assistance as well.
I again stand at the door, waiting for my next group of students to arrive. I see some of them walking towards me down the hall. Our eyes meet and we smile at each other. As they approach the door, I say “Hi” and ask them how Mr. Hansen’s class was today, since I know that that is the class they are coming from. They respond as well as ask me how my day has been, enter the classroom, begin to get their materials ready, and being responding to the daily review question in their journals. We are all prepared and ready for another period of learning and fun.