Classroom Management and Communication PlanAlana Linde

Too often students resort to a direct path of finding an answer, and they do not question what they are told or understand the process of arriving at the answer. My hope is to allow students to

feel comfortable and knowledgeable to challenge why things are the way they are.

Management Style and Philosophical Beliefs

Strong classroom management skills are crucial in being an effective teacher. Taking a

reflective look as to who I am as an educator and how I want my students to perceive me has

made me consider many things. I believe that when a classroom is managed well, students are

able to learn more because the environment enables them to participate, contribute, and ask

questions. While this plan projects how I will structure my future classroom, it is important to

take a moment to realize that I cannot predict everything that will happen while teaching. During

my first year as a teacher, I will reflect back to this plan and adjust things to fit how I can be the

most effective source for student learning.

My classroom management style leans to the side of being authoritative. I want students

to become independent learners and learn skills to coax them toward being self-sufficient, but I

also want to be viewed as a figure in the class that insists on having respect for everyone. It is

important for me that my students feel like they can trust me. In some aspects, my classroom will

be structured like a professional business setting. Students will understand that they may have to

work with people they do not always get along with, but it is important to learn how to work with

others with differing views and opinions. In addition to this, I feel as though I will have

somewhat of a ‘tough love’ personality toward my students. I will be their biggest fan and a huge

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supporter in their success, but when it comes down to breaking the rules that we have

collectively established, they will understand that a consequence will occur for their actions.

Because I believe that my teaching philosophy agrees with the social cognitive theory, I

think it is important to be a model for how you want students to behave in your class. This means

that I need to hold myself accountable if I tell students I will have assignments returned to them

by a certain time. If students see that I am holding up my end of the bargain, then they will see it

is important to turn their assignments in on time as well. This can also be applied to being in

class and carrying a positive attitude or by being respectful while others are speaking. In addition

to this, I also find that social constructivism fosters an environment in which students learn the

most, because they are learning from each other. This is where I really want students to

understand the concept of mutual respect. As we have been told many times, to earn respect, you

must give respect. When we are respecting each other, the learning process is more beneficial

because students are open to new ideas and provide constructive feedback when there is a

difference in opinion.

Establishing a Positive Classroom Culture

Developing a positive classroom environment is crucial to the learning process. Students

need to feel safe and secure in order for them to achieve. After reading Discipline with Dignity, I

have been able to incorporate well-developed insights and examples of how I will create positive

student-teacher relationships. To begin the school year (or semester), I will first start by learning

my students’ names as well as making a concerted effort to know their interests and hobbies.

Finding a way to incorporate their interests into instruction will help make learning more

engaging for students, and they will know that I genuinely express curiosity in their lives.

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I find true value in stating the purpose in things. However, I feel as though students are

told what to do for most of their lives. They are not given the option to express what their

thoughts and opinions are especially in content areas such as math. I want to establish that I am

here to teach students about a particular subject – algebra, geometry, accounting, business, etc. –

but I will also take note of what they want to learn. For example, some students may want to

learn about composing a resume, budgeting, college preparation, interviewing, taxes, etc. I can

keep these important interests in mind for days that students need a break from instruction or use

as a filler if a lesson ends before the period is complete.

Overall, I truly care about my students and have a desire to get to know them. I think will

be able to reach them if I have a better understanding of where they are coming from. Reading

students is a valuable tool I hope to continue to develop during my career. The main message I

want students to receive from my classes is that I believe in them and that they have so much

potential to do wondrous things. Sometimes all it takes for disengaged or misbehaved students is

someone to believe in them. I wish for my student to feel empowered. Something I want to

incorporate into my class is enabling students to discover themselves. How I plan to do this is

time set aside for reflection as well as incorporating project-based learning where students can

bring in insights and creativity. Another activity that I will have my students participate in is

watching a motivational video and taking time to set personal goals for themselves.

Developing Classroom Rules and Procedures

I plan to construct a social contract with the students (Curwin, Mendler, Mendler. 2008).

This is an agreement between my students and I that focuses on the values, rules, and

consequences for classroom behavior. However, instead of starting from scratch with the

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students, I will allow them to revise my classroom policy that I provide them in the course

syllabus. This adheres to my teaching philosophy because I believe that students learn best by

doing. Being an active part in the process of these rules will enable students to be accountable for

their actions and behaviors. Students will have the opportunity to amend my policy as long as

they can reach a consensus and provide a sound reason as to why it should be changed.

Some of the policies that I will highlight in the course syllabus will be listed as follows:

Students Leaving Class – Students are to wait until independent work time if they need to

leave the classroom (unless it is an emergency). They will fill out a hall pass that I have

provided them at the beginning of the quarter before giving it to me to sign.

Late Work – If a student does not turn in their work on the due date, they have one week

to turn it in. After one week, I will no longer accept it. Students will receive a 10%

deduction from their total grade for each day that it is late.

Absences – If a student knows that s/he will be missing class, they are to meet with me

beforehand to let me know and receive the material they will be missing. If a student has

missed class without me knowing prior to it, s/he is to check the “While You Were Out”

board next to the door to see what materials and assignments they will need to make up

before consulting with me.

Help – I am here as a resource! If you need help with an assignment, make up work, etc.;

let us find a time that will work best for both of us. Please be sure to bring questions that

you have. This will help both of us be more productive.

On a day-to-day basis, students will know what to expect and what is expected of them. I will

write a schedule on the board in the classes designated section each week. Students are to be in

their seats when the bell rings and ready to go. Unless otherwise specified, in order for students

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to be prepared, they will need something to write with and something to write on. Students will

be given an objective sheet at the beginning of each unit, and as the course goes, they can fill in

what knowledge they have obtained pertaining to each objective. This is one of the things I will

use to help guide my instruction. If there is a large percentage of students that do not understand

a particular problem or objective, I may need to take time to clarify or reteach before moving on.

I will also spend time going through students’ summative assessments. This will help me see

what students may need additional resources for learning. It is also a great way to see what

students are understanding and applying from the unit. When students are given time to work

independently, if a lesson runs short, or I am working one-on-one with a student, they are to be

working on work for my class unless they are finished. Then they can work on other homework,

or grab a book or activity from my shelf.

I will have students construct a list of key reminders/values to adhere to in our class to display. This is a great way to ensure that students adhere to the policies they initially established.

Source: http://www.wordle.net/create

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Classroom Layout

The classroom layout that I have selected to initially seat my students aides in creating a

collaborative environment. There will be many times that I allow students to work in pairs on an

activity or have students participate in ‘think, pair, share’ activities. This also enables students to

feel like a community. I hope that by having a classroom set up this way, students will become

more confident in their skills and comfortable to question what they are learning. I am a

proponent of creating a classroom in which we discuss the reasoning and discovery learning of

mathematical principles. When students have a peer to turn to, they may feel for confident in

their thought process and be more likely to contribute.

The layout I have created is difficult to depict where the focal point of the classroom is. This

is intentional. My reasoning behind this is I want to make sure students stay engaged throughout

a lesson or class period. Varying where I display material and where I am standing in the room

will help students be active learners throughout the year. Starting the year in this layout will also

help me in being a better classroom manager. I want to ensure that students feel comfortable in

the class, but also respectful of one another including myself. Because students will be in pairs

and facing each other, I will be able to weave in and out of the rows to be accessible for students.

In addition to this, students will have an understanding from day one that my class will be treated

like a professional environment. The rules and expectations of our class will be similar to what

they will be placed in in their future.

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Monitoring the Classroom and Responding to Student Misbehavior

The first part of effective classroom management is to constantly be monitoring the class.

Walking around and not being locked behind my desk will help to keep students on task and out

of trouble. However, this will not solve all problems that may occur in the class. For the times

that I cannot prevent student misbehavior, I will handle it on a scale. If a student is chatting with

a neighbor or off task, I will start by giving them a ‘look.’ If this does not stop the misbehavior, I

will walk closer to the student. From this point, I may need to say the students name while I am

teaching. It is important that I do not stop instruction all together. If the situation persists, I may

need to draw the student into the discussion by asking him or her a question. If I cannot stop the

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behavior I may say, see me after class. I do not believe in embarrassing the student in front of the

class, so this can be handled between us.

When discussing with the student that was causing the misbehavior, it is important to ask

them what they were doing and why they had to stay after class. It is one thing for me to tell

them what they were doing, but it more meaningful if the student can realize that they were being

a disruption for the class. I will also have the student review what our classroom values are. One

of the insights I plan to incorporate in my classroom from the text I read pertains to having the

students come up with their punishment. This holds them accountable and allows me to see what

they determine is a punishment fit for their misbehavior.

A goal of mine in teaching is to find the source of the problem. Often times, students

misbehave in a class if they are not receiving the proper attention needed. Whether the student is

having problems at home or has an undiagnosed learning disorder, these and many other reasons

could be the source of the misbehavior. This is why it is so crucial to know your students. This

way you see them as people that are seeking attention because they need help instead of being a

disturbance in your class. The artifact I have provided to go along with monitoring and

responding misbehavior is taken from the text I read for class. These eight ideas are all ones that

I see myself using in my classroom, especially the last one.

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These steps will help guide me when monitoring and responding to student misbehavior. Source: Discipline with Dignity (111 – 115)

Parents as Partners

Parents are a huge factor in a student’s schooling, which means that they are a huge factor in

my teaching. Sometimes parents are overly concerned with student’s performance in class, and

others are not concerned enough. The important thing is to have an established method to engage

all parents as partners in their children’s education. I will start by welcoming all of the parents of

my students with an introductory letter as well as a copy of a syllabus for the quarter (I will send

an update at each quarter). This will include my email address if a parent ever has a question or

concern about their student or my class. I will let the parents know that I will communicate my

updates with them via email unless otherwise specified for the remainder of the year – go green!

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Because technology is an easy and fast way to update students and parents, I will post the

homework, upcoming projects, tests, and study guides online, whether is the schools website, or

I create my own. This is an easy way for parents to check on their child’s progress. I will make

sure my online gradebook is updated on a weekly basis, so parents will know Monday where

their student stands in my class for the week. It is important for me to effectively communicate to

parents how my students and I have created an environment to benefit us. If a problem arises, I

would like to have a discussion with the child and parent together. This is to avoid any “he-said-

she-said” discrepancies.

When parent-teacher conferences come up, I plan to have a collection of varied student

artifacts to back up what I have to say about a parent’s child. Student work, to me, or more than

face value. For example, if a student has a B in my class, but I can show that she is progressively

getting higher test scores, and coming in for extra help on homework, I can prove that she is

trying hard, but maybe she had a low project grade in the beginning of the quarter. This is

valuable information that parents will appreciate. I will also use parent-teacher conferences as a

help for students that are struggling in my class. I may ask the parents a question about the

student such as what is his preferred way to study or what resources does he need to succeed in

math class. Receiving this advice from parents can be extremely helpful or maybe they will tell

me that something has been going on at home and that is why their daughter has not been

performing to her highest potential. Parents want the best for the children, and I want the best for

my students. As long as parents can see that we are trying to accomplish the same thing, I hope

that we can work as a team to ensure success of the student.

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References

Curwin, R. L., Mendler, A. N., & Mendler, B. D. (2008). Discipline with Dignity: New

Challenges, New Solutions. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum

Development.