Parent Communication and its Effects on Classroom Management

Allison Renaut and Jamie Frey Professional Development School Interns

Ferguson Township Elementary April 23, 2008

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When beginning teacher inquiry, one must consider related questions that, if

answered with the support of evidence, can enhance the classroom atmosphere and

improve student learning. A common question is that of effective classroom

management. We began our inquiry by examining this broad concept and identifying key

factors in the promotion of positive behavior in the classroom.

Teaching Context

Our original inquiries are derived from our kindergarten classrooms at Ferguson

Township Elementary. Jamie’s class includes sixteen boys and eight girls, making up a

total of twenty-four students. There is a large range of personalities in this class, varying

from shy, reserved students to energetic, defiant children. The girls demonstrate strong

characteristics in personality as they make their presence known. Some students are

socially and emotionally mature for their ages, while there is a stark difference in the

level of maturity of other students in the class. As personalities differ, so do academic

levels, as there are substantial gaps between the performance levels of the students.

Jamie’s class includes three students who are ESL learners, one special needs student,

and four students with Instructional Support Teams (ISTs) who require additional

support. Three students have diabetes that must be monitored closely by

paraprofessionals and teachers multiple times per day, and the sugar levels of these

students affect their behavior and performance in the classroom. There are many

ethnicities, family structures, and income levels represented in the class, and these

differences are embraced and celebrated by the students and teachers.

Allison’s class is similar in some ways, but also very different. This class consists

of twenty-five students, sixteen boys and nine girls. There is a core group of boys who

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are very active and busy, and the class as a whole is playful, engaging, and boisterous at

times. The personalities of the boys are very strong, as are some of the girls, which make

for a chatty and dominant class personality. There is not much variation between the

academic levels of the students in reading, writing and math, when compared to Jamie’s

class. Currently there are not any students who are ESL learners, and one boy has an IST

in place to improve his concentration and focus. Overall, the socioeconomic status of the

students and their families is fairly consistent, as are the family structures and ethnic

backgrounds. The classes both have strong parental support, which is a common attribute

to many classes at Ferguson. It is in this final quality that our inquiry began.

Because our classes have similar levels of parental support, we decided to work

collaboratively in researching this connection to management and developing new

inquiries and understandings regarding classroom management and what affects it. We

know that managing behavior is a struggle that affects not only the teacher, but also the

students and their abilities to learn. At this point, we felt that our students were losing

instructional time because of behavior-related issues that could be resolved differently.

We hoped to diminish the amount of behavioral reminders we gave our students and

therefore increase the amount of instruction and learning in our classes. Given the

context of our classrooms, we inquired into the effects of increased parent

communication on behavior so we can better help our students become self-regulated,

responsible learners.

Wonderings and Questions Main Question: Does effective parent communication have an influence on the behavior of students? Sub-Questions:

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Are the parents satisfied with the current amount of communication regarding their child’s behavior at school? If not, would they prefer more or less feedback? How can we keep parents informed of their child’s behavior in school while also motivating students?

In beginning our inquiry, we wondered if there was a connection between the

classroom and home in relation to students’ behaviors. If so, this connection could be

used to increase positive behavior in the classroom with the support of the parents.

“Allowing parents to feel that there is an open line of communication, will allow both

parent and student to feel a part of the classroom” (Charner, 1989). We implemented an

intervention to see if more frequent communication between home and school would

positively effects students’ behavior in school.

This intervention, entitled the Five Star Program, is a response-based system that

involves color-coded tiers of consequences and incentives for students daily, as well as

reporting behavior to parents. The students will be assigned five colored cards of their

own: green, yellow, white, blue, and red. Each of these colors denotes a leveled

consequence for an inappropriate behavior. At the end of the day, the goal is for all

students to still have their green card facing up, showing their parents that they

demonstrates positive behavior. Once warned three to four times about inappropriate

behavior, the students will be asked to flip their cards to yellow. This is a warning card,

and if students need further reminders, then they will have to change their cards to white.

With a white card, students will then need to spend some “thinking time” during Choice

Time or recess with the teacher. If students should need additional warnings, then their

cards will flip to blue and they will help the teacher write a note to her parents. The final

tier of consequences is a red card, which means the students will call home to explain to

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their parents about their behavior at school. At the end of each day, the students will

record their card color on a chart to be seen and signed by parents daily.

The foundation of this program is the potential to earn stars for each “green day.”

Once the students earn five stars, or five green days, they will be rewarded with extra

computer time, recess, or lunch with a teacher. The focus of the program is on this

reward, rather than the aspect of flipping cards and earning the negative consequences.

We chose the Five Star program because of its ability to keep parents informed of

their child’s behavior at school. Parents were made aware of each of the color-coded tiers

and the associated consequences, as well as the potential rewards available for their child.

As parents viewed their child’s chart to sign it daily, they could find comments from the

teachers regarding their child’s behavior. This intervention was helpful in providing us

with the data that we needed to address our questions about the correlation between

parent communication and student behavior.

Data Collection and Analysis:

To begin the process of data collection, we first considered the types of data we

could use to collect evidence to support our inquiry. We developed a list of ideas that

included parent and student surveys, keeping in mind that we had to find data that could

support or counter our inquiry questions and sub questions. We needed to record the

entire process of implementing the new program in order to see if it created a positive or

negative change in behavior. Finally, we needed to decide exactly what we wanted to

learn and from whom we wanted to learn it.

We first decided that we wanted parental input, and so we designed and sent out a

parent survey. For this first survey, we asked parents to rate the level of communication

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they felt they had with the school and students. We also asked parents if they were

satisfied with the level of communication or if they wanted it to change. The baseline

level of communication for our parents was through a weekly newsletter featuring

updates and previews about the classroom, parent conferences twice a year, and on an

individual basis if there was any specific academic or behavioral problems or questions.

We asked if they would support a new behavioral program in the classroom that would

directly communicate to parents on a daily basis about their child’s behavior. Finally, we

asked parents what discipline techniques they found to be successful at home and at

school for their child.

To analyze this data, we decided to collect all of the parent surveys that were

returned and tally up the answers that the parents provided for each question. When we

analyzed the data from the parent survey, we found that 19 out of 29 parents were not

satisfied with what they rated as a low level of communication in the classroom. Most

parents said they would prefer more information about their child’s behavior at school.

Four parents commented that they knew if there was a big problem academically or

behaviorally that they would hear from the classroom teacher, but would appreciate

communication on a more regular basis when their children are behaving well. One

parent commented by saying, “More communication is always better.” We felt the need

to increase parent communication in hopes of influencing student behavior for classroom

management purposes. “Open parent communication within the classroom strengthens

the classroom community” (Wright, 2003). We also wanted to reach out to the majority

of classroom parents who desired more information about student behavior.

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After analyzing results from our parent survey, we found that 89% of our

classroom parents did support the implementation of a program that informs parents on a

daily basis of their child’s behavior. We also found that 28 parents out of 30 parents who

returned our survey commented that they felt more communication would positively

affect students’ behavior in the classroom. This part of the survey was especially

interesting to analyze for those students of whom we knew personally struggled with

behavior inside of the classroom. Many of these students made progress, earning more

green cards each week. Since we had the support of our classroom parents, we knew that

it would be vital to our inquiry to find a behavioral system that worked to both

communicate with parents and encourage appropriate classroom behavior.

Although it was more difficult to analyze the open-ended questions regarding the

different management styles at home and school, we were able to determine that 64% of

our classroom parents used a sticker chart to record and reward behavior at home. These

parents felt that this type of system was most helpful for their children and saw great

changes in behavior when they used it. Other parents supplied rewards for positive

behavior and punishment or timeout for negative behavior. After realizing that most

parents used a behavioral sticker chart, we began to wonder how we could motivate

students in the classroom while increasing parent communication, and we decided that

we would implement the Five Star Program.

Through the Five Star Program, we were able to collect many pieces of data to

use for our inquiry questions. Since students recorded their own behavior on a daily basis,

we were able to observe, over a four-week period, the increase in motivation and positive

behavior. We were able to do this through the collection of student recording sheets. To

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analyze the data, we counted the number of the positive behavior green cards, the yellow

warning cards, the white timeout cards, and the final warning cards that were blue and

red. We turned these numbers into a data graph that visually shows the increase of green

cards over the recorded time period. This data can be used as evidence to support the Five

Star Program and the increase in motivation for positive student behavior .

During the second week of our Five Star Program, we decided to include a section

for parent/teacher comments on the recording charts. In the first week we noticed that we

felt the need to explain to parents why their child earned a warning card, and parents

were responding with comments regarding their child’s specific behavior. We found that

the box allowed parents to provide positive comments and ask questions, while teachers

could explain student behavior, answer questions, and provide encouragement for both

parents and students. The data clearly shows that communication increased with the

comment box and the increase in green cards is linked to this increase in communication.

Through comments, parents expressed their positive feelings about the program; several

parents commented that they have brought the program into their homes and that the

reinforcement is working well in the classroom and at home.

During the end of our second week, we wanted to know what our students thought

of our new program. From our observations, we could tell that students valued their green

cards and the rewards that came with the positive behavior in the classroom, but we

wanted to collect concrete data that would give insight to their thoughts and feelings

about this new system. We asked our forty-nine students how they felt when they

received a green card, yellow card, and their five green card reward. We also wanted to

know if students felt that the program helped them with needing fewer reminders during

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the day to see if the students could observe a difference in their own behavior. Finally, we

asked students if they liked the new program. Since our students are kindergarteners, we

asked them to circle pictures of a happy, an indifferent, and a sad Garfield to answer the

survey questions.

To analyze this data, we combined the classes and counted the number of

responses for each question. We realized that forty-four out of the forty-seven students

that we surveyed said that they feel very happy when they received their green cards and

their five green card rewards. All but one child circled an unhappy or mad Garfield to

represent how they felt when they had to change their card to a yellow warning card.

These pieces of data tells us that our students are motivated to keep their green card and

therefore work very hard to maintain positive behavior throughout each day to earn their

rewards. We now had two pieces of data, our Five Star recording sheets and the student

surveys, that strongly support our question of how to motivate students and keep the lines

of parent communication open.

We were particularly interested in the last two questions on our student survey to

see how students perceived their own behavior and the new program. All but four

students, 91% of both classes, said that this program has helped them with their behavior

in the classroom and with needing fewer reminders. Again, this data directly supports our

question of how to motivate student behavior in the classroom. All but four students also

indicated, by circling the happy face, that they liked our new Five Star program. We

thought this piece of data was exceptionally important to see the effectiveness of our

program. We knew that students’ behavior has changed through our own observations

and the data from recording sheets, but we believe for students to observe changes in

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their own behavior is extremely powerful in the classroom, for their own development,

and for our inquiry.

Explanation of Findings

After four weeks of collecting data and implementing our Five Star intervention,

we have come to analyze this data and form claims according to our original questions.

These claims are supported and strengthened by the evidence we have gathered.

Claim 1: An increase in parent communication about behavior positively affects

students’ behavior.

As we began the inquiry process, we noticed that our students were practicing

inappropriate behaviors and in need of frequent reminders of positive behavior. In

speaking with our mentors, we wondered if there would be an effect on behavior if the

parents were more involved and informed. After collecting parent surveys that indicated

their desire for an increase in communication regarding behavior, we implemented our

Five Star intervention and began to notice the climates of our classrooms changing.

Over the first four weeks of the program, the number of green cards earned increased in

each classroom, while the number of yellow and white cards remained steady or

decreased (appendix, 24).

This data supports the claim that, in general, keeping parents informed of their

child’s behavior, whether it be positive or negative, positively affects student behavior in

the classroom. Parents are using their awareness to reinforce the intervention at home

by offering further rewards or consequences that were consistent with the Five Star

Program. For example, in addition to the classroom reward given for five stars, one

child will receive extra swimming time each week for every three consecutive green

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cards he earns. This support has added extra incentives for the students to behave

appropriately.

Claim 2: Parents are interested in feedback regarding their child’s behavior at

school on a daily basis.

The parent survey we developed gave parents the opportunity to comment on the

current level of communication regarding their child’s behavior and whether or not they

would like to see that level changed.

After receiving completed surveys, we analyzed the data and found that 63% of the

29 parents who returned the survey, requested an increase in the amount of

communication. Since the beginning of the intervention, we have also received positive

comments from parents regarding the increased level of communication in relationship

to the new program. These pieces of evidence show us that the parents are interested in

more feedback, as often as on a daily basis. Many parents, 63% of those who returned

the survey, noted that they would appreciate more feedback concerning their child’s

behavior in school, and that a program consisting of daily feedback and communication

would improve the overall communication between the classroom and their home. In

addition to this data, parents also showed appreciation for feedback concerning

appropriate and inappropriate behavior from their child. We felt that it was important to

keep parents aware of their child’s positive behavior in hopes that this would act as

further incentive to the students.

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Claim 3: Open communication between parents and classroom teachers, along with

a consistent rewards system, positively affects students’ motivation to behave

appropriately in school.

After analyzing the data from our intervention that showed an increase in positive

behavior and a decrease in distraction from learning, we wondered what the students

thought about the Five Star Program and whether or not they felt that it was helping

them. We interviewed each student in our class using a Garfield survey (appendix, 28),

and concluded that most of our students felt that they benefited from this program.

Overall, they anxiously anticipated the rewards and were motivated to keep their card on

green. These surveys affirmed our claim that the rewards associated with this

comprehensive intervention motivated students to behave in positive ways, and we are

hoping to see lasting effects throughout the remainder of the school year with the

continuation of the Five Star program.

Reflections and Future Practice

We chose to focus our questions on the concept of classroom management because

of the common struggle in this area for both beginning and veteran teachers. With a

strong amount of parental support, this inquiry proved to be fruitful in our current

classrooms and the Five Star Program is helping our students become more responsible,

self-regulated learners. The claims we have made regarding parent communication will

be useful in entering our first year of teaching, as we can approach the year knowing the

effects of keeping parents informed and involved in their child’s behavior at school. We

realize that the Five Star Program might not be as effective in other classrooms, as

management strategies are rarely versatile enough to benefit all types and groups of

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children. However, this process has given us experience in experimenting with the

components of effective and consistent classroom management.

After exploring the positive effects of parental support on student behavior, we are

left with further wonderings and questions. We are interested in other factors that

contribute to effective classroom management, such as teaching styles, gender

differences and ratios, effective instruction, and class size. Any of these questions could

be further explored and would most likely reveal strategies with which to experiment.

When asked about their comfort level regarding classroom management, Ferguson

Township Elementary staff members, varying in years of experience, indicated a general

discomfort with their strategies and systems of management. After implementing an

effective program into our practicum classrooms, we hope to take this experience into

our first year of teaching. With this experience, we now feel better prepared with

strategies that promote a positive atmosphere from the beginning of the year in which

distractions are at a minimum and instructional time is maximized each day. We will

look to involve as many willing parents as possible to increase the amount of positive

behavior in the classroom, and we will offer feedback to students that is motivating,

rewarding, and consistent. Our research has guided us towards evidence-based claims

that support this type of management strategy and we intend to use ideas like these to

strengthen our teaching styles and create environments in which our children can thrive

every day.

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Works Cited

Charner, K. (1989). The preschool letters and notes to parents book. New York: Gryhon House.

Wright, K. (2003). Building school and community partnerships through parent

involvement. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Appendix

Inquiry Brief Annotated Bibliography

Parent Survey Letter Parent Survey/Results

Five Star Informational Letter Five Star Chart

Five Star Student Award Five Star Program Data

Photographs of Five Star Program Student Survey/Results

Behavior Chart Examples

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Jamie Frey Allison Renaut February 27, 2008

Inquiry Brief

Context and Rationale Our inquiries are derived from our kindergarten classrooms at Ferguson Township

Elementary. Jamie’s class includes sixteen boys and eight girls, making up twenty-four

students. The girls demonstrate strong characteristics in personality as they make their

presence known. There is a large range of personalities in this class, varying from shy,

reserved students to boisterous, defiant children. Some students are very socially and

emotionally mature for their ages, while there is a stark difference in the level of maturity

of other students in the class. As personalities differ, so do academic levels, as there are

substantial gaps between the performance levels of the students. Jamie’s class includes

students who are ESL learners, one special needs student, and students with Instructional

Support Teams (ISTs) who require additional support. Three students have diabetes that

must be monitored closely by paraprofessionals and teachers multiple times per day, and

the sugar levels of these students affect their behavior and performance in the classroom.

There are many ethnicities, family structures, and income levels represented in the class,

and these differences are embraced and celebrated by the students and teachers.

Allison’s class is similar in some ways, but also very different. This class consists

of twenty-five students, sixteen being boys and nine girls. There is a core group of boys

who are very active and busy, and the class as a whole is playful, engaging, and

boisterous at times. The personalities of the boys are very strong, as are some of the

girls, which make for a chatty and dominant class personality. There is not much

variation between the academic levels of the students in reading, writing and math, as

2

compared to Jamie’s class. Currently there are not any students who are ESL learners,

and one boy has an IST in place to center in on improving his concentration and focus.

Overall, the socioeconomic status of the students and their families is fairly consistent, as

is the family structures and ethnic backgrounds. The class has strong parental support,

which is a common attribute to many classes at Ferguson.

In discussing our class dynamics, we found a common wondering regarding

behavior management. Teachers in both rooms, both mentors and interns, were

struggling with management and we were thinking about what makes management

strategies effective for certain types of classes. Do the personalities of our students affect

the types of strategies we use, and do our personalities and styles as teachers affect the

success of our management? Because our classes have some similarities, we decided to

work collaboratively in researching our wonderings and developing new inquiries and

understandings regarding classroom management and what affects it. It is important for

teachers to feel comfortable with the tools they use to manage behavior in the classroom,

and by investigating and comparing the behavioral profiles of our two classes, we can

better judge the type of management that works for our personalities and shows positive

results in the classroom.

We know that managing behavior is a struggle that affects not only the teacher,

but also the students and their abilities to learn. At this point, we feel that our students

are losing instructional time because of behavior-related issues that could be resolved

differently. We hope to diminish the amount of reminders of appropriateness we give our

students and therefore increase the amount of instruction and learning in our class. Given

the context of our classrooms, we will inquire into the effects of the student and teacher

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personalities on behavior so we can better help our students become self-regulated,

responsible learners.

Main Wondering: Classroom Management: In what ways do classroom, student, and teacher characteristics affect student behavior? Sub Questions: WONDERING: Does gender ratio affect classroom management? The kindergarten classrooms that we work with have an overwhelming majority of male students. We know that the gender ratio affects the classroom personality, but we wonder if it also effects how a teacher effectively manages classroom behavior. WONDERING: Is it more effective to use a variety of management strategies or one structured set of rules? Through different interventions, we hope to see if it is more effective for classroom management to institute one program or to use a variety of techniques and strategies. WONDERING: Does the transition from the size of group instruction make a difference in student behavior and classroom management? Throughout the year, we have noticed that our class struggles with transitions. We wonder if the activity or size of group instruction that they are transitioning to or from effects student behavior. WONDERING: Should the size of our class affect the type management strategies used? In what ways does class size affect student behavior? Our two kindergarten classes are quite large. We wonder if the size of the class dictates the type of effective management used. WONDERING: Does effective parent communication have an influence on the behavior of students? We wonder if there is a connection between the classroom and home on students’ behaviors. We hope to try some interventions to see if a stronger communication between home and school positively effects students’ behavior. Projected Calendar: February: 25-29 Send/Receive parent and teacher surveys on classroom management 18-29 Noting observations on specific students and behaviors 18-29 Evaluate classroom management techniques and personalities/effects on class March: 3-7 Inform parents of their role in new behavior interventions – letter home

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17 After spring break- Begin interventions -Begin with 5 Star program, then add strategies as needed (marble jar, good work slips, Super Student badges)

All month: Receive parent and teacher surveys on classroom management

April: 1-15 Analyze and evaluate data, interventions, and surveys for further use 15-22 Write paper

APRIL 23rd: INQUIRY IS DUE!! Data Collection Ideas:

We have many ideas for the data collection portion of our inquiry. In order to get

a recorded baseline on our students’ behaviors, we plan on noting student behaviors prior

to any interventions or changes in classroom management. We also plan to keep a journal

on our own classroom management techniques to monitor the effects of our personalities

on our students and classroom management. To gain insight on our topic, we will be

sending out parent and teacher surveys on classroom management. We will also be

conducting student surveys to see how our students view their classroom and the

management techniques that are used. We will have several different surveys and

interviews throughout the inquiry process.

There will also be different interventions that we will try throughout our inquiry.

Our first goal is to create a strong communication between home and school, in hopes

that it will positively affect student behavior. We hope to do this through a program

called the Five Star Program, where students’ behavior is monitored and parents are

constantly aware of their children’s behavior in school. We also plan to use different

ways to communicate with students’ home lives in order to positively influence student

behavior.

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Another interest that we have within this inquiry is to experiment with different

classroom combinations to find the effects that they may have on classroom management.

We would like to try an all female and all male classrooms, switch teachers, and

introduce different management styles. This would be done for a short period of time

each day for a week. We want to change the dynamics in our classroom and to

experiment with personalities and styles of the teachers to see the effects on classroom

management.

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Allison Renaut and Jamie Frey

Annotated Bibliography

Babyak, A. E., Luze, G. J., & Kamps, D. M. (2000, March). The good student game: Behavior

management for diverse classrooms. Intervention in School & Clinic, 35(4), 216-225.

Retrieved February 11, 2008, from

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu//?vid=1&hid=102&sid=d4f102df-

ee54-4776-a267-b301ba3316c4%40sessionmgr104

This journal article provides us with an example of a behavior management tool that

uses incentives and the modeling of positive student behavior to decrease

inappropriate behaviors. “Good students” become role models for others in the way

they behave appropriately, and

classroom management system revolves around the emphasis on positive behavior.

We think that this kind of positive motivation can help to create more intrinsic

motivation in our students. Because we have groups of students who do behave

appropriately, we are able to exemplify them and encourage other students to

notice their behaviors. This kind of positive modeling could also support our

other management ideas as we explore

the effectiveness of the tools in each classroom.

Cangelosi, J. S. (2008). Classroom management strategies: Gaining and maintaining

students’ cooperation. New York: John Wiley & Songs.

This book provides typical behavioral situations in the classroom and different

management tools and outcomes that a teacher could use within the situations.

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Since these cases are common classroom problems, it will be a useful source in

our inquiry to try different management techniques on the same situation. The

book also provides goals and objectives that a teacher should have for different

behaviors that students exhibit. Cases range from disruptive and off-task, to

non-disruptive and off-task behaviors. Finally, the book also encourages

teachers to find ways to motivate students to engage in learning therefore

positively influence students’ behaviors.

File, N., & Gullo, D. F. (2002, March). A comparison of early childhood and elementary

education students’ beliefs about primary classroom teaching practices. Early Childhood

Research Quarterly, 17(1), 126-137. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from

http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6W4

B-

45B686V2&_user=209810&_coverDate=03%2F31%2F2002&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=s

earch&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000014439&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=20

9810&md5=08a5346b6242d

This journal discusses studies performed with beginning students and pre-service

teachers in early childhood and elementary education. The study focuses on their

beliefs of teaching practices, including those of classroom management. In the area of

behavior management, there seems to be a large gap between the beliefs of those

students beginning in the field of education, and those teachers practicing in the field.

We might find this journal helpful as we examine our own beliefs about teaching and

managing behavior. As an aspect of our wondering suggests, we are curious to see the

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relationships between our personalities and beliefs and our management styles and

techniques. This research provides us with at least one point of reference in this area

of study.

Herrell, A. L., & Jordan, M. (2007). 35 Classroom management strategies: promoting

learning and building community. New York: Pearson Education.

This source introduces a learning environment that supports students’

engagement as a preventative measure to disruptive behaviors. It includes the

arrangement of furniture, access to resources/materials, and adequate time to

work, interact, and collaborate with other students. Once the learning

environment has been properly set up, then teachers introduce a management

style that properly fits the classroom. The book discusses how to find a system

that is built on respect and mutual understanding and how to give students

responsibility on their own behavior. Finally, the book discusses the role of

parents in the classroom and how they can influence students’ behaviors.

Jacobs, M. M., & Langley, N. (2007). Real classroom management. Maryland: Rowman

and Littlefield Education.

This book addresses the question on classroom management: “Whose job is

it?” It talks about the role and responsibilities of teachers, administrators, and

parents in the classroom, and how each can influence behavior. It also

discusses an interesting connection between the classroom and the community,

and how the community plays a role in classroom behavior. This book will be

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useful in our inquiry when we look at the role of teachers and parents in the

classroom and how they both effect classroom management. It is also a great

resource for new and veteran teachers, as well as parents and administrators.

Lewis, C. (2008, January 13). Tools for Classroom Management. Interview presented at New

Oxford Elementary.

Mrs. Lewis suggested a group incentive tool that involves filling a jar with objects

every time the group is following directions and acting appropriately. For example,

she uses cotton balls in her jar, and when students are on task she will place a handful

of cotton balls into the jar. Once the jar is filled, the students will be rewarded with an

extra recess or choice time. She also takes out handfuls when she sees misbehavior.

This puts peer pressure on the students to stay on task and engage in appropriate

behavior. This is a tool that can supplement the behavior card system. A mix of

individual and group incentives could provide for a delicate balance in the classroom.

We plan on investigating the effects of using more than one behavior management

system simultaneously, adding them onto each other as time goes on. This activity

could easily be introduced and added on to any type of current management structure.

Noell, G. H., Duhon, G. J., Gatti, S. L., & Connell, J. E. (2002). Consultation, follow-up, and

implementation of behavior management interventions in general education. School

Psychology Review, 31(2), 217-235. Retrieved February 11, 2008, from

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu//?vid=1&hid=105&sid=2b62f28e-

dff6-40bf-95eb-a956e46a7022%40sessionmgr109

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This journal article discusses the implementation of interventions for behavior

management and the results of that intervention. Teachers were studied while putting

the interventions into place, and the variations in implementation were noted. The

research showed high levels of stability and effectiveness when interventions were

conducted with consistency and an emphasis on follow-up. When conducing our

inquiry, we plan to implement interventions as we explore behavior management

strategies. It is important to focus on the implementation of these tools to monitor for

success as we reflect upon our abilities as teachers to be consistent in management.

This research will provide us with research and information related to implementing

behavior interventions and achieving higher success rates with our programs.

Ravet, J. (2007). Are We Listening? New York: Trentham Books.

This book discusses the importance of the student-teacher-parent connection. It

will be a great source to use during our inquiry because we are interested in

strengthening the bond between home and school. Not only does it give the

student and teacher perception on why students struggle to focus and behave in

the classroom, but it also gives the parent perspective. Finally, the book gives

strategies on how to collaborate to have a successful classroom. This book

would be appropriate for first year and veteran teachers alike.

Renaut, D. (2008, January 9). Classroom management. Interview presented at New Oxford

Elementary.

This interview took place via email, as Mrs. Renaut provided us with examples of

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behavior management tools she uses in her kindergarten classroom. She uses a Five

Star system in which students have sets of cards in five different colors, each color

representing mounting consequences. As the students perform inappropriate behavior,

they flip their cards and their color is reported to their parents. Students get a star for

each day they don’t have to move their card. After five days of keeping their card on

green, the original color, the students are rewarded.

This strategy, with some adaptations, is a suggestion we are interested in because of

the communication with parents. It would be feasible to implement this into our

classrooms because of our strong parental support, and this strategy might provide our

students with the consistency they need.

Scheuermann, B. K., & Hall, J. A. (2004). Positive behavioral supports for the

classroom. New York: Pearson.

This text on classroom management will be beneficial to our inquiry because it

provides detailed information on how to institute new routines and

management programs in the classroom. Another major portion of the book

deals with successfully using positive reinforcement as a management tool.

One of the strongest parts of the book is the section that deals with the

importance of looking at students’ learning difficulties as an influence on

classroom behaviors. This will motivate us to not only look at students’

behaviors, but to look at the causes of students’ behaviors.There are also

different recording sheets that are used to record students’ behaviors, which

might be a way for us to record the behaviors in our classrooms. Finally, this

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book includes a section on common and expected behaviors in the classroom,

and what might cause them.

Watkins, B. (2008, January 9). Classroom Management Tools. Interview presented at New

Oxford Elementary.

Mr. Bryan Watkins is a second grade teacher who uses a similar system to that of Mrs.

Donna Renaut, noted previously. Mr. Watkins utilizes his students’ homework folders

to keep track of their behavior throughout the week. At the end of each day, they

record the color of their card in their homework folder and parents are to sign their

folder each night. Each day their card is on green, they get a sticker, and five stickers

awards them an extra recess.

I feel that these incentives would have an effect on our students. It emphasizes the

positive rewards of behaving appropriate and takes the emphasis off of misbehaving. I

like the idea of having the chart built into their homework folders, and would consider

this for an older grade.

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Letter to Parents Attached to Survey February 22, 2008

Dear Parents, We need your input and insight! In order to ensure our continued professional development as teachers, we will be conducting an inquiry project throughout the remainder of the school year that focuses on classroom organization and the management of behavior within our classrooms. As students and teachers, we have been questioning the most effective ways of managing behavior, both appropriate and inappropriate, as we are taking more and more responsibility for our classrooms. We want to increase the level of engagement and instruction in our classes and reduce the amount of “reminders”

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we give to the students when they are not meeting the behavioral expectations. This topic has become and will continue to be our passion for the remainder of the year as we research and collect data that will hopefully answer many of our questions about general behavior management. Here’s where you come in. You know your child better than anyone in the world, and we would appreciate if you would take a few minutes to tell us more about his or her behavior in school and how effectively it is communicated to you. These surveys will remain anonymous and will be used as data in our research study. Please feel free to add any additional comments you might feel would be helpful as we continue to inquiry about children’s behaviors and how to best meet the needs of our current and future students! Attached are the survey questions and some brief instructions. We encourage you to be as detailed as possible, knowing that your time is precious. Thank you in advance for your support and input, and please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments! Sincerely, The Kindergarten Interns Allison Renaut and Jamie Frey

Parent Survey February 2008 1. Please rate the level of communication you feel you have with your child about school: 1 2 3 4 5 No Communication Open Communication 2. Would you like the above level to change? Yes No 3. Please rate the level of communication you have with the school about your child: 1 2 3 4 5 No Communication Open Communication

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4. Would you like the above level to change? Yes No 5. Do you feel that an increase in communication with the classroom about your child would positively affect your child’s behavior at school? Yes No 6. Would you be interested in an increase of communication/ a program that would link home and school to promote motivation and positive behavior for your child? Yes No 7. On a regular basis, rate how your child describes their experience in school?

1 2 3 4 5 Negative Positive 8. What types of discipline styles do you feel would work best for your child in school? 9. Is there a successful discipline technique or incentive that you use at home that might work for your child in school?

Parent Survey 1. Please circle the level of communication you feel you have with your child about school (where 1 is little or no communication and 5 is open and honest communication): 1 2 3 4 5 (1) (0) (7) (11) (10) No Communication Open Communication 2. Would you like the above level to change? Yes No (16) (12)

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3. Please circle the level of communication you have with the school about your child (where 1 is little or no communication and 5 is open and honest communication): 1 2 3 4 5 (1) (2) (11) (5) (10) No Communication Open Communication 4. Would you like the above level to change? Yes No (17) (10) 5. Do you feel that an increase in communication with the classroom teacher about your child would positively affect your child’s behavior at school? Yes No (28) (2) 6. Would you be interested in an increase of communication, such as a program that would link home and school to promote motivation and positive behavior for your child? Yes No (26) (3) 7. On a regular basis, please rate by circling how your child describes their experience in school (where 1 is a negative experience and 5 is a positive experience):

1 2 3 4 5 (3) (11) (14)

Negative Positive 8. What types of behavior management styles do you feel would work best for your child in school? Type of record-reward sticker chart:19 Communication:1 Motivation: 1 Structure and rules: 5 9. Is there a successful management technique or incentive that you use at home that might work for your child in school? Type of record-reward sticker chart:14 Structure and rules: 2 Attention: 1

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Counting: 1 Negative Reinforcement: 6 Stressing the importance of education: 1

Informational Letter about the Five Star Program

March 6, 2008 Dear Parents, An important part of your child’s kindergarten year is to learn to respect others and to practice positive behavior. Our Polar Bears have been working on following our classroom promises and have made a great deal of growth since the first day of kindergarten! After Spring Break, we will be implementing a new program to encourage such positive behavior. Your child will be given the opportunity to earn a “Five Star Student Award” after five days of positive behavior. In our class, each child will be given five cards to keep in a pocket chart that has his/her name on the pocket. The top card is green and the object

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is to have no behavior issues throughout the day and earn a “green day star” sticker on their pending Five Star award. After the first inappropriate behavior, the child will flip to the second card, which is yellow. This will be a warning card. For the next negative behavior, the child will flip to a white card and will serve five minutes of “thinking time” at a table during Choice Time or recess. The fourth card is blue and the child will sit out of a different activity and a note or email will be sent home to the parents. If the child needs to flip to red, he/she must make a phone call home to the parents explaining his/her behavior. After three consecutive days of flipping to a red card, the teacher will arrange for a meeting with the student and his/her parent(s). At the end of each day, your child will fill out a behavior sheet that will be coming home in a folder in their backpack. This chart will show the color of card your child ended the day on and the sheet will need to be signed and returned each day. We are encouraging your child to talk with you about their behavior in school, no matter what color they are reporting! The charts will remain in the folders for the duration of the week and will be taken out by the teachers at the end of the week, as a blank chart will replace it. If a chart is ever lost or destroyed, the student can receive a new, blank chart upon request. After five days of positive behavior (staying on green), your child will receive a reward (extra computer or choice time, lunch with a teacher, etc.) and he/she will bring home a “Five Star Student Award” with his/her five stickers. Please encourage your child to be a good listener, to follow our Polar Bear Promises and to be respectful of others. Look for many “Five Star Student Awards” to come home with your child! As you enjoy your Spring Break, please take a moment to discuss this new program with your child and feel free to email or call me with any questions. Thank you for your cooperation!

Sincerely,

Miss Renaut Akr5001@psu.edu

717-451-6069

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Below is an example of the behavior chart that will need to be signed and returned to school each day: Green: Your child had a great day! He/she was a good listener throughout the day and worked cooperatively with others! Please tell him/her how proud you are! Yellow: Your child was given a warning about his/her behavior today. He/she called out more than once on the carpet, was not working well with others, was running or yelling in the classroom, hallway, or other places, was not following directions, other _____________________ (teacher will circle one or specify if necessary!) White: Your child was given the above warning and continued to behave inappropriately in the same or a different way. He/she spent some time thinking at a table during Choice Time or recess today. Blue: Your child was given the above warnings and consequences for their behavior today and continued to behave inappropriately. Please look for a note or email from the teachers explaining his/her behavior in more detail. Red: Your child was given the above warnings and consequences and continued to behave inappropriately. He/she will be calling you to explain this behavior. March 17 March 18 March 19 March 20 March 21 (child will color in these blocks according to his/her card color for the day)

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Parent signature:

Parent signature:

Parent signature:

Parent signature:

Parent signature:

FIVE STAR STUDENTS!

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Parents,

Please review your child’s behavior with them every day! This will help our students better understand the process of taking responsibility for their actions in school and continue on the path of positive behavior and encouragement!

Please sign the enclosed chart each day to acknowledge that you are aware of your child’s behavior for that particular day and return the chart to school in this folder each day. The descriptions for each color card are listed on the behavior chart. At the end of the week, the filled charts will be collected and new charts will be placed in your child’s folder. If his/her chart is lost or destroyed, they will be supplied with a new, blank chart. Completed charts will be used to determine if your child has earned five stars! Thank you for your cooperation and support!

Kindergarten Behavior Chart

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Green: Your child had a great day! He/she was a good listener throughout the day and worked cooperatively with others! Please tell him/her how proud you are! Yellow: Your child was given a warning about his/her behavior today. He/she called out or was talking more than once on the carpet, was not working well with others, was running or yelling in the classroom, hallway, or other places, was not following directions, other _____________________ (teacher will circle one or specify if necessary!) White: Your child was given the above warning and continued to behave inappropriately in the same or a different way. He/she spent some time thinking at a table during Choice Time or recess today. Blue: Your child was given the above warnings and consequences for their behavior today and continued to behave inappropriately. Please look for a note or email from the teachers explaining his/her behavior in more detail. Red: Your child was given the above warnings and consequences and continued to behave inappropriately. He/she will be calling you to explain this behavior.

Five Star Student Award

April 7 April 8 April 9 April 10 April 11

Parent signature:

Parent signature:

Parent signature:

Parent signature:

Parent signature:

Comments Comments Comments Comments Comments

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______________________________ has

practiced positive behavior and

is a FIVE STAR STUDENT! Congratulations!

Amount of Green Cards Earned in Each Classroom

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Amount of Yellow and White Cards Earned in Each Classroom

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Student Survey – March 2008

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Example of Completed and Signed Behavior Chart

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