Classroom Management Plan (CMP) Guide

ED 310 Organizing and Managing Classroom Environments Professor Holohan

Classroom Management Beliefs

At the heart of this Classroom Management Plan are the following core principles of my teaching philosophy: o Building Community o Behavior Management o Supportive Physical Classroom Environment o Respect o Positive Student Teacher Relationships My philosophy of classroom management: My philosophy of classroom management is a mixture of Fredric Joness Positive Classroom Discipline approach as well as incorporating the idea of a democratic learning environment. According to Joness model, The enforcement of classroom standards and the development of cooperative behavior are combined in order to maximize learning and minimize disruptions (Hardin, 2012). As an educator, I do not feel that it is my role to control my students. My role is to educate them, be their motivator, and act as a support system. Teachers do not need to gain power in order for their students to be successful. I embrace the idea that my students are treated with the same dignity of teachers, administrators, parents, and other school officials. If there is a mutual trust and agreement between the educator and the class, gaining power is not an issue. Instead, there is an understanding that the classroom is a community where ideas and opinions are communicated together as a whole. In Debora Wisneskis article, A Story of a Teacher

Learning to Let Go, she discusses the idea that when the teacher provides an environment in which the children can take control of their learning, they build confidence in their role as a student and find relevance to their education (2000). My job is more than just to make my students academically prepared to move on to the next chapter of their life, but also to prepare them for real-life obstacles they will go through each and every day. My goals of classroom management: My goal of classroom management is to establish a community between students and to create positive student-teacher relationships. In order for this to happen, a successful behavior management plan should be in place. This is so all students feel safe and comfortable in their learning environment. My goal is also to establish an inviting and warm classroom atmosphere. Once students understand the classroom standards in place, my goal is to reduce and eliminate extrinsic motivators. Considering one of my objectives is for my students to become independent active citizens, I want them to be their own intrinsic motivation.

Organization of Physical Environment

Room arrangement map:

Room arrangement maps of U-shaped seating charts that I would implement. 2

Classroom Visual Displays:

1. Picture of routines and schedule

2. Display of student work.

3. Display of students social contract.

4. Anti-bullying movement signs Room arrangement narrative: I have chosen the seating arrangement due its open floor plan. I like the idea of being able to walk around and view students work as well as being able to interact with each of them effectively. According to, Effective Classroom Management, incorporating multiple walkways similar to the ones in my layout, is a great way to have proximity control (2012). There are adequate amount of walkways to monitor student work and behavior. The set up is also efficient for students and teachers to have group discussions. The opening in the center could be useful for guest speakers and different types of simulations. The teachers desk is in a position to monitor all students with still having the opportunity to walk in the center while lecturing. It is also in a location that is approachable to all students and close to technological devices to use in the classroom. I have chosen to display visuals of the daily schedule, examples of student work, a social contract that the students created, and anti-bullying visuals. I feel that displaying the schedule of the day keeps not only students on track, but helps the teacher with time management as well. As far as student work, so much of a students life is spent at school. So to me, it is important that my students see themselves in the classroom. I want them to feel that they have a place here. The social contact being displayed within the classroom is a great way for students to monitor their own behaviors. Since it will be displayed, it is something they continue to see day after day. Lastly, I chose to add anti-bullying visuals. In 4

the article, Classroom Management, Bullying, and Teacher Practices, discuss the harsh realizations that much of the bullying problems in schools, are the result of poor classroom management (Allen, 2010). The idea of posting anti-bullying visuals within the classroom is one minor way to give students a constant reminder of classroom guidelines that are expected of them. It also shows that you as an educator are taking a stand to speak up about bullying as well.

Organization of Social Environment

Classroom rules: o What are the key rules? The key rules in my classroom will be based around lifelong guidelines that I will have posted in my classroom. These guidelines being things like being honest, being trustworthy, sticking up for others, doing your personal best, and being cooperative. Student will also have the opportunity to address these guidelines as a whole to see if any should be added or removed. These can also be called classroom principles, which represent what the classroom values include (Hardin, 2000). These principles can be viewed as expectations that everyone in the class, including the teacher, will live by when in the classroom. o How will they be determined? Once the class has come to an agreement with the classroom values, the students will create the more specific rules through a social contract. They will make a list of ideas for classroom guidelines and procedures and place them on sticky notes on the board. As a class they will come up with rules they would like to keep and rules they would like to get rid of. My rule for them making the list is that it has to correlate with the lifelong guidelines

set for our class. Social contracts give students a sense of ownership by involving them in the creation of classroom rules and regulations (Hardin, 2000). I will then type up the students ideas and print off their, Miss Donavens Classroom Social Contract. The students will then sign these contracts if they agree with them and will be kept on file in the classroom. In, Teaching with Love and Logic, it states, Teachers gain control by giving some of it away (Fay & Funk, 1995). This is one simple way to give students control of how they would like their classroom environment to look and run. o How will you communicate these rules to students, parents and administrators? In the monthly newsletter that will be sent home to parents, the social contract, which the students came up with, will be written into the letter. The school staff will also have copies of the social contract to be aware of the rules that the students should abide by. It is important that school staff members understand what rules are in place for certain teachers. This way, other staff can recognize when students are abiding by their own rules and when they may be breaking them. o Will you have them written down somewhere? The students will work together to create a bulletin board that states the classroom rules so they can view them from any point in the room. The students will also have a laminated copy of the social contracts inserted into their 3-ring binder, which holds their classroom work. I like the idea of it being something that they see multiple times a day.

Classroom procedures: o How will you structure activities and lessons? The activities and lessons within my classroom will be structured around the idea of a democratic environment. This means the students will have a say in what they learn and how that learning will be conducted. Students need to be able to make connections to what they learn and how it pertains to their life. Many believe that children learn through exploring the world on their own and making mistakes to learn what not to do. We tend to tell our students what they need to know but forget to address the reason why it is important. My lessons will incorporate the appropriate grade level common core standards with group work, simulations, class discussions, role-playing activities, and hands-on learning. The activities within my classroom will revolve around a core principle of respect. My students will learn to value the opinions of their classmates while working together. One of the ways to do this is by assigning competence. Assigning competence means that the students are assigned a role that is correlated with one or more of their personal strengths. In order for an educator to come up with these specific roles, they must truly get to know their students on a personal level first. Once the teacher knows what students are good at and enjoy as well as things they need to work on, they are placed in a group with all different specific strength abilities. The students are then given a task to complete. The task can only be competed successfully if each of the students in the group uses their specific strength. Since one of my classroom management goals is for my students to become active citizens, the idea of getting my students to work together and complete tasks successfully is one of the ways I would like to structure my lessons and activities. 7

o How will students turn in their homework (if applicable)? Students will turn in their homework every morning the day it is due in the correct homework turn in bin. This bin will be located in the same location every day on the materials/display table in the center of the classroom. This avoids the chaos that usually follows when students are asked to turn in papers to table that is located right at the door. Putting a homework turn in bin on a table in the center of the room, takes away from the clusters that usually occur near the door. o How will you inform students of deadlines? If students are given homework or projects with specific deadlines, these will be placed on the project/homework instructions. The students will also have the opportunity to get out their classroom agendas and write in the due dates when they are presented in class. These deadlines will also be given to parents. All student deadlines will be noted in the monthly newsletter sent home to parents via e-mail, standard mail, online classroom blog, and from their child. I believe that all parents are great resources. I feel that giving parents opportunities to be involved in their childs education is extremely important. o How will students ask for help? There is a number of ways students will be able to ask for help in my classroom. Students are welcome to raise hands as well as approaching me in person. If students are uncomfortable in asking for help, I would hate to see their questions go unanswered. Although I hope that my classroom community is strong enough to make all students feel comfortable, I have come up with the sticky-note method. Students will have miniature sticky-note packets inside each of their desks. Students can write out their question onto the sticky-note and place it on their desk or the back of their chair. The teacher can respond in writing without other peers noticing or hearing the specific question. Students 8

who may have limited writing abilities or choose to receive help through verbal communication can simply write, HELP, and stick the note on the back of their chair. As the teacher walking around monitoring student work, when the teacher sees the stickynote on the chair, it will indicate the student is asking for help without making a scene or having to ask out loud. This gives the students ways to ask questions both visually and verbally. One of the characteristics of a successful Classroom Organization and Management Program created by Carolyn Evertson is that, Teachers in well-managed classrooms saw the classroom through the students eyes. They were, therefore, able to analyze the students needs for information (Hardin, 2000). The sticky-note strategy provides the teacher with a better understanding of what some common areas of struggle may be. This gives the educator the opportunity to re-teach unfamiliar material. o How will you get the class attention? I will get the class attention through involvement strategies. Some of these involve rhymes, songs, and patterns that are easy for students to remember. An example of this is the teacher says in an assertive voice, One, Two, Three, Eyes on Me! The students respond chorally with, One, Two, Eyes on You! Another method that I have seen successful in elementary settings is to pattern clap. The teacher claps a certain pattern to the students, when the students hear the pattern, they repeat the same pattern back to the teacher in unison. This is a tactile way for students to put down their materials and give their full attention to the instructor. One last method that I have used in a teacher-assisting placement is the use of musical triangle. The students not only notified by seeing the teacher visually tapping the triangle, but can hear the sound as well.

o How will you structure transition times? Students will be aware of transition times with the visual schedule that is posted on the board. Since transitions are particularly difficult for students with special needs, it is important that teachers give repetitive warnings of when the class will be moving from one task to another. Carolyn Evertson who is cited in, Effective Classroom Management, stated that, Teachers whose classrooms were well managed analyzed classroom tasks in precise detail to determine the procedures and expectations required for students to be successful (2000). Making sure that students are aware of the daily class procedures and keeping the schedule as consistent as possible, will help to prevent chaos from these times of transition. Rules and procedures narrative: The reason I have chose to set up my classroom using these rules and procedures revolves around the combination of approaching classroom management as a system as well as viewing classroom management as a way of instruction. Due to the fact that I am certified to teach special education and elementary general education, I see the need for both classroom management approaches. Students with special needs usually need to be taught the appropriate behavior. This is one of the characteristics of using classroom management as a system. As an educator, you teach your students the behavior you wish to see rather than assuming students already know what is expected of them. This can be so helpful to eliminate the confusion between what your actually students do and what you wish for them to do. It is a form of modeling behavior, just like educators model examples of work to show how they want their students to complete assignments. In the book, Effective Classroom Management, it discusses the idea that using classroom management 10

as a system in your classroom, focuses on prevention of misbehavior rather than reacting to discipline problems (Hardin, 2000). This idea is very important to me. So often I feel that instructional time is taken away from students because educators are dealing with discipline problems instead. Classroom management as a system also supports my views on creating classroom rules together; teacher and students. However, much of my views on rules and procedures reflect the idea that classroom management can be used as instruction as well. Some of these characteristics that align with my views are that students must eventually learn to take responsibility of their own behavior, which is why I have my students create their own social contract. This way student understand that if they signed the social contract and break one of our class rules, they are responsible for the consequences that come with that. One of my goals, which I have previously discussed, is the importance for my students to become independent. As my students become older, they will need to understand there is always a consequence that comes with a behavior. Another aspect of viewing classroom management as instruction that correlates with my rules and procedures of my classroom is that, Classroom management is in place to establish habits of peacemaking (Hardin, 2000). In the procedure I discussed about how my lessons and activities would be conducted, I emphasized the importance of teamwork and group tasks. This gives students the opportunity to resolve disagreements and discrepancies on their own. In the real world, students will need experience of resolving problems with peers. I have chosen to base my rules and procedures on the classroom management as a system as well as instruction theories and not other theories for a few reasons. The main reason I chose these two theories is because neither of them view classroom management solely for punishment. I did not become an educator to be a punisher for my students. 11

These theories that I based my ideas on, both came from the book, Effective Classroom Management, by Carlette Jackson Hardin. Each of the strategies discussed in the book have research and evidence to support them.

Classroom Incentives
Classroom system for encouraging positive behavior: o How will you support students individually and as a group? As a group, I like the idea of whole class incentives. For each positive behavior exhibited from a student, a marble goes into a jar. Once jar is completely full, the educator and students come up with a reward that is received as a class. This makes students responsible for their own behavior, as well as helping to keep their peers on the right track as well. I dont typically agree with incentives for each individual student. Students need to learn to be their own self-motivator and should not rely on extrinsic materials. For students with special needs, I have seen it be a way to incorporate positive behavior supports both successfully and unsuccessfully. Once a student with special needs is given a incentive for good behavior, it is hard for them to perform that behavior without receiving the incentive. o How will you ensure that your incentive system is fair to all students (of different learning styles; cultures; abilities, etc.) ? The incentive given to my class as a whole will be agreed upon and voted on by the whole class. I will provide examples of what the incentive may be and place these options on the board. Some of these incentives may be a pizza party, Movie Friday, or an extra recess. This way the students choose their incentive and it is based on the most votes, keeping it a democratic way of staying fair.

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o How will you teach this system to your students? Since the system is based on whole-group behavior, when the students model positive behavior that the teacher notices, the teacher will state to the students why they are receiving a marble into their jar, and then notify the class how far away they are from their group incentive. Since the system is not based on individual behaviors, it is a simple process for students to understand and track. o What steps will you take to increase the likelihood that students, parents and administrators will partner with you for this system? Steps that I will take to increase the likelihood that staff and parents will partner with my system is by providing each of them with a tally sheet. When other teachers or school staff see something positive that one or more of my students does, they record it on the given tally sheet. This way my students realize that their behavior in other areas of their life can increase their chances of incentives. I will provide parents with the tally sheets as well. When a certain number of tally marks is recorded by the parents and sent to me, marbles will also be added to the jar. In order for my students to be go along with this system I have to make sure that my incentives reflect their interest, but it is also why I will have them vote on these different ideas. o Does your system require certain items? Do these items cost money? How will you provide these items? My system requires a large jar, like a vase, a few bags of colored marbles, and tally paper graph sheets. I already have these items and will not need to buy them.

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Classroom incentive narrative: o Write a description of why you have chosen this system with a strong focus on the theories that have influenced your choice The reason I have chosen to use a classroom incentive system, which only reinforces positive whole-group behavior, comes from a combination of the Discipline without Stress, Punishment, or Rewards theory, the Love and Logic approach of providing choices, as well as a bit of the behavioral theory. The Discipline without Stress, Punishment, or Rewards theory is similar to my system because they both allow students to take responsibility for their actions. This theory also gives students to see positive behavior from their peers and make the connections of what is appropriate and what is not. The Love and Logic theory of giving students choices discusses the idea to make sure that the choices you provide are ones that you are content with your students picking (Fay & Funk, 1995). This is why I come up with the different incentive choices and then put the power in the students hands to vote on which they like. Since I am providing reinforcement, part of my system is based on the behaviorist theory. I choose to incorporate views from this theory due to the concept of Law of Effect. This means, A rewarded behavior will be repeated and a unrewarded behavior will cease (Hardin, 2000). Though I do want my students to be their own intrinsic motivation for their own individual academic work, my system is based on the idea that if one of my students is involved in a positive behavior that behavior will catch on.

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Responding to disruptive behavior

Define disruptive behavior My definition of disruptive behavior is any behavior that alters the learning or safety of another student. Action steps for responding to disruptive behavior Consider: o How many warnings will a student get? Student will receive one warning before action is taken due to their behavior o What will happen with each step? At the first warning, the student will remove one marble from the positive behavior incentive jar. The second warning will result in the student being removed from the classroom and sent to the office where parent contact will be made. o How will the student see your follow-through? The student will have to come up and physically remove a marble from the incentive jar. Since there is only one warning, the student will then be removed from the environment. o How will you handle a situation with an individual student within a group? The student will be removed from their peers and explained why their behavior is disruptive, then they will go and remove a marble. o How will you handle a problematic group situation? A problematic situation will result in staff sending student out of the room. o Do you involve the parents? If so, at what point? Once the school principal has discussed the consequences with the student, an email or phone call will be given to parent. o Do you involve an administrator? If so, at what point? Since I expect my class to have a very close community, I do not give very many warnings for disruptive behavior. This is why after one warning is made, the student is sent to see an administrator. What are the students rights? The students in my classroom have the right to feel safe and receive an effective education. The student has the right to discuss with me their behavior and why they felt it was not disruptive. After our discussion, if I feel that the student genuinely did not 15

understand that their behavior was disruptive, I will place the marble back into the jar and remove the warning they received. What are the teachers rights? The teacher has the right to feel safe in her classroom as well. If a student is making the environment unsafe, the teacher has the right to ask the student to leave the classroom. Disruptive behavior response narrative: o Write a description of why you chose these steps with a strong focus on the theories that have influenced your choice The reason I chose my actions to disruptive behavior to be completed this way involves the theory of assertive discipline. Since I plan to explicitly give my students the chance to create their own ideas of what is appropriate behavior for the classroom through their social contract and I have the students sign it, I am assertive when it comes to disruptive behavior. I want students to realize that I follow-up with consequences given in class. The theory of assertive teachers is that they have positive expectations of their students. They mean what they say and say what they mean (Hardin, 2000). Due to these high expectations of my students, I am assertive when it comes to their behavior in my classroom. I expect them to build a safe community and learning environment for each of their peers to feel safe in.

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Building community
What will community mean in your classroom? Community in my classroom will mean that the students develop respectful and meaningful relationships within the classroom. They make the classroom environment welcoming to each and everyone of their peers. There is a huge emphasis on the positive relationship between the student and the teacher. How will you foster a sense of community in your classroom? I will foster a sense of community by incorporating character building activities into my lessons as well as doing different getting to know you activities for my students to get to know each other and me as their teacher. What role will the students and perhaps parents have in nurturing this sense of community? Since the students receive incentives for positive behavior in my classroom and the parents have input as well I hope it will hopefully build a sense unity between home and school. Community communication: o See Attachment Building community narrative: o Using personal and professional experience as well as class discussions and course readings, explain your view on community building. Be sure to include pertinent theories from the course and to discuss how you envision these theories (and your own philosophy) being put into practice in your classroom. If teachers have no personal connection with their students it is so hard for students to feel that their teacher cares about them and what they learn. Love and Logic uses the idea to promote emotion and empathy with your students. If your students see how they affect you and make you feel, it makes them respect and understand you that much more. I

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love the idea that a community is a way for your students to feel safe to learn with you as their teacher and in the present of their peers. It is up to educators to make sure that we supply our classroom with activities that build the interactions not only from student to student with us as their teacher as well. This statement from, Love and Logic, is my idea of building a community, I can treat everyone with dignity and respect while not enslaving myself to treating everyone the same (Fay & Funk, 1995). We need to learn about our students on a personal level and make connections with them in order for us to help them make connections with what they are learning to their real life. We cant treat all of our students the same, we need to better understand them, to better understand what they need from us.

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References/Resources
Allen, K. (2010). Classroom management, bullying, and teacher practices. The Professional Educator. 34(1), Spring, n.p. Fay, J. & Funk, D. (1995). Teaching with love and logic: Taking control of the classroom. Golden, CO: Love & Logic Institute, Inc. Hardin, C. J. (2012). Effective classroom management: Models and strategies for todays classroom. Boston, MA: Pearson. Weisneski, D. B. (2000). Hatching butterflies and other mysteries: A story of a teacher learning to let go. Early Childhood Education Journal. 28(1), 29-33

Pictures Found in Google Images: (Not enough information for them to be placed in APA format) All URLs provided voicenews.com http://allkidscanflourish.blogspot.com/2010/09/setting-up-new-classroom-gotdesign.html http://home.comcast.net/~leighanne.kraemer/professionalportfolio/classroommangeme nt.htm

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