Running head: PHILOSOPHY OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

Philosophy of Classroom Management

Miranda McIntyre
Red Deer College/ UofA
November 6, 2015
Brent Galloway

PHILOSOPHY OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

Having a strong foundation in what you believe is essential in regards to classroom

management due to the fact that it will enhance your students learning experience. Being able to
understand how to handle a classroom and what is important in promoting a positive environment
is extremely important for me as a future teacher. My teaching philosophy is based on the fact
that people are meant to use their gifts, mine happens to be helping others, but it is important that
others can benefit from it. If you are gifted with the ability to become a teacher then you have the
power to help students obtain breakthrough moments. My philosophy encompasses the idea that
having a positive environment will help diminish students misbehavior. There are many factors
that contribute to the learning environment such as expectations, organization and various others
that are premeditated in order to be successful in delivering a healthy learning setting to which
students can thrive.
When teachers deal with difficult behaviors that arise in the classrooms and manage them
successfully, they have the opportunity to walk away from the situation feeling confident with
themselves. I believe that my teaching style will directly impact how students behave in my
classroom. In my opinion the one that has been known to be the most successful is direct
instruction. Direct instruction uses drill and practice and I feel like it can be beneficial in the
terms of keeping students busy but also entertained in what they are learning that they will not
have time to present negative behaviors that will distract the rest of the class. I also believe that a
student centered learning is just as important because students learn by doing and if they can help
each other learn the material then I will know that they understand the knowledge that has been
taught to them. A good balance in teaching instruction will help students not become bored with
lessons, which will help minimize student misbehavior. With the teacher directing and guiding
the students there is little time for misbehavior. Even though I believe in direct instruction and
student centered learning I believe my classroom will be based around the collaborative

PHILOSOPHY OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

management theory. In the book The caring Teachers Guide to Discipline it states, The
collaborative theory of classroom management is based on the belief that the control of student
behavior is the joint responsibility of the student and the teacher (Gootman, 2008). In my opinion
when the teacher and students are equally invested in the responsibility there is very low amounts
misbehavior that arise in the classroom. Having many thorough lesson plans with activities that
students will enjoy such as: role playing, alliterative name games, collaborative projects, etc.
will captivate students. I believe having an organized classroom creates an expectation for
students to respect the classroom and in turn, myself. This is also known as a proactive approach
to dealing with misbehaved students.
Teachers become such a major focus for all students, almost like a role model. My beliefs
about managing the learning environment are that students learn their behaviors from whom they
are always around; in this case it will be the teacher. If the teacher can control the classroom in a
positive manner then there should be no problems with the students acting out. If students notice
that their peers are acting out then in turn they will also act out. This is addressed in the textbook
Principle of Classroom Management, ...Students learn misbehavior from observing misbehavior
in other children(Levin, J, Nolan, N.F., Kerr, J.W., & Elliott, A.E. 2007. p.29), this is also known
as the ripple effect. As a teacher I want to create a positive ripple effect and have my behavior
positively impact my students. Each individual plays an important role in the education system. I
believe that the administrators is there to guide, the teacher is there to inform, the student is there
to learn and the parent is there to support. These relationships among the four major parts of the
education system need to be very strong and trustworthy. I want to build relationships with my
students by getting to know them on a deeper level, which can be done on the very first day of
class with different activities. The textbook, Principle of Classroom Management goes in depth
on various authority bases. I believe that I will use referent authority in my classroom because I

PHILOSOPHY OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

want my students to feel like they have a connection with me as well as it decreases the need for
teacher management of student behavior. (p.105)
There are some behaviors that can either be ignored or dealt with, when I am deciding if I
need to deal with a situation I will ask myself if other students around them are being distracted,
if the answer is yes that is then I know I will need to intervene. In the Teaching Qualities handout
it mentions that teachers should know different types of management, They know how to and
when to apply a variety of management strategies that are keeping with the situation, and that
provide for minimal disruptions to students learning. (Government of Alberta 2013, p.2).
Disruptions in the classroom are inevitable, but how we as educators deal with them is the
difference between losing control of the student body and having a better experience. If the
problem that a student is causing were only a surface problem then as a teacher I would lean
towards using non-verbal intervention techniques. The textbook Principle of Classroom
Management, lists seven different kinds: Change the pace of classroom activities, remove
distracting objects, boost the interest, redirect the behavior of off-task students, provide a non
punitive time out, encourage the appropriate behavior of other students and provide cues for
expected behaviors. (p. 190) When the misbehavior is going beyond nonverbal cues and I cannot
handle the situation I will opt to use verbal intervention. The same textbook also explores these
topics but breaks them into three different levels of intervention. If I was dealing with a first level
student I would probably result to calling on the student by name, this way the student knows that
I am addressing their behavior and if they were not doing what I asked of them I could say, Hey
Jonny, thank you so much for keeping your hands to yourself, you are doing a great job of
demonstrating that to your peers. The other two levels are there incase the first one does not
work but in this case I believe it would.

PHILOSOPHY OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

In school we know that students must follow school guidelines and authority. As a teacher
I will ensure that my students are doing this as mentioned in the Teaching Qualities handout
Teachers also function within policy framework established by school authority. ((Government
of Alberta 2013,p.3). This means that not only do my students have to follow rules but I in turn
also do. If there are dress codes for the school then that means that I have to follow them, I
cannot just come to school wearing whatever I want because I am the authority over my students.
I know that the administrators that come up with these guidelines intend that everyone in the
school is there to follow them. The teacher is there to lead by example. These rules are put into
place to also ensure that all students feel safe and welcome. I am glad that each school has a set
of rules because it helps maintain good behavior in the classroom. My classroom will also have
its own set of rules that the students must follow but I will ensure that when I am making these
rules the students have a say in what should be added to them. Carolyn Evertson and Alere Harris
created a model called managing learner-centered classroom, it considers instructional and
behavioral management. With this model the teacher begins the school year off by introducing
the classroom with rules and expectations for the students to follow. I believe that when the
students are helping create the rules and have a voice it will decrease the amount of misbehavior
that could arise. If misbehavior arises I could easily point back to the rules and asks the students
if they are authentically living up to the expectations that they have set for themselves.
In conclusion, each individual in the teaching profession will have to deal with different
behaviors; it all depends on how the teacher decides to deal with the behavior that will predict the
outcome of the situation. I will ensure that I am making the right decision to intervene if the
behavior is out of control, by doing background research on how to handle different situations I
will come up with a way to solve what is going on. Once the situation is solved I will wait until
there is a time when I can talk one on one with the student or students that were misbehaving and

PHILOSOPHY OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

I can ask them to write about why they were doing what decided to do and if it was at all
beneficial to their learning. These questions will help the students understand that they were off
task and come to class ready to learn. I want my classroom to be a place where students are not
afraid to come talk to me about any problems they are having. I want it to be a safe place where
students will not find the need to act out or disrupt the class. I find that my philosophy as well as
the textbook and many other resources out there will help me handle difficult situations that I
encounter as I embark on my journey to becoming a teacher.

PHILOSOPHY OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

References
Levin, J, Nolan, N.F., Kerr, J.W., & Elliott, A.E. (2007). Principles of classroom
management: A professional Decision- Making Model. Toronto: Pearson.
Alberta Education. (1997). Teaching Quality Standard Applicable to the
Provision ofBasic Education In Alberta. (n.d.). Retrieved September 23
from
http://www.education.alberta.ca/media/6734948/english%20tqs%20card%202013
_3.pdf
Gootman, M.E. (2008). The caring Teachers Guide to Discipline ( 3rd ed.) .
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.