Ms. Duncan's Classroom Management Plan

❥ Beliefs about Students:
I believe that all students have the potential to learn, but because of outside situations in their lives, some kids have more difficulties progressing in the education system. It is my job as a teacher to acknowledge what may be impeding a child’s academic development to aid him or her in reaching educational goals.

❥ Who I am as a teacher:
I see myself as a facilitator of higher order thinking. Pulling from the constructivist approach to teaching, I see myself as a “guide on the side” who provides my students with the information and tools they need to become innovators. I believe that students have valuable knowledge already in their minds before entering the classroom, and I want to draw on this to make content relevant and engaging. I do not want to teach my students to regurgitate information, I want to draw on their background knowledge and opinions to encourage critical thinking.

❥ What my Classroom Community Stands for:

1. Open communication:
I am a firm believer that verbally communicating one’s feelings or situation to another person is essential to solving any issue. This is built on the basis of trust between two individuals, and I want my students to know that I genuinely care about what it going on in their lives and want to work together to address it

2. Critical thinking:
My classroom will be a place in which students are presented to both sides of every story and are encouraged to form their own opinions. Assignments will be designed to encourage higher order thinking that include aspects of evaluation and creation. (Bloom)

3. Respect:
Both the students and the teacher must respect each other as humans in order to work together towards the goal of education. Members of a classroom community must respect each other’s voices, opinions, and values.

Establishing Community

In this section...
❥ Establishing Guidelines for Student Behavior
❥ Communication with parents
❥ Strategies for the Prevention of Management Problems
❥ When Classroom Management problems do arise:

❥ Establishing Guidelines for Student Behavior:

Step 1: Introduce myself and let my students know a bit more about me

Step 2: Have the students complete a “getting to know you” form:

Step 3: Divide students into groups to brainstorm expectations

Step 4: Compile students’ and your own expectations into a “Classroom Constitution” to be hung in the room

Step 5: Review the “getting to know you” forms and adjust personal expectations.

Example: I love Teddy Roosevelt!

❥ Communication with parents:
I believe that parents can be valuable allies for teachers in the education of students. To establish a positive relationship with parents, I want to make sure my first interaction with each parent is a positive experience. This might take the form of sharing a student’s success by calling a parent to share a specific positive thing about their student.

In addition, I want to send bi weekly newsletters via email (or a paper copy if the Internet is not accessible to a family). This will keep parents updated with what is going on in our class, and they be more engaged with their student’s education.

Students

Teachers

Parents

❥ Strategies for the Prevention of Management Problems:
2 seconds, 2 minutes, 2 hours:
If you take the time to establish an authentic relationship with your students, they will respect you more and will be less likely to act our.
Plan Ahead: If you are prepared, class will run more smoothly and there will be less transition time that might allow for behavioral issues to occur.
Strategic Seating Charts: Knowing your students also means knowing who they would work well with. Planning a seating chart can prevent conflicts that may disrupt class.

❥ When Classroom Management problems do arise:

Ask why: I believe that students are highly influenced by events that occur in their lives. When a student acts out, it is vitally important to ask why they are doing this in order to better understand their logic.
Why did this student shout out in class? Are they maybe
frustrated or seeking attention?

One-on-One Conversations:
Because I believe that open communication is essential between students and teachers, it is necessary to actually approach the student away from the eyes of the peers and communicate why their behavior was harmful using “I language.”
“I felt like you did not respect what I was saying when you
shouted out during class.”

Focus on problem solving rather than punishment:
I will take my emotions out of the equation when I address management issues to fairly look at the situation. How I address a student’s behavior should also be constructive and relevant to their growth. For example, if a student yelled out during class, punishing them by making them clean the classroom does not aim at the root of the issue. (Jones & Jones)

ask why

1-on-1 Convo

Problem solving