This is my classroom management plan to be implemented in my classroom. This plan covers a range of behavioral issues at differing levels of intensity.
My Personal Education Philosophy
My personal education philosophy is Progressivism. This means that I value students’ input and decision making with regard to what we learn in my classroom, and that the content should be based firmly in what will relate to their experience. In terms of creating community, I believe our education system should be helping students to develop social values including caring for and respecting one another. For this reason, creating an environment where students feel safe exploring and sharing their ideas from the very beginning is important to me. This is why I have chosen to encourage students to participate in developing class rules at the beginning of the year and giving feedback about the class on a weekly basis. In terms of recovery with accountability, I'm very interested in collaborating with students to co-create strategies that work for them, fit school expectations, and are applicable to their life outside of my classroom. By having students use peer mediation, it allows autonomy for students to solve their own conflicts without necessarily resorting to asking adults what to do. Development of student-directed life skills is an overall goal of the Progressivism philosophy. Through classroom management by questioning and cooldown periods, students develop understanding of how to resolve their own behavior issues, question their behaviors on their own, and find ways to calm down. These skills are all applicable to the real world and revolve around student choices. A somewhere else plan also allows students to develop their own methods for resolving issues. They have the option to remove themselves before it becomes an issue. They also have the opportunity to discuss conflicts with an outside party in the next door plan, or go see counselors. These management strategies are all about giving students choices about how to handle whatever behavior issues come up. The wraparound strategies are geared toward designing specific plans for specific students to work within the realm of what works with their needs. All of these things are working towards creating a classroom environment that is easily related to their experiences and takes into consideration the needs and opinions of each student.
Level 1 Creating a Caring Community:
My personal education philosophy is Progressivism. This means that I value students’ input and decision making with regard to what we learn in my classroom, and that the content should be based firmly in what will relate to their experience. In terms of creating community, I believe our education system should be helping students to develop social values including caring for and respecting one another. For this reason, creating an environment where students feel safe exploring and sharing their ideas from the very beginning is important to me. This is why I have chosen to encourage students to participate in developing class rules at the beginning of the year and giving feedback about the class on a weekly basis. In terms of recovery with accountability, I'm very interested in collaborating with students to co-create strategies that work for them, fit school expectations, and are applicable to their life outside of my classroom. By having students use peer mediation, it allows autonomy for students to solve their own conflicts without necessarily resorting to asking adults what to do. Development of student-directed life skills is an overall goal of the Progressivism philosophy. Through classroom management by questioning and cooldown periods, students develop understanding of how to resolve their own behavior issues, question their behaviors on their own, and find ways to calm down. These skills are all applicable to the real world and revolve around student choices. A somewhere else plan also allows students to develop their own methods for resolving issues. They have the option to remove themselves before it becomes an issue. They also have the opportunity to discuss conflicts with an outside party in the next door plan, or go see counselors. These management strategies are all about giving students choices about how to handle whatever behavior issues come up. The wraparound strategies are geared toward designing specific plans for specific students to work within the realm of what works with their needs. All of these things are working towards creating a classroom environment that is easily related to their experiences and takes into consideration the needs and opinions of each student.
Level 1 Creating a Caring Community:
- Survey on Day 1 – On the first day of school I intend to pass out a class survey asking students questions about their background, interests, and what their goal for this class over the year is. While students fill out the survey, I will share with them that my intent is to help them achieve their goal for the year, if that means getting an A or developing a deeper understanding, not getting behind, whatever that might be. I will also explain that I will try to incorporate their interests into lessons whenever possible. The intent behind this is that students will “Perceive the adults in the school as caring about them,” (Villa, Thousand & Nevin, 2010, p. 174).
- First Friday – On the first day, I will ask students to begin a homework assignment due on Thursday, sharing what they feel the most important aspects of a safe classroom are, and what classroom rules they would like to suggest. The following day, on Friday, we will go through as a class and discuss amendments to the class rules I already have posted.
- Paired Seating – Students will be assigned seats in pairs, which will change every 3 weeks. This will allow students to develop relationships with their peers, and will foster pair sharing during think-pair-share time. It also gives students an immediate resource to discuss concepts with or ask questions.
- Student Questions – As part of the class expectations, students will be expected to ask questions to their partner before asking the teacher. This is intended to develop their sense that the teacher is not their only resource, and everyone’s opinions are valued in the room. If the pair still has a question, then they can raise their hand and ask the teacher. It will then be put to the entire class so another student might have the chance to explain their thinking.
- Class Routine – I will establish a daily routine for the class, which will “assist students with becoming accountable for their learning and behavior,” (Villa, Thousand & Nevin, 2010, p. 176) and will be posted on the wall of my classroom. As students walk in, I will greet them at the door to welcome them to class. When they reach their desks, they will pull out any homework to be collected, and begin working on the warm up on the board. Students will volunteer to solve the warm up problems, and I will transition the class into the learning portion of the day, whether that is group exploration or note taking. We will end by writing in the day’s homework and closing class.
- Class Meetings – On the first Friday, when we discuss class rules, I will also discuss the class meetings and how they function. Every Thursday during lunch, I will be in my classroom for students to come share any concerns they might have about the class, or any suggestions on what is helpful or less helpful in terms of activities. This is to facilitate students who might be shy or not want to share in front of the class still having a say. On Fridays, after our warm up, we will set aside 10-15 minutes to discuss as a class how the week has gone and any suggestions students may have, including those brought to me the day before. Class meetings “let students know their issues will be brought up and address,” (Villa, Thousand & Nevin, 2010, p. 177), which in turn lets students know that they are valued members of our classroom.
- Peer Mediation – Every month, I will take volunteers to act as “peer mediators.” This classroom role will extend outside the classroom, and students will be able to approach these students during free times at school. It will be the class norm that if a student is having a problem with a situation in the classroom or another student, these students will be their first resource. I will also be a resource to the peer mediators. These students will “collaboratively engage with classmates as supports to defuse anger and redirect students to productive solution finding,” (Villa, Thousand & Nevin, 2010, p. 178).
- Proximity – Management by walking around is an effective recovery strategy that does not break the flow of instruction (Villa, Thousand & Nevin, 2010, p. 178. I intend to spend most of my time wandering through the students checking in with them as opposed to being at the front of the classroom.
- Eye Contact – When students break expectations that are not in and of themselves overly disruptive, I will make eye contact with them and this will be a cue to stop the behavior. Making eye contact to let students know you have noticed the behavior is an effective strategy that does not break the flow of instruction (Villa, Thousand & Nevin, 2010, p. 178).
- Verbal Reminder – When a student’s behavior becomes disruptive to the class, my next response is to give a verbal reminder. This may take the form of a question to the student about expectations, or a question to the class if I do not want to single the student out by name.
- Class Meetings – If a specific behavior becomes a problem in the class, for example speaking out of turn, it will be addressed during our Friday class meetings. I will suggest that I feel something is disruptive and ask students if they agree or disagree, then enlist their support in brainstorming solutions.
- Modeling – I will model how appropriate social interactions look by interacting with and responding to students in a positive fashion.
- Questioning - When students are struggling with behavioral norms or with a problem in class, I will use the “What are you doing” script to “help them take ownership of their behavior,” (Villa, Thousand & Nevin, 2010, p. 180).
- Cooldown Period - It will be an accepted norm in my classroom that students are able to “take a breather” which involves catching my attention through eye contact, giving me a thumbs down, and writing a note to be left on their desk stating how long they will be out of the classroom for (up to 3 minutes). They will be allowed to go directly outside the classroom to remove themselves from the situation temporarily.
- Group Cooldown - If the class as a whole is getting anxious, rowdy, frustrated, or overly emotional, we will take a group cooldown period. I will use a verbal signal indicating the amount of time and the acceptable activities, which will be agreed upon before hand as a class (Villa, Thousand & Nevin, 2010, p. 180). This will be modeled in the first week of school, and I will communicate with students that this is to be a classroom strategy that we will use throughout the year.
- Contracts - If behavior is an issues for a specific student, we will have a lunch meeting to create a personal contract together. “Contracts assist a student with learning to keep commitments and follow through on agreements and plans,” (Villa, Thousand & Nevin, 2010, p. 183). This will let the student know that I am invested in them being a part of the classroom community and I plan to follow through on the expectations for myself as well.
- Take a Breather - It will be an accepted norm in my classroom that students are able to “take a breather” which involves catching my attention through eye contact, giving me a thumbs down, and writing a note to be left on their desk stating how long they will be out of the classroom for (up to 3 minutes). They will be allowed to go directly outside the classroom to remove themselves from the situation temporarily. This allows students to choose for themselves a way to avoid behavior issues by preemptively taking a moment to calm down. The intent is to give them another option in case “they are not able to calm down or resolve a conflict or issue in the classroom,” (Villa, Thousand & Nevin, 2010, p. 180).
- Next Door - In the first week of school, the “Next Door” plan will be discussed with the class. If a student’s behavior becomes disruptive to the class, they may be asked to go next door. I will plan with the teacher ahead of time, and they will sit in the classroom until the teacher has a moment to speak with them and have a conversation about what is happening. This is an application of the “Planning Room” as discussed by Villa, Thousand and Nevin (pg. 183).
- Counselors - Students will have the option, in extreme circumstances, to be written a pass to go to the counselors office to discuss whatever is going on. A counselor’s office is another “safe, controlled physical space staffed by adults knowledgeable about the school’s chosen planning script,” (Villa, Thousand & Nevin, 2010, p. 183). This allows for deeper emotional situations that are interfering with their ability to learn and might not be handled by such a short period involved in the other two strategies.
- Group Solution Brainstorm - If a student is sent to the planning room more than once in a week, more than twice in a month, or seems to periodically be sent there, a meeting with their parents might be requested to find out what is going on and come up with other solutions (Villa, Thousand & Nevin, 2010, p. 185).
- PBS Plan - For students who need extra support, I will create a positive behavior support plan and discuss it with the student (Villa, Thousand & Nevin, 2010, p. 186).
- IEP Resources - For students with identified exceptionalities, I will consult with the other adults involved in the IEP planning to find strategies that work for the individual student (Villa, Thousand & Nevin, 2010, p. 187).