Classroom Management Plan
Psychosocial Dimension of Classroom Management
The psychosocial dimension of classroom management is what sets the tone for every other aspect of the classroom. It is vitally important to determine the type of atmosphere and learning environment that will be conveyed to the students and their families. Allowing the students to feel a sense of ownership of the classroom is a priority, and will inform all decisions in the classroom community. This will be addressed by allowing the students to determine (within certain guidelines) the set-up of the room and the arrangement of their desks. If students behave appropriately, stay on task, and are able to work cooperatively, they will have abundant flexibility in the classroom environment. When challenges arise, they will be addressed in a timely manner, with the concerned parties actively involved in problem solving.
To maintain this sense of community and belonging, the families of the students will be involved with the class to whatever degree they feel comfortable. Every effort will be made to ensure that families are made aware of classroom curriculum, activities, policies and rules. The classroom will have an open door policy that will welcome guests and volunteers at any time. The awareness of this policy will be executed by an initial open house activity in which all family members are invited. This communication will be continued throughout the year with other “bridge building” activities, including but not limited to, journals or agendas to be sent home on a weekly basis, newsletters, personal invitations to school-wide activities, and personal requests for assistance based on skills of family members. Participation and involvement will be encouraged, but cultural differences and desired level of parental involvement will be respected. The overall dynamic of the classroom will be one of support and mutual respect. Student and teacher alike will be valued and supported.
Procedural Dimension of Classroom Management
Classroom procedures and rules need to be intentional, and allow for every child’s success. Basic procedures will allow the students’ success in daily transitions and scheduling. Children will understand where to place personal belongings and homework or classroom materials upon entering the school every morning. Expectations will be clear in regards to appropriate behavior while transitioning between subject areas in the classroom, and physical areas of the school environment (i.e. while in the hallways, students will walk and talk quietly; use of restroom and drinking fountain will be allowed while participating in individual or group activities, although permission needs to be granted in order to ensure the safety and know the location of each child). As an entry activity for class each morning, students will spend ten minutes journaling. A journal will be provided to each student prior to the first day of school, and will be placed on his or her desk. A topic will be provided each day on the board in the front of the room. Students will be instructed that upon entering the room, after they stow their personal belongings, they are expected to quietly remove their journal and a writing utensil from their desk and begin journaling. Students will be allowed to draw or write about the topic. Suggestions from students for future topics are welcome, and can be written on a designated area of the board. The purpose of the journal activity is to prepare each student for their day in the classroom environment, as well as to provide a creative outlet. Grammatical errors will not be graded, and each journal will be used as a safe place to explore writing and creativity. The students will be kept on task by benign behavior tactics (presence of teacher walking among desks, a hand placed on a shoulder, etc.), and a warning will be given when the end of journaling is near.
Physical Dimensions of Classroom Management
The classroom arrangement and set-up will be a work in progress, depending on the needs and desires of the children in the classroom. The classroom will be relatively empty and plain at the beginning of the year, and will gradually change into a student-owned environment. Input from the children will be addressed, but certain guidelines need to be followed to ensure the utilization of any assistive technology or any necessary physical accommodations. Student desks will be arranged in pairs or groups of four, with the arrangement occasionally changing to suit individual needs or to address challenging behavior. Areas between the groups of desks will remain clear, with enough room for accessibility and ease of movement for all students and adults. One area of the classroom will house one or two stand up tables or desks for use by those students needing or wishing to remain standing during lessons. Whenever possible, students with exceptionalities will be given advance notice of changes to the classroom environment, and will be allowed to privately determine if they are comfortable with the placement of their personal area.
Behavioral Dimension of Classroom Management
Positive behavior support strategies will be used in order to ensure the opportunity for success for all students. All three levels of intervention regarding PBS will be addressed in the classroom: universal support, group support, and individual support. At the start of the academic year, students will be allowed to create the rules that will guide appropriate classroom behavior and address consequences for inappropriate behavior, as long as the rules fall within the parameters of the three general classroom rules that are employed in every interaction between every individual who enters the classroom: 1. Think first. 2. Be present. 3. Be respectful. These guidelines will help to inform every decision made in and out of the classroom. Discussions will occur and explanations given to explore the meaning of the three basic rules.
Individuals who struggle with self-regulation and maintaining appropriate behavior will be given additional support in the form of social stories or role playing in order to practice acceptable behavior responses. In conjunction with PBS, individual students’ behaviors may be addressed by completing a Functional Behavior Assessment to determine the cause of the behavior, and to encourage alternate behaviors. For example, a student may find it difficult to stay on task during the math lesson at 10:00 am. The student interrupts the lesson, and interferes with other students’ ability to maintain focus by blurting out irrelevant questions, yawning loudly, and complaining about the “stupid” math lesson. After performing an FBA, it is determined that this otherwise well behaved student settles down and returns to the task at hand after the presentation of morning snack at 10:30 am. The movement of morning snack to 10:00 am (prior to math), positively changes this child’s behavior. The student maintains focus and no longer has inappropriate outbursts.
Another challenging behavior that may occur during individual work time is a student who continually whispers to the other students at her group of desks, grabs the pencils out of their hands, and knocks their books to the floor. Since the use of Response to Intervention and Curriculum Based Measurements are an ongoing process in the classroom, this child has been identified as one of the 7-10 students who need extra assistance with their reading skills. During individual work time, students are completing Reader Response questions. The child who is being disruptive is unable to finish her work on her own, and therefore attempts to prevent her classmates from completing their work. Her needs are addressed by using this time to work with a small group of students twice per week. If her reading skills don’t improve after a pre-determined amount of time, she will be offered more intensive support in the form of small group work three to five times per week.
Instructional Dimension of Classroom Management
The overall teaching philosophy can be summed up in the following thought: There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to education. All children are exceptional, and should therefore be taught that way. Individual learning styles, temperaments, and abilities will always be at the forefront of any scheduling, lesson plan, or group activity.
Given the increased occurrence of children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, it is likely that any given classroom will have at least one child present with this diagnosis. To support this child, and to help ensure his success in the timely completion of any homework or schoolwork, advance organizers will be implemented throughout the class. A simple way to help maintain on-task behavior is to give an overview of the day’s planned activities. The use of this uncomplicated and quick advance organizer will assist all children in the classroom. In addition to a verbal overview, the day’s schedule will also be written on the whiteboard.
Example of Incorporating Universal Design for Learning
When presenting new material, it will be given verbally with graphic examples whenever possible, it will be written in outline form and given to the students or written on the board for all to see, and video or audio representation of the subject will be available. Prior to presenting the new topic, the students will be engaged, and interest will be peaked, with the production of a KWL chart. The chart will encourage the students to think about the subject, realize what they already know, and mentally prepare to learn new material by creating questions and topics they want to learn more about. Their engagement will be facilitated by the opportunity to learn the subject in a variety of ways. After sufficient time is given on the new material, or when children feel they have mastered the topic, they will be given the opportunity to present knowledge to the class. This knowledge share will occur through a written or oral presentation, a Power Point, or a role play, depending on the subject. Students can present material individually or in pairs. The class will return to the KWL chart as a group, and update it with new knowledge they have gained.
Organizational Dimension of Classroom Management
In order to facilitate an appropriate work environment, a professional and courteous attitude and organizational skills are required. As a teacher, working in a school environment means being involved in a close knit community, with all the positive aspects and challenges that it entails. An educator must cooperate and collaborate with a variety of other professionals, maintain administrative duties, and teach the required curriculum to her group of students in a meaningful and relevant way. This requires the ability to juggle many balls in any given day. One way to ensure that administrative duties are not lax is to schedule time on a daily and weekly basis to complete the necessary filing, grading, and collaboration with other personnel. Planning to arrive one half to one hour early every day, in addition to designating one afternoon a week to stay late, is a good start. Flexibility is needed, as certain times of the year will be more time consuming than others. A beginning teacher will also need to expect and schedule for more planning and administrative time than a seasoned teacher. Overall, the ability to be adaptive, flexible and intentional will go a long way in facilitating a smooth running and rewarding classroom environment.
References
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Wehmeyer, M. (2009). Exceptional Lives:
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adhd-resource-pt2.doc
