1. Instructional Management Technique:
Students in my classroom quickly understand that I expect excellence in all aspects of the school day. When students walk through the door the plan for the day is clearly written on the board. I walk the class through each step of the day's schedule, clearly define my expectations for them, and explain where they should be at the end of class. Throughout the period, I pace the room whether I am lecturing or the students are working on an assignment. I spend extra time on transitions, ensuring that the students know where we were and where we are going. I welcome questions, stopping frequently to solicit them in hopes that providing assistance for one student will be assisting others with the same question. Lastly, I make every minute of the period count. The constant question my students ask is, “Why don't we ever have a free day?” It is my conviction that teaching and working from bell to bell is the best use of my time and theirs.
3. Managing the Physical Space: No Space Unexplored; No Student Escapes
An important aspect of classroom management for me is having no uncharted territory in the classroom. The students understand that during the course of the class I will cover every inch of human space. Usually, after two weeks together, the students become accustom to me tapping on their shoulders. They are not startled to have me stand right next to them at the back of the room and teach for 5 minutes. I try to eliminate the thought that there is an area in the classroom that I will not cover in my pacing. Furthermore, I demonstrate to the students that they will all be called on. Not having a book or not having the assignment affixes no immunity in my classroom. In fact, I give students without the expected assignments special treatment in order to encourage them to avoid future embarrassment. The idea behind this is that no one can get lost in my classroom. No student can zone out and expect me not to notice. No student can work on anything other than the material at hand.
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2. Misbehavior Prevention: First, my misbehavior prevention model depends upon pushing students to work and learn throughout the entire period. There is very little down time in my classroom. Secondly, I ensure that students clearly understand classroom policies and procedures. For instance, I expect students to enter the classroom and begin their bell-work immediately. To achieve this, I have students practice entering the room and beginning the assignments. On days when the students forget, all are sent outside, forced to stand against the wall with arms raised, and are only allowed to enter again once it is totally silent. Thirdly, I attempt to explain why the curriculum is meaningful while making the lesson as interesting as possible. The body of Educational Research continues to confirm that one of the most frequent causes of misbehavior is that the student is not challenged to think. By striving to make the lesson as interesting as possible, I hope to engage students prone to misbehave. Fourth and Lastly, I pursue consistency and follow-through on all of my policies. In other words, I make sure that the students know that I am the authority in the classroom. Ultimately, it is my belief that students are constantly asking the questions, “Where are the boundaries?” and “Is this a secure environment?” My job is to never waver on the question of boundaries and to continually reassure the students that they are secure in my classroom because I will not tolerate misbehavior. All of this is accomplished by consistent implementation of the discipline action plan. |
4. Discipline Action Plan: For the First Offense
When all advance preparation and training fails and after a clear warning has been given, the first consequence for a misbehaving student in my classroom is the “Discipline Action Plan.” This is a written assignment that the student must complete within 24 hours. The goals of this task are to force the student to think about the offense, define it in writing, describe why the rule is important, and devise a plan for avoiding the same offense in the future. If the assignment is not turned in the following day, the Discipline Action Plan turns into a referral to the office. When possible, I will explain the reason for the Discipline Action Plan, and express my disappointment in the student's decisions. The result is that the students turn in a contract committing to change their behavior. This, in turn, becomes an important reference for me to remind them should they choose misbehavior again. It is my desire to definitively show the students that their behavior is their choice; poor behavior choices are not forced upon them by outside circumstances.
Sample Discipline Action Plans: 1, 2...
5. Rules and Consequences:
The last step in my overall classroom management plan is communicating and consistently referring to the posted rules and subsequent consequences for my classroom. After training the students to abide by classroom rules, I seize every opportunity to enforce the rules. It is also my goal to deal with misbehavior as systematically as possible. Instability in the classroom originates from students being unaware of what rule they have broken and how they will be reprimanded. I explain to the students the specific rule they have broken, and direct them to the posted rules and consequences so they are certian of where they are in the consequential process. This results in students that are aware that for their actions there are consequent reactions from the teacher.