I have created this plan for a K-2 grade
Special Education classroom.
I:
Psychosocial
The
Psychosocial dimension of classroom management is the dimension that focuses on
the classroom atmosphere in which the students must learn. I believe that in
order for students to receive the best education possible they must be in a
positive and nurturing environment. I plan to create this type of environment
in my classroom by making it a place of discovery and wonder. Students should
never be embarrassed to get answers wrong or to feel bad if they don’t
understand something. I will encourage them to do their best and will show them
that as long as they try their hardest, I will be there to help and support them.
It’s essential to teach students that we all are entitled to our own values and
beliefs and in my room I expect everyone to treat each other with respect.
My belief is that in order for students to
feel comfortable in a classroom they will need to feel at ease and accepted by
the teacher and other students. To accomplish good relationships with my
students I will do my best to be calm, kind, rational, attentive and I will
listen to what they have to say no matter what. I will encourage respect and
individuality and stress the importance of each child’s contribution. I want my
students to know that I care about them, so I will greet them individually every
day and ask them how they are doing. To
create a sense of unity I will allow five to ten minutes every morning for each
student to share exciting things with the class.
I
also believe that it is imperative to include all parents in their child’s
learning experience. In order to accomplish this goal you need to have a good
relationship with the parents and I plan to achieve this by getting them as
involved as much as I can. I will ask for parent volunteers to work in the room
when they are available and I will send home progress reports every week so
that each parent will know how their child is succeeding in class.
II: Procedural
The
Procedural dimension of classroom management is the dimension that focuses on
the rules and procedures that will be expected in the classroom. I believe that
students need clear and simple rules and procedures to follow so that my
classroom can run efficiently. I plan to have three main rules, Be Responsible,
Be Respectful and Be Resourceful. I would like to have a discussion with the
class to brainstorm other rules they think would be helpful to have in our
classroom as well. When it comes to procedures I plan to teach the procedures
to my class the very first day, but I will also remind them when they need some
extra assistance.
Morning Procedure:
1. Unpack
backpacks and hang up backpacks and coats at the designated location
2. Place
individual lunch stick in the hot or cold lunch basket
3. Have
students place homework on desk and sit quietly until I begin class
End of the Day Procedure:
1. Write
down homework assignments in agenda
2. Look
around desk and clean up any paper, pencils, wrappers etc
3. Once
teacher has given permission, grab backpack and coat and bring back to desk
4. Pack
up all homework and agenda, put on coat, gloves hat etc
5. Upon
direction of the teacher, students will quietly line up at the front door to be
excused for the day
Attention Procedure:
1. Teacher
says: “One, Two, Three eyes on me (teacher will count on fingers and point to
his/her eyes)
2. Students
will say “One, Two Three eyes on you (students will do movements and at the end
will be focused on the teacher).
In order to teach the
Attention Procedure to my class I plan to do what I will for any procedure and
that is model it for my students. I will begin singing One, Two, Three eyes on
me and then will teach them their verse of One, Two, Three eyes on you. Once
they have learned their part I will teach them the movements to go along with
it, we will then put the whole procedure together and practice it until the
students feel comfortable.
III:
Physical
The
Physical dimension of classroom management is the dimension that focuses on the
physical aspects of the classroom and how the arrangement of the room will
affect the students learning. In my classroom I would like to have my desk in the
back of the classroom facing the class and the front door, this way I can not
only keep an eye on my class but I can also see people coming and going from my
room; though I don’t plan on spending much time at my desk. I like to be up and moving throughout the room.
This is so I can keep a close eye on my kids and make them feel that I’m an active participant
in the class. I would like to have tables dispersed throughout my room instead
of desks. I like tables because I can place students at different academic levels
at certain tables, and they also provide the Para-educators and me a place to
take students to work one on one without being interrupted. It also allows and encourages interaction
between the children when allowed. I feel the use of tables will provide more
room in my classroom so that children in wheelchairs can maneuver easily. They
also allow students with visual and hearing impairments to be close to their
teacher and close to the project/lesson that is being discussed. I plan to have
a colorful room with art displayed on the walls. I feel this creates a fun and
relaxed atmosphere that I’m sure the students will love. I also would like
certain technologies to be available in my room. I love using Smart Boards
because they are a great way to add visual elements to a lesson. Smart Boards
can also be used as a classroom timer, this is a great way to keep students on
track and show them how much time they have to complete certain assignments.
IV:
Behavioral
Behavioral
dimension is the dimension that focuses on the ability to manage inappropriate
behaviors in the classroom. I feel that behavior issues are something that can
be limited if you have clear set rules set out for the students at the
beginning of the year. I have three rules that I will have listed on the board
for my students. 1) Be Respectful, 2) Be Responsible, and 3) Be Resourceful.
These rules are simple and to the point and I feel that students will be able
to remember them easily. For rules to be truly effective I feel that students
should be able to help create some for their classroom. I plan to hold a
discussion with my class and allow them to create some of their own rules that
we can use for the classroom. No matter how clear your rules may be every
teacher will have behavior problems they must deal with. The important thing is
to be prepared ahead of time and to have a system set up to deal with these
problems.
Say
you have a student who yells out the answers instead of raising their hand. In
my classroom I will politely ignore the student and call on someone who is
raising their hand and thank them for following the rules and gently remind the
class that we must raise our hands when we answer a question. Then I would ask
some more questions to allow the student the time to correct their behavior.
I’m a believer that embarrassing students by singling them out is not an
effective way to deal with problem behaviors. Another example could be that you
have a student who is having a bad day, and is refusing to complete their
assignments and is creating a distraction in the room. I will take the student
somewhere in the room where we could talk one on one and try to figure out what
is going on to make them so upset. I would then say I’m sorry you are having a
rough day but let’s try to make the rest of it better. I would then encourage
them to do their best and sit with them while they worked on their assignment.
There are times when students will persist with the problem behavior. This is
when I feel it’s necessary to use some form of consequence whether it’s loss of
recess or talking with parents to try and resolve the issue.
V:
Instructional
The
Instructional dimension in classroom management is the dimension that focuses
on scheduling, transitions, lesson planning. For a classroom to run efficiently
I believe that a teacher must create a classroom that uses a mixture of
democratic, direct instruction and student centered learning philosophies. A
classroom needs to be a place where students feel that they are important, are
being listened to and that they have a say. I want my students to feel
comfortable asking me for assistance and I want to be a good role model for
them.
I
believe that students benefit from learning from their peers and should have
the opportunity to work with one another to discover answers for themselves. We
all know that everyone learns in their own time and in their own way. It’s my
job as a teacher to provide information in multiple ways so that each of my
students can understand the lesson they are being taught. I plan to use White
Boards, Smart Boards, computers, discussions etc to present my lessons to the
class. Students will also have the opportunity to engage in lessons in multiple
ways, for example I will ask the students to build, draw, measure and create to
get them to use their imagination and to develop a better understanding of the
lesson. I also want several ways for my students to express the information they
have learned. I will ask them to present projects to the class, write short
papers, to create a skit, or to do a drawing to show me they understand the
material.
VI:
Organizational
The
Organizational dimension is the dimension of classroom management that focuses on
a teacher’s ability to manage their time in order to be successful in their
class. Being organized is a key component to being a successful teacher,
because when the teacher isn’t organized the students aren’t organized. The
first step in becoming organized is to have an effective filing system. I like
to use filing cabinets and labeled folders to keep track of my student’s progress.
This system of filing is quick and easy to use, and it provides a neat and
orderly way to keep track of important information. I feel that another big part
of being organized is staying on top of my work. I plan to work on grading
papers every night so that I won’t be overwhelmed and I will be able to return
work/tests to my students as soon as possible.
I
recognize that in order to be the best teacher I can be I will need help and
support from my co -workers. I want to establish good relationships with my
fellow teachers and principal as it will make for a more pleasant work
environment and they will be some of my best resources for information, problem
solving and new ideas. Seeing as I hope to teach Special Education I know that
I will be working side by side with incredible Para Educators and I want them
to feel that they are an important component to my classroom so I will have weekly
meetings with them to discuss questions, concerns, and behavior issues. I feel
this communication will help to create a strong and effective team in my
classroom.
VII: Addressing Behaviors that are Challenging
As
teachers we will be faced with behaviors that will be challenging to manage in
our classrooms. What many fail to realize is that sometimes problem behaviors
can be caused by a student’s frustration or boredom with the material they are
expected to know. Luckily there are multiple tools that we have available to us
that can help us measure where are students are intellectually and can help
prevent problem behaviors before they occur.
The
first tool is Response to Intervention (RTI). RTI is a three tier model that
with the use of ongoing measurement shows students progress. This gives
teachers the tools to determine which students are responding to the curriculum
and which ones would benefit from additional assistance. Curriculum Based
Measurement is a useful method for tracking a student’s progress in reading,
writing, spelling and math. The teacher gives the student brief, timed samples which
the teacher then scores them. Because
CBM is quick to administer and simple to score, they can be given repeatedly.
Positive Behavior Supports (PBS) is a systems level problem solving oriented
and data based approach to reducing problem behavior. Teachers use this by
encouraging students to set aside their problem behavior and replace it with
appropriate behavior enabling them to benefit from the general curriculum. This
system allows us as teachers to tailor the student’s environments to their
strengths and needs to prevent problem behavior from occurring in the first
place. With the use of Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) a teacher can
look beyond the student’s behavior and identify the social, cognitive or environmental
factors that are associated with the behavior. This offers us as the teacher a
better understanding of why a student is behaving the way they are. Thus
allowing us the information we need to help students overcome these factors and
to behave appropriately in the classroom.
Bibliography
Feldman, A. (n.d.). Sample
classroom management plan. Retrieved from http://people.umass.edu/~afeldman/beingnewteacher/sampleplan.html
IRIS
Center for Faculty Enhancement (2009, February 10). Implementing cbm in the
classroom. Retrieved from http://www.ncld.org/at-school/especially-for-teachers/monitoring-progress/implementing-cbm-in-the-classroom
Smith, T. E. C., Polloway, E. A.,
Patton, J. R., & Dowdy, C. A. (2004). Teaching students with special
needs in inclusive settings. (4 ed.). Pearson College. Retrieved from https://umonline.mrooms3.net/file.php/2946/The_Six_Dimensions_of_Classroom_Management.PDF
Turnbull, A., Turnbull, R., &
Wehmeyer, M. L. (2010). Exceptional lives: Special education in today’s
schools. (6 ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.
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