Philosphy Of Classroom Management 1

Lexi Olinger 4/1/19

Philosophy of Classroom Management An effective plan for classroom management is an essential tool for creating a positive learning environment. According to Smith and Dearborn (2016) teachers who teach expected behavior early and effectively will spend less time solving conflicts and get to spend more time teaching content (p.12). I believe there are many aspects to effective classroom management strategies which include mutual respect, a sense of safety, and a strong understanding of the expectations, procedures, and rules in the classroom which work together to create a positive learning environment.

Respect is an important I firmly believe that students treated with respect will, in turn, treat their teachers with respect. Mutual respect is my main goal for my classrooms. Students who feel they have a voice in the classroom are more likely to participate in a positive manner. Respect is shown to students by listening to their ideas, honoring their emotions, trusting that they are doing right, rather than assuming they are doing wrong, and much more. Teachers who provide the signs of respect will see that students treat them with respect as well.

Students need to feel safe and able to take risks in order to learn effectively in a classroom. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1943), students have to feel safe in their environment before they are capable of critical and abstract thinking. Students need to feel not only physically safe- that no one will injure or harm them- but also mentally safe. Learning environments need to be open to new ideas, expectant and permitting of mistakes, consistent, and accepting of differences to give students maximum opportunities to learn and share concepts and ideas.

Lexi Olinger 4/1/19

When students have a strong understanding of what is expected of them and the consequences for not meeting those expectations, they are more likely to follow the rules. One important way to start developing strong understanding of the rules and procedures is to allow students to actively participate in creating the rules and consequences. Then, when students break the rules or receive consequences, teachers can remind them they were part of developing the expectations, so they should know to live up to them. It is also important that we explicitly model appropriate behavior to show students what is expected. Once we have taught the expectations and consequences, it is important to be consistent in enforcing rules and administering consequences. If students see that you do not always follow through with discipline, they will test and push limits until they break the system.

Using effective tools is another important aspect of classroom management. Having attention-getting strategies which do not require the teacher to yell over students are highly effective and can include noise makers such as bells or chimes, rhythmic clapping, and call and response vocalizations. Finding away to capture and bring student attention back to the teacher in a quick and effective way saves time and frustration on the teacher’s behalf. Classroom management tools such as Classroom Dojo help teachers not only keep track of student behavior, but offer another platform for parent/teacher communication. Being consistent in use of systems like Dojo are important so that students know what is expected of them and what will happen when they do not live up to what is expected of them.

Many patterns arise in conversations, books, and theories about classroom management. All ideas usually boil down to showing students respect, teaching students to

Lexi Olinger 4/1/19 understanding expectations and consequences, and being consistent in enforcing and upholding the rules. I believe, that most importantly, teachers must also be models of the same positive behaviors they expect from students, or students will not respond to any sort of classroom management strategies.

Lexi Olinger 4/1/19

References Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. ​Psychological Review, 50​(4), 370-396. Smith, R., & Dearborn, G. (2016). Conscious Classroom Management: Unlocking the secret of great teaching (2nd ed.). Fairfax, CA: Conscious Teaching.