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Lauren HannahClassroom Management Plan

My Philosophy on Classroom Management

Designing my classroom management plan involves more than simply creating three or

four classroom rules. Rather, this plan is meant to help me establish a plan for how to set up my

classroom both physically and behaviorally to create an environment where students can thrive.

The beliefs Maslow, Piaget, and Dewey hold about the relationship between students’ needs

being met and their ability to learn has influenced my classroom management plan. Maslow’s

hierarchy of needs affects the psychological environment I want to create in my classroom.

Piaget’s theory on the way students construct and build upon schema has influenced the

instructional strategies I plan to use. The constructivist beliefs of John Dewey – allowing

students to construct their own understanding through asking questions and hands-on learning

experiences – have affected both the instructional and assessment strategies I will employ.

Dewey also believed the teacher’s role in the classroom should be that of a facilitator, not a

lecturer. I want my students to develop high-order critical thinking skills, and as John Dewey

believed, higher-order thinking will only take place when students are given the opportunity to

investigate a topic themselves.

The seven developmental needs of adolescent learners are present in the three levels of

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: basic needs, psychological needs, and self-fulfillment needs.

Students’ ability to focus and be actively engaged at school will suffer if their basic needs of

food, water, warmth, and rest are not being met at home. I believe my classroom management

plan is most related to the second level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – psychological needs.

These psychological needs include students feeling safe and secure and experiencing a sense of

belonging and love. If students feel these needs are not being, they will behave in certain ways

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to try and have these needs met. My classroom management plan must include strategies that

will both meet these psychological needs and address any disruptive behavior that may occur if

students feel unloved, excluded, or unsafe. It is my responsibility to create and maintain a

positive classroom environment that will prevent students from having unmet needs.

Particularly in a mathematics class, I must remember that students develop at different

rates intellectually. While some students are able to think in more abstractly, I must design my

instruction to provide opportunities for all students to be challenged while meeting the

intellectual needs of students who think in more concrete terms. I have looked to Piaget and

Dewey’s philosophies for insight. Applying theories from both men, I have seen that as students

progress through the stages of intellectual development, I must provide learning experiences that

allow students to construct knowledge and investigate things on their own, regardless of their

intellectual development. If students feel incapable of learning a topic or only participate

passively in learning activities, I believe behavior problems will occur. However, if I provide

students with learning experiences that invite them to take ownership of their learning, then

students will be more on-task and less likely to engage in disruptive behavior.

Classroom Expectations

I expect that students will come to class each day with individual needs. Those needs

may be in the form of specific challenges they are facing with their family, friends, or in other

relationships. Some students might have academic needs, such as needing accommodations or

modifications, because they have an IEP or are English Language Learners. As each student will

bring his or her individual needs to class each day, I expect that students will treat one another

with kindness and respect. Having a classroom that is safe, inviting, and welcoming for each

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student is of utmost importance to me. Maslow addressed the need for this type of learning

environment in his hierarchy of needs.

I also expect that students will come ready to engage in classroom activities and actively

participate. While students may bring the frustrations of life outside the class with them to

school each day, I expect them to give their best effort in class each day.

First Day of School

The tone I set for my classroom the first day of school is crucial. On the first day of

school, I will tell the students what an important role each of them plays in the classroom

community. I will explain my expectations for participation and behavior after introducing

myself and learning a little bit about each student. In explaining my expectations, each student

must understand why they are in place and how the expectations will benefit them. To help

achieve this, I will involve students in the process of writing the classroom specific rules. I have

created four general rules (addressed in the next section) that apply to all students, but I want my

classroom to be student-focused – which also applies to creating the rules, rewards, and

consequences.

The first day of school, I plan to do a Chalk Talk with the students. After going over my

classroom expectations with the students – but before introducing my classroom rules – I will

have students participate in a Chalk Talk with the questions: How do you want to feel when you

come to Ms. Hannah’s class? What do you want to experience in this class? What can Ms.

Hannah do to help you experience these things? What can you, as students, do to experience

these things? How should we behave in class? The questions may be slightly modified for

different grade levels, but the same main ideas will be addressed. While I have outlined the

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progression of negative consequences I plan to implement below, I am open to hearing students’

opinions about what consequences would be appropriate and effective.

Rules

1. Be in the room when the bell rings.

2. Bring all books and materials to class.

3. Sit in your assigned seat each day.

4. Follow directions the first time they are given.

*Note: Respecting others and being polite to others is not listed as a rule for my

classroom. I do not believe I can enforce this personal characteristic. Rather, this will be

addressed in my classroom expectations. Some students may have been raised in a

culture or home environment where interrupting others or saying disrespectful, sarcastic

things was commonplace. I want my classroom to be a place where students will

continue to develop this positive character trait, not simply face a negative consequence

because of their upbringing.

Intrinsic rewards

I believe intrinsic rewards are more beneficial for students than extrinsic rewards.

Students are rewarded intrinsically by genuinely enjoying and finding fulfillment in the process

of learning. As a teacher, I can increase intrinsic motivation by: providing opportunities for

students to have a voice in what they are learning, creating authentic learning experiences,

adapting lessons to explore the interests of students, and providing appropriate feedback. My

beliefs about motivating learners are expressed in further detail below.

Extrinsic rewards

In a school setting, particularly a middle school, I will use extrinsic rewards (i.e. candy)

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sparingly. The use of extrinsic rewards can be motivating, but I also believe it can create more

classroom management problems if students become upset that they were not given special treat.

One extrinsic reward that I would like to implement in my classroom is the use of sticker charts.

I would prefer to use this in a middle school classroom, but I could also modify it for high school

students. As students actively participate in and contribute to class activities, show a certain

amount of improvement between assignments, and earn an A on a quiz or test, I will give them a

sticker to place on their chart. When the chart is full, they may turn it in and receive 1 extra

credit point toward whatever part of their grade they choose.

Negative Consequences

I will use the following progression of interventions to address misbehavior and refocus

the student: extinction, mild desists, verbal warning, time-out, and severe punishment. For minor

disruptions and distractions, I will use extinction, or planned ignoring, to keep from stopping the

entire class to address one student’s behavior. If the behavior persists, however, I will use mild

desists such as eye contact, facial expressions, moving closer to the student, and other nonverbal

cues. Subtle verbal desists would also be appropriate. A verbal warning is the next stage of

intervention. I will establish on the first day of school that I will give one verbal warning before

enforcing more serious disciplinary procedures. This gives students a clear understanding of my

expectation for behavior and receiving a verbal warning will be a strong indication that they

should change their behavior. More serious situations – particularly if a student is engaging in

dangerous behavior – require more attention to remove the student from the classroom for brief

or extended period of time.

If students do not change their behavior and more serious disciplinary actions need to be

taken, I also have a progression of consequences in mind. Primarily, students will lose certain

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privileges, such as working with a partner on an activity. If a student is repeatedly acting out in a

certain way or in certain situations, I will have the student complete an action plan. This action

plan addresses the current behavior problem, what is causing the problem, and what plan of

action the child will take to solve the problem. This puts the responsibility for proper behavior

back on the student, which will also teach students a life skill. After completing the action plan

and discussing it with me, a detention, in-school-suspension, parent-teacher conference, visit to

the principal’s office, etc. will be used to address the student’s disruptive behavior.

Management Routines

To avoid wasting time passing back papers to students who were absent the previous day,

I will have a set of folders in the front of the room. I will have a different colored folder for each

class period and will place the absent student’s work in the appropriate folder. Students will be

aware that they need to find the folder for their class period and find the work they missed inside.

This system will help the continued growth of student responsibility and ownership of his or

her education.

Passing out papers, homework, and returning papers to students is a necessary classroom

operation, but student behavior can become uncontrollable during this process. On the first day

of school, I will set up a classroom procedure for picking up bell work each day from a tray

dedicated to that class period’s handouts. Students will know that they should check this tray

each day for the bell work handout or the materials needed for the anticipatory activity. When

passing out papers during class, I will give the appropriate number of papers to the student on the

far right side of the row, and students will pass papers to the left. Students will be able to make

eye contact with the person sitting to their left, rather than having to yell the person’s name or hit

them, to get their attention. I will use a similar procedure for collecting homework assignments.

Students will pass their papers to the left, and the student sitting at the left end of the row will

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place the papers in the assignment tray corresponding to their class period. To turn in tests or

quizzes, I will monitor the progress students are making and collect each test or quiz

individually. This way, I will be able to address each student, asking if they have double

checked their work. Returning graded papers back to students will be handled differently, as I do

not want several students to see what grade another student earned. As I walk around the room

returning papers, I will manage student behavior using withitness, or remaining aware of

students’ behavior in all areas of the classroom.

Instructional Strategies

Helping students develop higher-order thinking skills is the motivation for the

instructional strategies I will employ. The strategies used in my classroom are also selected to

aid in meeting the developmental needs of adolescent learners. Direct instruction will be used in

my classroom, but I will use the active teaching approach. This instructional strategy has five

phases: opening, development, independent work, homework, and continued review. Although I

will be using this direct instruction method, I will incorporate other strategies throughout the five

phases to ensure active participation and active thinking. Implementing a variety of strategies

will also allow me to use multiple representations of the same concept, which will cater to

students’ various preferred learning styles. Within direct instruction and other instructional

strategies, it is important that I provide opportunities for students to use and develop their

problem solving skills.

I will provide opportunities for students to construct their own understanding of concepts

by employing the instructional strategies of projects and learning stations (constructivist

strategies). I plan to use both individual and group projects in my classroom. Allowing students

to collaborate through group projects will meet students’ need for positive social interactions

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with their peers. Additionally, I believe students build greater understanding of a concept by

explaining it to one another and combining different ideas and levels of understanding. By

participating in learning stations, students will be given more choice and will be free to

investigate that which is most intriguing or important to them.

Organizing colloquia throughout the year would be a perfect way to stimulate thinking

about the presence of math in everyday life. In particular, I could find community members in

various occupational fields and from different cultures to show the value of diversity in my

classroom.

Assessment Strategies

The assessment strategies I employ will be used to measure the growth in student

understanding and learning – not how well they can memorize a formula or repeat a problem-

solving technique. There are several formative assessments I will use to check students’

comprehension during class. Thumbs up, thumbs down, in between and exit slips are two of my

favorite formative assessments. Both of these activities ask students to reflect on their own

understanding of a concept and then share that self-evaluation with the teacher. Homework is

another helpful formative assessment in a math classroom, but I do not want homework to

become a dull, unmotivated exercise. I will use an assortment of activities as homework –

assigning problems from the book, worksheets, writing assignments, and “Do Nows,” and math

journals. Just as I plan to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of students at various stages

of intellectual development and with different learning styles, I must also differentiate the types

of assessment to allow students to express their understanding in several ways.

I will also use a variety of summative assessments to measure student learning. Quizzes,

tests and projects will be the most significant summative assessments. These summative

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assessments will encourage students to demonstrate the gains they are making in understanding

concepts, not demonstrating their ability to memorize the content.

It is important that students understand what the purpose of each assessment is. If they

do not see the value in the assessment, they are more likely to refuse to complete the assessment

or act out while completing the assessment. I will maintain control of the classroom throughout

formative and summative assessments by explaining the purpose behind each assessment and

following up with the results of the assessment. Formative assessments will be used to guide

decisions I make about when to implement a new instructional strategy, when to use a new form

of assessment, or when review or reteach a concept. Formative assessments will also give me a

clear indication of each student’s level of understanding or what material might be confusing

them. These forms of assessment will be used on a daily basis, for both my benefit and the

students’ benefit. Summative assessments will be used to measure students’ understanding of a

concept at the end of a series of lessons (i.e. quiz) or at the end of a unit (i.e. test, project). While

summative assessments are necessary to assign grades, I want to use this form of assessment to

give students the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned throughout a unit.

A portfolio will be the culminating summative assessment for each student at the end of

the year. The portfolio will be added to at the end of each quarter. Students will assess their

own learning by looking through the work they have completed throughout that quarter and

selecting certain pieces to add to their portfolio. For middle school students, I will provide more

specific guidelines about what should be included in the portfolio, but they will still select which

items to use in the portfolio and create a theme for the portfolio. Students will also have to

submit a paragraph outlining what they are including in the portfolio and why they included each

piece. High school students will be given much more freedom with this assessment. I will

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provide a set of expectations and rubric for the portfolio, and they will have to work on the

portfolio more independently. This will be a valuable reflective exercise for students, and it will

give me useful information about what is going well for the student or how I might better meet

his or her needs.

Motivation

I believe I will only be able to motivate students to learn if I know each student’s

individual needs and personality. Without taking the time to get to know each student

individually, I will fail to understand what is valuable to students, resulting in poor choices for

trying to motivate the student. I do not want grades to be the primary motivation in my

classroom. While I have experienced the benefits of being motivated by achieving academic

success, students will achieve success at various levels at various times. Because I am more

concerned with students understanding mathematical concepts and not simply memorizing

formulas, I want students to be motivated by their love of learning mathematics and exploring

the concepts we will investigate.

In order to motivate students in this way, I must create a classroom environment that

encourages students to think like a mathematician and have high expectations for them. If I

underestimate the abilities of my students, it is less likely that they will produce their best work

or be self-motivated. In addition, I must show students how applicable math is in everyday life.

As discussed earlier, I must know my students well enough that I can find specific applications

of math in their life experiences. Additionally, my own passion for mathematics will also

motivate my students. My hope is that my enthusiasm about how math is present in everyday

life will engage my students in classroom activities and challenge them to explore math outside

of the classroom.

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Providing students with choice and control in the classroom can also motivate active

participation in class activities. Students will feel more valued because they have a voice in

classroom activities; therefore, they will be motivated to participate in class to have their

opinions and thoughts heard. Using this type of extrinsic motivation will meet students’ need for

autonomy and control.

Positive reinforcement, and appropriate use of praise, will also be used to motivate

students. It is important that I am fair with my use of praise, making sure I do not show

favoritism to certain students. I will primarily use praise with students individually, rather than

complimenting their good behavior or academic success in front of the entire class. I believe

praising students for good behavior in front of the entire class is appropriate in certain situations,

but I must use it wisely so I do not embarrass the student.

Building Relationships with Parents and Students

I will build strong rapport with parents by remaining in contact with them through both

positive and negative updates about their child. When communicating with parents, I think it is

valuable to personalize it through sending handwritten notes home or writing small notes to each

set of parents on a class newsletter. It is also important to keep in mind that not all parents have

access to a computer or e-mail. Thus, I will have to use a variety of communication methods

(phone calls, e-mails, class newsletters, postcards). The stronger connection I have with parents,

the more likely they are to be an active participant in their child’s education. Parents should be

assured that I do not view their child as a number – they are recognized for their individuality.

With the continued increase in diversity among students, I must remain culturally

responsive and be aware of cultural difference when interacting with parents and students.

Parents may feel uncomfortable or out of place at all-school gatherings, so I could organize

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parent meetings with a translator present or a speaker who speaks their native language. This

way, parents would be able to participate in PTA-type meetings or parent teacher conferences

without the language barrier interfering.

My desire to enter the field of education was most influenced by the joy I find in building

relationships with middle school and high school students. Students must know that I am

interested in knowing about their life outside of my math class (family, extracurricular activities,

etc.). In order for students to open up and trust me, they must see that I am invested in both their

education and well-being. I will gain students’ trust and respect by treating them as mature

individuals and showing them respect. I will get to know my students outside of the classroom

by interacting with them in the lunchroom, hallways, attending athletic events, fine arts

performances, and other extracurricular events. I will also celebrate student successes and

achievements in and out of the classroom by praising their accomplishments.

To reach ELLs and immigrant students, I will be a culturally responsive teacher; this

means I will teach in a manner that would not be offensive to the traditions of other cultures and

will show students I value the different cultural experiences they bring with them. Allowing

students to teach the rest of the class about their home country and allowing students to speak in

their native language are two ways I can support the needs of ELLs and immigrant students.

Content-Specific Classroom Management Strategies

Classroom management challenges arise in a math classroom when students do not find

any value in the material they are learning or when they are not given an opportunity to be an

active participate in the learning process. I have outlined several motivational, instructional, and

assessment strategies I will employ to give students ownership of their education and treat them

as young mathematicians.

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On the first day of school, I must explain my expectations for student use of protractors,

rulers, compasses, and calculators. While all of these tools are useful in math class, they can also

create a distraction or temptation to engage in behavior that could disrupt class. I must be clear

that these tools, particularly compasses, may not be used to harm others. Particularly in the

upper grades where students are using graphing calculators, I must explain my expectations for

how students are to use this tool responsibly (i.e. not playing games during class time).

My strongest desire as an educator is for students to have meaningful learning

experiences. Creating a classroom environment that allows students to have these meaningful

learning experiences is of utmost importance. The various aspects of classroom management

outlined in this plan are what I believe will control and shape the classroom environment,

creating a productive space for students to learn and succeed.

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References

Cruickshank, D., Bainer Jenkins, D., & Metcalf, K. K. (2012). The act of teaching. New York,

NY: McGraw-Hill Companies.

Johnson, A., & Norris, K. (2006). Teaching today’s mathematics in the middle grades. New

York: Pearson Education, Inc.

Wong, H. & Wong, R. (2004). How to be an effective teacher: the first days of school. Mountain

View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications, Inc.