Assess your cooperating teacher's classroom management plan. How does it support and/or counter your approach? Provide an example of how you might use these management strategies to enhance your teaching of social studies.
My co-op's classroom management plan I think is a good one. The classroom is set up into a good learning environment for students to recieve good instruction. The reading corner I think is my favorite becasue it is back, tucked away in the corner which allows students to really get into their books. Also, the students that need the most monitoring sit across the front of the room. This is better for them because they are able to stay on task in a more sufficient way.
This supports my methods of how I will use classroom management in my future classroom. I may use classroom management strategies in social studies and when instructiong all lessons by knowing how my students will react in certain environments or with certain other kids in the class. It is important to know the students and waht helps them perform better then other things, like the environment, surroundings, peers surrounding them, etc. I am looking forward to using trial and error and learning about different strategies and methods to use to create and improve my own classroom.
My teacher has a pretty good classroom management plan. It's obvious that she knows her students really well and she can usually anticipate how they'll act in certain situations.
However, her only act of punishment is taking away recess. I'm ok with this sometimes, if a student needs to finish up some work, and then can play when they're finished, but often the worst students miss out on all of recess. I understand that she's taking away a privledge but these are the students that need to get rid of that energy at recess. I think there are other rewards that could be taken away so students still have a chance to let off some steam.
I'm becoming very familiar with the students as well and now know who I can sit next to each other, who I need to remind to raise their hand before a lesson, etc. which is really helpful in classroom management. I have to follow Miss Pagana's punishment routine but I think in my own classroom I'll come up with different punishments depending on the students.
I believe that my coopering teacher, Mrs. Young, has a great organization system in her classroom. Everything is organized and everything has a certain place. I appreciate this because I cannot stand clutter. But there is a place for scissors, homework, scrap paper, bathroom passes, etc. The students understand where all of this is, and there is never a problem when asking for something because they can just go right up and grab it. My teacher uses a number system for all of her students. Everyone has a number, and everything they do corresponds with that number. When calling on students in class, she uses the numbers and goes around in a circle. Students all have individual folders and books with the numbers. I think that this eliminates confusion when students are looking for something or need to know what is theirs. The classroom is not really set up in a way that I believe is effective. Students are usually bumping into desks when getting places. Also, there is a smart board in the middle of the white board, so your only option is using the smartboard and nothing else. In my classroom, I want to have an open floor plan so that students have the freedom to roam and do not feel constricted at their desk. I want to have certain places for library or for supplies, etc. My teacher does not participate in a punishment plan. The only thing she does is take away recess or send the students to the principal. I feel as though at this point, recess and the principal are ineffective since the behavior problems are still continuing. She also has a homework system where if students have an A/B average they are exempt from homework and I would not exercise that in my future classroom because I feel like students should at least do homework sometime, and not be constantly exempt. Knowing my students would be the most important thing in a social studies lesson. I know that my students do not appreciate being called out by their numbers, so I would try and employ a different strategy for that. Also, instead of reading articles, we would be doing more hands on activities in an organized manner since students know where all supplies are. My teacher also has an agenda and ‘whats expected of you’ chart that she changes for each subject and I would 100 % use that in my social studies lesson because its pretty clear how students should act.
We actually just discussed classroom management techniques this morning in Math Methods. My teacher has a method to get the students' attention when they are talking, and the school also has a level technique they use throughout the school to keep the students quiet in the hallways when they are moving from room to room in the school. In the classroom, my teacher says "Class, Class" to the students and they respond, "Yes, Yes," to get their attention and stop talking in groups or to each other. This usually occurs before lessons when the students have just entered the room or are switching subjects. The school has number levels for students to how loud they need to be when the are in the hall, classroom, other classes, etc. The students in my 4th grade placement seem to follow the classroom management techniques well.
In my opinion, the "Class, Class," "Yes, Yes" technique is effective because the teacher says it loud enough for the students to hear and it gets the students quiet fast. They pay attention to what the teacher has to say and she is able to keep their attention for a while afterwards. This is one technique I would use in my classroom, considering other ones, such as a call-recall method with clapping or saying something, and ringing a bell or using a whistle. Something that does not take much time and is able to grab students' attention immediately are most effective.
I would use these strategies to enhance social studies lessons in order to keep the students on task and keep their attention. Since NCLB, social studies has been put on the back-burner and is taught less in school. Therefore, time to teach social studies is precious and as a teacher, using the most of the time you have and teaching as effectively as possible is important.
I believe that my co-op, Mrs. DuBosq, has a good classroom management plan. The tables are arranged with either 4 or 6 students at a table. This helps to nurture a cooperative environment. Each table has a "table leader" who is in charge of getting materials and collecting the papers from the table. Students enjoy this responsibility because it gives them a sense of ownership. Mrs. DuBosq had spent time in the beginning of the year creating this role for students and teaching them the importance of being helpful not bossy. Student's who need more help getting focused are often seated with students who are on task and are good independent models for other students to follow. My teachers form of punishement is getting a "regret" written in the Falcon books- these books go home to parents with either a star or a regret for each day. Mrs. DuBosq warns the student first by telling them they will get a regret and many times the students respond to this and stop the bad behavior. I am getting more comfortable with the students and their styles. When I am teaching, I know who i can group together and who I cannot as well as who I will have to issue reminders to to raise their hand or stay in their seats. I believe that really knowing your students is one of the most important aspects of classroom management.
While I feel my teacher has good intentions, her behavior management plan does not seem to be working as effectively as I've read in everyone else's! My class seems to have a lot of difficulty with self control, and listening when the teacher speaks. While my teacher does do things such as clap certain patterns and children respond, or use "1, 2, 3, eyes on me," about half of the students usually respond by getting quieter and looking at her. There is also no method for asking to use the bathroom, or other questions. When a student is finished with any task, they usually ask what to do. I feel there could be a plan implemented such as placing the finished product in a basket, etc. Profess Wile told us a great technique today that he observed in a classroom before. The teacher established levels of noise in the classroom, such as Level 1 being complete silence, Level 2 being whispering and only talking to the person next to you, etc. The teacher reinforced the levels throughout the day, reminding students what level they should be at. I feel this is a great strategy if enforced! I feel this strategy could be implemented throughout social studies lessons. Social studies time is often short, and we need as much time as we can get!
My teacher has great classroom control that is partially the result of having a good sense of humor which she displays with the children daily. The children laugh right along with her as she reminds them to get back to work with a silly comment as part of her scolding. Another reason she has very few behavior issues is because they respect her. Actually, they have mutual respect. She is fair in her punishment and firm in her discipline. Her time management is impeccable with each lesson flowing into the next with ease. The children are almost always on task, and she holds high expectations for each of them. I know it appears to be experience or magic that make her class so flawless, but I have learned that she spends nearly eight hours every Saturday at the school planning for the next week’s lessons. It is not magic. It is commitment.
I would like to emulate my teacher since she performs exactly how I would like to teach. She is committed to this profession and to the children in her class. She plans and executes lessons precisely, and varies them to keep the students’ interest. I enjoy the humor she uses with the children and so do they. To the children or an outsider, her teaching style may appear relaxed, but it is very structured and very effective. She is clear in her expectations and holds students accountable for their actions.
I hope to teach social studies with effective planning, good class management, proper use of time and discipline, and a variety of teaching strategies. I want my students to experience the world. I want to use authentic material as often as possible and vary lessons, too. I plan to use whole group and small group activities, cooperative learning and individual work. In order to employ this range of activities, I must have a quality classroom management plan in place. Proper planning is the key to classroom management. I will hold high expectations of my students for both behavior and academic work. If my students know what they are expected to do, how they are expected to do it and when, then I might have the freedom to plan differentiated assessments. These strategies will allow students to find success in a manner that suits each of them. For example, they could draw a map, create a play, sing a song, write a poem, make a costume or draw a poster. Giving students options in a subject as broad as social studies would benefit all learners, but at the heart of a quality lesson is great planning!
My teacher has very good classroom management skills. She allows students to have their freedom, but with structure. My teacher uses a few classroom management techniques constantly, and with god results from the class. The first would be "one, two, three, all eyes in me." My teacher says this to the students and they know that they have to stop what they are doing and look at her. The students respond to this with, "one, two, all eyes on you." This is a very effective technique in my classroom and the students, with the exception of one or two, always respond appropriately. My teacher will also clap rhythms with her hands. The students echo her pattern. Then, my teacher claps a few different patterns so that all students have time to put down what they are working on down and then respond to her. Again, this is generally a very effective attention grabber.
My teacher also uses a version of the stop-light system as a punishment. If a student is misbehaving or being disrespectful, he is told to go "pull a card." Each student has their own set of four cards each on a poster. Each time a student has to pull a card, the more he is punished/her looses some privileges. For pulling on card a student looses five minutes of recess, if the student pulls another card he looses his whole recess, if he pulls a third card he has a note written home, and if he pulls a forth card he has to go and see the principal. I do not like this system of punishment. There are about three students in the class that pull cards very often and then the rest of the class barely ever gets into trouble. For the three students who regularly pull cards, it does not seem that this technique is working well for them. The students still engage in the same rule breaking or disrespectful behaviors on a regular basis and they each loose recess about once a week. If I were having a continual behavior problem with a few particular students then I would be looking for different ways of managing their behavior and offering rewards and punishments. There is one student in my class who pulls at least one card, if not more, every time that I have been in the classroom. I almost feel as if someone needs to do a functional behavior assessment (FBA) on him to help pinpoint why he acts out towards my teacher and his classmates. It is evident that the sop light technique is not working with him.
On the whole, my teacher is very good at classroom management and presenting an organized classroom.
The students that require the most attention and who need the most help are seated together at a table in the front of the room which is closest to the teacher’s desk as well as closest to where she instructs from. My teacher is extremely unorganized, but is very organized when is comes to the management of her classroom. She jots little phrases in the corner of the whiteboard when a student forgets to bring something, forgets to do something, interrupts the class, etc. She jots something small such as “HW” when a student forgets their homework, and writes the student’s name next to it. This way, the student sees it all day and will hopefully remember to bring it the next day and not forget to do it the next time. Besides this, the classroom is extremely cluttered and students can barely walk without bumping into each other or desks.
I do not like the idea that she grouped her students who need the most help near her at the front of the class. I feel that this is like excluding those students from the rest of the class, when all they really need is to be included and mixed with students of all different academic levels. I have noticed on a daily basis that this specific table has the most trouble paying attention and understanding what to do because as a whole, none of them get anything that is going on, nor do they care! Together, they also cause trouble because none of them like to pay attention, so they often get off task together, and if the teacher is busy, no one else notices. If the teacher were to mix them with higher or even mediocre performing students, these lower students would be able to better understand what is going on and observe what others do to be considered a “good student”. This would also help the teacher in that she would not have to pay as much attention to them because other students who know what they should be doing would keep them on track. I plan to keep my room a lot more organized than my teacher’s, who currently can’t seem to find a thing when she needs it. By being organized and having good classroom management techniques, there will be more time for teaching, especially social studies which already does not get the amount of time that it should!
I think that my co-op is very effective in classroom management. The students are placed in groups of 2 or 3... this alternated every month when she moves the desks around because she doesn't want the students to be 'too comfortable' with their neighbors and to form 'cliques'. As I mentioned last week, she knows who needs to be separated to avoid drama,and who needs to be placed at the front of the classroom. The one student that is always at the front of the classroom alternates sides of the room so that it at least seems like her position in the room changes.
To get the attention of the students, my co-op likes the 'give me 5' method... mostly because she taught 4th or 5th (I forget which one) grade before moving to second and is not a big fan of clapping, though the students respond to that as well.
On each students' desk is a pocket where they keep four slips of paper: red, yellow, blue and green. If they have a green slip that means that their behavior was good for the day and they get a sticker on their 'behavior chart'. If they have a blue paper, then nothing really happens, but they do not get a sticker. If they have a yellow sheet of paper, then I believe they lost recess (I've never seen a student get to the yellow paper!).If they get down to a red slip, then they have to visit the principal.
Overall she has a very well behaved class and she always has little tips for me when I teach my own lessons.
My co-op is one of the most organized people I've ever met. As far as transitions and materials go she is definitely on top of the ball. Her system for behavior management has it's moments of greatness and it's moments of needed improvement. She has a system of strikes. When there is a behavior issue, she will sometimes move them down a strike. If they get four they lose their "FUN FRIDAY" activity. However, this is a system that varies a lot depending on her mood and opinion of the student. Sometimes a student gets three warnings before a strike happens. Sometimes, if a student often gets strikes, she will give them a strike after the first infraction. There are also those students that have lost fun Friday so often they aren't even phased by getting strikes. Her attention getter seems to be an effective one. When she needs the class's attention, she says "boys and girls, give me five." The students then raise their hands and turn their attention to her. When only the students closest to her hear the request, she sometimes has to say something to the affect of "I'm still waiting for all attention to be on me." However, overall the system seems affective. She definitely has a classroom organization that I admire and in most cases her behavior management plan is affective. There are just some students that don't respond and I don't see any attempt to try a new approach.
Miltion Hershey is a little different when it comes to misbehavior...The whole school has a system of levels (you move down a level for misbehavior) that seems to work. Becuase it is school wide and stays consistent throughout all grades, students are very aware of what is and is not acceptable. However, moving down a level does not always phase students making it ineffective for those who are trying to get expelled. Also, students often recieve detentions or restution, where they clean the school after hours.
My co-op uses the "123 eyes on me" saying when things get out of hand. She also uses a timer religiously and it works wonders. The minute the timer goes off, students are silent and in their seats. She usually places the timer under the doc cam so that studnets can see how much time they have left which I thought was a good idea becuase many students may not have an idea of how long 5 minutes is.
Recently, she has been posing questions to the students rather than telling them what to do/fix. She'll say "are you making a good decision right now" or "what decision should you be making." This has been extremely effective and it is something I would implement in my own classroom.
As a reward system, she hands out tickets that studnets can cash in for computer/wii time, something from the treasure chest, etc. Behavior improves when she begins passing out the tickets but a lot of the time students will give their tickets to one another which I think defeats the purpose of passing them out to begin with. Also, she makes them pay three tickets to use the bathroom during actual class time which bugs me... I dont think you should pay for something you cant excatly help.
For the most part, I agree with my co-op's classroom management plan. I feel any of these strategies could be used to improve social studies instruction to maxamize its time in the classroom.
My co-op struggles in the classroom management department, which she admits. She knows how to get the kids attention, but I feel as if their are no set classroom rules. The kids get up and do as they please. They will just walk out to use the bathroom sometimes. During lessons often the kids are not paying attention. Mrs. Ober threatens to "pull cards" (a school wide discipline action) but admits that she never does. I think the kids no that she is a little soft when it comes to classroom management and they tend to take advantage of it. She does have good "getting their attention" strategies. She frequently turns off the lights and uses the "One, Two, Three eyes on me" - "One, Two eyes on you" method. I really like this method and plan on adopting it in my classroom. The kids respond very well to it. Before the kids go out in the hall she has them "Zip it, Lock it, Put it in your pocket" They seem to respond well to this one too but I think it needs to be enforced better in the actual hallway. I think that the attention strategies are useful in using the most of your teaching time and would be helpful for transitioning into social studies or other subjects.
I haven't seen much of a classroom management plan in Mr. Keefer's classroom. The students are very well-behaved, so I don't see Mr. Keefer discipline the kids too often. I think this is all due to the great system that he set up in the beginning of the year. He must have worked really hard to get the kids to understand the rules of the classroom. I do see the need for classroom management during Flex period, which is a time when the students are allowed to play 24, work with the reading program on the computers, work on homework, work on any projects they may have, read independently, etc. Mr. Keefer expects the class to be quiet during this time. There may be quiet whispers, but that is the extent. For example, when the kids are playing 24, they have to be quiet or else they are not allowed to play 24 the rest of the day. He also has the rule that there are only allowed to be 3 players at one game. He set this up early on in the year, so the students know what is expected of them. I completely agree with being proactive because I see how his classroom is and it definitely works. If you can prevent problems from occurring the classroom will be so much more well behaved. Mr. Keefer is very adamant about students being respectful of their classmates and the teachers. He will not begin a lesson until everyone is quiet. He will just wait for them or say, "I will wait." I find this to be very effective because the students understand that he wants their full attention and nothing less. I like this technique because it doesn't require any yelling. I don't believe in yelling at students because that can just get kids more fired up. Mr. Keefer also holds his students accountable for their actions, which I think is very effective because kids learn they are responsible for their actions. For example, one boy misbehaved during library time, so Mr. Keefer had him write a letter to the librarian apologizing for the way he acted. I thought this was a great idea because it held him completely accountable and he had to reflect on his misbehavior. During Social Studies, I want to hold my students accountable for their learning because I feel this will help them be more efficient students when they get into the older grades. As I walk around the room, I see certain students that are doodling or working on something else. This is one thing that I don't agree with. This is hard because you only have one set of eyes and can't see everything. I would like to come up with a way to keep students focused on the activity, which could be done through hands-on learning. I want my students to be actively engaged. As I am in different field placements, it is great to see many types of classroom management.
Classroom management is extremely important to Mrs. LaPenta. It is one more the things that she is most passionate about when it comes to teaching, and that definitely shows through her plan and how well and constistently she implements it. "Bulldog Bucks" for rewards is something that is done throughout the whole school for different categories that the students fulfill. These bucks can then be used for different things that the teacher decides. This program works very well and I think that I would like to use something like this in my own classroom. As far as punishment, there is a detailed routine of warnings, names on board, and then tallies. Like Jess' co-op Miss Pagana (same school), Mrs. LaPenta's punishment is to take away recess for a certain number of minutes depending on what was done or how many tallies a student had the day before. While this does work sometimes, some of the worst kids end up missing all of recess for a few days straight. This only makes them less motivated to do school work, and more likely to continue to be distracted and mess up in class. The system itself works, but if I used it myself, I would find other ways of reinforcement to use that were more individualized for the student. I want students to be engaged during all lessons, including social studies. Management has a lot to do with engagement, and I would want to be sure that students are thinking about the lesson and what work they are doing, instead of what they may have missed at recess, or how upset they are that they messed up in class again.
My co-op for the most part has good classroom management techniques instilled in her classroom. She knows each of her students well, so she knows those who should not be grouped together and tries to group students who work well together so that they can help each other. My teacher has the red, yellow, and green light method. This is usually done individually. She will just quietly tell the student to get either the yellow or red card and put it in their pocket. These are usually for less severe behaviors. For those that are more severe, the teacher has a slip where she writes the students name on it. I think the student has to write down what they did and sign it. Then they need to bring it home and get it signed by their parents. This is a good way for the student to understand what they did wrong and take accountability for their actions. A reward system that my co-op has is that if students get about five stars, they receive a slip. They put their name on the slip and it goes into a big bucket. At the end of every week or month, the teacher picks one of the slips and the student receives a prize. I think this is a good reinforcement because it does not have the students rely on rewards for everything but it gives them some incentive to have good behavior. The only downfall to the classroom management that I have observed in my classroom is that the students fight with each other a lot. This occurs mostly with the girls in the class since there are only about five boys in total. The girls always complain to her about how “where not friends anymore” or “they were being mean.” This has happened every time I have been in the classroom so I am pretty sure it happens every day. My teacher takes the time to try to sort out the problem, first by having the students try to fix it their selves and then by actually helping. One time she took away a girl’s recess so that she could read a book about friendship. This I felt was a good idea but later I just heard her bickering with the other girls just the same as before. I think in order for this problem to be solved, my co-op needed to deal with this behavior right front the beginning and make it clear that it would not be tolerated.
From what I have seen in my fieldwork at Taylor Elementary in Columbia is that my cooperating teacher is an expert on classroom management. First of all, she follows the Love & Logic program. She treats everyone as equals in the classroom, and the class is a democracy. Everyone is a citizen in her classroom. Mrs. Moritz always knows how to grab EVERY single student's attention when she wants it. She is amazing at keeping her students on task. When they are misbehaving or not on task, she gives them the option to get it together, or go to the "mud room" (which is just a nook in the room where they aren't seen by the rest of the students) and not come back until they can get it together. I have rarely seen any students go to the mud room. At a very young age, I think that Mrs. Moritz is doing a wonderful job of helping guide the kids to actually WANT to behave. I am still very shocked at how well behaved the kindergarten class really is. The students have become very accustomed to Mrs. Moritz's rules. Mrs. Moritz's classroom management techniques and philosophy are very similar to what I would want. When I have a classroom of my own, I will want everyone to respect each other. I will treat my students with respect, and demand that they give me respect. Without respect in the classroom, nothing will be accomplished. I hope that when I have my own classroom, I will be able to keep the class' attention and keep all of the students engaged. This, of course, is equally important as everything else when social studies rolls around. Social studies is very important, and it is vital to find way to keep the students engaged.
When I am in school on Thursdays, I rarely see my coop have any students write their names on the board or anything like that. She generally says their name to get them to stop what they are doing and refocus. Since the students are older, I feel that this works well because it makes the students realize that they are off task and that they teacher is aware of their behavior at all times. Mrs. Strout does have a system in which the students get a warning for the first time. The second time she needs to talk to them, they lose five minutes of recess. After that, a note would get sent home. There are always a few students who have lost time at recess. Instead of having the students sit against the wall, they have the students walk around the outside of the playground. By doing this, the kids are still up and moving around. I also don't think the students ever lose any more than five minutes of their recess time. Like we talked about in class, kids are so full of energy that they really need their recess time to get out and play so they can focus for the afternoon in the classroom. I don't think it is bad to take away a part of recess, but it is not fair to the students to take away the whole time. The system my coop uses is similar to what I remember from when I was in elementary school which might be why this is a system I could see myself using in my classroom. As long as the system is used fairly among all students, I believe it is an effective way to manage the classroom.
My co-op's classroom management plan is a slight mystery to me. We have some sort of point system, in which if the children are rowdy we "erase" the point from the white board (leaving the slight top of it on the board, as a reminder maybe?), and if they were exceptionally good, such as a report of their great behavior from special, we award a point. I'm not sure what these points merit, and the students aren't completely sure either, but they exist. She also will distribute "Funcky Funds" to students for unknown reasons to me. Most frequently they're given out to students in the morning who sit down quietly in the morning and get right to work. A certain number of Funcky Funds will purchase a prize from a box, such as a box of candy similar to that at the movies, or a fun toy. From what I ascertain, they can also be taken away. Aside from that, students will be asked to "give me five" when Jena needs to get their attention during a busy period when students are working in groups. Students then raise their hands, giving her five. Sometimes she still needs to raise her voice to get the point across, leading to taking a point away if the behavior continues. I assume most of the groundwork for her students often staying quiet and engaged in their work was laid during the first few weeks of the beginning of the year, like it would be in my classroom (as I decided in my SED272 portfolio). The only difference I would make in my classroom management, is to have the rules and expectations displayed in the classroom somewhere, so substitutes or visitors to the classroom would have a reference point of expected behavior. I would also have a concrete behavior system, with defined guidelines as to when a reward (such as a point or Funcky Funds) would be received. I really like Jena's approach because she's instilled the skills of a cooperative classroom citizen in her students, such as respect for each other. It's a harmonious environment and the students know when they've wronged each other. I would like to set up an environment like that, although I would like to talk to my students more in a Social/Emotional learning type of way. To aid in the teaching of social studies, I would use my classroom management regimen to help give my students the skills they need to be effective citizens. I want to instill the values of being kind, respectful, courteous, curious and informed into them. I want my students to always be questioning both sides of the argument, finding evidence and forming an opinion on the topics they read about. Hopefully I can instill these skills in the first month of school so my school year will sail smoothly.
I think my co-op's classroom management plan works very well with the students in her classroom. All of the students are held responsible for their actions and if they are reprimanded, she informs them why exactly they are getting in trouble. Mrs. Bohn doesn't give students strikes or write their name on the board or anything like that. Honestly, most of the students respect her and are well behaved enough that discipline like that isn't required. When students are caught fooling around or being off task, Mrs. Bohn will say things like "No thank you" or "____, please make a good choice." When she says this to the students, they immediately know they are doing something wrong and correct it. She is also constantly in contact with parents whether it be via email or phone calls. All of the students know this and simply the fear of their parents finding out is enough to stop them from misbehaving. The principal is very involved in the school and regularly makes visits to the classrooms which also helps with the students' behavior. When students don't complete their work during centers, they are held responsible and must finish it during recess that day. I really like my co-op's classroom management strategies and would like to instill many of these in my own classroom. There really isn't anything I disagree with but I would like to add some sort of reward system on top of the strategies mentioned. I believe the students should be rewarded for their good behavior and I don't see much of that in the classroom. I really like that Mrs. Bohn is constantly talking with parents. I think that is very important in order to have a successful classroom.
My co-op's classroom management plan I think is a good one. The classroom is set up into a good learning environment for students to recieve good instruction. The reading corner I think is my favorite becasue it is back, tucked away in the corner which allows students to really get into their books. Also, the students that need the most monitoring sit across the front of the room. This is better for them because they are able to stay on task in a more sufficient way.
ReplyDeleteThis supports my methods of how I will use classroom management in my future classroom. I may use classroom management strategies in social studies and when instructiong all lessons by knowing how my students will react in certain environments or with certain other kids in the class. It is important to know the students and waht helps them perform better then other things, like the environment, surroundings, peers surrounding them, etc. I am looking forward to using trial and error and learning about different strategies and methods to use to create and improve my own classroom.
My teacher has a pretty good classroom management plan. It's obvious that she knows her students really well and she can usually anticipate how they'll act in certain situations.
ReplyDeleteHowever, her only act of punishment is taking away recess. I'm ok with this sometimes, if a student needs to finish up some work, and then can play when they're finished, but often the worst students miss out on all of recess. I understand that she's taking away a privledge but these are the students that need to get rid of that energy at recess. I think there are other rewards that could be taken away so students still have a chance to let off some steam.
I'm becoming very familiar with the students as well and now know who I can sit next to each other, who I need to remind to raise their hand before a lesson, etc. which is really helpful in classroom management. I have to follow Miss Pagana's punishment routine but I think in my own classroom I'll come up with different punishments depending on the students.
I believe that my coopering teacher, Mrs. Young, has a great organization system in her classroom. Everything is organized and everything has a certain place. I appreciate this because I cannot stand clutter. But there is a place for scissors, homework, scrap paper, bathroom passes, etc. The students understand where all of this is, and there is never a problem when asking for something because they can just go right up and grab it.
ReplyDeleteMy teacher uses a number system for all of her students. Everyone has a number, and everything they do corresponds with that number. When calling on students in class, she uses the numbers and goes around in a circle. Students all have individual folders and books with the numbers. I think that this eliminates confusion when students are looking for something or need to know what is theirs.
The classroom is not really set up in a way that I believe is effective. Students are usually bumping into desks when getting places. Also, there is a smart board in the middle of the white board, so your only option is using the smartboard and nothing else. In my classroom, I want to have an open floor plan so that students have the freedom to roam and do not feel constricted at their desk. I want to have certain places for library or for supplies, etc.
My teacher does not participate in a punishment plan. The only thing she does is take away recess or send the students to the principal. I feel as though at this point, recess and the principal are ineffective since the behavior problems are still continuing. She also has a homework system where if students have an A/B average they are exempt from homework and I would not exercise that in my future classroom because I feel like students should at least do homework sometime, and not be constantly exempt.
Knowing my students would be the most important thing in a social studies lesson. I know that my students do not appreciate being called out by their numbers, so I would try and employ a different strategy for that. Also, instead of reading articles, we would be doing more hands on activities in an organized manner since students know where all supplies are. My teacher also has an agenda and ‘whats expected of you’ chart that she changes for each subject and I would 100 % use that in my social studies lesson because its pretty clear how students should act.
We actually just discussed classroom management techniques this morning in Math Methods. My teacher has a method to get the students' attention when they are talking, and the school also has a level technique they use throughout the school to keep the students quiet in the hallways when they are moving from room to room in the school. In the classroom, my teacher says "Class, Class" to the students and they respond, "Yes, Yes," to get their attention and stop talking in groups or to each other. This usually occurs before lessons when the students have just entered the room or are switching subjects. The school has number levels for students to how loud they need to be when the are in the hall, classroom, other classes, etc. The students in my 4th grade placement seem to follow the classroom management techniques well.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the "Class, Class," "Yes, Yes" technique is effective because the teacher says it loud enough for the students to hear and it gets the students quiet fast. They pay attention to what the teacher has to say and she is able to keep their attention for a while afterwards. This is one technique I would use in my classroom, considering other ones, such as a call-recall method with clapping or saying something, and ringing a bell or using a whistle. Something that does not take much time and is able to grab students' attention immediately are most effective.
I would use these strategies to enhance social studies lessons in order to keep the students on task and keep their attention. Since NCLB, social studies has been put on the back-burner and is taught less in school. Therefore, time to teach social studies is precious and as a teacher, using the most of the time you have and teaching as effectively as possible is important.
I believe that my co-op, Mrs. DuBosq, has a good classroom management plan. The tables are arranged with either 4 or 6 students at a table. This helps to nurture a cooperative environment. Each table has a "table leader" who is in charge of getting materials and collecting the papers from the table. Students enjoy this responsibility because it gives them a sense of ownership. Mrs. DuBosq had spent time in the beginning of the year creating this role for students and teaching them the importance of being helpful not bossy.
ReplyDeleteStudent's who need more help getting focused are often seated with students who are on task and are good independent models for other students to follow.
My teachers form of punishement is getting a "regret" written in the Falcon books- these books go home to parents with either a star or a regret for each day. Mrs. DuBosq warns the student first by telling them they will get a regret and many times the students respond to this and stop the bad behavior.
I am getting more comfortable with the students and their styles. When I am teaching, I know who i can group together and who I cannot as well as who I will have to issue reminders to to raise their hand or stay in their seats. I believe that really knowing your students is one of the most important aspects of classroom management.
While I feel my teacher has good intentions, her behavior management plan does not seem to be working as effectively as I've read in everyone else's! My class seems to have a lot of difficulty with self control, and listening when the teacher speaks. While my teacher does do things such as clap certain patterns and children respond, or use "1, 2, 3, eyes on me," about half of the students usually respond by getting quieter and looking at her. There is also no method for asking to use the bathroom, or other questions. When a student is finished with any task, they usually ask what to do. I feel there could be a plan implemented such as placing the finished product in a basket, etc.
ReplyDeleteProfess Wile told us a great technique today that he observed in a classroom before. The teacher established levels of noise in the classroom, such as Level 1 being complete silence, Level 2 being whispering and only talking to the person next to you, etc. The teacher reinforced the levels throughout the day, reminding students what level they should be at. I feel this is a great strategy if enforced!
I feel this strategy could be implemented throughout social studies lessons. Social studies time is often short, and we need as much time as we can get!
My teacher has great classroom control that is partially the result of having a good sense of humor which she displays with the children daily. The children laugh right along with her as she reminds them to get back to work with a silly comment as part of her scolding. Another reason she has very few behavior issues is because they respect her. Actually, they have mutual respect. She is fair in her punishment and firm in her discipline. Her time management is impeccable with each lesson flowing into the next with ease. The children are almost always on task, and she holds high expectations for each of them. I know it appears to be experience or magic that make her class so flawless, but I have learned that she spends nearly eight hours every Saturday at the school planning for the next week’s lessons. It is not magic. It is commitment.
ReplyDeleteI would like to emulate my teacher since she performs exactly how I would like to teach. She is committed to this profession and to the children in her class. She plans and executes lessons precisely, and varies them to keep the students’ interest. I enjoy the humor she uses with the children and so do they. To the children or an outsider, her teaching style may appear relaxed, but it is very structured and very effective. She is clear in her expectations and holds students accountable for their actions.
I hope to teach social studies with effective planning, good class management, proper use of time and discipline, and a variety of teaching strategies. I want my students to experience the world. I want to use authentic material as often as possible and vary lessons, too. I plan to use whole group and small group activities, cooperative learning and individual work. In order to employ this range of activities, I must have a quality classroom management plan in place. Proper planning is the key to classroom management. I will hold high expectations of my students for both behavior and academic work. If my students know what they are expected to do, how they are expected to do it and when, then I might have the freedom to plan differentiated assessments. These strategies will allow students to find success in a manner that suits each of them. For example, they could draw a map, create a play, sing a song, write a poem, make a costume or draw a poster. Giving students options in a subject as broad as social studies would benefit all learners, but at the heart of a quality lesson is great planning!
My teacher has very good classroom management skills. She allows students to have their freedom, but with structure. My teacher uses a few classroom management techniques constantly, and with god results from the class. The first would be "one, two, three, all eyes in me." My teacher says this to the students and they know that they have to stop what they are doing and look at her. The students respond to this with, "one, two, all eyes on you." This is a very effective technique in my classroom and the students, with the exception of one or two, always respond appropriately. My teacher will also clap rhythms with her hands. The students echo her pattern. Then, my teacher claps a few different patterns so that all students have time to put down what they are working on down and then respond to her. Again, this is generally a very effective attention grabber.
ReplyDeleteMy teacher also uses a version of the stop-light system as a punishment. If a student is misbehaving or being disrespectful, he is told to go "pull a card." Each student has their own set of four cards each on a poster. Each time a student has to pull a card, the more he is punished/her looses some privileges. For pulling on card a student looses five minutes of recess, if the student pulls another card he looses his whole recess, if he pulls a third card he has a note written home, and if he pulls a forth card he has to go and see the principal. I do not like this system of punishment. There are about three students in the class that pull cards very often and then the rest of the class barely ever gets into trouble. For the three students who regularly pull cards, it does not seem that this technique is working well for them. The students still engage in the same rule breaking or disrespectful behaviors on a regular basis and they each loose recess about once a week. If I were having a continual behavior problem with a few particular students then I would be looking for different ways of managing their behavior and offering rewards and punishments. There is one student in my class who pulls at least one card, if not more, every time that I have been in the classroom. I almost feel as if someone needs to do a functional behavior assessment (FBA) on him to help pinpoint why he acts out towards my teacher and his classmates. It is evident that the sop light technique is not working with him.
On the whole, my teacher is very good at classroom management and presenting an organized classroom.
The students that require the most attention and who need the most help are seated together at a table in the front of the room which is closest to the teacher’s desk as well as closest to where she instructs from. My teacher is extremely unorganized, but is very organized when is comes to the management of her classroom. She jots little phrases in the corner of the whiteboard when a student forgets to bring something, forgets to do something, interrupts the class, etc. She jots something small such as “HW” when a student forgets their homework, and writes the student’s name next to it. This way, the student sees it all day and will hopefully remember to bring it the next day and not forget to do it the next time. Besides this, the classroom is extremely cluttered and students can barely walk without bumping into each other or desks.
ReplyDeleteI do not like the idea that she grouped her students who need the most help near her at the front of the class. I feel that this is like excluding those students from the rest of the class, when all they really need is to be included and mixed with students of all different academic levels. I have noticed on a daily basis that this specific table has the most trouble paying attention and understanding what to do because as a whole, none of them get anything that is going on, nor do they care! Together, they also cause trouble because none of them like to pay attention, so they often get off task together, and if the teacher is busy, no one else notices. If the teacher were to mix them with higher or even mediocre performing students, these lower students would be able to better understand what is going on and observe what others do to be considered a “good student”. This would also help the teacher in that she would not have to pay as much attention to them because other students who know what they should be doing would keep them on track. I plan to keep my room a lot more organized than my teacher’s, who currently can’t seem to find a thing when she needs it. By being organized and having good classroom management techniques, there will be more time for teaching, especially social studies which already does not get the amount of time that it should!
I think that my co-op is very effective in classroom management. The students are placed in groups of 2 or 3... this alternated every month when she moves the desks around because she doesn't want the students to be 'too comfortable' with their neighbors and to form 'cliques'. As I mentioned last week, she knows who needs to be separated to avoid drama,and who needs to be placed at the front of the classroom. The one student that is always at the front of the classroom alternates sides of the room so that it at least seems like her position in the room changes.
ReplyDeleteTo get the attention of the students, my co-op likes the 'give me 5' method... mostly because she taught 4th or 5th (I forget which one) grade before moving to second and is not a big fan of clapping, though the students respond to that as well.
On each students' desk is a pocket where they keep four slips of paper: red, yellow, blue and green. If they have a green slip that means that their behavior was good for the day and they get a sticker on their 'behavior chart'. If they have a blue paper, then nothing really happens, but they do not get a sticker. If they have a yellow sheet of paper, then I believe they lost recess (I've never seen a student get to the yellow paper!).If they get down to a red slip, then they have to visit the principal.
Overall she has a very well behaved class and she always has little tips for me when I teach my own lessons.
My co-op is one of the most organized people I've ever met. As far as transitions and materials go she is definitely on top of the ball. Her system for behavior management has it's moments of greatness and it's moments of needed improvement. She has a system of strikes. When there is a behavior issue, she will sometimes move them down a strike. If they get four they lose their "FUN FRIDAY" activity. However, this is a system that varies a lot depending on her mood and opinion of the student. Sometimes a student gets three warnings before a strike happens. Sometimes, if a student often gets strikes, she will give them a strike after the first infraction. There are also those students that have lost fun Friday so often they aren't even phased by getting strikes. Her attention getter seems to be an effective one. When she needs the class's attention, she says "boys and girls, give me five." The students then raise their hands and turn their attention to her. When only the students closest to her hear the request, she sometimes has to say something to the affect of "I'm still waiting for all attention to be on me." However, overall the system seems affective. She definitely has a classroom organization that I admire and in most cases her behavior management plan is affective. There are just some students that don't respond and I don't see any attempt to try a new approach.
ReplyDeleteMiltion Hershey is a little different when it comes to misbehavior...The whole school has a system of levels (you move down a level for misbehavior) that seems to work. Becuase it is school wide and stays consistent throughout all grades, students are very aware of what is and is not acceptable. However, moving down a level does not always phase students making it ineffective for those who are trying to get expelled. Also, students often recieve detentions or restution, where they clean the school after hours.
ReplyDeleteMy co-op uses the "123 eyes on me" saying when things get out of hand. She also uses a timer religiously and it works wonders. The minute the timer goes off, students are silent and in their seats. She usually places the timer under the doc cam so that studnets can see how much time they have left which I thought was a good idea becuase many students may not have an idea of how long 5 minutes is.
Recently, she has been posing questions to the students rather than telling them what to do/fix. She'll say "are you making a good decision right now" or "what decision should you be making." This has been extremely effective and it is something I would implement in my own classroom.
As a reward system, she hands out tickets that studnets can cash in for computer/wii time, something from the treasure chest, etc. Behavior improves when she begins passing out the tickets but a lot of the time students will give their tickets to one another which I think defeats the purpose of passing them out to begin with. Also, she makes them pay three tickets to use the bathroom during actual class time which bugs me... I dont think you should pay for something you cant excatly help.
For the most part, I agree with my co-op's classroom management plan. I feel any of these strategies could be used to improve social studies instruction to maxamize its time in the classroom.
My co-op struggles in the classroom management department, which she admits. She knows how to get the kids attention, but I feel as if their are no set classroom rules. The kids get up and do as they please. They will just walk out to use the bathroom sometimes. During lessons often the kids are not paying attention. Mrs. Ober threatens to "pull cards" (a school wide discipline action) but admits that she never does. I think the kids no that she is a little soft when it comes to classroom management and they tend to take advantage of it. She does have good "getting their attention" strategies. She frequently turns off the lights and uses the "One, Two, Three eyes on me" - "One, Two eyes on you" method. I really like this method and plan on adopting it in my classroom. The kids respond very well to it. Before the kids go out in the hall she has them "Zip it, Lock it, Put it in your pocket" They seem to respond well to this one too but I think it needs to be enforced better in the actual hallway. I think that the attention strategies are useful in using the most of your teaching time and would be helpful for transitioning into social studies or other subjects.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen much of a classroom management plan in Mr. Keefer's classroom. The students are very well-behaved, so I don't see Mr. Keefer discipline the kids too often. I think this is all due to the great system that he set up in the beginning of the year. He must have worked really hard to get the kids to understand the rules of the classroom. I do see the need for classroom management during Flex period, which is a time when the students are allowed to play 24, work with the reading program on the computers, work on homework, work on any projects they may have, read independently, etc. Mr. Keefer expects the class to be quiet during this time. There may be quiet whispers, but that is the extent. For example, when the kids are playing 24, they have to be quiet or else they are not allowed to play 24 the rest of the day. He also has the rule that there are only allowed to be 3 players at one game. He set this up early on in the year, so the students know what is expected of them. I completely agree with being proactive because I see how his classroom is and it definitely works. If you can prevent problems from occurring the classroom will be so much more well behaved.
ReplyDeleteMr. Keefer is very adamant about students being respectful of their classmates and the teachers. He will not begin a lesson until everyone is quiet. He will just wait for them or say, "I will wait." I find this to be very effective because the students understand that he wants their full attention and nothing less. I like this technique because it doesn't require any yelling. I don't believe in yelling at students because that can just get kids more fired up. Mr. Keefer also holds his students accountable for their actions, which I think is very effective because kids learn they are responsible for their actions. For example, one boy misbehaved during library time, so Mr. Keefer had him write a letter to the librarian apologizing for the way he acted. I thought this was a great idea because it held him completely accountable and he had to reflect on his misbehavior.
During Social Studies, I want to hold my students accountable for their learning because I feel this will help them be more efficient students when they get into the older grades. As I walk around the room, I see certain students that are doodling or working on something else. This is one thing that I don't agree with. This is hard because you only have one set of eyes and can't see everything. I would like to come up with a way to keep students focused on the activity, which could be done through hands-on learning. I want my students to be actively engaged. As I am in different field placements, it is great to see many types of classroom management.
Classroom management is extremely important to Mrs. LaPenta. It is one more the things that she is most passionate about when it comes to teaching, and that definitely shows through her plan and how well and constistently she implements it. "Bulldog Bucks" for rewards is something that is done throughout the whole school for different categories that the students fulfill. These bucks can then be used for different things that the teacher decides. This program works very well and I think that I would like to use something like this in my own classroom.
ReplyDeleteAs far as punishment, there is a detailed routine of warnings, names on board, and then tallies. Like Jess' co-op Miss Pagana (same school), Mrs. LaPenta's punishment is to take away recess for a certain number of minutes depending on what was done or how many tallies a student had the day before. While this does work sometimes, some of the worst kids end up missing all of recess for a few days straight. This only makes them less motivated to do school work, and more likely to continue to be distracted and mess up in class.
The system itself works, but if I used it myself, I would find other ways of reinforcement to use that were more individualized for the student.
I want students to be engaged during all lessons, including social studies. Management has a lot to do with engagement, and I would want to be sure that students are thinking about the lesson and what work they are doing, instead of what they may have missed at recess, or how upset they are that they messed up in class again.
My co-op for the most part has good classroom management techniques instilled in her classroom. She knows each of her students well, so she knows those who should not be grouped together and tries to group students who work well together so that they can help each other. My teacher has the red, yellow, and green light method. This is usually done individually. She will just quietly tell the student to get either the yellow or red card and put it in their pocket. These are usually for less severe behaviors. For those that are more severe, the teacher has a slip where she writes the students name on it. I think the student has to write down what they did and sign it. Then they need to bring it home and get it signed by their parents. This is a good way for the student to understand what they did wrong and take accountability for their actions. A reward system that my co-op has is that if students get about five stars, they receive a slip. They put their name on the slip and it goes into a big bucket. At the end of every week or month, the teacher picks one of the slips and the student receives a prize. I think this is a good reinforcement because it does not have the students rely on rewards for everything but it gives them some incentive to have good behavior.
ReplyDeleteThe only downfall to the classroom management that I have observed in my classroom is that the students fight with each other a lot. This occurs mostly with the girls in the class since there are only about five boys in total. The girls always complain to her about how “where not friends anymore” or “they were being mean.” This has happened every time I have been in the classroom so I am pretty sure it happens every day. My teacher takes the time to try to sort out the problem, first by having the students try to fix it their selves and then by actually helping. One time she took away a girl’s recess so that she could read a book about friendship. This I felt was a good idea but later I just heard her bickering with the other girls just the same as before. I think in order for this problem to be solved, my co-op needed to deal with this behavior right front the beginning and make it clear that it would not be tolerated.
From what I have seen in my fieldwork at Taylor Elementary in Columbia is that my cooperating teacher is an expert on classroom management. First of all, she follows the Love & Logic program. She treats everyone as equals in the classroom, and the class is a democracy. Everyone is a citizen in her classroom. Mrs. Moritz always knows how to grab EVERY single student's attention when she wants it. She is amazing at keeping her students on task. When they are misbehaving or not on task, she gives them the option to get it together, or go to the "mud room" (which is just a nook in the room where they aren't seen by the rest of the students) and not come back until they can get it together. I have rarely seen any students go to the mud room.
ReplyDeleteAt a very young age, I think that Mrs. Moritz is doing a wonderful job of helping guide the kids to actually WANT to behave. I am still very shocked at how well behaved the kindergarten class really is. The students have become very accustomed to Mrs. Moritz's rules.
Mrs. Moritz's classroom management techniques and philosophy are very similar to what I would want. When I have a classroom of my own, I will want everyone to respect each other. I will treat my students with respect, and demand that they give me respect. Without respect in the classroom, nothing will be accomplished. I hope that when I have my own classroom, I will be able to keep the class' attention and keep all of the students engaged. This, of course, is equally important as everything else when social studies rolls around. Social studies is very important, and it is vital to find way to keep the students engaged.
When I am in school on Thursdays, I rarely see my coop have any students write their names on the board or anything like that. She generally says their name to get them to stop what they are doing and refocus. Since the students are older, I feel that this works well because it makes the students realize that they are off task and that they teacher is aware of their behavior at all times. Mrs. Strout does have a system in which the students get a warning for the first time. The second time she needs to talk to them, they lose five minutes of recess. After that, a note would get sent home. There are always a few students who have lost time at recess. Instead of having the students sit against the wall, they have the students walk around the outside of the playground. By doing this, the kids are still up and moving around. I also don't think the students ever lose any more than five minutes of their recess time. Like we talked about in class, kids are so full of energy that they really need their recess time to get out and play so they can focus for the afternoon in the classroom. I don't think it is bad to take away a part of recess, but it is not fair to the students to take away the whole time. The system my coop uses is similar to what I remember from when I was in elementary school which might be why this is a system I could see myself using in my classroom. As long as the system is used fairly among all students, I believe it is an effective way to manage the classroom.
ReplyDeleteMy co-op's classroom management plan is a slight mystery to me. We have some sort of point system, in which if the children are rowdy we "erase" the point from the white board (leaving the slight top of it on the board, as a reminder maybe?), and if they were exceptionally good, such as a report of their great behavior from special, we award a point. I'm not sure what these points merit, and the students aren't completely sure either, but they exist.
ReplyDeleteShe also will distribute "Funcky Funds" to students for unknown reasons to me. Most frequently they're given out to students in the morning who sit down quietly in the morning and get right to work. A certain number of Funcky Funds will purchase a prize from a box, such as a box of candy similar to that at the movies, or a fun toy. From what I ascertain, they can also be taken away.
Aside from that, students will be asked to "give me five" when Jena needs to get their attention during a busy period when students are working in groups. Students then raise their hands, giving her five. Sometimes she still needs to raise her voice to get the point across, leading to taking a point away if the behavior continues.
I assume most of the groundwork for her students often staying quiet and engaged in their work was laid during the first few weeks of the beginning of the year, like it would be in my classroom (as I decided in my SED272 portfolio).
The only difference I would make in my classroom management, is to have the rules and expectations displayed in the classroom somewhere, so substitutes or visitors to the classroom would have a reference point of expected behavior. I would also have a concrete behavior system, with defined guidelines as to when a reward (such as a point or Funcky Funds) would be received. I really like Jena's approach because she's instilled the skills of a cooperative classroom citizen in her students, such as respect for each other. It's a harmonious environment and the students know when they've wronged each other. I would like to set up an environment like that, although I would like to talk to my students more in a Social/Emotional learning type of way.
To aid in the teaching of social studies, I would use my classroom management regimen to help give my students the skills they need to be effective citizens. I want to instill the values of being kind, respectful, courteous, curious and informed into them. I want my students to always be questioning both sides of the argument, finding evidence and forming an opinion on the topics they read about. Hopefully I can instill these skills in the first month of school so my school year will sail smoothly.
I think my co-op's classroom management plan works very well with the students in her classroom. All of the students are held responsible for their actions and if they are reprimanded, she informs them why exactly they are getting in trouble. Mrs. Bohn doesn't give students strikes or write their name on the board or anything like that. Honestly, most of the students respect her and are well behaved enough that discipline like that isn't required. When students are caught fooling around or being off task, Mrs. Bohn will say things like "No thank you" or "____, please make a good choice." When she says this to the students, they immediately know they are doing something wrong and correct it. She is also constantly in contact with parents whether it be via email or phone calls. All of the students know this and simply the fear of their parents finding out is enough to stop them from misbehaving. The principal is very involved in the school and regularly makes visits to the classrooms which also helps with the students' behavior. When students don't complete their work during centers, they are held responsible and must finish it during recess that day.
ReplyDeleteI really like my co-op's classroom management strategies and would like to instill many of these in my own classroom. There really isn't anything I disagree with but I would like to add some sort of reward system on top of the strategies mentioned. I believe the students should be rewarded for their good behavior and I don't see much of that in the classroom. I really like that Mrs. Bohn is constantly talking with parents. I think that is very important in order to have a successful classroom.