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CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT PLAN

LIFE IS ABOUT THE POINTS ON THE LINE

The ultimate goal of the teacher is to use preplanned behaviors, founded in learning principles and child development theory and directed both toward instructional delivery and classroom management, which increases the probability of affecting a positive change in student behavior, (Levin and Nolan, 2010) and increasing student achievement. The student must behave appropriately so as not to: interfere with the teaching act, interfere with the rights of others to learn, psychologically or physically create an unsafe environment, destroy property. Homework by the teacher must be done to learn preplanned behaviors to prevent students from interfering with the teaching act or getting off-task. The first preplanned behavior controls classroom environment. Be aware of the surroundings. Heating, lighting, ventilation, and noise can affect the teaching process. Design the classroom to make the best use of the space. The teacher should be in close proximity to all students. theme. Since a student must behave appropriately to maximize time spent on learning, some classroom guidelines must be established. Procedures or routines will develop over time and be adopted by the class. To maximize learning time, the teacher should greet all students at the door and at the tone of the bell shut the door and walk to the front of the room to begin teaching immediately. Students will learn that when the bell rings, work is Bulletin boards and displays need to be neat with a pertinent

to begin. Housekeeping items such as attendance should be handled in a manner not to interfere with teaching time. Before the start of class, students may work on freeassignments or fun activities provided by the teacher or write on the free expression area of the blackboard. Articles may be exchanged on the current events bulletin board. See Appendix B for a typical blackboard layout. Of course, a few rules need to be discussed on the first day of class. A contract between the student and teacher accomplishes this very well. (See Appendix C) Keep the list of rules short and post visible in the classroom. A syllabus should be handed out to relieve apprehension of the unknown. (See Appendix D) Parental involvement is very important to the students learning. Send a letter home with the students to open a line of communication. (See Appendix E) A refrigerator magnet with teacher contact information enclosed with the letter establishes a tone of open communication. (Appendix F) The second preplanned behavior of the teacher is to develop an energetic, informative, and engaging lesson plan on a daily basis. The five elements of instructions to help with the lesson plan are: 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) Content of instruction. Differentiate process. Differentiate product. Modify learning environment. Structure class period.

Appendix H outlines a daily lesson plan to keep students engaged throughout the class period.

The final preplanned behavior of the teacher is to develop a classroom management plan to deal with the misbehaving student. The three most common

problems are verbal interferences, off-task behaviors, and physical movement. Some coping methods for common behavior problems are: 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) Change pace of classroom activities. Remove distracting objects. Interest boosting of student off-task. Redirecting the behavior. Non-punitive time out. Encouraging appropriate behavior of others. Cues for specific behaviors.

Remember these implementation guidelines: 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) Intervention offers student for self-control. Intervention does not cause more disruption. Lessens the probability to become more disruptive. Protect from psychological/physical harm. Maximize number of alternate disciplines to be used.

The four non-verbal intervention techniques to use to influence student behaviors to maximize time spent on learning are: 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) Planned ignoring. Signal interference. Proximity interference. Touch interference.

Remember, the object of the involvement is to maximize time spent learning, so when interference is necessary, there are three things that should not happen: 1.) Encouraging inappropriate behavior. 2.) Focusing on irrelevant behavior. 3.) Abstract, meaningless direction.

If non-verbal intervention does not acquire the desired result, verbal intervention should be used next. The eight guidelines of verbal intervention are: 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) Keep private if possible. Make it as brief as possible. Address the situation not the person. Set limits not feelings. 4

5.) 6.) 7.) 8.)

No sarcasm. Verbal to student-center first. Verbal to teacher-center second. Application of consequences.

The eleven verbal intervention techniques are: 1.) Adjacent (peer) reinforcement. 2.) Calling of student/name dropping. 3.) Humor. (Use with caution) 4.) Questioning awareness of effect. 5.) I messages. 6.) Direct appeal. 7.) Positive phrasing. 8.) Reminder of rules. 9.) Cantors broken record. 10.) Glassers triplets. 11.) Explicit redirection. (Use last) When dealing with unacceptable behavior remember: Three objectives: 1.) Clear indication of unacceptable behavior. 2.) Clear explanation of what is expected. 3.) Finding a solution to not happen again. Three rules: 1.) Opportunity to save face. 2.) Private as possible. 3.) Keep tone positive. Remember these three suggestions for angry/aggressive students: 1.) Pre-plan and rehearse. 2.) Calmness. 3.) Emotional detachment. Rules of engagement for withdrawn students are: 1.) Proximity time. (careful of their space)

2.) Gently persistent. (relentless) 3.) Praise small steps. (critical eye)

Hopefully no serious disruptions will occur in the classroom, but if it does consider this a teachable moment. Teach yourself, teach the disruptive student, and teach the rest of the students. Consequences for choosing inappropriate behavior should not have to be discussed unless the problem becomes chronic. For serious disruptions contacting the parent after class should help improve the situation. For chronic behavior contact the schools child study team. If the parent is contacted for a parent/teacher conference, Appendix G addresses this issue. In conclusion, if you are well-organized, highly structured, behaviorally consistent, and extremely precise and competent in instruction delivery (Kauffman, 2011) disciplinary problems will be minimal. Mutual respect is the key to open a line of communication allowing the free flow of information between the student and teacher. Be FIRM, FAIR, AND CONSISTENT. When in doubt, TEACH-UP.

REFERENCES Kauffman, J., Pullen, P., Motert, M., Trent, S. (2011) Managing Classroom Behavior.

New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. Levin, J., (2010) Principles of Classroom Management. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.