2. Philosophy of Classroom Management Classroom Management is important in any and every classroom. Without some type of classroom management in place, many, if not all classrooms can easily fall into disarray. As teachers, we need to remember that classroom management is dynamic. We need to create a well structured environment where all students can participate in classroom activities, complete work with other students or individually without being disturbed and can express their opinions and thoughts without the consequence of reproach from the teacher or other students. To create such an environment, teachers (sometimes in collaboration with students) need to develop classroom rules, as well as positive and negative consequences that correlate to those rules. Teachers also need to model the created rules to make sure that students understand what the rules mean and what is expected of them. Positive and negative consequences to following or breaking the classroom rules should be a major component to any style of classroom management. Students need to be rewarded for following the rules at least twice as much as negative consequences for breaking the rules. By doing so, students will be able to see that following the rules is not only for the teachers benefit, but also for theirs as well.
3. Classroom Community Classroom community is the creation of a community of learners in the classroom where all learners have equal access to academic and social success. A classroom community should be similar to a family with many children. The teacher supplies support, educational opportunities and new challenge problems similar to a parent. The students should supply support and advise other students on problems or issues that they do not want to address to the teacher similar to a sibling. Additionally, parents of students must feel comfortable enough with their child’s teacher so they can volunteer in the classroom or communicate any issues. Creating a classroom community at the beginning of any new school year will be a major asset down the line for all students and teachers and managing the classroom. To create a successful classroom community I would implement a multi-step system. Before the beginning of the year, I would make contact with every parent in my classroom to learn as mush as possible about their child. Then, I would also tell parents about my expectations for their children in the classroom. Once school begins, students will develop the classroom rules and consequences. We will practice appropriate behavior during specific situations, such as how to communicate during a group discussion.
4. Profile of Student Individual Student Profile Name (Pseudonym): J.T. Age: 11 Date of Birth: 4/23/1999 Sex: Male Race: African American Current Grade: 5th Grade Homeroom Teacher: Matson English/Math Teacher: Shusle, Scroggs J.T. is a very charismatic student. When talking to him on a personal level, he seems very intelligent, and is very articulate. He is interested in mechanics, movies, and sports, even though he is unable to play any sports because of family issues. This is currently his 3rd year at Creekside. Before the entering the fifth grade, J.T. was labeled as a behavior issue. He constantly disrupted classes, was disrespectful to adults and was constantly sent to the office for reprimands or punishments. Upon entering fifth grade, J.T. showed a massive improvement in both his social skills and behavioral outbursts.
5. Student Strength and Needs Strengths: Non-Disruptive Honest Attendance Works well with Individual Instruction Works well in small groups Verbal Articulation Likes Technology Charismatic Very Honest Helping Others Creating Simple Connections Needs: Increased Attention Span Note Taking Skills Grammar and Spelling Turning in Work Independence Organizational Skills Study Habits Stamina Reading for Self Completing Assignments
6. Data Collection During the BIP process, I collected information from observations using the duration based observation form in conjunction with Microsoft Excel to keep track of the work he turned in on time, as well as his grades. The duration based observations were collected only during the first couple of weeks of observations in an effort to get a sense of when and why J.T. lost focus during classroom lessons. I used a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet to monitor and track all the assignments J.T. was to turn in during my student teaching. This allowed me to review his work, how well he was doing from week to week, and if his grades actually improved any because of this plan.
11. Behavior Intervention Plan Independence (Self Discipline) To make J.T. more independent I decided to follow a similar plan using constant updates of grades, differentiation of assignments and a strategy that where I would begin giving him as much assistance as possible and slowly weaning off that assistance to see if he would continue to complete assigned work. While no official notes where gathered for this part of the BIP, I did make mental notes of when he completed his work independently.
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13. Intervention Results The results were mixed. While J.T. showed massive improvement in completing his work during the implementation of his BIP, once assistance was removed, he slid back into his old habits of not completing his work. As for improving his attention span and independence, the BIP was a failure. The method for improving his attention span seemed to back fire. He got so used to the extra assistance from me or my CT that when I began removing the assistance, he failed to continue complete his work. Providing the extra assistance seemed to make him more dependent on others to assist with his work.
