As an elementary classroom teacher, there are several core components to my approach for classroom management: relationships building, learning, development, organization and accommodating diversity. In this statement, I will describe how | will create and maintain an environment that fosters student learning. Establishing relationships with students is the foundation of my classroom management plan. My philosophy related to related to relationship building is multifaceted and considers: communication, exercising authority and high expectations.
Pianata approach for emphasis on positive classroom relationships for classroom management aligns with my philosophy for developing relationships with students (Scarlett, Pontee & Singh, 2009, p. 54-55). I intend to do a number of things to help develop positive relationships with my students. I want my students to know I care about them as a person and a learner. Positive communication is one of the ways I intend to show my students I care. I will do things such as: calling students by name, showing interest in what students are interested in, and checking in with a student to see how things are going.
I will utilize Gordon’s ideas of using I messages and active listening to deal with problem behaviors while showing respect and trust (Scarlett et al. , 2009, p. 62-63). I believe communicating high expectations goes hand in hand with exercising authority and showing caring (Scarlett et al. , 2009, p. 71). Classroom rules and expectations will be the clearly posted and be the subject of class meetings I have with students. When discipline situations arise, I will need to be mindful and careful of how I am communicate a tough caring approach.
At the end of the day (year), I want my students to now I am their biggest supporter, that cares about them, and holds them accountable for being their best person academically and socially. I will adopt a learning approach for to behavior and classroom management. I will strive to develop lessons that are relevant to student interests, linked to the outside world and are interesting. For example, by having positive relationships with students I will get to know what kinds of books and hobbies they have; this will allow me to select reading materials and activities that are most relevant to my students. The model of learning that I will use in my classroom will be the constructivist model.
I feel this aligns well for making curriculum relevant for students. Additionally, I see it as part of teach students how to cooperate and act in civil ways. To accomplish this, I intend to use methods that set the stage for what I am expecting of students. I will modeling behavior and making my expectations explicit (Scarlett et al. , 2009, p. 108). I feel that good teaching methods go a long way to ensure successful behavior and classroom management. While I may only have students in my classroom for one year, I want to ensure that I do everything I can to put him on the best track for life.
By adopting a developmental approach, I am committed to being a part of my students’ developmental journey. In addition, to supporting the developmental milestones for the school year; I need to support the development of inner processes that take years to develop. I will focus on supporting and developing inner processes; problem solving, reasoning and self-control (Scarlett et al. , 2009). I will need to continually consider how I can take problem behaviors and develop inner process to help the child function better. I intend to use Redl and Winemans suggested methods for teaching self-control (Scarlett et al. 2009, p. 141). I believe it is very important for me to invest in using the developmental approach to support the long-term development of students’ in my classroom. I believe organizational approaches are the glue that holds my classroom management plan together, without organization classroom management becomes weak and may fall apart. My organizational approach aligns with Dewey and Brophy research that methods of organization make sense, thus student buy into them, and ultimately help control the classroom (Scarlett et al. , 2009).
There are a number of things to consider when it comes to organizing a classroom; schedule, physical environment and social environment and teaching teams (Scarlett et al. , 2009, p. 155). My classroom’s daily schedule will be posted and I will spend time early in the year teaching student udents classroom routines. Furthermore, I will use ques (i. e. , in five minutes we will.. ) to signify transitions and lessons will be designed to balance instruction and engagement time. I believe the physical environment can set a calming or chaotic tone. I will strive to establish a physical environment that is calming.
I will organize my physical classroom environment to be as open as possible. I will establish a system for organizing materials that is neat, user friendly, and accessible to students. My organizational approach for the social environment with respect to cooperative learning group aligns with Slavins research; establishing clear guidelines for completing group projects and assessing individual and group achievement (Scarlett et al. , 2009, p. 167). To further organize the social environment, classroom rules and expectations will be communicated on the first days of the school year.
Furthermore, I believe monitoring the classroom environment can help me prevent problems with classroom behavior. To be organized, also means organizing lesson. I believe it is really important to practice or think through the process of lessons prior to teaching it to students to catch organizational issues that could lead to flow and ultimately behavior problems. Finally, organizing with other teachers that work with students in my classroom to provide the best support to students. To effectively manage both behavior and the classroom, I need to understand my students backgrounds, their culture.
My definition of culture aligns with the text, culture is more than surface features such as language, dress, food and recreational interests (Scarlett et al. , 2009, p. 198). Culture goes deeper and has to do with culture’s values, ideals, and images of what individuals and communities should become (Scarlett et al. , 2009, p. 198). As a teacher, as part of developing relationships I will need to learn about student’s cultural background. By looking for and being aware of cultural differences, I can better understand how to accommodate different cultures by considering if I need to use different m management approaches.
In some instances, it may not be realistic or possible to shift my approach. I am not an expert cultural diversity; however, I am committed to learning about and being respectful of different cultures and feel this will go a long way in supporting students of other cultures. Overall, I feel my classroom management philosophy needs to be dynamic. To be a good teacher, I feel my philosophy needs to grow and evolve with each group of students that come into my classroom. I need to be continuously mindful of what is working and what is not.
Recognizing when things are not working, I need to not only consider what is going on with the student, but also consider my approach and style to classroom management. As a classroom teacher, I have the opportunity to be a part of students’ academic experience for one year; helping to set the stage for their continued growth academically and socially. I am committed to creating and establishing a classroom environment that supports students and fosters students learning; putting my students on the pathway to success.