KaraBates

ClassroomManagementPlan

1.

ManagementPhilosophy
Asasecondaryscienceteacher,Ileantowardahumanistapproachover

behaviorismforhighschoolers,butbehaviorismoverhumanistformiddleschoolers
(Huberty,1990).Ibelieveingivingmyhighschoolstudentsthebenefitofthedoubtand
allowingalltheprivilegestheywouldhaveasanadult(withinguidelinesofthestudent
handbook)untilsuchtimeastheyproveunfit,atwhichpointsuchprivilegeswillbe
revoked(Edwards,2007,pp.305).Middleschoolersneedmorestructure,butstillneed
tofeelthattheyarebeingacknowledgedasmaturingyounggentlemenandladies,so
thebalancecanbetricky(Marzano,2007,pp.125).Startingoffwithabasesetofrules
andallowingtheclasstoweighinonwhatshouldbeaddedoralteredisagreatwayto
incorporatetheclasssmindsetandremindthemattimesthatthesearetherulesthe
classagreedonasawhole(Edwards,2007,pp.309).Theserulesneedtobe
consistentlyreinforcedthroughouttheyearforallagegroupswhilestudentsinevitably
testtheboundaries,whichcanbeachievedthroughverbal/nonverbalacknowledgment
anddirectcostconsequences(Marzano,2007,pp.127129).
Mostbehaviorproblemscanbepreventedbyhavinganawarenessofthe
classroomandthestudentsamajorityofthetime.Simplywalkingaroundtheclassroom
andtalkingtostudentscankeepattentionandcreateacomfortableatmosphere
promotingdiscussionandlearning.Asateacher,beingpreparedandflexiblecanhelp
preventboredomandkeepstudentsfocused(Marzano,2007,pp.140143).

Creatingclassobjectives,suchasajarwithbottlecapsthancanbeaddedor
removedforgood/badbehaviorofindividualsandtheclassasawhole,withafulljar
equallingapizzapartyorotherreward,isabehavioristwayofencouraginggood
behavior.Somesimilarfuntechniquesusedinelementaryschoolcanstillbeusedat
thesehighergradelevels,andstudentsappreciatethesethrowbacks.

2.

ClassExpectations,Rules,Consequences,andRewards

ForHighSchoolstudentsIamcontentwithclassexpectationsonly.ForMiddleSchoolI
wouldhaverulesaswell.

Expectations:
Beprompt
Bereadytolearnwhenclassbegins.
Beprepared
Havematerialswithyouandknowduedates.
Beapoliteandpositiveparticipant
Speakinanormaltoneofvoice,andlistenattentively.
Beproductive
Turninworkontime,andalwaysdoyourbest.
Beaproblemsolver
Correctproblemsquicklyandpeacefullybeforetheyescalate.

RESPECT
Valueyourself.Behonestandethical,andpracticestrongmoralvalues.
Treatallmembersoftheschoolcommunityandallvisitorswithpolitenessand
respect.
Honortheideasandopinionsofothers.
Offertohelp.
Beresponsiblewithpropertyandbelongings.

RESPONSIBILITY
Bringnotebook,textbook,planner,andappropriatewritingtoolstoclass.
Knowduedates,andsubmitallcourseworkontime.
AllassignmentsarepostedonthebulletinboardandontheclassWebsite.


LIFELONGLEARNING
Youcandeveloplifelonglearningtraits:
Byshowingcuriosityabouthumannatureandhowtheworldworks.
Byseekingandvaluingdiversity.
Bypersistinginseekingoutnewsolutions.
Byusingyouruniquetalentsandintelligencetopromotepositivechange.
Bylearningandapplyingtechnologytoolstosolveproblems.

MYPLEDGETOSTUDENTS
Iwilltrustyouuntilyougivemereasontodootherwise.
Iwillrespectyouandworkwithyoutosolveproblems.
Iwillpromptlycorrectandofferfeedbackonyourwork.
Iwillworkwithyoutomeetlearninggoals.
Iwillofferextrahelpandalternativeassessmentsshouldyourequirethem.

Rules(MiddleSchool):
Nocellphonesduringclass(keeptheminyourlocker)
Nofoodinclass
Donotcheatorplagiarize

Reinforcement/Discouragement:
Iwanttouseacombinationofpositiveandnegativereinforcement(Marzano,
2007,pp.133).
Imentionedusingfunreinforcementtoolssuchasthebottlecapjarforapizza
party.Iwouldalsoreinforcepositivebehaviorbypraisingstudentsfortheirgoodworkor
usingnonverbal,positivegestures(Marzano,2007,pp.137).
Negativebehaviorscanbediscouragedbyverbalwarnings,bottlecapsoutofthe
jar,confiscationoffood/cellphone,andfinally,referraltotheprincipal.Cheatingand
plagiarismwouldresultinawarning,anduponasecondinfraction,failinggradeforthe

assignmentandreferraltotheprincipal.Negativebehaviorsuchaslateworkor
disruptivenesscanresultinpointdeductionsfromthedaysassignmentoractivity.

Example:
Amiddleschoolstudentisusingacellphoneinclass.Iwouldfirstadvisethe
studenttoputthephoneawayandremindthestudentoftheruleandconsequences.I
woulddothisinadirect,butnonaggressivemanner,oneonone.Subsequentviolation
wouldresultinaconfiscationofthephone,tobereturnedattheendofclass,witha
warningaboutsubsequentviolationsandconversationaboutwhythephoneisnot
allowedinclass.Ifthephoneisaproblemagain,thephonewouldbeconfiscateduntila
specialassignmentiscompletedbythestudentandturnedin.The4thviolationwould
resultinatriptotheprincipalsoffice.

3.

Procedures
Afterthebellrings,studentsareexpectedtobeintheirseatsandbeginactivities

onboard(orbeginquietstudytime)for10minutes,eventuallywithoutprompt.Thefirst
weekofschoolwouldbespentexplaininghowtheprocesswouldwork(cominginto
class,sittingdown,observingthedaysactivityonthewhiteboard/workingon
yesterdayshomework,workingquietlyoringroupsdependingontheactivity).From
thenonsomereinforcementmaybeneededtoremindstudentstoquietdownandfocus
onwhattheyshouldbedoingwhenthebellrings.Ifstudentsperformthisprocedure
exceptionallywell,abottlecapcouldbeaddedtothejar,orsomeotherpositive

reinforcement.Ifnotdonewell,studentsmaybeaskedtoreentertheroomandtryto
followtheprocedureagain,orwilllosepointsfortheactivitythatday.
HomeworkfoldersonFridaysFirst10minutesofclassonFridays(lastdayof
schoolweek)willbedesignatedfororganizingfoldersoftheweeksactivitiesand
submittingthemtome.Studentswillbegivenahandoutoutliningtheassignmentsdue
thatweek,andstudentsareexpectedtocompiletheassignmentsintheirfolder,write
theirnamesonthehandout,andturnthefoldersinattheendofthetenminutes.The
folderswillbereturnedthefollowingMondaywiththeirweeklypointscoreonthe
handout.Folderswillbeturnedindirectlytometoavoidnotnoticinglateassignments
ormissingfolders.Thefirstdayofschoolstudentswouldeithermaketheirownfolder
withtheirnameandperiodnumberorusetheirownfolder.Theprocesswouldbe
outlinedtothemduringfolderconstruction.TherestoftheweekIwouldremindthemto
turntheirassignmentsintothefolder,andthatthefolderswillbecollectedthatFriday.
OnFridayofthatfirstweekIwouldexplainthehandoutsystemandstudentswillturnin
folders.Subsequentweeksstudentsshouldberemindedandgivenclearduedates,as
writtenonthewhiteboardeachday.Lateassignmentswouldbedealtwithasneeded,
mostlikelyresultinginapointdeduction.

4.

CommunicationwithParents&FamilyMembers
Starttheyearbygivingstudentsalettertotakehometotheirparents.Thisletter

wouldoutlinetheclassandthetopicstheclasswouldcoverfortheyear,alongwith
specialprojectsoropportunitiesforparentinvolvement.Therewouldbespaceatthe

bottomoftheletterforparentstofillouttheirpreferredmethodofcontact.Iwouldoffer
studentsincentivestoreturntheletterwithintheweekwithcompletedcontact
information.Emailwouldbeusedtosendoutlinkstotheclassandschoolwebsiteso
parentscanstayuptodateonclassgoingsonsattheirownleisure.
Parentswouldonlybecontactedfordisciplinaryissuesonlyifthestudentwas
havingrepeatedproblemsinclassandonlyiftheprincipalwasinvolved.
Parentswouldbenotifiedifastudentexcelsatsomethingorisparticipatingina
nonmandatoryclassactivity,asawayofpromotinggoodwill.

5.

ClassroomOrganization&Environment
Mydesks(ideallyIwillhaveasitdowndeskatthebackandthedemodeskat

thefront)areplacedsoIcanbeneartoandseethestudentswherevertheymaybe
workingintheclassroom.Thedemotableatthefrontoftheclassshouldbetallenough
tostandatbutshortenoughtonotobstructthestudentviewofthewhiteboard/projector
screen(Marzano,2007,pp.122).ThebooksandothermediaIhaveareorganizedon
shelvesandbookcasesaroundtheclassroomandareavailableforstudentstocheck
out,usingasigninandoutsystembyme.Somedeskswillbestandingonlyheightfor
studentstiredofsitting.Thedesksinthecenteroftheclassroomwillbeplacedfar
enoughapartthatitiseasytositandmovebetweenthem.Thedeskswillbestaggered
inordertoseethefrontoftheclassroombetter,andsoIcanseethemfromdifferent
pointsaroundtheroom.Plentyofspaceshouldbebetweenlabtables/stations
(DiGiulio,2000).

Forambience,Iwillhaveaposterofclassexpectations,standards,andthe
schoolmissionstatementplainlyvisibleonthewallbythedoor(Marzano,2007,pp.
122).Thefrontoftheclassroom/whiteboardwillhaveclassplansandactivitieswritten
onitandaltereddailyasneeded.Iwouldliketouseajarandbottlecapstomeasure
achievementsasaclassandindividualwithpotentialforapizzapartyorother
celebrationoncethejarisfilled.Conversely,ifsomethinghappensintheclassroomthat
isnotconducivetolearning,productive,orpositive,bottlecapswillberemovedfromthe
jar.Iwillhavescience,travel,quotepostersandplantshangingonthewalls.Bulletin
boardswillbeplacedaroundtheroomandbebothseasonallydecorativeand
informative/functional.Theplantswillhelpwithfreshairandanaturalfeel.Aclasspet
maybeincorporatedforfun.Thepostersandothertools/decorationswillbeorganized
tobeaestheticallypleasing(DiGiulio,2000).Ienjoyscienceclassroomswithlotsof
interestingthings,butonlywhentheyareorganized.Musicwillbeplayedduringcertain
worktimesforambientnoise.

References

DiGiulio,R.C.(2000).SettingupaSafeandProductiveLearningEnvironment.
Positive
classroommanagement:astepbystepguidetosuccessfullyrunningtheshow
without
destroyingstudentdignity
(2nded.,pp.4144).ThousandOaks,CA.:CorwinPress.

Edwards,C.(2007).CreatingaPersonalTheoryofDiscipline.
ClassroomDisciplineand
Management
(pp.302317).Milton,Qld:Wiley.(Originalworkpublished2004)

Huberty,T.,&Kramlinger,T.(1990).BehaviorismversusHumanism.
Training&Development
Journal
,
44
(12),41.

Marzano,R.J.(2007).
TheArtandScienceofTeachingacomprehensiveframeworkfor
effectiveinstruction
.Alexandria,Va.:AssociationforSupervisionandCurriculum
Development.