Krista Milstead

EDUC 370-01
April 26, 2015
Classroom Management Model

I am a firm believer that a good management in the classroom is a direct route to

good behavior in students. When the students are taught what is expected of them and

trained on how to behave from day one the classroom is able to run smoothly. Good

behavior management should lead to very little negative behavior incidences that are

distractive to the students. A classroom with more positive than negative behavior will

be able to learn more as there will not be time lost to correct issues.

While good classroom management is conducive to learning, there are many

bases that go along with classroom management. I believe that the process begins at

home from the time the students are young children. At home, parents should train their

children how to obey authority. They can do so by giving the child some sort of

responsibility and expecting them to comply. For example, the child could be expected

to clean up their toys when they are finished playing with them. Another example is if

the parent asks the child to do something it should be done without hesitation or

question. The parent should keep implementing these types of behavior until it is routine

with the child. Not only does it give the child responsibility it also will prepare them for

the expectations that their teachers will have for them when they enter school. The role

of the teacher will then be to let the students know right away what will be expected of

them. If the students are not following the rules they should be corrected right away,

every time. Eventually they will be conditioned to always follow the rules. The teacher

should also establish routines to keep the students in check. The routines will ensure

that the students know what is expected and they will not have to worry about figuring
 Milstead 2

out something new every day. The school is a helping base as well as there are school

rules that must be enforced in the classroom. If the teacher alone is unable to correct

the behavior the principal is able to discipline the students should it come to this.

My personal behavior management style is one that some may not agree with. I

want to teach upper elementary so my students will be older and the way I see it they

should be given a little more responsibility. My students will be allowed to talk with their

peers while working under two conditions: it must be related to what the class is working

on and they cannot talk during instruction. I like the idea of the students being able to

talk to each other and help each other understand. The students might be able to put

the information into words that their friends might understand better than what I said. I

would still walk around to make sure that everyone is on track and be able to help

anyone who needs it. I do not want a quiet classroom at any point. To me, quiet means

tension and I am not comfortable with that. I do expect the students to be quiet during

obvious times such as tests or when there is a special guests.

I want to have the most control when it comes to rules for my classroom.

Obviously I will have to adhere to the school rules; no fighting, cursing, no running in the

hallway, etc. For the rules that we have for my class I will have some set that I make

and inform them of on the first day of school. These will cover how to come into the

classroom, homework policies, make up work, getting in line, and getting materials. I

believe that these should be pre-set up so they are ready to go once the students walk

in for the first time so that the students know what is expected before they begin doing

other things. There will also be rules that will not necessarily have to be set and

enforced right away. With these, I will let the students have some control. I will talk with
 Milstead 3

the students within the first few days of school and we will come together with a

consensus on the remaining rules. These rules could include how they line up, how they

get my help during group work, and maybe a few others that would have to be

determined in the particular class. If the students can agree to a rule or method to do

these things, and stick with it, I am willing to let them make that rule and keep it

throughout the year.

In order to create a positive classroom climate I will do everything I can to

prevent misbehavior. A major key component of having a well-managed classroom is

having a peaceful climate, however, to do this I will have to bring my class together as

one. We could spend the first couple days of the year doing community builders so we

can get to know one another. As previously mentioned, I will have rules established that

the students will be expected to follow. When they first come into the classroom in the

morning they will go straight to their cubbies and put their backpacks away. They will

bring their binders with them to their desks. When the students need to use any of the

class supplies they will sign them out and check them back in. We will have a bathroom

pass in which one boy and one girl can be out at a time and not during instruction time.

We will have a star chart to visually demonstrate the behavior of the class. If the class

has been good all day without any disciplinary issues a star will be added. When the

chart is full the class will receive some sort of reward such as a movie, food day, or

class outside. I believe that giving them this incentive will entice the students to follow

the rules and behave properly so that they will get a treat. After all, an occasional

extrinsic reward does not hurt. Another thing that will make the day go smoothly in my

classroom is well planned lessons. If a lesson is thrown together and not a lot of thought
 Milstead 4

is put into it there may be areas of confusion and disorder throughout the lesson. If the

lesson is completely planned out it is likely that this issue will not occur. Basically, there

are many steps that will prevent misbehavior, promote positive choices, and create a

friendly environment but once they are all combined the classroom is great.

Even with plans of how I, as the teacher, I can make the classroom operate

smoothly with little disruptions, there will undoubtedly come a point in which I must take

action. The level of punishment will be determined based on the behavior. The bigger

the issue we have the larger the response will be. An example of a light misbehavior

would be after a project a student does not return and sign back in a pair of scissors.

When I noticed that the scissors were not returned I would pull the student to the side

and confront them. Ideally the student would explain why they still had the scissors or

simply return them. If the student were uncooperative I would take the response up a

notch. We would go back into the classroom and address the class to help us find the

scissors. After maybe 5 minutes of searching, if the student was still uncooperative and

the other students did not find them we would discuss going to the principal or calling

home. If only discussing the options did not bring a response from the student we would

follow through on such threats. As described, I would give the students multiple

opportunities to correct the problem before taking the next step. If a problem occurs

from more than one student, say a conflict between two students I would use some sort

of conflict resolution strategy. I like the solution board that Judy Mullet introduced us to.

The students would be able to come up with their own solution. Obviously, if the

situation was extreme I would intervene and send them to the principal for higher

discipline. My goal in allowing so many opportunities for the student to correct their
 Milstead 5

misbehavior or for students to choose their own solutions goes hand in hand with how I

want to treat them with more responsibility as they will soon be entering middle school.

Allowing the students to have a say will allow them to be able to make their own choices

and with my help they will be able to make the best possible choices on their own.

My thoughts on discipline and structure comes from the management theorist

that I studied over the semester and agreed with, Ronald Morrish. The goal of this

theory is to bring the students to be responsible and respectful as well as being able to

make their own wise decisions (Ronald morrish, n.d., all). I strive to do this in

preparation for their upper levels of education. According to Charles (2011), Morrish

says this should be done in three parts. The first part is training the students. This is

simply teaching the rules of the classroom. In my description of my management model

this is done in the first days of school so that the students know right away what is

expected of them. The second part of Morrishs theory is teaching the students to be

cooperative. This can be done by having the students do as they are told every time

and continue practicing it. This touches in my model slightly when I say that if a material

is not returned as expected I would address the student and they would return it. The

third part of Morrishs theory is allowing the students to make their own choice, my main

focus. I believe that the students being able to make their own decisions is extremely

important. As a teacher I feel as though it is my job to help the students establish their

fundamental basic skills as well as their education. We make choices our entire life and

the students need to know how to make their own wise choices so I will do this as much

as possible as long as the students are in compliance and able to do so.

 Milstead 6

References

Charles, C.M. (2011). Building classroom discipline (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson

Morris, R. C., & Elliott, J. C.. (1985).

Ronald morrish - author, speaker, behavior consultant. (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2016,

from http://www.realdiscipline.com/whatisrealdiscipline.php