Orsborn Masters Portfolio 1

Classroom management is one of the hardest areas to master in the classroom. What

worked last year for students may not work this year. The one thing that needs to be consistent is

how you manage your room. As a student teacher coming into a classroom for the second part of

a year can be tough. Student behaviors are already established, and confusion of who is running

the classroom can exist. As a student teacher coming in, it was important to build a relationship

quickly with these kids to establish trust. Mark and Christine Boynton (2005) state, “Children

are more likely to be respectful when important adults in their lives respect them. They are more

likely to care about others if they know they are cared about” (p.7). I also believe students need

to own their problems. I like the Gordon Model of management when it comes to problem

ownership and helping skills. Problem ownership takes the conflict away, there is no “he said

she said”, it is yours, how can I help you deal with it. In my Management Vignette number two, I

used the Gordon model to solve a problem that one student had.

The student has been diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome. According to the American

Academy of Pediatrics (2018), students may display a lack of impulse control, poor judgement,

and poor social skills. This student had poor impulse control and poor social skills. The student

I had paired her with has worked with her in the past and is one of a few kids that gets along with

her. As the incident unfolded, I was able to remain calm and address the situation immediately.

C.M. Charles (2008) states Gordon’s helping model as, “When the student owns the problem,

teachers are advised to use two main helping skills, listening and avoiding communication

roadblocks” (p. 82). For this situation it was important to remove the student form the area and

to listen to her. There was a reason she took all the crayons, and then threw them. By removing

her from the situation and taking her to a place where the class could not see her or I, I gave her

the ability to relax without the whole class looking at her and having that pressure along with the
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shame of the incident. Lee Ann Jung and Dominique Smith (2018) state, “Stop making

discipline for poor behavior visible. Students tend to react negatively when they’re called out in

front of others (p. 17). I then began to listen to the student. Using Active listening (Gordon,

2008) I could mirror back what the student said and let the child know that I am listening to her.

I followed this with using “I” statements. The “I” statement allows the student to know that you

care but are also firm on your beliefs and standards.

Marjorie Fields, Nancy Perry, and Debby Fields (2010) believe, “Removing the student

from the situation and allowing them to calm down before addressing the problem allows the

child to think with a clear mind” (p. 170). The authors go on to say, this is when the “I”

statement comes into identifying the problem (p. 170). This is where I listened to the student,

told her what I heard her say, and then began to express my concerns with “I” statements. The

student listened and had more time to think about her actions. I removed her ability to

participate in free time, and she came up with ways she could control herself in the future.

The ultimate outcome of this incident was that the student was able to solve her own problem

and get back to learning without a full classroom disruption.

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References

American Academy of Pediatrics (2018). Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Retrieved from

https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/aap-press-room-media-

center/Pages/Fetal-Alcohol.aspx

Boynton, M., & Boynton, C. (2005). The Educator’s Guide to Preventing and Solving Discipline

Problems. Alexandria, VA: Assoc. for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Charles, C.M. (2008). Building Classroom Discipline (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson

Education, Inc.

Fields, M.V., Perry, N.J., Fields, D. (2010). Constructive Guidance and Discipline: Preschool

and Primary Education (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Jung, L.A. & Smith, D. (2018). Tear Down Your Behavior Charts and Similar Public Shaming

Methods Don’t Teach Self-regulation. They Mainly Harm Vulnerable Learners.

Educational Leadership; Sep2018, Vol. 76(1), 12-18. Retrieved from

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu