Running head: CLASSROOM BEHAVIOR AND MANAGEMENT 1

Classroom Behavior and Management

Olivia Shedd

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Fall 2019

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Introduction

Arguably one of the most important elements of educational learning is how an

educator manages the class they are teaching. A well-managed classroom is set up

conductively for focused and productive learning. Through my different experiences in

classrooms, I have realized there is no “rule” for classroom management, but rather a

range of strategies that may work for a specific teacher and classroom. From the book,

Classroom Management Strategies: Gaining and Maintaining Students’ Cooperation,

James Cangelosi writes, “Through application of such strategies, you are able to meet one

of your primary instructional responsibilities; to provide students with a learning

environment that is conducive to achievement and free from disruptions, distractions, and

threats to their safety and well-being” (2013). Ultimately, classroom management is not

about “controlling” students or being the “mean teacher,” but about caring deeply enough

for their educational advancement that you set up the necessary boundaries and

guidelines to set them up for success in the classroom now and in their future.

Rationale of Selected Artifacts

Artifact #1

My first artifact is a demonstration of a school-wide management strategy that is

incorporated in every classroom at my current school. This program, Class Dojo, is set up

to reward students with “points” with specific reasons to why they’re receiving their

point. The school-wide policy is that students receive rewards for acting willing, wise,

and well mannered, (stated clearly on the attached matrix as well), and Class Dojo has

these separate options in the program to reward students. In addition, students can earn

points from art and music for being on task. The students earn points individually as well
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as earn for the whole class. When a student is rewarded a Dojo point, a “ding” noise is

heard in the room and immediately the students wonder who just eared a point and begin

to pay closer attention in order to be next to receive a point. Every Friday during closing

meeting, I pull up the students’ Dojo points total for the week and they have the option to

“purchase” privileges or items from a list on the board in the back of the room (attached),

or save up to buy something later. Throughout the following week they have the option to

redeem their purchases and this motivates and reminds the students of what they are

earning points for. Besides simply rewarding positive points, my cooperating teacher and

I decided that, in addition to earning points, students need to learn that breaking rules

usually results in paying a “fine.” In Class Dojo, we created an option where the students

pay a fine for breaking rules or being off task. Depending on the severity of the situation,

this can be simply one or up to five points lost from their total. Our goal is to teach

students that real world breaking of laws results in certain consequences that teach us not

to repeat those behaviors. In my first artifact, I have examples of Class Dojo rewards and

consequences, “Wolves Way” matrix standards for being willing, wise and well

mannered, as well as the “Wolves Way Rewards” chart.

Artifact #2

My second artifact is a “Behavior Bingo” that I created with my cooperating

teacher to serve a separate purpose than Dojo points. For this classroom management

strategy, we only pull a number for the bingo board when another teacher or staff

member gives the students a class compliment. Additionally, it the class receives a

compliment from the principal, the bingo board gets two numbers drawn. This mostly

happens in the hallway, when transitioning to and from different activities. This gives
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motivation to students for following through on hallway expectation. Once there is a full

row filled on the bingo board, the class will vote on a themed class party. On the first day

of classes, the students came up with different ideas for what kind of party they would

want. Suggestions included a pizza party, Netflix party, ice cream party, candy party,

game party, and more! This different rewarding strategy encourages the whole class to

work together as a team, motivating each other to get another number for the bingo

board. It promotes the idea that the class has earned something in unity and can work

together to follow through on behavior expectations.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

In my recent classroom experiences, I have been exposed to PBIS interventions;

Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports. This program is designed to reach each

student with a method that best supports them and their teacher by aiming specifically at

positive behavior reinforcement. PBIS has a 3-tired program that gradually has more

specific accommodations depending on the child’s behavior support needs. Each school

uniquely designs their method for this 3-tired program. It is decided by a team “whose

members are representative of the school’s demographics and include the school

administrator and members of all school constituencies (e.g., general education teacher,

special education teacher, parent, school psychologist, counselor, custodial staff) defines

the school’s behavioral expectations, develops lessons to teach these expected behaviors

to all students at the beginning of the school year and as needed throughout the year,

designs activities to acknowledge and celebrate students’ behavioral successes, and

reviews patterns of office discipline referral (ODR) data” (Vincent, Sprague, Pavel,

Tobin, Gau 2019). This program is incorporated in my current school where I student
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teach. I am interested to see how it could be incorporated in different schools throughout

my experience.

As I continue to study effective strategies of classroom management, I have

realized its importance greater than what I had originally thought. The best teachers don’t

just know how to effectively teach content but are also “strong leaders in managing

behavior, instruction, and student concerns” (Aloe, Amo, Shanahan 2014). A critical part

of becoming a mature teacher is learning how to manage a classroom. Classroom

management doesn’t just apply to rules and expectations, but also how to set up goals in

the classroom for a student to come ready to learn and succeed socially and emotionally.

As stated in Classroom Management Self-Efficacy and Burnout: A Multivariate Meta-

analysis, “When teachers lack skills to manage the social and emotional aspects of the

classroom and school, students have a tendency to show lower on-task behavior and

performance, and the classroom climate is negatively affected” (Aloe, Amo, Shanahan

2014). In fact, a majority of a teacher’s time should be spent on what management

strategies worked and which did not, as well as how to move forward effectively if they

want the classroom to be conducive for future productive learning. Once again in the

well-written book, Classroom Management Strategies: Gaining and Maintaining

Students’ Cooperation, “Major influences on how your students’ time is spent

cooperatively engaged in learning activities are (a) the goals you establish for your

students to achieve, (b) the way you plan, prepare for, and conduct learning activities; (c)

how you evaluate your students’ achievements; (d) the way you organize and manage the

classroom setting; and (e) the manner in which you communicate with students and their

parents (Cangelosi 2013).

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Classroom management is multi-faceted and crucial in more ways than one. These

resources plus my current classroom experiences have given me a deeper perspective into

how I can save myself from teacher burnout by establishing a management plan that is

conducive to my unique class’s learning needs. I desire to reach each child with a method

that helps every one succeed in the classroom now and in their future.
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References

Aloe, A., Amo, L., & Shanahan, M. (2014). Classroom Management Self-Efficacy and

Burnout: A Multivariate Meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 26(1),

101-126. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.regent.edu:2048/stable/43549786

Cangelosi, J. S. (2013). Classroom Management Strategies: Gaining and Maintaining

Students' Cooperation. John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved from

https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=rC8IDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=

PR17&dq=classroom+management+strategies&ots=CXv2n9rag6&sig=Tan8Ikoe

FpvPZKBlTKa9ji0i7-

A#v=onepage&q=classroom%20management%20strategies&f=false

Vincent, C. G., Sprague, J. R., Pavel, M., Tobin, T. J., & Gau, J. M. (2019). Effectiveness

of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports in Reducing Racially

Inequitable Disciplinary Exclusion. Retrieved September 29, 2019, from

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5696b96abfe8737934cc521c/t/56acd5c71f4

0397fbfd478a4/1454167496270/Vincent.pdf.