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| |Semester*: Summer Semester |

|Unit Code*:ETL121 |Unit Name*: Productive Learning in Diverse Classrooms |

|Assignment Title*: Classroom Management Plan |Date Due*: 21/01/2013 |Submission Date*: 16/01/2013 |

|Lecturer’s Name*:Dr Gretchen Geng |

|Student’s Full Name*: Melanie Jane Cabban |Student No*: s239943 |

|Student’s Email: * s239943@students.cdu.edu.au |Student’s Phone No: 0437065533 |

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Classroom Management Plan

Philosophy

I believe strongly that children are naturally curious and from birth are intrinsically motivated. My role as a teacher is more one of a facilitator of persuasion and problem solving rather than of control and manipulation. I believe positive role-modelling and communication are also key components and both form the strong foundation of my belief system.

A balance of control by the children, and the teacher as facilitator will be a strong focus as children need opportunities to develop self-management skills and feel they have the control to achieve and become independent learners. Glasser’s “Choice Theory” suggests that children need to be given choices with regards to their curriculum and rules of the classroom in order to feel they have ownership of their learning environment and feel connected and like they belong.

I hold a great belief of children learning through play interactions. As Vygotsky’s (as cited in Dockett &Fleer 1999, p.68) theory suggests, ‘Play creates a zone of proximal development’. With this theory in mind, my focus will be on children having the opportunities to construct their own knowledge and as the teacher I will build on this knowledge and help the children in my classroom learn to the best of their abilities. Children will enter my classroom with a varied amount of existing knowledge. This knowledge has been acquired through the many environments they interact within as they have grown up. This relates to Bronfenbrenner’s social ecological model, particularly the Micro System whereby the child is influenced by family, childcare, kindergarten and the community. As an early years teacher these are important areas to maintain communication with in order to understand the already existing knowledge that will assist me with the child’s individual needs.

As an early years teacher I believe positive role modelling is the beginning to a positive learning environment. The way I behave will constantly be observed by the children in my classroom. Displaying positive behaviour will assist the children to develop an understanding of what behaviours are positive and what behaviours will not be acceptable. I have observed this often through interactions while working in many primary school classrooms.

Children need to be given the opportunity to develop self-management skills. The resilience research (as cited in McDonald 2010 table 1.1pp.8) states that ‘Motivation to manage self and exert influence’. In order to maintain self-management skills I will implement daily routines to develop individual responsibility. One example could be the daily preparation of setting up their desk, making sure they have everything required and are ready for learning.

The classroom needs to be a safe and welcoming space, where children feel they belong. ‘The Circle of Courage’ (as cited in McDonald 2010 pp.8) states children need to feel that they belong in order to feel confident with their learning and can interact to form trusting and open relationships with their teacher and peers. I believe learning to form these relationships will help the child’s ability to be socially included and involved in positive learning experiences. Opportunities for children to recognise their own feelings and the feelings of others, is important as it encourages the development of empathy. Empathy needs to be displayed by the teacher, through positive role modelling, and developed in the children in order for all children to get along inside and outside of the classroom and maintain a positive learning environment.

William Glasser’s (as cited in McDonald, p.242) Choice Theory suggests that teachers need to support their students to be involved, have input and behave responsibly in their classroom. I agree with this democratic approach and in my opinion a child needs to be encouraged to take responsibility for their own actions. They also need to have the understanding that for displays of inappropriate behaviour, will result in logical consequences. The consequence will be offered through choices negotiated with the children at the beginning of the school year through various forums such as class meetings and will be reviewed each term. In order to encourage the children to understand appropriate behaviour, continual reinforcement needs to be addressed. Behaviours will not change immediately and may take all term to install and other behaviour will change more rapidly. Discussions of classroom rules and appropriate behaviour are necessary reinforcers for children to understand how they should behave in a positive learning environment.

When considering why students are behaving in a particular way I relate back to Bronfenbrenner’s social ecological model whereby he states ‘Changes to a child’s environment will produce changes in the child’ (as cited in Dockett & Fleer 1999 p.80). These changes could include parent break up, a verbal disagreement or even death of a family member, just to name a few. Good communication skills with parents and caregivers are essential in order to understand where the behaviour may be coming from. Brendtro and du Toit 2005 (as cited in McDonald 2010 pp.14) state that, behaviour is rather like the tip of an iceberg. The tip being the behaviour and the large mass of ice under the water consists of emotion and thought. As a teacher with this theory in mind I will encourage the child to talk through the emotion and thinking behind the behaviour and assist them to come up with a solution towards a more appropriate choice of behaviour next time they are feeling that way.

It is a necessity however, to consistently review and re-evaluate my beliefs and continually build upon my solid knowledge base and passion for teaching and children’s learning.

Theory

William Glasser’s ‘Choice Theory’ underpins my philosophy and teaching practice. Glasser talks of the classroom teacher being a leader by facilitating and encouraging the children to become responsible towards their behaviour and learning, rather than a teacher who is controlling and manipulative towards children’s behaviour and learning. In this theory children are considered competent and internally motivated. Lead teachers’ will provide the children with the essential tools they need to successfully learn and create an environment where the children work towards a common goal and are praised as one rather than individual. Glasser specifically states that children need love and a feeling of belonging to be able to successfully contribute in the classroom. Linda Albert’s ‘Cooperative discipline model’ (as cited in McDonald table 7.1 p.242) relates to Glasser’s ‘Choice Theory’ when she states that children need a classroom that is safe and that the children feel they belong and are connected. Albert suggests that students will misbehave when they feel that they don’t belong, that is when their needs are not being met. When this occurs, their behaviours turn towards ‘mistaken goals’. Albert suggests, as teachers we use this misbehaviour as a ‘learning curve’, which will help children to develop responsibility for their own actions. Cooperation is also highly regarded with respect to the development of a code of conduct for the classroom that everyone is involved in writing.

Jerome Freiberg’s ‘Consistency management and cooperative discipline’ model (as cited in McDonald table 7.1 p.243) follows on with the theories of Glasser and Albert by adding a whole school approach to wards discipline. Freiberg suggests that behaviour management theory and practice is moving away from the teacher being controlling to that of a directed teacher orientation towards discipline (as cited in Fields 2004). Freiberg further states the shift from ‘instrumentalist’ to ‘constructivist’ views with regards to children having more responsibility for their own actions and learning. Teachers will offer a positive learning environment that children can develop trust, connections and become capable individuals able to successfully contribute to their own learning.

Rudolph Dreikurs’s ‘Democratic Teaching’ model talks of students belonging and working toward a common goal. Both Dreikurs and Albert propose that children misbehave out of mistaken goals and that this is because their physiological needs to belong are not being met. In order for this to be achievable the teacher promotes self-discipline in the student and works with the children towards decisions in the classroom. Encouragement is prevalent and the teachers use logical consequences towards misbehaviour.

As an early years teacher my teaching approach will be a ‘Democratic’ Style. With the abovementioned theorists in mind I will move away from the use of old pedagogies and move towards the more productive pedagogies associated with the teacher leading her team of students rather than controlling and manipulating the group. I will ensure my learning environment is a space where children feel connected and that they belong to a team, working together towards a common goal.

Practice

On the first day of term, as an early years teacher I will be in my classroom early ready to greet my children and their parents. This will ensure I am opening the communication and developing a base for relationship building with both children and parents. The first greeting between a teacher and the children should be a happy one so the correct use of voice tone and non-verbal communication will be a focus.

Before this day I would have researched each child’s previous files form kindergarten or childcare and had necessary conversations or meetings with other educators or professionals in order to have a clear understanding of each child.

The classroom will be set up with colourful posters related to the alphabet, numbers, blends and words. There will be a visual timetable placed on the whiteboard with pictures that the children can relate to and understand what lesson is next and when recess and lunch times are. This will follow a set routine with regards to English and Maths taking place in the morning and lessons such as Art and P.E in the afternoon when ability to focus and stay on task in more tiring for children.

The children will see that their name is placed over a hook and that this is where they will hang their bag. There will also be a lunchbox crate and a drink fridge clearly named so the children can organise their belongings of their own accord. This will be a focus for the children to develop organisational skills. I will introduce the children to my positive learning environment with the use of some activities they can be involved in to help break the ice with their peers. The tables will be set up with all the essential tools required for learning such as pencils, sharpeners and rulers however names will not yet be on the table. I will introduce the seating arrangements, and name the tables, in a way that gives the child a choice but is still fairly guided. To do this I will suggest that the seating arrangements are boy, girl and ask all the boys to choose two girls they would like to sit next to, and that all the girls choose two boys that they would like to sit next to.

Once the bell has gone, and it is time to be seated on the mat I will invite parents to stay and be involved in a ‘getting to know you’ exercise. I will begin by giving out a little background information about myself, such as hobbies, family and my interests and ask the parents and children to do the same.

Establishing a code of conduct will be as much a learning experience as any other lesson and will involve negotiation with the children involved around the teachings of ‘Program Achieve’, a program used in classrooms today that include five keys to success and happiness. These include “Gary Get Along’ ‘Rosie Resilience’ ‘Charlie Confidence’ ‘Olivia Organisation’ and ‘Penny Persistence’. All of the characters and their components relate to the ‘Circle of Courage’ and are central to my beliefs of teaching from an intrinsically motivated perspective.

To follow the code of conduct lesson I will negotiate with the children to establish a set of classroom rules. When the children have made their final decision of the classroom rules and all agree, I will ask that the children sign a code of conduct contract. What I am trying to achieve is a that everyone in the class has agreed to the same terms and when these terms are broken and misbehaviour occurs, it is the responsibility of that particular individual to change their behaviour as opposed to the contract they signed. As a class, we will return to our signed contracts and reinforce the rules stated, making changes through negotiation if required.

My classroom routines will be clearly displayed on the whiteboard as a visual and addressing the daily routine will be part of our morning practice as well as the responsibility of ‘Monitor Jobs’. These jobs include taking the lunch orders, handing out books, line leader, taking the role and taking the bank books and any notes to the office. These jobs will be changed on a weekly basis and done in partners to be inclusive of all.

I want my classroom to be fun and stimulating while remaining a space where positive learning can take place and everyone is treated equally and achieve to the best of their abilities.

References

Docket.S & Fleer.M. (1999). Play and Pedagogy in Early Childhood: Bending the Rules. Cengage Learning.

Fields.B.A. (2004).Productive Pedagogies and Discipline; The Challenge of Aligning Teaching and Behaviour Management. Retrieved from

Glasser.W. (1967). Choice Theory, The William Glasser Institute. Retrieved from

McDonald.T. (2010). Classroom Management: Engaging Students in Learning. Oxford University Press.

Program Achieve Success Characters – Teachers place, the Australian on-line market place for teachers, with original education. Retrieved from

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