Scott Hachey Classroom Management Philosophy

Of the many classes I have had thus far in my education program, Classroom Management has been the most beneficial and influential to me as an educator. There are many different aspects that fit under the category of classroom management, but in my personal philosophy I cover six different topics that I consider the most important. The sections that I will cover are: physical layout, instructional design, inclusion, time management, rules and routines and finally, rewards and punishments. Throughout my philosophy, I highlight that I will be taking a proactive approach to classroom management instead of a reactive approach.

Physical Layout The physical layout is perhaps the most obvious, yet most important part of classroom management. The immediate picture that comes to mind whenever someone mentions the physical layout of a classroom is rows of desks all facing the front of the classroom with the teacher in front lecturing. The walls are white as to not create any distractions to the students during the lessons. Personally, this style of class is cold, uninviting and not conducive to learning. Creating an inviting space that is conducive to learning will be one of my main goals as an educator. A welcoming and safe learning environment will enhance learning. First of all, desks will be placed in groups to encourage collaborative learning. The temperature of the room will be comfortably set around 20 degrees Celsius and finally I will let as much natural light into my classroom as possible. These basic aspects will help create a welcoming environment. As for those dreadful white walls, I will place posters that relate to the unit or theme that we are

covering. I will also have an area for the daily itinerary and an area for student work. The final and perhaps most important aspect of the physical layout is my personal desk. Throughout my classes I will not be using or sitting at my desk. I am a firm believer that if I expect students to be actively engaged in their work than so too should I. Circulating around the room ensuring that students are on task and helping those that need help will be an important aspect of my classroom management philosophy. By implementing the different techniques mentioned throughout this section, I hope that my students feel welcome in my classroom and take an active role in their learning. Instructional Design The physical environment of my ideal classroom mentioned above will greatly affect my teaching method. I recognize that students do not have a long attention span and in order to keep them engaged in a lesson I will need to change activities every fifteen to twenty minutes. Ideally, I will start my class with a small lecture, explaining the concept that we will examine throughout the class and answer any questions that students may have. Providing this base before diving into an activity or group work will ensure that there is a small transitional period between the lecture and the activity, increasing instructional time. Since my desks will be grouped together, many of the activities or work that will be done in the class will be collaborative group work. Collaborative group work will allow students to take an active role in their learning instead of sitting at a desk for an hour and taking notes while a teacher lecturers. As I will be assigning group work, there are many important aspects that I will implement need to implement in my classroom before assigning group work. First of all, group projects need to be easy to understand and collaborative in nature. Meaning that students must be able to understand what is required of them and the project must be impossible for a student to complete

the project on their own. It is also important to be actively involved with the students progress. I fully believe that it is my responsibility as a teacher to check in and see how the different groups are progressing through the project. The most important aspect of group work is to teach students how to properly work in a group. This is often overlooked by educators. At the beginning of the year, I will have a class or two specifically set aside to teach students how to work effectively in a group. The final aspect of my instructional design that will affect classroom management is technology integration. As technology has become so popular in the last ten years it will be important to incorporate technology in the classroom. I will collaborate with the students to see which technologies they would like to use in the classroom as they are the ones who are learning the material. By integrating technology through student collaboration I hope to make the material more authentic and interesting for the students. If they enjoy the manner in which they are learning than they are more likely to understand the material. This once again reinforces my proactive approach to classroom management. While it is impossible to control students usage on technology, teaching them how to be a good digital citizen and how to use technology for educational purposes will decrease the misuse of technology. I discuss punishments in a later section of this classroom management philosophy which may come into play when integrating technology in my classroom. Inclusion
One of the biggest issues in todays classroom is inclusion. As a teacher it will be important to teach students to be emotionally aware of the other students in the classroom. It is important to teach students about different cultures, race, sexual orientation, gender, language, etc. in order to create the positive work environment mentioned above. Teaching students about these differences will generate a

respectful classroom. If students do not feel welcomed or respected in class than they are less likely to focus on the class material. Recognizing the differences in the class is not only beneficial for the students, but it also allows me to see the different learning styles in the classroom. Since every student learns differently it is important for me to modify my lessons to meet these different needs. By recognizing the differences and establishing a respectful and positive work environment it allows every student to learn, grow and reach their full potential.

Time Management Time management is one of the biggest challenges both in and out of classroom for a teacher. As students usually get an hour per subject daily, it is important to maximize learning time. A good time management practice that I will implement in my class room is a pre assigned signal to get students attention. It is always good to have an auditory signal as students are often not looking directly at you when doing their work. Establishing routines like a 10 minute reading period or a primary source analysis are excellent at the beginning of class to gets students focused on the subject. It also ensures that students are actively involved in their learning as soon as they get into the class. These two aspects help minimize transitional time so that I can maximize the learning time. These different time management techniques should be established at the beginning of the year (routines). The other aspect of the time management section to my classroom management philosophy refers to my time outside of the classroom. Lesson planning and correcting can take a large amount of time for teachers. It is important not to spend too much time perfecting my lesson plans as it is pointless if I am overtired and cannot teach the lesson to my full potential the next day. I will also need to find a happy balance between lesson planning / correcting and my

personal life. For me, the gym and curling help me reduce stress and it will be important to continue these activities to ensure that I do not become too stressed. Rules & Routines One of the most important aspects of classroom management is rules and routines. Establishing and enforcing rules and routines is a difficult task, but there are some specific methods that can be used to create and utilize them effectively in my classroom. As I went through the public school system, the rules and routines of a classroom were outlined for me by the teacher and they were non-negotiable. I will be taking a completely opposite approach when establishing rules and routines in my classroom. While there are basic school rules that must be followed, I will be able to create specific classroom rules that students will follow. In my opinion, students will be more willing to follow rules that they themselves create. Therefore, I will actively engage my students in the creation of the classroom rules. This will also allow me to have a discussion with the students regarding school rules that they may not agree with. Explaining the rationale behind different rules and allowing them to be involved in the creation of the classroom rules is a proactive approach to classroom management. In order to ensure that the rules are being met in the classroom, I will need to: be firm, be in control, keep the rules concise and enforce them consistently. When it comes to establishing routines in the classroom there is more room for flexibility and collaboration with the students than rules. Once again using my proactive approach I will actively engage my students in the process of creating routines in the classroom. These routines could include homework routines, classroom activities, etc. Whenever establishing routines in my classroom there are four different aspects that I will be sure to keep in mind. These four aspects are: explain the rationale behind the routine, be consistent, establish the routine early

(weeks 1-6) and be proactive rather than reactive in terms of enforcement. If effectively implemented, routines can be beneficial to the classroom as they increases instructional time and decreases distractions and transitional periods. There is one large downfall to routines. As humans, we dislike change and become comfortable completing a task one specific way. The same goes for education and teaching. If a teacher develops a routine and deems it effective then they could fall victim to the routine. Sometimes, these routines are not the most effective. Therefore, as a teacher, I will be sure to reexamine the routines that I use in my classroom at the end of every year to ensure that they are the most effective Rewards and Punishments I will begin this section with punishments. First of all, punishments are considered an undesirable task that someone has to complete when they act or behave unfavorably. With this definition in mind, punishments tend to anger and frustrate a person instead of the intended corrective nature of the punishment. The question remains, how will I punish a student when it is necessary. It is important to note that by getting to know my students on a personal level combined with all the other aspects of my classroom management philosophy mentioned above I hope to be a proactive teacher instead of reactive. By truly getting to know my students and their different educational needs, I will be able to greatly diminish the amount of punishments that I will have to use. However, I do recognize that it is sometimes necessary to do so, but there are a few important aspects to remember when punishing a student. The most important aspect of effectively using punishments will be to provide students with an explanation and context to the punishment. It will be important for me to truly understand why the student is acting out and to work with the

student to come up with an appropriate punishment. While this solution may seem like a lot of work, it will provide a long-term solution instead of a quick fix. Rewards are no better than punishments. Rewards serve to reinforce a desired behavior, but they also have a negative effect on students. If a student is promised a reward for completing a specific task, than that student will complete the work that is required and nothing more. This truly limits the learning and applying nature of education. On the other hand, if a student is promised a reward and they do not complete the task, than they experience failure as other students receive the reward. Based on my proactive approach outline in the different sections above, motivating students with rewards should not be necessary. However, I do like the idea of giving a reward to the entire class if they all do well on a test or assignment. It is important to not to entice the students with the reward before completing the assignment, as mentioned above. Through my classroom management philosophy I highlighted six different aspects and the manners in which I will take a proactive instead of a reactive approach. The physical layout of my classroom will be a warm and inviting learning environment. I will also stress inclusion as it is important to create an atmosphere of respect so that every student will be able to reach their full potential. Using different technologies and creating a collaborative learning environment in my classroom will encourage students to take an active role in their learning. The creation of rules and routines in my classroom will be a collaborative process between myself and my students in order to create a community feel. Finally, I do not believe in rewards and punishments, but I do recognize that they are necessary in some cases. By effectively implementing the many aspects listed throughout this philosophy I hope to take a proactive stance to classroom management.