Erin Andrus

Classroom Management Portfolio

Management Style and Philosophical Beliefs:

It is very important to have strong classroom management skills. As a teacher, you

could have the best lesson, but if the students are misbehaving they are most likely
not paying attention to the lesson and therefore not learning. Students go to school
to learn and grow. They need to be able to do so while they are at school. If they are
not able to focus or are causing a ruckus, they are not growing as individual. It is
also important for other students learning. If there is one student that acts up, that
could either cause a distraction to other students or show students that you dont
care how they act in school. A dont care attitude could snowball into not having
students care about your class or about learning. It is very important that students
understand the importance of education, which can be steamed from good
classroom management. As a teacher, I need to give my students information that
will cause them to approach situations differently (Fay and Funk, 79). This will allow
them to see the value in their education. By doing this students are more likely to
be invested in their learning and misbehave less during class.
According to the What is your classroom Management Profile? Quiz I took, I have an
authoritative management style. I find this to be true about myself. It states that
teacher place limit and control on students but still allow for independence. I find
this to be very true. I want my students to grow as individuals and learn from their
mistakes. I will have rules in the classroom and policies, but I also want to allow the
students the independence they need to grow into young adults. This is very
important to me. It also states that students are able to ask question when needed,
allowing for an environment for learning. I want my students to feel comfortable to
ask questions to further their understanding. I want to create an environment where
students feel comfortable doing so. However, students will have the understanding
that the question will be relative to their learning and everyone elses.
I think that the teachers should give out discipline with assertiveness and empathy
as mentioned in Teaching with Love and Logic. Students need to be guided as they
grow up, but at the same time teachers need to understand this is a time when they
are growing up and learning from their mistakes. Teacher need to give out disciple

to help students learn. However, they need to be understanding when they apply
the consequence. They should also be willing to support their students throughout
the time they are learning. Throughout discipline a students self-concept need to
be either maintained or enhanced (Fay and Funk, 109). To me just giving the
consequence is not enough, I want to make sure my students follow through and are
learning from the consequence. I want to help my students grow into successful
young men and women. Also, students should play a part in coming up with the
discipline. As mentioned in Teaching with Love and Logic a teacher can provide
students with choices with limits almost allowing the consequences to do the
teaching. Having students be invested in their discipline will allow them to learn
and grow more as students and individuals.

Establishing a Positive Classroom Culture:

As a teacher, I think it is very important to have a positive relationship with your

students. When students trust the teacher they are must more likely to listen to
them and engage in what they are teaching. As I teacher, part of what I will do is an
entry survey. I want to get to know my students in the classroom and out. I will
want to know what activities they are in, what type of music they like, what their
study habits are, how they learn best and more. This will give me the opportunity to
know my students outside the classroom. Going to my students activities is a way I
plan on showing my students I care about them both inside the classroom and out.
Also, an idea mentioned by Fay and Funk is having a quick conversations with
students about things they like, unrelated to school. This is another way for
students to start to grow connections with me. I want my students to respect me,
but also be willing and open to coming to me with any type of issues or problem
they are have. Through the middle and high school years students are growing up
and maturing and with that comes problems and hard decisions students need to
make. I want students to feel comfortable coming to me with those issues. I want
my students to understand they can achieve whatever they set their mind to and I
want to help them achieve their goals. As I mentioned before, if students respect
me as a teacher, I feel they will be willing to listen to me in the classroom and will
respect the rules and expectations for my classroom and their learning.

Developing Classroom Rules and Procedures:

Late Work Pass!

Late Work Pass!

This coupon allows

This coupon allows
_______________________________ _______________________________
to turn in an assignment late. to turn in an assignment late.
Please attach the coupon to
Please attach the coupon to
the assignment for full credit! the assignment for full credit!

Late Work Pass!

Late Work Pass!

This coupon allows

This coupon allows
_______________________________ _______________________________
to turn in an assignment late.
to turn in an assignment late.
Please attach the coupon to
Please attach the coupon to
the assignment for full credit!
the assignment for full credit!

Late Work Pass!

Late Work Pass!

This coupon allows

This coupon allows
_______________________________ _______________________________
to turn in an assignment late.
to turn in an assignment late.
Please attach the coupon to
Please attach the coupon to
the assignment for full credit!
the assignment for full credit!

Late Work Pass!

Late Work Pass!

This coupon allows

This coupon allows
_______________________________ _______________________________
to turn in an assignment late.
to turn in an assignment late.
Please attach the coupon to
Please attach the coupon to
the assignment for full credit!
the assignment for full credit!
Having rules and procedures in my classroom is something that is very important to
a well functioning classroom. I am going to have some rules that are mine and are
consistent with all my classroom. I am also going to work with the students to make
rules with them. I feel that if the students have part in making the rules, they will be
more willing to follow them. I want the students and I to work together in the
classroom. So about half the rules will be policies I think are necessary and the
other half with be rules that the class comes up with. There will also only be about a
handful of rules. I dont want there to be too many and the students have the
students not remember them all. They will be straight forward and easy to
understand. I also am going to state all my rules in a positive way. Instead of using

no statements, such as No gum in the class, the statement could be written as

You may chew gum outside the classroom.
I think having a routine in the classroom is very important. When student know how
the class period is going to run they will be able to pay attention and understand
the expectations in the room. I will start my class period with a warm-up activity.
This is something I plan on doing every day. I want to get my students in the
mindset of the subject I am teaching. After the warm up activity we will move into
the activity of the day. This is very hard to say there will be a set routine since it
could change based on the lesson. If I am teaching math, we will do notes then
move into activities. If I am not teaching math, there will be a lot more of a variety
of in the activities that I do. Then we will end with a closing activity. The main part
of the class that will be the routine will be the opening activity and the closing
activity. I hope that that consistency will help the students focus better in class.
I want my students to understand what the learning goals and objectives are for
each day and for the unit as a whole. I plan on going back to them in the opening
activity. I will have, at least one of the enduring understanding ideas up for the unit.
Having the goals, objective, and enduring understanding up each day will allow
students to have an idea of what they need to focus on and learn for the lesson and
the unit. Having students aware will be better for their learning and understanding. I
also plan on give out late work passes to every students at the beginning of the
semester. I understand that things come up and issues may arise. This will allow
students to have one opportunity to not turn in an assignment with no questions
asked. There are going through lots at their age, so they will be a time that they
need to turn in something late. That is okay, that is why there are the late work
passes. However, there will not be extra credit if the passes are not used.

Classroom Layout:

I want my students to work together and collaborate. I think there is a lot of value
in having students work with others. This is why I have my desk set up in groups.
Just by having the desks in groups student will know they will be working in groups
and collaborating with others. I also have the shelves in the back of the room by the
teacher desk. This is where students will turn in work and pick up assignments if
they missed a class. As a teacher, I want to be interacting with the students
throughout the class period. That is why I put my desk in the back. I still am going
to want my space to put my things and do my work, but during the class period it
will not be the main space I am at. I have two desks that are away from the other
desks. This is for students who will need to work independently. There is also a
bulletin board that is great for showing students work and other important topics I
need my students to know. My classroom will be focused on students learning and
student collaboration. There is going to be lots of interaction between the students
and myself as the teacher.

Monitoring the Classroom and Responding to Student Misbehavior:

Level

Student Infraction

Severe

Shoving/pushing
teacher
Threatening a
teacher
Physical fighting
w/another
student
Cussing @
teacher
Threatening
another student
Destruction of
school property
Throwing objects
Repeated verbal
altercation
w/teacher
Repeated
defiance
toward
instructions
Verbal
altercation
w/teacher
Verbal
altercation
w/another student
Arguing
w/Teacher
Arguing
w/another
student
Repeated
disruptive/off task behavior
Disruptive
Behavior
Throwing Paper
Sleeping/falling
asleep
Zoned out/no
attentive
Off-task behavior
Talking out
Out of chair
w/out permission

Moderate

Mild

Teacher
Intervention
Refer to
principals office
Refer to
counselor/special
services
Write behavior
contract
Arrange formal
parent/admin.
conference

Arrange formal
parent/PLC
conference
Assign
afterschool
detention
Contact parent
Assign penalty
Withhold
privilege
Teacher/student
conference

Informal
teacher/student
conference
Apply cut-off
technique
Apply check-in
procedure
Change seat
Re-direct to task
Change activity
Direct a question
Gesture
Proximity
Nonverbal cues

Hierarchy of
responses to
disruptive behavior

As a future teacher this is something I think is going to be hard to do. I can make all
the rules and have the best-set classroom, but if I am not able to deal with
misbehaviors then all the other stuff does not matter. One of my tactics is going to
be proximity. As long as it is a small enough misbehavior, I plan on just walking
towards them and if needed, placing a hand on the desk so the students know I am
watching them and are aware of what they are doing. I also plan on making the
rules with the students. By doing this, I will be sure to go back to the rules and
remind the students they agreed to those rules. By having the students make the
rules, I feel they will be more likely to follow them, since they have invested a part
in the rules.
Another way I want to inforce the rules is to offer the students choice. This was
something that was mentioned a lot in the book Teaching with Love and Logic by
Jim Fay and David Frunk. When students have a choice, they feel more in charge of
their life and the decisions they are able to make. I will offer student choices that I
agree with, while still allowing students to choose the solution they feel is best. I
want to be able to work with my students to have a well behaved class. As I have
mentioned before I am an authoritative, so I want to be able to work with my
students in their discipline, but at the same time when I say something or set a
consequence it will be what is followed. By offering students choices, I will, most
likely, get the action I would like from the students.
I also want to connect all my consequences to the misbehavior. I dont want
students not to understand why they are being punished. I want them to see the
clear connection between the misbehavior and the consequence. I think depending
on the situation, allowing the students to work with me to come up with the
consequence. I think if the student is able to have a hand in the discipline, they will
learn more from it. I plan on working with high school students. I want order in my
classroom, but I also want them to learn to take responsibility for their actions. I will
have a hierarchy of discipline that will be used. However, when working with my
students I want it to be used more as a guide. I feel that after working with the
students to come up with rules and consequences, they are learning and taking
responsibility for their actions. High school is a time for growth and I want my
students to learn more than just academic skills.

Parents as Partners:

Family Questionnaire
We would like to take a few minutes of your time to ask you to fill out the following questionnaire. It
has been designed to inform us not only about your individual child but more importantly, about your
family. The information collected from the questionnaire will be used to help teachers incorporate
individual family traditions into their weekly themes, foster ethnic and cultural awareness, and to
help better relate themes and activities to our childrens daily lives. We appreciate you taking the time
to help. Thank you!
Childs Name___________________________________________
1. What are some of the things your child likes to do? (Favorite games, toys, activities, etc.) What
are some of your childs favorite or least favorite foods? Does your child have any food allergies?

2. Childs Development What do I need to know to best support your students learning? Do they
learn best alone, in a group, or both?

3. Tell us about your family.

Parents occupations and interests. What is the best way to get a hold of you?

3. Celebrations - What are some traditions or rituals your family participates in. If any, what family
traditions would you like to share with your childs class?

4. Languages - What language or languages are spoken in your house?

5. Final thoughts Is there anything else about your child I might need to know?

As a future teacher, I think it is very important to have the support of parents. To

help insure the best education for the student, it is best that the parents and
teachers work together. Something I plan on doing is sunshine calls. This will be
a time when I call a parent and tell them how well their student has been doing in
school. This will be a nice way for parents to see I am invested in their student and
to inform them about how great there student has been. This will help to build a
nice relationship with the parents. Something else I plan on doing is sending out
unit week letters. I want parents to be informed about what their students are
learning and what assignments are due when. This will be nice for helicopter
parents and other parents can delete the email if they choose. This is my way of
keeping parents involved in up to date with their students learning.
I plan on dealing with over involved parents and under involved parents in
somewhat the same way. On parent night, which I assume most schools have, I will
want to take a survey of things they are interested in, what they do for a living, how
much they know about the subject I am teaching and more. I plan to use that
information throughout the year. For both parents that are overinvolved and
parents that are under involved, I plan on having them come help out in the
classroom. For example, if I am teaching business, I will want to invite parents in as
guest speakers if they work is related to what I am teaching. This will allow parents
who are over involved to fell included in their childs learning. For those parents I
feel are under involved, this will help them get more involved. People like to talk
about themselves and what they do. Having them be guest speakers in my class
will, hopefully, appeal to both groups of parents.
As I mentioned before I will be contacting parents for burst of sunshine, however I
will also be contacting parents when there students are not doing so well in class. I
will be utilizing some type of online grade book for parents to check students
grades. So with that in mind, when a student is missing three or more assignments,
I will be contacting the parents. They parents should know that their student is
struggling in school. I will also be contacting the parents if a student fails a test. At
that point I think the parents, students and myself should come up with an action
plan to help the student. I want all my students to do their best and I want to work
with the parents to make sure that is possible.