Running Head: CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOR MANGEMENT 1

Classroom and Behavior Management

Hannah Hopper

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2017

CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT 2

Introduction

In order for students to effectively learn and demonstrate consistent, on task behavior,

there must be clear and age appropriate expectations for the students. A large part of successful

instruction involves a teachers ability to communicate and model expected behaviors and

routines. Children require a high level of structure, order, and a sense of safety. Before students

can perform on an academic level, they must know they are secure, respected, and identify what

is expected from them. I personally believe that by establishing expectations and holding

students accountable gives them security in the classroom and allows them to flourish in their

academics. I was given the opportunity to create my own classroom management philosophy

while teaching third grade for my student teaching experience. Through this experience I refined

my classroom management philosophy and grew an appreciate for high standards in order to

yield academic progress in the classroom.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

The first artifact I chose to represent my competency in classroom and behavior

management are some pictures of students in a particular posture. In my third grade class I called

this ready position. The students were trained to show me this position during transitions. This

was a classroom routine that required practice and verbal cues but produced efficient results.

This was a particular routine that allowed me to see who was ready to move onto the next lesson

and who was still needing more time to clean up and prepare for the next activity. The reason I

loved this ready position posture is because the students knew exactly what was expected during

a transition moment. They knew what needed to be done at their desk in order to show me ready

position. I would start the timer for two minutes and when the timer went off, I would see all my

third graders eyes on me and ready to learn. It gave the students an awareness for their body
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language and how they should approach learning. It was a great tool to use in the classroom that

only required me to say, Show me ready position and the students knew what needed to be

done to finish in this final pose. I used a behavior management application called class Dojo,

which awarded the students with points for positive behavior and following directions. This

provided an added incentive to the students to quickly and quietly show me ready position

because I would grant the first few students with a point who followed the directions. At the end

of each week, the top five students with the most Dojo points would receive an award that was

highly valued. Some examples were the choice to eat lunch in the classroom with the teacher, sit

by a friend for one day, or use a comfy carpet piece under their desk. One aspect I appreciated

about the Dojo application was the ability to specifically select areas to award or take away

points for. I was able to highlight the students who were following directions, helping a

classmate, participating in the lesson, and many more. I was able to look over this data at the end

of the week to evaluate who was doing extremely well during transitions and who needed to be

addressed for improvement.

The second artifact I chose were two weekly evaluations from my cooperating teacher

while with my third grade class. My cooperating teacher reported on two accounts about my

firm, yet positive management. He also commented on my ability to develop my own

management strategies. I chose these evaluations as my second artifact because it reflected my

strides in creating and maintaining classroom management. Some classroom management

strategies I developed during my student teaching experience were starting each day by

informing the students about the agenda. I believe students should know in advance about their

agenda; thus, they can prepare and depend on a set routine. Students should never feel caught off

guard; therefore, I attempted to prevent this from happening by verbally communicating the
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agenda and providing a written visual for the students to refer back to. I always took the time to

explain tasks to the students to appeal to audio learners and provide some type of visual for the

students to follow along with. This strategy helped manage off tasks behavior because the

students knew what was expected of them and it decreased the amount of interruptions during

small group activities.

Another component of my firm, yet positive management style was my frequent use of

praising students right decisions more often than correcting students. I still had to discipline

students often; yet, I tried my best to redirect students off task behavior with positive phrases.

Instead of telling students what not to do, I would highlight and praise students who were doing

the correct actions. I was very intentional with my words when I needed to redirect students. I

also was mindful of my voice level. I believe that raising ones voice in order to gain control is

not effective in the long run. The teacher will become exhausted from the amount of energy

exerted. I used signals in the classroom that required no talking at times, yet gained the attention

of the students. Some examples were raising my hand and having the students imitate me, setting

the timer for a particular setting and then letting it go off to notify the students time was up, and

just remaining still and quiet. It was interesting to watch the students respond to my body

language or voice level in moments of chaos. Instead of trying to compete with their noise level,

I would speak in a soft voice or just remain still until I had everyones eyes and ears.

Lastly, my positive management style involved high expectations from the students. I

created a high, yet attainable standard for the students to reach. I created high expectations to

communicate that they were capable of behaving and working while in my classroom, and were

going to be held accountable if not. Even though it was difficult at times, remaining fair and

consistent with the students was an integral part of successful management. I did not bend the
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rules for individual students, yet provided grace and understanding when necessary. This is an

aspect of teaching that develops over time and requires discernment and great patience.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

During my time at Regent University, I was taught a wealth of information and strategies

that involved effective classroom and behavior management. One staple and key to classroom

management, no matter what the grade, is for students to clearly know what is expected from

them. These expectations should be communicated in multiple ways so students can have a clear

understanding and perform their tasks successfully. One of the most powerful tools to creating a

positive learning environment, which is centered on the successes of the students rather than the

misbehaviors, is praising the little and big moments. People, no matter the age, need to know

how they are doing and be given specific encouragements. In Principles of Classroom

Management: A Professional Decision-Making Model (Levin & Nolan, 2010) it states, People

are social beings who have a need to belong, to be recognized, and to be accepted (p.54). By

satisfying this need for students, they will not feel the need to misbehave in order to seek

attention or seek a desired want. If teachers can become proactive in their positive reinforcement,

students will feel acknowledged and seen.

Another key component to maintaining classroom management is building and nurturing

healthy student-teacher relationships. From the very beginning of my student teaching

placement, I greeted each student at the door by name, accompanied by a handshake. I

additionally used this moment to mention an intentional comment or question if necessary. I

would ask the students about a specific, non-academic area in the life such as their pet, sports

team, or family life. In an article by Robert Marzano and Jana Marzano (2003), they speak about

ways to receive cooperation from students. One obvious way is to take a personal interest in
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each student in the class (paragraph 22). When students feel cared for and respected by their

authority figure, they will be more inclined to reciprocate cooperation and respect because their

basic needs are being satisfied.

As a Christian educator, it is important that I hold not only a classroom management

philosophy but also a philosophy that is aligned with the word of God. In Hebrews 12:11 it says,

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful

fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (English Standard Version). This

verse correlates inside the classroom as the teacher discovers the difficulty in disciplining. I

personally do not enjoy disciplining students; however, I will willingly do it because I know it

will produce fruit in their life long after they leave my classroom. It is important that seeds are

being sown in the students lives of appropriate behavior that will continue to develop and grow

throughout their life.

The way in which I choose to discipline stems from the character of Christ. I want to be a

teacher who practices what is taught to the students; therefore, it is essential I model the behavior

I expect to see. I believe as I discipline and lead the students in my classroom, I should model the

fruits of the spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 states, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and these are several of the

qualities I hope to model for the students (English Standard Version). My classroom management

philosophy starts with me wearing the fruits of the spirit well, in order for the students to have a

solid role model. Lastly, Micah 6:8 reminds me of the type of teacher I strive to be. It says, And

what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly

with God (English Standard Version). I stand by my decision to discipline the students

consistently and fairly, to respond with kindness even when it may be difficult, and to walk
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humbly accepting my wrong decisions and actions. I pray that I always remember the student

behind the poor decision or behavior and respond with both grace and truth. When this type of

management occurs in the classroom, genuine learning will be present that requires little

interruptions to the learning environment.

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References

Levin, J., & Nolan, J. F. (2010). Principles of Classroom Management: A Professional

Decision-Making Model. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.

Marzano, R. J., & Marzano, J. S. (2003). The Key to Classroom Management. Educational

Leadership, 61(1), 6-13. Retrieved March 4, 2017, from

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept03/vol61/num01/The-Key-

to-Classroom-Management.aspx