EDUC 5903-S

Classroom Management
For Prof. Anne Hewson
Cody Hamilton
991425
Nov 5 2016
Classroom Management Plan

I believe the purpose of a school is (or should be) to assist students in their
development as persons, citizens and workers. Its to prepare them be
independent, mature, and competent people who recognize that they belong
within, derive rights from, and have responsibilities towards their
communities. This assumption underpins my classroom management plan,
and it leads me towards a student-centered approach to learning. It positions
me to ask What is best for the student? and to always consider whether
there is a better answer to that question. My management plan is thus a
living document, and it is subject to revision as I grow as an educator.

I believe the best way to assist students is to create a social and physical
environment where they can learn and grow. Maslow wrote that people need
to meet basic and psychological needs before self-actualization can occur. In
this regard, I subscribe to the Positive Learning Framework as defined by Tim
McDonald. This strengths-based approach to education is built upon the
Circle of Courage, an indigenous model for positive youth development that
identifies four needs that students have within the classroom: to belong,
trust their teacher, form relationships and feel wanted; to master content,
problem-solve and be recognized as competent; to be autonomous,
empowered, and to have control over their lives; and to be generous,
practice altruism, and reciprocate the positive feedback they have received
from their community. The Positive Learning Framework applies the Circle of
Courage to a tripartite division of teaching: prevention, engaged teaching,
and corrective actions.1 This framework and the Circle of Courage inform the
remainder of my plan.

I view prevention as more effective technique than correction. The latter

preserves the learning environment by attempting to return to the status quo
while the former ties to avoid disruption in the first place. Preventive
techniques accomplish this by creating an environment that minimizes the
chances for disruption, encourages positive behaviour, and meets needs
before they become an issue. As a teacher, I have the power to impose that
environment, but I prefer to negotiate this context with students. I will ask
them to think about what makes a classroom learning environment

1 Tim McDonald. Classroom Management: Engaging Students in Learning

(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010). 5-10.
respectful and inclusive, and I will guide them in their deliberation of what
routines, rules and norms social and academic to adopt for its function.
The classs social contract will thus be a collaborative endeavour, and
students will have stake in the order they helped create. In doing so, my goal
is to satisfy their need for autonomy, generosity, and belonging, and I hope
to produce a collaborative learning community with high and clear
expectations. Ultimately, I aim to adopt an approach to classroom
management more dependent on self-monitoring than correction.

Of course, certain rules and norms are non-negotiable. As per New

Brunswicks policy 703, my classroom must be a safe, inclusive and
respectful environment supportive of diversity and intolerant of
discrimination.2 Ideally, students should come to this conclusion themselves
during the contract deliberation process; however, if they do not, then I will
always make it clear that the school and I must abide by this law. Likewise, I
am bound by the Education Act to exemplify and encourage in each pupil the
values of truth, justice, compassion and respect.3 Any rules and norms
devised through the deliberation of a classroom contract must thus be
consistent with provincial law.

Effective lesson design is also necessary for prevention. Good lessons

engage students, and engaged students are more likely to exhibit positive
behaviour. There is no single way to properly conduct a lesson, but McDonald
notes that good teachers employ many common elements in their designs.
Among others, they typically use hooks motivate students; explain the
contents relevance or importance to sustain their attention; clearly convey
outcomes and criteria to increase their performance; provide constructive
feedback; and incorporate students learning styles and interests to improve
engagement, performance, and retention.4 Good teachers also design for
universal applicability. They accommodate students with exceptionalities and
differentiate their instruction based on students various and differing
abilities (thereby fostering a sense of mastery). More generally, effective
teachers incorporate dialogic activities such as inquiry-based learnings,
roleplays and debates since they result in greater recollection and
understanding than lecture-based formats. I will implement these elements
in my lesson plans, and I will conduct them to draw out positive and
motivated behaviour from my students.

2 New Brunswick. Department of Education. Policy 703. 1999 [Fredericton].

http://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Departments/ed/pdf/K12/policies-
politiques/e/703A.pdf
3 New Brunswick. Department of Education. Education Act. 1997
[Fredericton]. http://laws.gnb.ca/en/ShowTdm/cs/E-1.12//
4 McDonald. 4-5.
The proper employment of rules and routines will facilitate these lessons.
Fred Jones, author of Tools for Teaching, argues that routines minimize
wasted time and labour. They avoid the usual noise, milling around, and
time wasting on the part of students, as well as the nagging on the part of
the teacher in favour of a well-rehearsed response to a teachers
directive. Routines, however, are not free. They must be explained,
justified, and reinforced through practice.5 At the beginning of term, I will
take the time needed to habituate students to routines so that I do not need
to waste considerable time throughout the remainder of the year. For
example, if I reinforce that I begin class by standing near a desk or by
turning the lights off and on, then I do not struggle to gain their attention.
Students become habituated to my cue to start (C2S), and they know that
this is when they must focus on me. Students who do not focus, meanwhile,
will be quickly brought to attention by disapproving peers eager to get on
with class, and I can reinforce this collective self-discipline by thanking those
who immediately engaged with me. Similar routines can be brought into
effect for other tasks such as desk re-arrangements, questions, listening,
presentations, end of classes, or the end of the day.

Prevention, however, will never erase the need for correction. Indiscipline will
arise at some point, and I will need to address it. To the extent possible, my
resolution will be specific to the disruption, the student, my relationship with
them, and the classroom dynamic. It will also take into account the need for
autonomy and belonging of the student, the needs of the class, the
recommendations and advice of my colleagues, and provincial law. Peter
Johnston, a professor at the SUNY Albany, views the preservation of
autonomy as particularly crucial for classroom management. He explains
that when students are given a choice between involving the teacher or
resolving the issue on their own, students nearly always choose the path that
preserves their autonomy. He thus makes the case that teachers should
resolve disruptions by creating forward-looking narratives that give students
a way out. In doing so, they target the issue, not the student, and preserve
both the classroom community and the students dignity.6

I will apply Johnstons advice at all levels of disruption. For low-level

disruptions, I can employ minimal responses such as non-verbal
communication, deferring the correction until later, tactically ignoring the
disruption, or succinct language (name + thanks, redirection). 7 These
corrective actions implicitly give students a choice: self-monitor or I will
5 Fred Jones, Rules, Routines, and Standards in Elementary and Secondary Grades.
Education World (accessed October 3, 2016).
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/jones/jones002.shtml
6 Peter Johnston, Opening Minds and Choice Words (presented at the
weekly personal development session of teacher-candidates at St. Thomas
University, Fredericton, October 19, 2016).
7 McDonald, 4-5.
become involved. Of course, the choice can also be phased explicitly.
Johnston tells the story of a small spat between two girls in a class and a
teacher who asked them Can you resolve this quickly or do you need my
assistance? Predictably, the students looked at each other, and then
declared to the teacher We can resolve it ourselves.8 The authoritative
offer of choice, not mere imposition, is what preserved the classroom
dynamic.

Moderate and severe disruptions require different responses, but the over-all
goal remains the same: to target the disruption and avoid its repetition with
few or no negative repercussions for the student. In such circumstances, its
important that I recognize the disruption for what it is: a strategy to fulfill a
need or goal. If I can identify the students aim, then not only can I
distinguish between the disruption and the student, but I can also empathize
with them. I can demonstrate that I understand what theyre trying to
achieve and why, and I can use this connection to meet their needs in an
alternative way. I can work with the student to create a forward-looking
narrative that preserves their autonomy. This can include offering them
additional responsibility, accommodating particular needs, asking them to
participate in a circle and/or creating opportunities for restorative justice. 9
The important factor is that the issue is resolved and that the student can
move forward within the classroom.

In seeking to resolve disruptions, I will need to be aware of when a situation

escalates or when Ive failed. In such circumstances, my aim will be to defuse
the situation. This will entail the preservation of a students autonomy and
sense of belonging since the loss of those traits is likely to aggravate the
situation. Thus, I will present options to the student depending on the
situation such as delaying the resolution until a later time, visiting the
principal, asking them to see me after class, and/or other compromises (i.e.
allowing them to not work so long as they remain quiet). My goal is to ensure
that the classroom remains a safe, respectful, and functional learning
environment.

If the classroom ceases to meet these criteria, then the rights of the class
override the needs of disrupting student. Section 5.2 of Policy 703 states that
school personnel and students have in the public school system have the
right to work and to learn in a safe, orderly, productive, respectful and
harassment-free environment.10 Thus if a student is discriminatory,
threatening, or otherwise prevents the classroom from functioning, then that
student must leave and report to the principals office. The disruption still

8 Johnston.
9 McDonald, 4-5.
10 New Brunswick. Policy 703.
needs to be addressed, but this will need to be done at a later time in
consultation with the school administration.

My goal is to assist and enable students - to facilitate their growth in their

various capacities as human beings. To do so, I need to fulfill the needs of my
students. I need to ensure that Ive met the criteria required for them to
learn. My approach to classroom management is thus to create an
environment where students can belong and master content, and where they
can be autonomous and generous. And I will do this by adopting preventive
strategies, lesson designs, and corrective actions that preserve, respect and
meet those requirements.