Ms.

O’Brien’s Classroom Management Plan

1. Teaching Context: I believe that teaching context involves anything in the physical,

social, institutional and personal, that has an influence on teaching and learning. To be a

teacher with withinness, it is important to evaluate the context of learning in my

classroom and ensure that I am creating a safe environment for my students. If my

students do not feel safe in my classroom physically, socially, and emotionally it can and

will prohibit their learning.

2. Physical Design: The physical design of my classroom is crucial to the environment. As

a social studies educator, I see the benefit of having students’ desks in pairs or groups of

four with the ability to get into groups for collaborative work quickly. However, I believe

that this set up makes it easier for students to get distracted by one other and some

students do not even face the teacher. For my classroom I would prefer to create either a

U-shape with the desks as it facilitates student discussion with all their classmates. All

the students can see the center of the room in this format which allows the teacher to

maintain attention while teaching. However on occasion where partner work is the better

option for a lesson, it would make most sense to place the desks in pairs. One of the

disadvantages to the U-shaped format is that it can often become crowded, so as the

teacher, I would make sure that students have enough space to focus on the lesson and are

able to work individually. I would also place supplies and other materials in locations that

would avoid congestion. I will decorate my classroom to give off a sense of community

by putting colorful posters on the walls that go over classroom rules and expectations
 along with a world map and student work for assignments that could potentially require

some artistic work. I want to create a classroom environment that is warm and welcome

and adding bright colors and visuals can contribute to creating this dynamic as long as

they are not too overbearing.

3. Rules and Routines: As an educator, it is vital to avoid using negative language to

dictate the rules of the classroom such as “DON’T talk out of turn.” Instead, I plan to use

language such as “be courteous and quiet while others are talking,” in order to enforce the

rules of my classroom. We should remind students of appropriate behavior to have in the

classroom instead of constantly reminding them of what they might be doing wrong. In

building rapport with my students, it is important to establish a level of mutual respect.

In order to accomplish this, a fair to ask students would be “What types of rules should

we uphold in our classroom so we can learn most effectively?” This helps give students a

sense of accountability and also allows them to feel like their input is being valued. If the

students go against the rules, the teacher can also remind them about how their behavior

isn’t exhibiting the types of rules that were agreed upon. The teacher should assist in

helping guide students to appropriate rules and routines. Some rules that I would plan to

uphold in my classroom will include: respecting one another, having a positive attitude,

coming to class prepared, putting forth the best effort and asking questions when unsure

of the answer. Students should also expect to use higher level thinking and build upon

corporations in group tasks.

4. Relationships: As a teacher, building professional relationships with the students is an

essential part of running an effective classroom. It is necessary for students to feel

 comfortable in my classroom and injecting humor can help do this. One way I think I

would be able to do this is making fun of my own mistakes. It is important that students

see that I am human and I are not perfect because everyone is flawed and bound to mess

up at different times. As a teacher, I need to be knowledgeable of my content area in

order to do my job effectively. However, I am also human and capable of making

mistakes on occasion. I think that it is very important that students understand that. In

learning, mistakes are made quite frequently. I want to create a relationship with my

students where they aren’t afraid to ask questions out of fear of looking stupid or not ask

for help because they feel like they are the only ones who don’t comprehend to concepts.

Recognizing that mistakes are a part of being a human makes learning less of a task and

more of a journey. With all that being said, having a relationship with your student’s

parents is equally as important. Making sure that the parents know that I care about their

individual child’s learning can leave a lasting impact and help grow that relationship. It is

vital to convey that I value a parent’s insight and any concerns that they may have about

their child.

5. Engaging Instruction: In creating engaging instruction a lot can be overlapped with how

the physical design is set. To make lessons engaging for the students it is important to be

aware of the environment and how the design of the classroom affects student learning. In

my classroom I will also incorporate content and information that has relevance to them

in that they should be able to relate it back to their own lives. This could potentially

involve adding in student interests and multicultural perspectives.

1. Discipline: Addressing discipline issues begins with prevention strategies in the

classroom such as “withiness.” As the teacher, and authority figure of the room, it is

essential to know what is occurring at all times. This way misbehaviors can be escalated

before the disruptions continue to occur and become more prominent. If students do not

follow the rules they will be disciplined first by being given a warning. If the behavior

continues I will have a talk with the student alone outside the classroom to explain to

them that I do not appreciate disrespect and hope that they can come back to class to be

more productive and respectful of other student’s learning. If the behavior still does not

stop and the student continuously disrupts class, I would seek assistance from a

co-teacher or an administrator.