Recommendations for Your Classroom Management Plan
A classroom management plan should focus you on how to become the kind of teacher you want to be. With this focus in mind your plan will guide you through whatever terrain you have to cross on your way to success.
You’re Philosophy
The following principles will assist you in determining what is important to you as a teacher.
Core Value Principles: include Fairness, Justice, Honesty, Respect and Dignity.
Personal Responsibility Principles: include Self Awareness, Freedom to Choose, Independent Will and Imagination.
Personal Development Principles: include Personal Growth, Potential and Excellence.
As a teacher you will need to decide;
· what your beliefs are about how students learn
· what you believe motivates learners
· what you understand about differences among learners and how you respond to those differences
· what you identify as the different needs learners have and how you might meet those needs
· to what extent your personality style fits with learner needs and preferences, i.e. how autocratic or democratic are
you
· where you might have to make compromises about your intentions and practical realities
· which specific elements from different classroom management theories your feel most appropriate for you to
adopt
Rules and Routines for Your Classroom:
Set classroom ground rules for;
· entry and exit routines
· signals for getting attention
· routines for moving around the classroom
· instructions for using resources
· seating plans
Set classroom routines:
The secret is to have enough of routines to create a system that works well so that students can see the purpose behind them, but not so many that your classroom seems driven by so many rules and regulations that they crowd out real learning.
Classrooms are successful when teachers have effective routines for;
· entering the classroom
· where students sit
· checking which students are present in class
· consequences for lateness to class
· giving out equipment and books
· how students can move around the classroom
· handing in of work
· permission to leave the room for valid reasons
· tidying up at the end of the lesson
· leaving the room at the end of the lesson
· what to do in case of emergencies
If you as a teacher do not consistently follow through and actively explain the routines and the reasoning behind them and model them consistently and persistently, the routines will have no lasting effect.
The kinds of routines need to include:
· how to get students to pay attention, such as a non-verbal signal, or a countdown
· how students should respond to direct questions: for example, hand raising or random choice of which students
will answer
· whether students are allowed or instructed to work cooperatively at times
· noise levels allowed in class: for example, some tasks may require silent individual attention, while others may
require cooperative learning in pairs or groups - and students need to be made aware of acceptable noise levels
and protocols for each task
· when and how individual students can get extra help from the teacher in class
· how to engage students who finish tasks ahead of the rest of the class and
· finally what to do when students refuse to follow teacher instructions
You’re Philosophy
The following principles will assist you in determining what is important to you as a teacher.
Core Value Principles: include Fairness, Justice, Honesty, Respect and Dignity.
Personal Responsibility Principles: include Self Awareness, Freedom to Choose, Independent Will and Imagination.
Personal Development Principles: include Personal Growth, Potential and Excellence.
As a teacher you will need to decide;
· what your beliefs are about how students learn
· what you believe motivates learners
· what you understand about differences among learners and how you respond to those differences
· what you identify as the different needs learners have and how you might meet those needs
· to what extent your personality style fits with learner needs and preferences, i.e. how autocratic or democratic are
you
· where you might have to make compromises about your intentions and practical realities
· which specific elements from different classroom management theories your feel most appropriate for you to
adopt
Rules and Routines for Your Classroom:
Set classroom ground rules for;
· entry and exit routines
· signals for getting attention
· routines for moving around the classroom
· instructions for using resources
· seating plans
Set classroom routines:
The secret is to have enough of routines to create a system that works well so that students can see the purpose behind them, but not so many that your classroom seems driven by so many rules and regulations that they crowd out real learning.
Classrooms are successful when teachers have effective routines for;
· entering the classroom
· where students sit
· checking which students are present in class
· consequences for lateness to class
· giving out equipment and books
· how students can move around the classroom
· handing in of work
· permission to leave the room for valid reasons
· tidying up at the end of the lesson
· leaving the room at the end of the lesson
· what to do in case of emergencies
If you as a teacher do not consistently follow through and actively explain the routines and the reasoning behind them and model them consistently and persistently, the routines will have no lasting effect.
The kinds of routines need to include:
· how to get students to pay attention, such as a non-verbal signal, or a countdown
· how students should respond to direct questions: for example, hand raising or random choice of which students
will answer
· whether students are allowed or instructed to work cooperatively at times
· noise levels allowed in class: for example, some tasks may require silent individual attention, while others may
require cooperative learning in pairs or groups - and students need to be made aware of acceptable noise levels
and protocols for each task
· when and how individual students can get extra help from the teacher in class
· how to engage students who finish tasks ahead of the rest of the class and
· finally what to do when students refuse to follow teacher instructions
Classroom Management Plan Compass
In practice, leaving the above compass points 'empty' to start with allows you, the teacher to focus on those compass points for your classroom management plan that you have identified as essential. You can concentrate on moving forward in those directions and having that flexibility gives you the freedom to choose your direction. You may want to alter directions as your experience grows, or as you come to know a particular class better, relying as ever on your judgement which is based on your experience, values and principles . This kind of flexibility for personal choice and the ability to respond to what may become priority areas adds real power to your classroom management plan.
The type of classroom routines needed, will depend on the age and maturity of the students. As a general rule, the older and more mature the students, the fewer routines will be needed because as adults they will self-regulate more effectively, and be more committed to a mature partnership with the teachers. However, as teachers we need to accept that we must insist on high standards with all classes of all ages.
Students will do whatever they can get away with. You as a teacher need to be proactive all the time and keep your students focused on successful classroom routines at all times, rather than become lax and then have to react to the consequences.