New Mexico Teacher Competencies

Competency 6: The teacher manages the educational setting in a manner that promotes positive
student behavior and a safe and healthy environment.
Competency 6 refers to creating a positive, safe, and healthy classroom setting. This is essential
for students to be able to focus on learning. Classroom management is much more than having a
discipline policy. There are many components to creating an effective learning environment.
The artifact shared incorporated the following Conceptual Frameworks: Caring, Learner-
Center, and Culture and Language. All are important parts of creating a place for students to feel safe
and able to focus on learning. The willingness to listen to students tells the students they are valued.
The sense of being an important part of something bigger than themselves motivates students to be
more willing to participate in the community. Respecting students and appreciating what they have to
contribute to the class helps establish a community.

Artifact Context
The artifact that I chose to represent Competency 6 is a paper I wrote defining my beliefs about
how to create a learning environment which supports student learning. In the paper I discuss three
underlying components of classroom management, physical environment, procedures and routines, and
community.
Significance
As a beginning teacher Competency 6 is the most challenging and important. Without lesson
plans cannot be implanted effectively, and learning is impacted. Taking the time to write my thoughts
about classroom management helped me deepen my understanding of all the different components. I
helped me look beyond the discipline policy. ortunately the teachers I have worked with in the past
have all talked to about the importance of these other layers. I also had the opportunity to work in
classrooms that had well established routines. It was much easier to take over teaching in those
classrooms. !tudents seemed to know what to do with little direction. Classrooms that had a strong
community were also easier to work in. These classrooms had a sense of calm and respect.
Future Improvement
"y e#perience working at the $"CA as a counselor taught me how easy it is for students to
take over. I had to %uickly learn to be more assertive. "oving into the classroom, I learned a lot about
setting up environments to avoid discipline problems.
&owever, I know I will need a lot of practice. Writing a paper and actually implementing the
strategies are not the same.