Philosophy of Management

I align most with the assertive discipline and cooperative discipline theories
as stated in my blog http://kristinaking948.weebly.com/fall-2015-blog/blog-8. I agree
that students should have established rules they are expected to follow. Rules
should be specific, not vague. For example, be respectful. Instead have rules that
show them how to be respectful, such as listen while others are speaking. When
the rules are broken, appropriate corrective actions should be in place. Specific
feedback should be given to students understand what they have done well and
how to improve. Good job! or youre so smart! are not giving beneficial
feedback. The students may not even know what they did well.
Cooperative discipline goes beyond correcting the behavior to understanding
why the student is behaving in this manner. Albert says that, To ensure that
students acquire that feeling, she gives heavy attention to what she calls the Three
Cs helping all students feel capable, helping them connect with others, and
having them make contributions to the class elsewhere (2006). I agree that
students should have a code of conduct and follow it. If there is an issue the code of
conduct would be referred to each time and the students would decide fi their
actions were following or breaking it. The focus of cooperative discipline is to care
about the student and make them feel as though they are part of a community or
family. This theory is important especially for students who may have a low selfesteem or come from a different lifestyle that may not show this kind of attention.
In my philosophy of management all four authorities mentioned in Levin and
Nolans (2014) chapter 4 should be used. I am far from seeing black and white,
therefore, I believe there cant be just one authority that allows the day to flow as
mentioned in my blog http://kristinaking948.weebly.com/fall-2015-blog/blog-7.
According to Levin & Nolan, This many indeed be the most practical and effective
approach, although combining certain authority bases-for example, coercive and
referent-may be difficult to do (2014). I understand that one authority may be
better suited for one type of class and students and one for other types. For
example, one student may respond to firm corrective actions and others may
respond better to a more subtle approach. In order to understand which authorities
to use at the appropriate times, teachers must know who their students are.
Learning Environment:
The learning environment looks very bright and colorful. The walls are
covered with anchor charts, word wall labels, fun themed posters, behavior
management charts and encouragements as shown in the pictures below. One wall
is sectioned out for math content, science content, and writing content. In the
science L.T.I. section our long term investigation of our grow critter is presented
with observations, data charts, and graphs. There are four carpets, one big and
three smaller ones. They provide space for the students to sit somewhere else other
than their desks during instruction, a place for reading when work is finished, or a
spot to do independent work. The desks are arranged in a U shape facing each side
of the classroom as you can see in the picture below. There are three, what we call,
islands for students who need to be on their own. Instead of having a lot of open

space, there is sectioned out space that the students enjoy because they like to
have smaller areas to do their independent work. There is a space for everything.
The big carpet is surrounded by book shelves. There are also two stools because the
class is full of first grade boys that need to be able to reach the board and other
materials on the walls or in higher up areas. The classroom is designed for students
that learn in its environment just the way Clayton & Forton (date not given)
mention it http://kristinaking948.weebly.com/fall-2015-blog/september-17th-2015.
As far needs for ELL, ESE, or ADHD students go, I have one student that has these
needs. C.N. needs to sit close to the teacher because of some impulsive behaviors
due to his ADHD.

Considering that my class is made up of first grade boys, the needs of my

learners are being able to move around the room freely and often. Clayton & Forton
(date not given)refers to this process http://kristinaking948.weebly.com/fall-2015blog/blog-4.They have tons of energy and need to be able to move from space to
space in order to stay focused throughout the day. Some students need to sit by
themselves away from the group to stay focused. The students need anchor charts
to refer to for assignments and opportunities to share with their classmates. My
students are visual learners so they need directions displayed, modeling, and
examples. One student needs to sit close to the board because he has a visual
impairment. The needs of my learners are diverse and provided by the teacher and
the set-up of the classroom. The classroom community that has been created has
been focused on working as a team. Some of the topics that have been talked about
as a class is helping each other when we have a rough day, being kind, and using
our words when we get frustrated. This has instilled more of a caring and
understanding community of first grade boys.

The needs of the learning environment consist of anything that needs to be in

the room to make the classroom accessible and the students learning successful.
The learning environment needs technology, such as the elmo, projector, and
computer to view videos or project instructions, examples, and readings. The
learning environment also needs bulletin boards and white boards to display anchor
chats and write information on the board. The learning environment needs storage
to store supplies, books, leveled readers, manipulatives, and center materials.
Without storage, the students would not be able to move about the room and focus
on their tasks because of all the out of place items. Weinstein (2015) mentions the
six basic functions of a classroom, http://kristinaking948.weebly.com/fall-2015blog/blog-4, which is what I am referring too.
Florida Educator Accomplished Practices
I have collected evidence of my classroom management skills to show that I
have mastered the use of the Florida Educator Accomplished Practices. The goal is
centered on FEAP 2, to maintain a student-centered learning environment that is
safe, organized, equitable, flexible, inclusive, and collaborative. FEAP 2 contains 9
sections to show that preservice teachers can create a student-centered learning
environment. Below is a picture of some notes that my collaborating teacher has
written down based on reaching the FEAP 2 goal.

FEAP 2 a. Organizes, allocates, and manages the resources of time, space,

and attention. In a picture below, you can view notes that were written as I reflected
on this specific time I used my CTs attention-getter. Her attention-getter consists of
the teacher saying Class, class and the students replying with yes, yes. Blog 5,
http://kristinaking948.weebly.com/fall-2015-blog/blog-6internship-blog-5, states that
Weinsteins (2015) chapter talks about expectations of behavior. When teachers use
attention-getters, we are expecting for our students to stop what they are doing and
give the teacher their full attention.

FEAP 2b. Manages individual and class behaviors through a well-planned

management system. Our class has two management systems, one for the entire
class and one for each individual student. The class behavior system is based on
tally marks. If the whole group is following directions they will get a point, but if the
majority of the class was not following directions then the teachers get a point.
Whoever has the most points by Friday wins. If the students win they get to pop a
balloon thats hanging over the door to see what kind of prize they get. If the
teachers win the students do not get a prize. This system starts over every week.
The individual behavior system is a clip chart where students start each day in the

middle on green and can move up or down from there. If a student is talked to
several times the students clip moves down. They do have the opportunity to move
back up throughout the day. I have used this system several times. Evidence of a
specific time the system was used is written as a reflection in my data notebook. In
blog 5 (http://kristinaking948.weebly.com/fall-2015-blog/blog-6internship-blog-5 ), I
have written about Weinsteins (2015) chapter 5 and the need for clear expectation
of behavior. The students know what to do and what not to do because the rules are
posted on a bulletin board that they go over once a week and sometimes more if
they are having a rough week.

After I moved the

students clip down he was upset with me, however, he stopped the behavior that
he was doing. The student was testing or not taking me seriously, so I felt like I
needed to result to a consequence to get the student to understand that when I
asked him to do something he needed to do it. Usually, C.B. reacts calmly to
moving his clip down. However, I have noticed that some days he tries harder than
others to have his clip stay on the positive colors, which tells me he tries harder
when he does react dramatically to moving his clip down. He has been doing better
moving his clip down once day or so, which is some improvement. Just this past
week, he moved his clip down, but I could tell, even though he reacted calmly, he
told himself to get it together. The rest of the day was better and he got to move his
clip back up to green. Overall, his reactions are getting better.
FEAP 2c. Conveys high expectations to all students. In the classroom I expect
all of my students to reach for the stars. I do not think I cant is acceptable.
During a lesson, one of my students thought the content was too difficult and
quickly said Ms. King this is too hard! I cant do it. This student is one that usually
understands the skill being taught and catches on quickly. You will see in the
pictures below my reflection is written and the notes my CT took during that lesson.
The student tried the problem again reluctantly. After we went over the first problem
together, he was able to try the rest of them with a bit more ease. As far as the
semester goes, he tackles most assignments with motivation and does well. This
lesson was about combining two shapes with pattern blocks, so the students would
better understand where to draw the line on their worksheet. The students were
having trouble with understanding they could turn the shapes different ways to
make them fit together properly. According to Weinstein (2015), some students give
up before they even try the task. Given this you have to make clear to students the
balance between effort and outcome. Students need to be able to realize when
students.

FEAP 2d. Respects students cultural and family background. As you can see
in the pictures below, I gave a mini-lesson with an ELL student so he would be able
to understand the vocabulary during the actual lesson. Together we made a web of
pushes and a web of pulls to ensure that he understood the concept of those two
words. As you can see, he understood the concept because he filled in the webs on
his own with little to no prompting. Then, we talked about the word predictions.
When going over predictions he had a difficult time. Next time, I would like to find a
song about making predictions. This student is an LYB ELL student who has
expressed his frustrations in science through a learning survey. Weinstein (2015)
chapter 9 refers to providing opportunities for success by differentiating instruction.
The student did well with coming up with examples for some pushes and pulls.
However, he had trouble telling me what a prediction was. As you can see I tried
telling him, writing, drawing a picture and creating a relatable example of times
where weve predicted in class. He still was not confident with what prediction
meant. He is capable of predicting when my CT and I ask him to during lessons,
however, I feel he has issues with communicating this.

FEAP 2e. Models clear, acceptable, oral and written communication skills. For
my first grade boys whom are visual learners, I always say their directions for a task
or a transition and then ask them to repeat the directions back to me. Their
directions are usually written on their paper as well. Occasionally, I will write a
sentence starter on a piece of chart paper and take down ideas for writing. This
helps them identify what task they need to be completing at the moment and a
reminder of how to do it. In the picture below, you will see my CTs notes from one
of my observations. For this lesson, which was a read aloud about the life cycle of
pumpkins, I read a big book and asked questions throughout. I wanted the students
to write two new things they learned about pumpkins. First, we went over how to
start writing their sentences. I wrote on their worksheet on the overhead. Their task
was to try two sentences on their own or they could use the one I modeled for them
and add a new sentence. You will find an example of this below. J.J. used the
sentence that was modeled and began a new sentence of his own.

FEAP 2f. Maintains a climate of openness, inquiry, fairness, and support. At

the beginning of each class I made it a point to greet each student. I wasnt able to
greet every student at first because I would get pulled away to help a student with
bellwork. However, as the semester went on, I managed to make greeting each
student possible. As you can see in the picture below the notes I have taken down
about each of the students, my reflections, and CTs notes on greeting my students.
I considered getting to know the students as creating a climate of openness, inquiry,
fairness, and support. In order to help students become successful teachers have to
get to know their family background, culture, strengths, and weaknesses. That
starts by simply saying hello and welcoming them into the classroom. In blog 5
http://kristinaking948.weebly.com/fall-2015-blog/blog-5 , I talk about Weinstein
(2015) stating how important positive relationships are with our students.

FEAP 2g. Integrates current information and communication technologies.

The boys always need constant reminders of what to do and have become
accustomed to looking up on the board for directions or an example of what they
are doing. To help the boys be able to see the directions or examples, I like to post
them up using the elmo and the projector. This was a hard lesson for me to learn.
Moving to a first grade class from third grade, I learned they needed many more
visuals than I was giving them. As you will see in my reflection below, the first few
times I did not post what they should be working on up on the board and the
students were so lost without it. This specific lesson was about the life cycle of
pumpkins. After the read aloud, the students needed to complete a readers
response. I gave the students directions and modeled the first sentence on the
overhead. When it was time for them to work independently, I left the example with
the instructions above it on the overhead so the students could refer to it. As you
can see below, only two students asked me questions about their task.

FEAP 2h. Adapts the learning environment to accommodate the differing

needs and diversity of students. Normally when someone walks into the classroom
they would see students sitting in their desk to work on independent work.
However, in my class I allow students to stand by their desks, during instruction and
allow them to sit on the floor or sit closer to the board to see. I have found that with
boys they need to be up and moving around. If we tie them down to the seat all
day, we would have a lot more behavior problems. In my reflection you will see how
I get to experience the success of allowing this much movement during instruction
and independent work time. The lesson was a read aloud. I allowed the movement
during the story. L.P., R.S., and T.S. stood with the occasional rocking back and forth
or leaning on their desk, but they listened so much more intently than they have
when they are force to sit in their chairs. I would definitely continue this in my
lesson! I think Weinstein (2015) refers to having a positive relationship with
students. This helps teachers understand who the students are and what their
needs are in the classroom. I tell a bit more about the chapter in my blog
http://kristinaking948.weebly.com/fall-2015-blog/blog-5 .

FEAP 2i. Utilizes current and emerging assistive technologies that enable
students to participate in high-quality communication interactions and achieve their
educational goals. My students really enjoy showing off their work to the class. They
take so much pride in their work and get so excited to share that it motivates them

to put effort into their work. We would not be able to share without having the
computer, elmo, and projector. Using these technologies allows us to post the
students work up for the whole class to see instead of the few kids in the front row.
It also helps them gain confidence in themselves with the skill that they learned
because to be able to share, which in a way is like teaching the class, they have to
know the skill and how they used it to explain to the class.

The picture below shows a student sharing his bellwork results with the class. As
you can see, they really take ownership in their work and enjoy the teachers rolling
chair as a bonus.

As a teacher, I have learned that classroom management is an essential part

of the classroom. In order for students to learn, the room has to be set-up in a
manner that allows students to move around that adheres to their needs, the room
has to be set-up so it is logical to the teacher and students, and behavior systems
need to be in place so that students understand what is expected of them. The
learning environment is affected by the way the teacher places guidelines in the
classroom. This includes ways in which teachers will use their authority towards
situations and how the amount of authority used in different situations effect the
class as a whole. I understand that however I create my classroom and the rules I
place in motion reflects how my students will react to them.
I have learned that my students understand the rules and guidelines that are
in place of this classroom. They respond well to their rewards and know what is
expected of them to earn those rewards. My students seem to enjoy their classroom
environment and the ability to move freely throughout. They are extremely visual
learners and constantly need an example or directions displayed on the board.

Therefore, the technology that allows us to do that really helps the students feel
more comfortable with doing independent work. Overall, the students enjoy the
classroom and which provides them with motivation to come to school and learn.

References

Weinstein, C., & Romano, M. (2015). Enhancing Students Motivation to Learn. In

Classroom Management (6th ed., p. 204). New York, New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
Rothstein-Fisch, C., & Trumball, E. (2008). Managing Diverse Classrooms. Alexandria,
Virginia: Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Levin, J., & Nolan, J. (2014). Principles of Management (Seventh ed.). Upper Saddle
River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.