Classroom Management Model

Keech

Classroom Management Model

Elizabeth Keech
Bridgewater College

Classroom Management Model

Keech

Abstract:
Throughout the semester, we have learned many different ideas, tips, theories, and skills on how
to effectively manage a classroom. The purpose of this paper is to thoroughly explain the
importance of management in the classroom and to give examples of the management systems
and ideas I would use in my classroom as a future teacher.

Classroom Management Model

Keech

Classroom management is one of the most important components in a classroom. The

behavior of the students can be vital to a classrooms success. As a teacher, you need to have
good management skills and procedures set in your class for it to run smoothly. Luckily, there
are many management models and theories that can help teachers develop good classroom
management skills. After reading and learning about the many different theories and working in
an elementary school classroom, I have realized that classroom management is a necessity and
every teacher needs to have a classroom management plan or model.
I believe that the schools, families, teachers and students all contribute to classroom
management. Schools need to have good management in order for it to run smoothly. If the
school has an overall strong management system, it produces a solid foundation for the rest. For
example if a student isnt behaving properly and gets sent to the principal, the school needs to
discipline them in a way that the student will behave in the future. Families also play a big role
in management. If the student is disciplined at home, there is a very good chance that they will
behave at school as well. If some students dont come from a very good family background,
teachers could show those students extra attention if they need it in order to manage them.
Teachers are a key tenet to classroom management. As stated earlier, teachers need to have a
classroom management system or plan. By having a management plan, it helps both the students
and the teacher by having a set strategy for situations and keeps the class running smooth and
organized. Students also contribute to management. The students must listen to and follow the
rules and procedures set by their school, teachers and parents in order to not get punished. I also
believe that students need to have some sort of want or drive to follow the rules or be managed.

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Keech

As a teacher, you play a big role in a childs life and there are many qualities and
attributes you need to possess in order to get your students to respond to you and also for them
to succeed. Two of the main qualities that I believe a teacher should be is caring and loving.
These two attributes go hand-in-hand and play a huge part in your job as a teacher. People, no
matter how young or old, need to be told and shown that they are loved and cared about.
Students at a young age need extra love and attention and sometimes as a teacher you need to do
this in order to gain your students trust. If you show your students that you care about them, they
will trust you and like you more, which will cause them to disobey less. A theorist, Jane Nelson,
explains the importance of building a positive connection with your class in order to maintain
positive discipline. She states that recent research has proven that if children feel a sense of
community within the classroom, community, etc., that they are less likely to misbehave. (Nelson
2006) Teachers should always be loving and caring, however they must also be assertive and
stern. I believe that assertiveness is one of the most important qualities you need to possess as a
teacher. If you are not assertive, your classroom will walk all over you and not listen to the rules
you have established because they know they can get away with breaking them. Lee and Marlene
Canter are theorists who have studied assertive discipline and believe that being assertive is one
of the main components of classroom success. (Canter 2001) Teachers need to be assertive in all
aspects such as communication, language, and actions. If teachers are only assertive when they
speak but not with their actions, no student will take them seriously. Teachers need to be
assertive all around and show the students their role and prove to them that the teacher is the one
in charge. By being stern and showing the students that the teachers are the ones in charge,
students are less likely to test teachers limits and are less likely to compete for power. One of the

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Keech

most important management ideas I have learned is a tip from Harry Wong which explains that
you need to set the tone the first day and few weeks of class, so the rest of the year runs
smoothly. (Wong 2009) If you are assertive and firm in the beginning, the students will realize
and learn that, which will help them listen to you and follow your rules for the rest of the school
year. As stated earlier, a set management plan is very important and something every teacher
should have. This shows that the teacher is organized and assertive when it comes to behavior in
the classroom. The teacher needs to always follow their behavior plan so the students know that
every action can be assessed according to the plan, and that you are serious about implementing
the model. As a teacher, you also need to possess good communication skills. If you can
communicate well you can handle a number of situations, including ones with your students and
with the parents of your students. You need to possess good communication skills with your
students in order for them to understand and comprehend what you teach them and what you
expect from them. You need to communicate not only the rules clearly, but also every assignment
and what exactly you want from the students. If you communicate your expectations clearly, they
are more likely to be met. Good communication skills also come in handy while talking to
parents. If you communicate to the parents what their child is doing and keep them updated on
their behavior, the students will want to act better because their parents or guardians are finding
out how and what theyre doing in class. I believe that the attributes caring, loving, assertive and
good communicators are some of the most important characteristics a teacher should possess,
especially when it comes to classroom management. If a teacher obtains these traits, they can be
successful in the classroom and reach their fullest potential.

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Keech

Teachers always need to have a set of rules and guidelines to help the class run smoothly.
I believe there should be some rules that are set in stone and apply to everyone, and also some
rules that you need to make according to certain students in your class. For example rules like
Always use your manners, Raise your hand before speaking, Always ask before you get out
of your seat, are rules that should apply to your whole class. Depending on the grade you teach,
most students are used to the general set of rules like these because their previous classes has had
them before. However, you still need to establish general rules like the ones above because
students need the reinforcement and need to know that these are still rules they need to follow.
However, as a teacher, you find out that all classes are not the same. Depending on the students
in your class, you may need to establish extra rules based on the actions they partake in and also
the different personalities between the students. For example if some of your students have a
really hard time lining up by the door whenever they are getting ready to leave the classroom,
you might need to establish a specific order they need to line up in and use that so they learn to
behave in line. Some classes may not have problems lining up by the door, but since this class
does, you need to take appropriate action and accommodate to these students. I also believe that
students should get rewarded for good actions and punished for bad ones. It is really effective for
a teacher to have a class behavior management model. By having a full class management
system, students will want the other students to follow the rules and act appropriately because
every student adds to and affects the entire classes status. The students will start holding each
other accountable, and this makes the students not misbehave because they dont want their
classmates getting upset with them. An example of a classroom management system would be
the class car can either be on the color red, yellow or green. There would be a chart in the

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Keech

classroom and a Velcro car piece that you can move if the class needs to change a color. The
class will start on green every morning, which represents that they are being good and behaving.
If something inappropriate happens or a few students act up, the teacher moves the car piece
from green to yellow. Yellow means that the class needs to improve their behavior and arent
acting as respectful as they could. Yellow is basically a warning for the real consequence. If the
class acts up again, the piece will move to red which means the class is going to be punished. If
they land on red, they could lose recess time or might be assigned extra homework. For every
day that the class stays on green, they get to add a tally to the big chart that determines if and
when the class gets an ice cream, pizza or some other sort of party. If the class reaches 100
tallies, then they could receive the party. This will give the class incentive to behave. As stated
above, you may need to accommodate your plans based on the different students in your class.
Since there are going to be many different types of students in your classroom, I believe its
important to have an individual student behavior management system as well. By having an
individual behavior management plan, the students are responsible for their own actions and
consequences that follow. If only one student is misbehaving and disrupting the learning of
others, they need to be punished accordingly. An example of an individual plan would be a
spectrum in which every student in the class gets a clothespin on a line. The line/chart has
different parts and depending on your actions that day, you can either move up or down. The
entire class will start in the middle on a square that says something like Ready to Learn! If a
child does a good deed like help a classmate when they dropped their books or does all their
work quietly, they move their clothespin up. The students can move up three before they reach
the top. On the other hand however, if a student is misbehaving or making bad choices, they

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Keech

must move their clothespin down. If they keep moving it down, the teacher will take necessary
action to punish them. For example, if the student moves down two squares, they will have silent
lunch and the teacher will call home. The final box on the bottom could result in a trip to the
principals office if needed. Since I believe its important to communicate with parents on how
their child is doing, I believe that if a student is steadily misbehaving, the teacher needs to set up
and parent teacher conference and talk about the students behavior. If a situation occurs in the
classroom where two students are not getting along, or something happened between students, I
believe it is important to take the restorative discipline approach. Restorative Discipline is a
concept learned from theorist and author Judy Mullet which explains that when an unruly
situation happens in the classroom, it is an opportunity for growth and community building.
(Amstutz and Mullet 2005) For example, if two students in your classroom have gotten into an
argument, or one student hurt another ones feelings, they need to work and talk it out
themselves. They need to talk about why they each said what they said, how it felt and why it felt
the way it did, how they can fix it, and how they can prevent it in the future. If the two students
talk the situation out, they are viewing the whole thing from the other side and seeing how the
other person sees and feels about the situation. By doing this, you realize things you might not
have which sets the students up for growth. I believe talking it out can help prevent these
situations from repeating in the future, and it really could build relationships in the end.
Classroom management is one of, if not the biggest factor of a successful classroom.
Without management, the classroom would have no organization, the teacher would have no
control over their class, and the students would and could not reach their fullest potential. As a

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Keech

future teacher, I plan to take in and use a number of theories I have learned to ensure that my
classroom is managed properly in order for my students to succeed.

Classroom Management Model

Keech

References

Amstutz and Mullet (2005) The Little Book of Restorative Discipline for Schools: Teaching
Responsibility; Creating Caring Climates.
Canter, L. (2010) Assertive discipline: positive behavior management for today's classroom.
Nelson, Lott, and Glenn. (2006) Positive Discipline in the Classroom.
Wong, H. (2009) First Days of School, Classroom Management