Classroom Management

By Heather Finlay

Rational

I will continue to use the pre existing routines and management strategies already

developed by my practicum sponsor teacher. This will create as little disruption to the

students learning environment and will be an easier transition for all. I will also adhere

to Colquitz Middle Schools code of conduct and its policy to have consequences be

restorative and appropriate to the situation. Furthermore, I will use the Colquitz staff

handbook to guide my school routines and expectations for students. I foremost will

continue to build a rapport with the learners in my classroom and look forward to some

time to really build a community of learners. I do this by greeting the students every

morning and by taking windows of opportunity to check-in and discover more about my

learners. I also make sure when I am planning to incorporate some choice in activities

and have taken some direction from students on what they would like to do. I also plan

a lot of collaborative and small group work to establish a true sense of community

learning and to foster more engaging and meaningful learning opportunities.

Classroom Set-up

I will keep the desk placements and management of materials the same to avoid

disruption of the regular classroom routines. The classroom has some room for one-

one work and the pod has space for group and collaborative work. The materials are

nicely organized and labelled in the classroom cupboards and the students know where
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to find anything they need. Students have a binder that is divided into subject areas to

keep notes and learning materials. Students also have lockers within the classroom to

keep belongings. Coats and backpacks can be hung up on hooks or kept on the back

of chairs. I will also maintain the system of bins: the hand-in bins for each subject and a

bin with extra copies of assignments but will create my own so that I can keep the work I

do with the students separate and organized. I will also continue using the while you

were away folder to keep missed work accessible. My sponsor teacher also uses an

app called remind to send out messages to both parents and students about homework,

tests and assignments. I will also use Google Classroom to make criteria and

instructions accessible at home.

Classroom Routines

Students enter and exit through the only classroom door. There is some unstructured

time in the morning as students arrive early for school before advisory. During this time

students often drop off their things and are in and out of the classroom. It is a nice time

to check-in with everyone and to welcome everyone for the day. Our classroom is used

by two divisions. When divisions switch classrooms they line up along the board at the

front of the classroom. Before breaks and lunch students wait quietly in their desks.

Students are expected to tidy up their desks by putting all materials away, unfinished

work in to their binders, completed work into the hand-in bin. There are two students

that clean up the classroom at the end of the day and are responsible for stacking

chairs, sweeping and putting away any missed materials. These students rotate

weekly. Students are expected to properly hang up coats and backpacks on the hooks

by the lockers or on the backs of chairs.

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When we transition to the lab or gym students are expected to use a quiet voice so they

do not disrupt other classrooms. The students and parents sign a computer code of

conduct and adhere to the school rules around the responsible, safe and proper use of

computers. Any students that do not adhere to these expectations lose computer

privledges. The gym is shared between four classrooms and can be quite busy.

Students come in and change into PE strip if they have it. Those that do not change

often help with gym set up. Students meet and sit in the centre of the gym. There is

usually a warm-up consisting of a short run or instant activity. Everyone collaboratively

cleans up the gym and changes if needed before leaving. Teachers use whistles to

gain students attention.

Students ask permission from the teacher to go and get water or to go to the washroom.

The students are well established in the recurring daily routines like morning advisory

and attendance. At the beginning of math class (often first thing in the morning or after

a transition) students work on the math warm-up on the front board. There is a daily

schedule up on the board and a breakdown of each block.

Expectations

I expect that students will be respectful and kind members of our classroom. This

means that we take turns speaking, listen attentively to others ideas, express respectful

dissent and work, problem solve and learn together.

I expect students to respect our thinking time and to participate in partner shares and

classroom discussion activities through speaking, listening or active engagement.

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I expect and will encourage students to seek help when needed either by using

classroom resources, asking a peer or myself.

I will make the learning intentions clear and our learning plan and activities clear. I will

provide a variety of modes to explore topics and I will provide meaningful and specific

feedback to enrich student learning.

Management Strategies

I gain student attention by standing at the front of the classroom, doing a five second

countdown. Often the classroom quiets when my practicum teacher starts talking.

When students behaviour is not conducive to the classroom expectations I will ask

them at first politely to stop or use another low-level management strategy like proximity

or eye contact. If behaviour continues I will attempt to speak briefly one on one with the

student to make sure there is not any other underlying issue and to make sure they are

okay. I hope to also have engaging lessons that explore content in a variety of ways

and that keep the lesson moving. I also hope to incorporate some choice in who

students work with and the type of work they do. I believe the CALM approach to

classroom management helps maintain a positive learning environment by forcing

educators to consider behaviour and use the least intrusive response; only acting if the

behaviour disturbs the learning environment, (EDPB 513, Class Handout). If student

behaviour persists or a student becomes too overwhelmed or unable to self-regulate I

will firstly offer a break to the student. I will also check-in one-on-one with the student in

a private way and work through a restorative process in order to maintain and or repair
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the relationship and to problem solve strategies for the student. If ever needed I can

also mediate the restorative process for student conflict.