Running head: CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT 1

Classroom Management

Arrykka S. Jackson

Regent University

As required for EFND 595: Field Experience and Student Teaching

CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT 2

Classroom and Behavior Management

Classroom management challenges educators across the board. With the seemingly

deteriorating morals throughout the world, keeping good behavior in a classroom can be difficult.

Keeping an orderly classroom helps to foster a good learning environment. The classroom allows

children to express themselves intellectually, yet also promotes social and emotional growth. A

classroom should not be sterile, yet lively. It is important to make the rules known to the children

and to enforce them consistently. It takes a village to raise a child.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

The two artifacts that I picked show parental involvement and an engaging lesson. The

first artifact are screenshots from ClassDojo, an app that allows me to communicate to the

parents in my classroom. I have the option to tell all the parents about an event that we are

having in our classroom all at once. I also have the ability to go to each child and either add or

subtract points for their behavior. Students who show positive behavior add points to their

behavior. This acts as a positive reinforcement of their behavior. It also allows me to subtract

points from students who have disruptive behavior. It breeds intrinsic motivation for behavior

and allows the families to be involved in forming the character of their students.

The second artifact that I chose shows the children engaged in an interactive, hands-on

lesson. When students are more engaged in learning, they will display less negative, distracting

behavior. The first line in defense in having a good learning environment is to set up the

environment to be one where learning can take place. In the picture shown, students are engaging

in an Edible Cell project. The students were required to bring in food to represent the cell, its

organelles, and the different characteristics. They then had to explain what each part was and
CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT 3

what the function of each part was. The students looked forward to this activity and not one was

off-task.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

Tomlinson and Moon (2013) discuss how the classroom is a key place for students as

they engage in learning. It is a partnership with them as they engage in learning. They should

have input in the classroom function and rules. They also talk about how the learning

environment affects how much a student can learn. I agree that the atmosphere sets the tone for

learning in the classroom. In considering that, the spiritual is more real than the concrete.

Ephesians 6:12 says that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual

world. Although my students try my patience and cause a ruckus at times, I know that they are

not my enemy. I must set an atmosphere that allows for learning. This includes combating the

spiritual forces at work.

In my classroom, I have prayed over my classroom. I prayed that Gods Spirit would

dwell in my classroom. That the atmosphere would be conducive to learning and that no evil

thing would be able to stand in my classroom. Any baggage that the students carry to school that

would interrupt their learning would be checked at the door. No weapon formed against us will

prosper. I believe that classroom management is the place where my students will notice a

difference in the way that I teach. I will not yell at them. I expect them not to yell at me. I extend

grace upon grace. Yet similar to how God deals with us, I allow natural consequences to take

place. Sometimes direct attention needs take place. I provide it there as well.

Another facet of classroom management begins even before the students enter into my

classroom. The homes from which they come set the tone for how they act in my classroom. A

partnership with the families is an essential portion of teaching. ClassDojo is one means by
CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT 4

which that can happen. Etzioni (2002) talks about how the classroom links together with the

home morals being established and continues to increase the childs morals. Parents should be

directly linked to establishing good behavior in the classroom. It is a partnership and cooperative

process. I have found when students are having an off day or did not take medicine that they

needed, some parents try to communicate that. When parents communicate with teachers, it

makes for a better atmosphere and consistent place for the students. Education ties gratification

to the development of qualities that are socially useful and morally appropriate, (Etzioni, 2002,

p. 119).
CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT 5

References

Etzioni, A. (2002). A communitarian position on character education. In Damon, W. (Ed.),

Bringing in a new era of character education (pp. 113-127). Stanford, CA: Hoover

Institute.

Tomlinson, C.A. & Moon, T.R. (2013). Assessment and student success in a differentiated

classroom. Alexandria, VA: ASCD