Classroom Management Plan

Vanessa Nol

I have chosen to divide my classroom management plan into two sections, prevention strategies

and corrective actions. My philosophy of classroom management focuses heavily on the former.

I believe that both the teacher and the students are responsible for a positive classroom

community, and both parties must be active participants in this community in order for it to

thrive.

Prevention Strategies

The key to successful classroom management is creating a positive environment where

distractions are prevented more than they are corrected. This positive environment is created by

setting classroom expectations early on and gaining the respect of students. If students know

what is expected of them they will feel more comfortable in the classroom, especially if they are

a part of the process of creating and establishing the expectations. I believe that students are

much more likely to meet expectations if they understand why they are in place, and if they are

the ones creating them. They will have a better understanding of the expectations that they help

create than if the teacher were to hand out a list of rules on the first day of class. Including

students in the setting of expectations also shows them that they are respected members of the

classroom community, so in turn they will have respect for others in the community including the

teacher. Mutual respect is an important part of preventing issues in the classroom because if

students do not respect the teacher or one another they will not feel any responsibility to meet

expectations or listen to their teacher. It is better for students to have respect than to be given a

list of rules. A respected teacher will not often need to refer to the list of expectations because the

students will trust that the teacher has their best interests in mind.
 Another way that distractions can be prevented is by adequate preparation on the part of

the teacher. When students are provided with work that is engaging, relevant, and at their skill

level they do not have reason to act out. On the other hand, when students are not given work

that they care about, that is either too hard or too easy for them, or is not relevant to their world,

they become bored and/or frustrated and that is when disruptions occur in the classroom. When

preparing lessons, it is important to differentiate instruction so that it appeals to all learners. Not

all students can absorb what is being taught if the teacher is standing at the front of the class

lecturing, so getting to know the different learning styles present in the classroom and tailoring

instruction to them is key. The work that is given to students must also be differentiated to meet

the needs of all students. Even in classrooms where there are no diagnosed exceptionalities, not

all students are at the same level. By creating a lesson that is only aimed at one skill level, many

students will be left out and some will become disruptive. Finally, lessons must be relevant and

engaging for students. If students cannot connect to what is being taught they will not care and

some will not make an effort to learn. Teachers must get to know what their students are

passionate about and incorporate it into their lessons.

Teachers can also prevent disruptions through the way they structure the classroom.

Student autonomy plays a valuable role in a well-structured class. Traditionally, the teacher

stands at the front of the classroom and teaches while the students listen and take notes. This

structure creates bottle necking meaning that since the teacher is the only expert all of the

students must direct their questions to the one teacher. This results in the teacher being too busy

with students to properly manage the classroom, and the students become impatient waiting their

turn to talk to the teacher so they become disruptive. Students who feel the need to act out often

do so because they feel as though they have no control. Organizing the classroom in such a way
that the students are the experts through peer-teaching, inquiry-based learning, and research

projects provides students with the opportunity to become the experts themselves and allows the

teacher to focus on students who may need help.

Corrective Actions

There are times, despite an educators best efforts, prevention strategies fail and there are

disruptions in the classroom, and when this happens corrective actions must be taken. It is

critical to remember that teachers must be hard on behaviour and soft on people. Students are

human, and they will make mistakes, but teachers have the authority to decide how misbehaviour

will be dealt with. Barbara Coloroso (2012), discusses three different types of parenting styles

and how they deal with mistakes children make. The types are brick wall, jellyfish, and

backbone. Brick wall parents are rigid in their discipline and quick to tear down a child when

they misbehave or make a mistake; jellyfish parents have no discipline and do not make their

children accept any responsibility for their actions; and backbone parents teach their children to

accept responsibility without equating a bad decision to a bad child. These parenting styles are

relevant not only to parents, but also to teachers. Teachers cannot control the types of parents

their students will have, but they can decide whether they will be a brick wall, jellyfish, or

backbone teacher, and the goal is to be a backbone teacher.

This leads to the next step in corrective action which is to chase the why. This means

that instead of immediately punishing students who misbehave the teacher should find out the

reason for the students actions. Students come from many different home lives and fight many

different battles, and sometimes students simply have a bad day. In order to maintain the trust

that is so crucial to the classroom community, teachers must not assume, they must chase the

why. This does not mean that students in difficult situations should be permitted to misbehave,
but when the teacher is aware of the issue they can help the student to find better ways to deal

with their situation so that the student can avoid making their situation worse.

There are also some classroom management strategies that teachers can use for minor

distractions. First, proximity is a powerful tool that a teacher can use which requires no

confrontation. Simply walking near or standing by a student who is being distracting will often

make them aware of what they are doing and make them stop. Secondly, using a planned ignore

can be effective for students seeking attention through disruptive behaviour. A planned ignore

cannot be used in every circumstance, but it can work especially for students who take pleasure

in getting a reaction from their teacher or classmates. Name, pause, thank, is another strategy that

can stop distractions because it lets the student know that they are being distracting, and causes

the attention to be on that student, but it does not humiliate them.

Ultimately, there will be instances where students must be sent to the office, suspended,

and even expelled. It is a pleasant thought that all of the prevention strategies and corrective

actions discussed here would result in no punitive actions, but unfortunately it is not reality. My

approach to classroom management as a teacher will be to see the best in my students, create a

positive environment, and be hard on behaviour and soft on my students. Using the strategies

discussed I believe that it is possible to minimize punitive actions and bring out the best in every

student.
 References

Coloroso, Barbara. (2012). Changing Parenting Style. Labatt Family Talk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lNEiGRnyJM

Herr, K., & Naiditch, F. (2011). Trampling Over or Traveling With? Reconsidering the Culture of

Achievement. Language Arts, 88(5), 356-364.

Noguera, P. (2007). Mind the Gap: The Key to Equal Achievement. Edutopia.

https://www.edutopia.org/mind-the-gap-the-key-to-equal-achievement