Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Matthew OKane
Introduction
encompasses so many areas of the classroom that often teachers spend more time focused on
management covers a broad range of things dealing with the environment that learning takes
place in. I will focus on classroom management by developing comprehensive lesson plans that
seek to identify possible safety issues, behavioral challenges, time constraints, or any other
unforeseen issues that could arise during instructional time that could prevent class from moving
along smoothly. In addition to writing lesson plans, I will come up with a list of general rules
that work in a student led learning environment that are fair and manageable to ensure everyone
can learn and be productive. I will also come up with communication procedures for ensuring
students are staying on track with their work and staying in touch with parents. Combining all of
these strategies I hope to create a classroom management plan that is cohesive enough to hold
Classroom Strategies
many different types of learning strategies as well as many different types of learners. In a
student-centered classroom environment, such as an art class, transition times are usually best
utilized for cooperative learning. Throughout my studies I’ve learned a lot about cooperative
learning from Dr. Spencer Kagan, and I hope to incorporate some of these strategies into my
classroom. First, I plan to use my transition times for students to practice Think-Pair-Share.
Transition time in an art classroom can be random and unplanned, but sometimes is a necessary
maneuver such as time for the teacher to distribute media or time for the teacher to move things
around the class. This time can be used for students to Think-Pair-Share after a lecture or Bell
Ringer. Depending on the grade level and on the core standards that apply, they may also take
some time to discuss their artwork in a one on one critique. Depending on the transition time, the
activity would be limited to either Think-Pair-Share where students have more time to reflect or
Timed-Pair-Share where students have a limited time to formulate an answer. Also, depending
on the content depth and class structure activities like Rally Robin, where a question or problem
with multiple solutions is posed in this case to a group of two, would be good in planning three-
dimensional art projects that require a lot of planning. Round Robin is a similar process that
would come into play if small group conversations were feasible. During art production students
Classroom Rules
As Wong & Wong suggest in their book, the first days in a classroom are crucial to
operates just a bit differently, and rather than having student come up with rules, I will get
students “buy in” for existing rules. Art is a social experience, and preventing students from
talking at all is unrealistic. I will instead enforce volume levels, where there is zero or no talking
during a brief demonstration or lecture, but art production I will allow level one talking. To help
gauge the level I will play music softly in the classroom, and students will know if they cannot
hear the lyrics they are being too loud. On the first day of class I will take the students on a tour
around the room to familiarize them with the layout and educate them on the rules. I will also
have rules posted to make sure that students have easy access to them in the future. Rules will
include staying at your desk during demonstrations or lectures and raising your hand during these
times to talk or ask permission to get up. Materials also will not be flung or come in contact with
another person due to someone else’s negligence. Also, everyone will respect each other’s
opinions or artistic choices, because no one should have their feelings hurt. Students will also not
prevent others from getting their work done. Students who break the rules will be encouraged to
have a positive impact, if they are painting on a surface they should not be painting on, I will
have them clean it up, and then encourage them to paint a picture. If they are distracting another
student I will encourage them to stay on task so they have time to talk to their partner about their
completed assignment when they’ve finished it as a form of positive reinforcement. I will also
use the schools PBIS program or my own incentive program should the school lack one, to help
promote positive behaviors. I will use respect for others, responsibility for ones actions, caring as
a baseline for positive behaviors to watch for, and rewards will consist of preferential seating if
the class is on a seating chart, candy or a snack if we are near a holiday, or an additional art
Communication Procedures
To maintain a healthy relationship with students, parents, administrators and fellow staff,
communication will be key to good management. My communications with students will not
only encompass the direct instruction and classroom learning, but will also involve social
interactions, behavior modification, and punishment from time to time. I will communicate with
parents by sending home overviews of each unit, as well as any flags for students that may be
falling behind. I will ask the parent to respond with any questions or concerns they may have and
ask that they sign and return the slip to their student. I will also communicate this information to
the student’s classroom teacher and administrators so that everyone is kept on the same page
should the parent contact the school. I will also work with my fellow teachers to develop cross
curriculum lessons that pull in subjects they are learning about in their classes to help make the
class more engaging. I will also work with administrators to develop lessons that develop
character and foster our schools PBIS principles, and try to stay involved in the schools needs as
well. In addition, I will use the training I received during my Youth Mental Health First Aid
Certification to identify students who may need professional help. To assess students who are at
risk I would use the ALGEE model to ensure they aren’t suicidal, listen, give them reassurance,
Time Management
would like to incorporate is to utilize a bell ringer, language target and content target each day.
These would be different for each grade level, but the bell ringer would give the students a task,
review, or reflection to focus on in the transition time before class starts. The language target
would be based on literacy and incorporated into the first transition after the lecture, or the
transition after art production depending on the focus of the language target. If it is reflective and
based on the art making process it will be towards the end of class, and the content target will be
focused on earlier in class. For free time activities, I will try to use the Premack Principle and get
students excited about using technology to express their artistic ability by offering to let them
play Quick Draw but also giving them the choice to work on sketchbook assignments, or rework
other assignments for a better grade. This is generally how classes will go, but each day will be
slightly different as we will have some days that include some lecture time, some days that
include some demonstration time, and some days that are mostly work time for the students to
work on their projects. To ensure that I am making effective use of time, I will keep a calendar
with notes of interruptions, behaviors, progress, and any other considerations that I will review
when we reach the end of the unit. I can the adjust my lessons to accommodate for the future.
Classroom Routines
To make material distribution easier and help keep in classroom traffic at a minimum, I
will have two people at each table responsible for getting materials referred to as ones and twos.
To keep the materials in good condition I will keep the materials separated by how messy it is, so
paints in one area, pencils in another, and paper in another. I will split the room into half by
which material they are closest to, either paint or paper. If we’re doing a watercolor for instance,
I would instruct the paint side of the room ones and two to get two sets of paints, a water cup,
and brushes for their table. At the same time, I would instruct paper side ones to get paper for
their table. This method ensures that there are enough hands to help carry the materials, no one
crossing paths, and the minimal amount of people out of their seat. Other routines that are less
common would be putting finished paintings on a drying rack in which I would call tables,
choosing tables that are quite and orderly first. A similar process would be followed for loading
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Emmer, Edmund and Carolyn Evertson. Classroom Management for Elementary Teachers.
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Kagan, Spencer and Miguel Kagan. Kagan Cooperative Learning. San Clemente: Kagan
Kitchener, Anthony. Mental Health First Aid USA: For Adults Assisting Young People.
Slavin, Robert E. Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice. Boston: Pearson, 2015. eText.
Wong, Harry K and Rosemary T Wong. The First Days of School: How to be an Effective