Classroom Management Plan

Matthew OKane
 Introduction

Classroom management is perhaps the most vital part of a teacher’s occupation. It

encompasses so many areas of the classroom that often teachers spend more time focused on

classroom management than they do focusing on teacher directed instruction. Classroom

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

together the most rambunctious classroom.

Classroom Strategies

Classroom strategies encompass many instructional practices and need to accommodate

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

will mostly work independently.

Classroom Rules

As Wong & Wong suggest in their book, the first days in a classroom are crucial to

developing an environment that is conducive to learning. Again, a student-centered classroom

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

project should the student wish to be challenged to be rewarded that way.

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,

encourage professional help, and offer support.

Time Management

Time management is crucial to maintaining a productive art production class. A model I

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

greenware into the kiln or storing larger projects on shelves.

References

Clowes, Gavin. The Essential 5: A Starting Point for Kagan Cooperative Learning. San

Clemente, April 2011. Online Magazine.

Emmer, Edmund and Carolyn Evertson. Classroom Management for Elementary Teachers.

Boston: Pearson, 2012. eText.

Emmer, Edmund and Carolyn Evertson. Classroom Management for Middle and High School

Teachers. Boston: Pearson, 2013. eText.

Kagan, Spencer and Miguel Kagan. Kagan Cooperative Learning. San Clemente: Kagan

Publishing, 2009. Book.

Kitchener, Anthony. Mental Health First Aid USA: For Adults Assisting Young People.

Washington: National Council for Behavioral Health, 2016. Book.

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

Teacher. Moutainview: Harry K. Wong Publications, 2009. Book.