Running Head: ASSIGNMENT 4B-JUSTIFICATION OF ARTIFACTS

Assignment 3B-Justification of Artifacts:Domain E

Monica Tepozano

National University

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for

Capstone TED 690

Clifton E. Johnson
ASSIGNMENT 4B-JUSTIFICATION OF ARTIFACTS 1

Abstract

This assignment serves to reflect on the three artifacts chosen for Domain E:Creating and

Maintaining Effective Learning Environments; Artifact #1: Professional Dispositions Slides

Presentation, Artifact #2: Classroom Layout​, ​Artifact #3: Classroom Expectations.

ASSIGNMENT 4B-JUSTIFICATION OF ARTIFACTS 2

Artifact #1: Professional Dispositions Slides Presentation

I selected this artifact because my group and I created this slides presentation during my

classroom management class, TED 626, that I had to take prior to student teaching. In this class,

we went over a lot of pertinent information to prepare us for our clinical teaching experience. We

looked at the different aspects of classroom management and created this slides presentation to

present to our peers in the class. One of the most important things that I learned during this class,

was that as Marzano, Marzano, and Bickering (2003) state, “the beginning of the school year is

an important time for classroom management because your students will learn behavior,

attitudes, and work habits that will affect the rest of the year”(p. 53). This quote resonates with

me, because as a new teacher, with a teaching position lined up in the fall, I know the importance

of establishing strong classroom management from the first day the students step foot into the

classroom. This slides presentation is an important artifact for me because it serves as a refresher

of some of the important things that I learned during the classroom management class. One other

thing that I took from this class, is the idea of “withitness”. Withitness is something that effective

classroom managers have. Withitness is the disposition “of the teacher to quickly and accurately

identify problem behavior or potential problem behavior and to act on it immediately” (Marzano,

Marzano, and Bickering, 2003, p. 67). The TED 626 class, helped me understand how to create

and maintain an effective learning environment.

Artifact #2: Classroom Layout

I chose this artifact because this was the layout that I had for my 7th period English

Language Arts class during my clinical teaching experience. This classroom layout was what I
ASSIGNMENT 4B-JUSTIFICATION OF ARTIFACTS 3

felt worked well for the number of students that I had during my class periods. One of my class

periods had 42 students, so configuring a layout for effective classroom collaboration and

management was a challenge for such a large class, at first, but this layout proved the most

effective. Each table, had either 4-5 students to contribute to classroom turn and talk activities

and collaborative learning opportunities. I utilized what Marzano, Marzano, and Bickering

(2003) refer to as cluster arrangements. In cluster arrangements the seating of students “allow

you to easily organize students into groups of different sizes and different participants” (p. 94).

The student seating arrangements changed every quarter and/or as needed. There was one small

table, with only two students and that table was always one where students wanted to be, so it

served as an incentive for students. I would rotate students from the larger tables to the small

table. This classroom layout contributed to maintaining an effective learning environment.

Artifact #3 ​ ​Classroom Expectations

I chose this artifact because this was something that I felt was a great approach towards

establishing classroom rules/expectations. My master teacher created classroom rules with each

period. Her only guidelines were to have three main rules (respect people and property,

responsibility, and participation) and then students created the expectations. Each period had

different expectations, and what I noted from her different periods, was that she had very little

classroom management issues in her periods. I felt that by giving her students buy in, in the

creation of the classroom expectations, students were willing to follow and comply with the

expectations. Marzano, Marzano, and Bickering (2003) state that, “the most effective classroom

managers don’t simply impose rules and procedures on students; rather, they engage students in
ASSIGNMENT 4B-JUSTIFICATION OF ARTIFACTS 4

the design of the rules and procedures” (pgs. 26-27). Seeing this concept in action, really gave

me good ideas for how I can utilize this idea of designing rules and procedures with my class

periods in the future. This strategy of creating rules and expectations with student input is a

strategy that I feel will help me create effective learning environments for my students.
ASSIGNMENT 4B-JUSTIFICATION OF ARTIFACTS 5

References

Marzano, R., Marzano, J., & Pickering, D. (2003).​Classroom management that works:

research-based strategies that work. ​Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and

Curriculum Development.