Katrina Clausen Classroom Management Plan I.

Grade Context and Structure of Learning Process I am an 11th grade English teacher at Berwick Area High School. About 95% of the students in this school are Caucasian. The rest of the 5% is made up of a mix of African Americans, Hispanic, and Asian students. The high school offers grades 9-12, with a population of less than a thousand total students. This high school is relatively small, allowing for a teacherstudent ratio of about 1:13. I really enjoy working in a smaller populated school. It really allows you to get to know each and every one of your students, and have one on one conversations and connections. In my classroom, students are engaged in individual and group learning activities on a daily basis. My students know that my classroom is an environment in which everyone learns to have an individual voice as well as learning to work and collaborate with others. Being that this is an English class, we spend a lot of time reading and interpreting literature. It is important for students to learn how to carry on group discussions and contribute ideas. It is also important for students to form their own opinions and as an individual respect the other views of their peers. Activities in the classroom that also involve students moving around and being active while learning are included to motivate and encourage discovery learning. For example, when we are reading plays, I love to assign various students different roles and have them get up in front of the class and read or act out what they are saying. It really allows for the students to get involved and want to read and contribute to class discussion. One of my main goals is to have the students complete 2-3 different activities in a class period each day. This helps them stay motivated and interested in the class goals for that day.

II. Physical Arrangement of Room The arrangement of my classroom is quite simple. I arranged the desks in a horse-shoe shape facing around the white-board. Most of the time, I will be in front of the class conducting various activities or lecturing using the white board (this is a smart board that can be projected on using the projector or used to write on, etc.). I find this the best way to arrange my English class because students will be facing each other and me, which helps promote social skills and builds comfort with communication and respecting others opinions using eye contact. The placement and spacing of the desks also allows me to easily access any student within seconds and also allows for a great atmosphere for class discussions. The classroom rules and expectations are posted on two sides of the room to remind the students of the rules. In the back of the classroom (by my desk), I have a round table and two chairs. This is used primarily to have one on one discussion with my students. I usually bring them back one at a time to discuss essays they have written or to discuss grades or any other problems or questions they may have. In the back right corner of the room, I have the reading center. This is a special area I have in the classroom used mostly as a reward. The shelves are filled with all different

types of books, puzzle-books, magazines, etc. for the students to enjoy. Throughout the year they earn special privileges to spend time in the reading center with their peers or friends in the class. III. Classroom Behavior Expectations On the first day of class, I take the time to go over my rules with the students and make sure they understand what is expected and what is not tolerable in my classroom. I think it is very important that on the first day the rules are established and then posed in the classroom to further emphasize and remind the students of what is expected. The expectations are clearly defined on the first day of class for performance and then coupled with reinforcement for performance of my expectations on an ongoing basis. Although it is relevant to have consequences set for student misbehavior, it is more relevant to focus on minimizing the likelihood of problem behavior by reinforcing alternative appropriate behaviors. It is important to catch your students being food for the purpose of reinforcement. Start of Class Expectation Please be sure to arrive on time and come to class prepared (bringing notebook and writing/reading material). Come prepared by completing all assignments and readings. BE RESPONSBILE During Lecture/Class Discussion Use your notebooks for taking notes. Stay focused on the material or what is being taught/discussed. During Group Activities Be sure to stay on task. Outside of Class During Testing Stay Focused! Remember to read directions carefully and get to work promptly. Make a good effort on each question and ask Ms. Clausen for clarification as needed.

BE READY

Review prior class notes before the Stay following organized as class. a team and respect others opinions. Successfully complete task within allotted time frame. Always ask for help as needed. Be prepared for class by doing readings and assignments. Keep your materials organized.

Listen and think about points raised in discussion or lecture. Share your perspective or opinion to the topic at hand. (Make sure to raise your hand!) Please listen and follow along when Ms. Clausen or one

BE RESPECTFUL

Listen when Ms. Clausen starts talking to begin class.

Strive for consensus! Encourage

Leave classroom (rearrange desks if

Work quietly while testing.

of your peers is speaking/reading

others to stay on task and provide opinions.

needed) in the same condition you found it.

IV. Establishing Rapport Establishing a connection (rapport) with your students is extremely important in the classroom. It seems that most kids do not care about what you know as a teacher until you show that you really care about them as people. With using rapport, the students will become increasingly motivated to learn and perform in the classroom when they know you have a genuine interest in them individually. Creating a suitable level of rapport with your students is really an essential prerequisite for their achievement, especially for those students that appear the most difficult to reach. One method to help build rapport in your classroom is by staying close. Staying close facilitates good relationships and relationships serve as the basis for good rapport. Staying Close is something like being physically near your students, using appropriate touch and tone, being attentive, showing empathy, asking open ended questions, smiling, listening, and simply just showing that you care. The closer you are to your students the greater the influence you can have on them and the more likely they are to listen to your expectations, advice, and guidance. The other method you can use in your classroom to help build rapport is positive reinforcement. This is where you want to catch the students being good. This method is focusing primarily on building up appropriate behavior with positive consequences. With giving positive consequences you want to tell the student what he or she did that was correct, stay close when acknowledging the appropriate behavior, and then provide the appropriate acknowledgement (appropriate touch, reward, privilege, etc). It is important to use these two methods with your students, especially those at-risk, because eventually students will allow you to get closer to them as his or her comfort level with you grows. V. Structure of Learning Process Being this is an English class, there is a lot of individual and group work going on in the classroom as well as class discussions. One of my main goals is to keep the students engaged throughout the whole period so I try to have at least 2-3 different activities to do a day. Some of these activities include, think-pair-share, individual work, group work, popcorn reading, and many others. Popcorn reading is something that usually goes over very well with the students. I give each student a piece of laminated popcorn with a number on it. I start by randomly calling out a number and that student begins reading a view paragraphs and then gets to call out another number and the student with that number begins reading and so on. I only allow each student to read once and this method gives everyone the chance to participate and read aloud. I also use differentiated instruction in my classroom when needed. This helps to meet the various instructional levels, interest levels, and learning styles of the students in my class. The

classroom is really not what is important, what really matters are how the students are taught. Accommodations and modifications are also used as well as any other services or supplementary aids to help promote access to general education curriculum for students with disabilities.

VI. Responding to Inappropriate Behavior There are two types of inappropriate behavior in the classroom junk behavior (behavior that may be annoying, but is not harmful to others, property, or significantly disruptive to the learning environment) and problem behavior. The key way to handling age typical junk behavior is by simply ignoring it. For this type of behaviors you can use planned ignoring pivoting. This tool involves providing a positive consequence to another student in close proximity (of the student demonstrating junk behavior) who is acting appropriately. You then provide a positive consequence for the appropriate behavior of the student who had been displaying junk behavior within 3-5 seconds after the appropriate behavior begins. If a student is demonstrating problem behavior the best method to use is Stop-RedirectReinforce Appropriate Behavior. This tool involves stopping the students inappropriate behavior, re-directing them to a different, logically related behavior that is appropriate, and then acknowledging the student when he or she does the alternative behavior that is appropriate. If indirect and direct intervention does not work with a students problem behavior, the next step is a behavior contract. This is used to further enhance your student-centered approach when problem behavior persists. An effective behavior contract has more to do with reinforcement procedures than negative consequences; it increases the likelihood of being able to catch students doing things the correct way.

Sample Behavior Contract

Student Name:

Michael

Date:______11/7/11_

Relevant staff name(s): Haley McClaflin, Bethanne Smith, Hannah Stom_________ Target Behavior (behavioral expectation): _ Being Responsible: Arriving to class on time

Coming to class prepared (notebook, reading material, etc) Completing required assignments outside of class
Data Collection Procedure:

Each day Michael will come into the room and record what time he enters the room, if he has his class materials with him, and if he completed the out of class

readings/assignments. He goes into his folder on the teachers shelf and marks the information and has one of the teachers initial for the day to make sure the_ information is correct. At the end of each week the teachers and Michael sit down independently to evaluate Michaels behavior.
Reinforcement procedure (what and how often):

For every 4 perfect days (perfect means coming to class on time, having all materials, and completeing the previous nights assignment) in a row, Michael gets to choose a reward. Either a pass to spend an extra 10 minutes in the reading center or a free homework pass.
Consequences for failure to meet behavioral expectations:

Michael will not receive any special rewards and will receive other relevant consequences deemed necessary by the teacher(s).
Bonus for exceptional behavioral performance:

When Michael has 10 perfect days in a row, he may make a random choice from a box of grand rewards ranging from coupons to local restaurants and retail stores, free movie pass, etc. When Michael earns two consecutive picks from the box, we will renegotiate the contract.
VII. Self-Monitoring of Distribution of Reinforcement and Corrective Feedback When it comes to using the right amount of reinforcement in the classroom, the best method to follow is the 4:1 ratio. Throughout the day I aim to deliver four instances of positive reinforcement (tool 2)for any students appropriate behavior for every one time I find myself giving that same student corrective feedback for problem behavior(tool 4). You can easily keep track of this method by keep twenty beads in each of your pockets and removing one bead from your right pocket for every time you use positive reinforcement and take one bead out of the left pocket every time you use corrective feedback for problem behavior. At the end of the day you can see how many beads you have left in your pockets to see how well you did. This is not something that is set in stone and has to be delivered continuously every day to every child but really used as a range to make sure you are proportionally reinforcing each student. It is important to remember that being fair is giving students what they need and not every student needs the same thing. VIII. Screening for Student Who Require a Contract and/or FBA/BSP via RtI There will be times when the preventive approaches discussed earlier will still not be enough for some of the students. There will be some who will require more student-centered

intervention and support along with continued implementation of the other methods (tools). When you continuously find yourself using redirection procedures, despite efforts to increase use of positive reinforcement procedures, you will also be struggling with the use of the 4:1 ratio because it is not possibly for it to work out properly. This is a clear sign that the next step should be establishing a behavior contract. It is important to remember that a behavior contract should be nothing more than a student-centered way of defining behavioral expectations and increase the likelihood of catching the student doing things the correct way. If all the previous methods are still not fully successful, the next step is a functional behavioral assessment (FBA). An FBA is used to gather information that can help you understand the reason for the students problem behavior. This process involves asking yourself a series of questions to help form an educated guess as to why the student is acting the way he/she does. By systematically creating educated guesses about the reason(s) behind the students problem behavior can help you to increasingly see desired behavior in a time-efficient manner. The best thing to do when handling problem behavior in the classroom is to respond to disruptive behavior with reactive interventions and then move on from there. The whole goal is to reduce or primarily get rid of all together the problem behavior of concern.