Tara Prunty

Field Experience

February 3, 2020

Writing Piece: Domain 2: The Classroom Environment

 The classroom management plays an important role in creating meaningful, relatable, and

equitable learning experiences. Throughout my student teaching experience, I have learned that

there is no one model of classroom management that works for every class. Furthermore, I have

been able to learn how classroom management can be one of the trickiest parts of teaching due to

needing to customize your practices, strategies, and techniques to fit the needs of the class and

diverse students. The students’ different personalities and needs differ from year to year, so a lot

of the time, what works one year may not work another year. Charlotte Danielson’s Framework

for Teaching, specifically, Domain 2: The Classroom Environment, provides a comprehensive

outline in creating a significant classroom and many equitable learning experiences and

environments. Overall, classroom management helps to create an organized, positive, and

effective classroom environment for greater learning.

In order to create a learning environment that facilitates respect and rapport, it is

important to provide an environment where students feel comfortable and motivated. Moreover,

within the first few days of school, I would focus more on establishing the overall classroom

management to help create this type of learning environment. Specifically, on the first day of

school I would warmly and friendly greet students when they enter the door as this will become a

daily routine. I will also introduce myself and provide more personal information about me to

help ensure a welcoming learning environment. Additionally, within the first day of school, I

will also establish the class rules, procedures and seating chart with the students. For example,

we will discuss appropriate classroom behaviors, center and hallway transitions, and positive

reinforcement and negative consequences. Establishing the rules and seating chart with the

students is beneficial and important because it allows the students to know and understand that

they are a part of this classroom and their voice and opinions matter. Moreover, it will help to
promote respect from the students. It is also important that I am consistent with my

reinforcements and consequences to ensure a fair classroom environment and climate.

Additionally, throughout the following first days of school, I will discuss the class routines and

schedule, plan ‘get to know the students and classmates’ activities, like surveys and discussion

activities. These types of activities will allow the students and I to create positive, caring, and

genuine relationships and learn more about one another. Within the first few days, I will also

allow students to decorate the classroom by allowing students to bring in personal items to hang

around the classroom to make it a more comfortable and relatable classroom, and finally,

communicate with the students’ families through the classroom newsletters, blogs, emails, and in

person to establish a meaningful and personal connection. Throughout the classroom, I will also

actively model effective and polite behavior, actions, and communication skills. Also, when

creating a learning environment that facilitates respect and rapport, it is important to ensure that

my teaching philosophy and beliefs reflect equitable and responsive learning experiences and

opportunities for all. Within the classroom, I will also be sure to use a sense of humor to allow

students to understand that learning can be fun and interactive. In general, it is essential in

creating an environment where all students feel valued and comfortable participating in academic

challenges.

Throughout my classroom management, I will establish a culture for learning by

implementing and incorporating real world and interactive topics, concerns, and discussions. I

would allow students to see how their education connects to the real world and to real life to

provide students with opportunities to understand the importance of one’s education. I will create

a culture for learning by ensuring that I provide opportunities for students to discuss, share, and

express their thoughts, opinions, ideas, and feelings. I want students to feel accepted, included,
and respected within my future classroom. Furthermore, to ensure that I create a positive

classroom climate, I want to implement and incorporate different teaching methods and practices

so that each student has the opportunity to expand, further, and deepen their knowledge and

understanding. Additionally, I want to provide my future students with opportunities to

collaborate with their peers to broaden their thinking and understanding. I will create a positive

learning environment in my future classroom by understanding the importance of diversity and

uniqueness between the students. I want students to be eager to come to school and want to

improve and enhance their academic and social skills and abilities through new and unique

educational opportunities and experiences. Additionally, throughout my teaching philosophy, I

understand the importance of providing students with high expectations for learning. It’s

important for all students to know that they are capable of working hard and succeeding, students

need different resources, materials, and time. To establish a culture for learning, it is important

that students become proud and prideful of their own work. Moreover, it is important for

students to be able to set goals for themselves, both academically and socially. When students

are able to set goals for themselves, it helps promote their intrinsic motivation because it is

something they want to personally accomplish. Throughout the classroom, students should also

understand that their voice matters. I will practice this activity by allowing students to have open

discussions with one another. I will also ensure that the classroom is a safe place to make

mistakes and to fail in order to create a culture for learning. Mistakes play an important part

throughout a student’s education. Allowing the student to make the mistake and have a

discussion with them allowed me to understand where the student was having a problem.

Moreover, providing feedback helps to guide, motivate, and encourage the students through

exploration and discovery. It is significant for students to recognize and understand the
importance of making mistakes and learning from those mistakes. In general, it is important to

take the time to celebrate the students process as well.

The procedures I will establish for managing the classroom focus on incorporating and

practicing the classroom rules, routines, and transitions. The classroom rules I will implement are

that students will maintain a respectful and positive attitude towards the teacher and classmates.

In order to have a beneficial and successful classroom, students must be respectful towards

others. Positive relationships also help promote responsive teaching strategies and methods to

ensure appropriate development and growth from students. Additionally, students will keep

hands and feet to ourselves, our eyes should always be on the speaker, ask questions, and

students should come to school every day and be on time! Punctuality is an important skill to

learn to be a successful student. Students should attend school as much as possible to help

enhance and deepen their academic and social skills and abilities. Students begin learning as

soon as they enter the classroom, so arriving on time allows students to maximize their

education. Furthermore, students will follow directions and make smart decisions! It is important

for students to follow directions in order to maintain a safe environment. Procedures and

guidelines are provided for the well-being of students. Also, students should come to school

prepared to learn with all necessary materials., like homework, any ‘signature requested’ forms,

and any other important paperwork. Moreover, that the homework is always done with effort! A

major rule I will implement within the classroom is that bullying and/or teasing will not be

tolerated. Our classroom will be a place of respect, care, and understanding. It is important that

students learn and become aware of the routines within the classroom to help become

independent and self-regulating. Students should also have time to rehearse and reinforce these

routines to ensure a smooth-running classroom. Transitions are another part in helping to create
an effective learning environment. Transitions help keep students focused and on track for one

activity to the next. Throughout transitions, I will announce how much time is left before

changing lessons and activities and I will provide a visual checklist of steps. Within my

classroom management, I will use the Transition Method called, Transition in Three. Transition

in Three goes as follows: ONE: the teacher announces how much time is approaching to change

activities, TWO: Change: students will put away their work and get ready for the next lesson,

and THREE: Refocus: students will follow new directions for the next activity. Some Transition

Cues I would use are playing music, ringing a bell, a hand-clap rhythm, a verbal responsive

phrase, and a visual countdown. These transitions and transition cues help keep the students

interactive and the classroom fun. Additionally, I would also implement classroom jobs for the

students. Classroom jobs are important because they help make school feel more exciting and

personal. Furthermore, it provides the students with responsibility within the classroom to feel

more accountable for the classroom environment and climate. In general, it is important that

students learn to take initiative within the classroom and their education to enhance and further

the students’ skills and abilities.

When concentrating on managing student behavior, the classroom rules will play a major

part in helping to promote appropriate student behavior. The procedures I will establish to help

further manage student behavior focus more on providing positive reinforcements and negative

consequences. However, I hope to use more positive reinforcements than negative consequences.

Positive reinforcements focus and concentrate more on providing students with a motivating and

encouraging stimuli after positive, kind, and supportive statements, behaviors, and/or interactions

to/with others. When creating positive reinforcements, it is important that students and

parents/guardians understand the meaning and value of these reinforcements. Moreover, these
reinforcements are not bribing students rather they help to promote and encourage positive

behavior. Students do not always receive the same reinforcement, sometimes all students obtain

is a specific verbal phrase and a high five. The reinforcements and rewards used throughout my

classroom management focus on materialistic and nonmaterialistic items. These reinforcements

would include things like verbal praise, high fives, smelly stickers, color changing pencils,

treasure box, pick own literacy/math center, positive note or phone call home, permission to sit at

the teacher’s desk for one subject, election for monthly student award, and a note of praise

directly to the student. Incorporating nonmaterialistic items as rewards helps to continue to

promote intrinsic motivation for students. Furthermore, within my classroom management plan, I

will be sure to provide consistent consequences, provide student(s) with feedback and action plan

for their behavior, plan and be prepared to avoid future occurrences of this behavior, and

promote positive and beneficial interactions. The consequences incorporated throughout my

classroom management are as follows: verbal warning, loss of privilege, removal from the

group/class, repeat the procedure, and fix the damage. Depending on the student’s misbehavior, I

would pick an appropriate and related consequence to allow students to learn how to properly

behave and fix the situation. For example, if a student runs throughout the hallway, a

corresponding consequence would be to repeat the procedure and allow students to learn the

appropriate way. Moreover, to learn that their misbehavior will not be tolerated. Reinforcements

and consequences should be sensitive and individual to the students’ different needs. In general,

managing student behavior helps create a reflective and responsive classroom environment and

climate.

The last component of Domain 2: The Classroom Environment focuses on creating and

organizing the classroom and students to maximize and enhance the learning and
comprehension. The classroom should be student-centered and focus on the needs of the diverse

students. I will organize and decorate the classroom with anchor charts, educational and

inspirational posters as well as personal pictures and schoolwork from the students. Putting the

students diverse process, work, and personal pictures around the classroom allows students to

feel more comfortable and welcomed. Within the classroom, all students will have access to

diverse resources such as the classroom library, mailboxes, homework bins, book bins, word

wall, bean bag chairs, the rug, and the computers/iPads. These materials and resources need to be

developmentally appropriate for all students, clean, and in good use. Throughout the classroom,

students will also be arranged in tables and as groups to help promote deeper comprehension and

greater discussions. Additionally, within the classroom, students will have options to sit in

diverse seating arrangements like standing desks, stools, and comfy chairs. When creating and

organizing the classroom, I will be sure to incorporate spaces for group/collaborative work,

partner/cooperative work, class work, independent work, and free time. Furthermore, I will be

sure to organize the classroom to support the routines and procedures, to allow for effective

transitions, and in general, to provide room to safely move around. It is important to discuss with

the students the arrangement of the classroom in order for them to understand the procedures and

organization. Throughout the classroom, it can be effective to have items labeled and color

coordinated to create an educational environment and climate. In general, classroom organization

is the physical foundation of where students will learn therefore, it needs to be accessible and

provide motivation for all students.

All of these components throughout Domain 2: The Classroom Environment will

enhance the teaching and learning process by creating a more supportive, relatable, and equitable

classroom atmosphere. Creating a responsive and meaningful classroom environment will

enhance the teaching and learning process by incorporating diverse teaching strategies, materials

and resources, and activities to ensure fair opportunities for all students to learn. Moreover, the

classroom environment will be reflective of the students’ individual development, abilities, and

skills to ensure healthy growth and development. The classroom environment needs to be a safe

and welcoming place in order for students to feel comfortable to learn. Additionally, it is

important that I as the teacher display encouragement, support, compassion and kindness to all of

my students. It is essential for students to feel a part of the classroom community and a member

of the learning environment in order to create effective learning experiences. Teachers and

educators need to understand that their relationship with students greatly affects and influences

the student’s academic and social development and growth. In general, students need the

opportunity to explore, discover, and investigate within the classroom environment while I as the

teacher act as a guide to confirm the students follow the procedures and rules to ensure a safe and

engaging learning environment.

In conclusion, I enjoyed completing this assignment. This assignment provided me the

opportunity to continue my knowledge and learning about effective classroom management and

environment organization and practices to ensure healthy development. Overall, I enjoyed

completing this assignment because I was able to reflect on my own knowledge to ensure I am a

well-educated and knowledgeable teacher and educator.