Lisa Reagan
3/23/19
Pre-Clinical (STEP) Experience
Areas to Consider:
Classroom rules and expectations (5 pts)
 How are the expectations
posted?
 How are the expectations
taught and reinforced?
 How do teachers maintain
consistency?
Describe established classroom routines
(5 pts)
 Entering the classroom?
 Changing between activities?
 Exiting the classroom?
 Getting/Putting away
materials?
 Going to lunch or specials?
Youngstown State University
Classroom Management
Discussion/Observation
The classroom expectations are on a poster in the room, located by the
entrance of the room. It says, “How to be a 5 Star Listener.” The five rules
are eyes are watching, ears are listening, lips are closed, hands are still,
and feet are quiet. These are the only rules that are posted in the
classroom, but there are other rules that are expected to be followed by
the students.
Expectations for the students are taught and reinforced through
experience and verbal directions. For example, during circle time, the
teacher will give the students reminders to follow the listening rules when
the teacher is talking or when students are speaking to the class. If a
student is talking at a time that is inappropriate, the teacher will ask the
student to have their lips closed when others are speaking to the class.
The teacher maintains consistency by making sure that the same rules are
followed by each student. She always reinforces the rules if she notices
that they are not being followed by the students. All of the students have
the same expectations for behavior.
When the students enter the classroom, they are expected to turn left and
put their things away. They place their backpacks on the hook in their
cubby and place their folder in the spot above their cubby. After this, the
students need to go to the table and start their morning work.
The teacher gives the students a warning before changing activities. The
students are expected to clean up their area and put materials away. Next,
the students need to go to the next activity.
While exiting the classroom, the students are expected to line up. Each
week, there is a designated line leader. The line leader will go to the front
of the line and lead the class in the hallways. When getting in line,
students are expected to go to the back of the line. If they cut someone in
line, they have to go to the back of the line.
In the morning, the students are expected to pick up the worksheets for
their morning work from the small table next to the teacher’s desk. When
they are done with morning work, the students need to put their work in the
space above their cubbies. When working at centers, the students are
expected to put materials away when cleaning up.
The students have lunch in the classroom. The students that pack their
lunch are expected to grab their lunchbox from their cubbies, then take a
seat at the table. The students that receive a school lunch are expected to
sit at the table and quietly wait for the teacher to pass out their lunches.
When students go to specials, they have to line up to exit the classroom.
The students are expected to follow the teacher and the line leader in the
hallways. The students need to be on their best behavior in the hallways,
so they do not disturb other classes.
System for monitoring behaviors (5 pts)
 Describe systems for
monitoring
 How are monitoring processes
the same or different for all
students?
 How do teachers document
behavior?
Providing Feedback to Students (5pts)
 Describe how teachers/staff
communicate feedback to
students.
Systems of Parent-Teacher
Communication (5 pts)
 How do teachers/staff
communicate behavioral
concerns/praise to
parents/guardians?
Behavior Management (5 pts)
 Identify some of the behavior
management techniques
utilized.
 Reflect on how you could use
what you see in your own
classroom.
The teacher uses a behavior chart in the classroom. This chart documents
good and bad behaviors of the students. She has a magnet for each
students’ name, where she can move it to the appropriate level. The levels
are super student, way to go, excellent effort, ready to learn, make better
choices, oops, and parent contact. When she moves a name, she will
explain to the student why it is being moved.
The monitoring process for the behavior chart is the same for all students.
different processes are used based on individual needs of the students. for
example, a behavior chart is implemented for individual students that are
working towards a certain behavioral goal.
The teacher explained to me that she does not always have a chance to
document behavior. Usually, the only behavior that is documented is the
behavior of students that have their own individual behavior chart. For
example, the teacher and parents work together to implement a behavior
plan for a student that cries a lot over not getting her way.
The teacher and classroom assistant communicate feedback to the
students through verbal feedback. If a student gets their name moved on
the behavior chart, the teacher will give verbal feedback to the student.
This feedback will explain what the student did to get their name moved,
whether it is a reinforcement for positive behavior or something that the
student did that was not appropriate in the classroom. The teacher will also
do the same for the individual behavior chart. The student will earn stickers
for each day that they do not exhibit the unwanted behavior, then the
teacher will make a comment to the student each day about their progress.
Parents receive feedback in many different forms. For students that have
their own behavior plan, the weekly report needs to be signed by the
parent each week. This report includes notes on the behavior each day of
the week and whether or not the student met the behavior goal. This report
can also contain notes on the teachers concerns or praise for good
behavior. the teacher uses the Dojo app to communicate with most
parents, with the exception of one that prefers phone calls. The teacher
also puts notes in the students take home folders if the need arises due to
behavioral concerns or if the teacher makes a note on positive behavior
that she noticed throughout the day.
The teacher uses many behavior management techniques in the
classroom. The teacher will have students explain what they did wrong
and have the student identify what they could have done instead. The
teacher will also have group talks with the class if it is a more serious
manner that every student could benefit from. If students exhibit good
behavior throughout the week, they will get the chance to pick something
from the prize box on the last day of the week.
I could use many of these strategies in my own classroom. I would
implement a behavior chart for my students. I would use it throughout the
day to identify positive and negative behaviors exhibited from the students.
This is a great learning opportunity for students by reinforcing good
behaviors and correcting negative behaviors. I would also use the Dojo
app as it seems like a great way to communicate with parents. The teacher
can post things for all parents to see or communicate with parents privately
about their child. This is a quick and easy way to keep parents informed.
The individual behavior chart is something I could implement as well if a
student needed to work on a specific behavioral goal. Overall, I feel that
there are a lot of strategies that my teacher uses that I could use in my
own classroom someday.