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Classroom Management

Effective classroom management requires awareness, patience, good timing, boundaries,

and instinct. There’s nothing easy about shepherding a large group of easily distractible young

people with different skills and temperaments along a meaningful learning journey. Classroom

management strategies are not universal and at times individual modifications need to be made in

order for some students to be successful in the classroom environment. Every classroom, like

every community, has its own distinct culture, values and rules. Alfie Kohn introduced this idea

as a, “learning community” where teachers and students work together to create caring,

supporting classrooms (as cited by Charles, 2008). Kohn proposes creating this community to

address several student needs at once. In an ideal classroom, students will feel cared about,

connected, valued, respected, and listened to. Importantly, students also feel physically and

emotionally safe (Charles, 2008). This project is a summary of a functional behavior assessment

designed for a seven-year-old student. The summary includes, data collected from observations

of the student, and an intervention plan based on our findings. The intervention plan in the

summary presented describes how the case-study student’s teacher should focus on the student’s

accountability adhering to the “class agreements” and use moments of conflict as teachable

moments for error correction. The intervention plan executed specifies using moments of

conflict to teach replacement behaviors while keeping the targeted students’ dignity intact

(Coloroso, 2009). Simonsen & Myers (2015) suggest treating low-level behavior errors the same

as academic errors, in which the student is reminded of the behavior expectation and given the

opportunity to self-correct their error rather than reprimanding a student for inappropriate

behavior. In this situation, the case-study student would benefit from additional explicit lessons

in Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) so that he can learn pro-social replacement behaviors.
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Norris (2003) supports SEL centered classrooms because students are taught listening,

communication and coping skills along with problem-solving strategies that help students to

interact with one another in a positive and supportive manner.

Classroom management and SEL work symbiotically in the classroom. Establishing a

sense of community in the classroom also allowed me to address students' social, emotional and

cognitive development and establish a welcoming, nurturing, safe and productive classroom

community that best fits the diverse needs and interests of my students. To do this, I establish

and teach expectations for behavior, make modifications for certain students as necessary, and

realize that building a successful classroom environment is an on-going and ever-evolving

challenge. Furthermore, when students are showing exemplary behavior and following

expectations, I take time to acknowledge that behavior. Simonsen and Myers (2015) stress the

importance of “providing a specific praise statement contingent on expectation-following

behavior” (p.135). The praise statement should explicitly state what the desired behavior is so the

student knows what they are being praised for. Increasing the number of praise statements that

specifies the behavior can increase the instances of desired social behavior (Simonsen,

Fairbanks, Briesch, Myers & Sugai, 2008). This helps build a positive classroom environment.

I have found that regular personal reflection is critical as providing consistent, positive,

contingent feedback takes practice. As modern education pioneer John Dewey wisely stated:

“We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.” Reflection- whether

it’s the student reflection at the end of a lesson, class reflection at the end of a day of learning, or

your own professional and personal reflection on choices, habits, and success - is one-third of

the natural learning cycle (as cited in The Natural Learning Cycle, 2017). Getting to know my

students and what motivates them has been integral to behavior management in my classroom.
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The result is a positive relationship of mutual respect that benefits the student, myself, and the

classroom community as a whole. Good classroom management helps to attain the ideal learning

experience while addressing the socio-emotional health of both the teacher and the students. As

Boardman & Vittone (2016) emphasize, “With a classroom environment like that in place, a

teacher would have time to teach”.

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References

Boardman, R., Vittone T. (2016). Classroom management strategies for educators. Crisis

Prevention Institute. Retrieved from https://www.crisisprevention.com/Blog/Classroom-

Management-Strategies-for-Educators

Coloroso, Barbara. (2009). Kids are worth it! William Morrow Paperbacks. Kindle Edition.

Charles, C. M. (2008). Building classroom discipline. Boston, MA.: Pearson Education, Inc.

Norris, J. (2003). Looking at Classroom Management through a Social and Emotional Learning

Lens. Theory Into Practice, 42(4), 313-318. Retrieved July 20, 2020, from

www.jstor.org/stable/1477394

Anonymous (2017, December, 21) The natural learning cycle. Responsive Classroom. Retrieved

from https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/natural-learning-cycle/

Simonsen, B. & Myers, D. (2015). Classwide positive behavior interventions and supports: A

guide to proactive classroom management. New York: Guilford Press.