CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT 1

Classroom and Behavior Management

Alyssa Brock

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 496 Field Experience ePortfolio, Fall, 2020

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Introduction

Classroom and behavior management might be both the most important and most

difficult part of controlling a classroom of children. For the competency of classroom and

behavior management, I talk about two methods I use for keeping students quiet and respectful in

either during quiet work times in the classroom or during time spent waiting in the school halls.

The first artifact is a silent Simon Says game I play with students in the hall to keep them

entertained and quiet. The second artifact is a method students started using in virtual learning

that I continue to use now for quietly showing me they have finished a task without distracting

their peers.

Rationale for Artifacts

The first artifact I have for this competency is a game I play with students in the hall to

keep them from making too much noise or disturbing classes with open doors. The game is a

silent version of Simon Says where I will call out a whispered command and students will

quietly follow. Just like in a regular game of Simon Says, they are only supposed to follow the

command if I say Simon Says first. Students enjoy playing games like this in the hall and know I

will not play games with them in the hall if they are being noisy, so this is a method that almost

always keeps their attention and prevents them from getting fidgety or noisy while waiting in the

hallways. I believe this artifact shows this competency well because though it is a very simple

idea, it is a method that keeps students’ attention, keeps the group under control, and is

entertaining enough for them that they want to behave well on their own without being told.

The second artifact I have for this competency is a method for keeping students from

calling out once they are done with an activity. Instead of calling out “done!” when a student has

finished something, they will hold up a silent thumbs up so they will not disturb classmates who
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are still working. This is something students originally learned during their first weeks virtual

schooling where they had to use their hand signals on their screens to communicate with the

teacher during work periods. Now, during in-person learning, they do the same and hold their

thumbs up until everyone is done, until the teacher acknowledges the thumbs up, or until the

teacher says that student can move onto the next activity. This artifact shows a method that,

although it isn’t yet perfect, keeps the class under control during silent periods when students

may be finishing work at different times. Students at this age instantly copy one another if they

hear someone else do something, so creating a silent signal will help to ensure all students have

silence to focus on their work no matter how quickly they finish and students who are slower

will not feel pressured by hearing how many classmates have already finished.

Reflection

Creating a classroom with great management strategies and students with good behavior

is one of the biggest hurdles. The methods I mention above in my artifacts are not perfect and do

not always work, but with these methods I can see what types of management works for this

group. Students get bored in the halls while waiting for their fellow classmates to be done in the

restroom or while waiting their turn to walk into the gym; the Simon Says game is something

they enjoy and holds their attention so it is something that works well for keeping them occupied

and quiet. One article states that when playing a game, the teacher should ensure students know

“regular rules still apply” and that you should “Be clear that you expect them to uphold

classroom norms, even while they are at play”. (Shapiro, 2015). This is an important

part of students being willing to stay quiet in the halls and even in the classroom when

there is no promise of a game. When students are not behaving the way I would like

in the hall, when we get back to the class I always ask them what I need to see from
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them if I’m going to play games in the hall, to which they reply with the rules they are

supposed to be following as a reminder for the next time. Even if there is no promise

of games in the class, they will start focusing more on these rules in the classroom as

well. The thumbs up signal is something we are still working on since there are several students

in this group who like to be the first one done and will immediately yell out when they have

finished something, prompting the rest of the class to start copying them. “One classroom

control technique is to shift the attention to the students who are exhibiting the right

behavior.” (Boender, n.d.). If one student shows me a thumbs up when they are done with

their work, and another calls out, I make sure to acknowledge any student who showed

the right behavior instead of scolding the one who called out.
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References

Shapiro, A., 2015. Classroom Management With Game-Based Learning. [online] Edutopia.

Available at: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/managing-in-class-gameplay-arana-shapiro

Boender, C., n.d. How To Regain Classroom Control When Students Are Loud And Unruly.

[online] Hey Teach!. Available at: https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/how-to-regain-

classroom-control-when-students-are-loud-and-unruly1809.html