Classroom Management

 This year I feel the need to require better classroom management strategies for my larger classroom size (25), flexible classroom, and 4th-grade to be a better educator. The students are wonderful, inquisitive, bright, and social. I haven't had a behavioral policy in place for many years because I have felt students need to have the freedom to make mistakes, not be shamed for making mistakes but learn from their mistakes. Do I need to have one this year?

My observations, realigning my seating, assigning seats for those who are having a difficult time with the flexible classroom seating, and classroom rules made as a whole group have helped already with the 2 weeks of school starting. I have assured the few students who have permanent seating at the moment it is only temporary during this time adjustment of settling into their new classroom. 

I will not change having a flexible classroom, but I do need to gather skills to fit this particular group of students who are amazing and fun to work with. 

Group work and Classroom Management Research 

What did you learn about this topic?

As mentioned in previous posts, I have decided to focus on group work and classroom management this year.  I have noticed that students often have a difficult time working in groups and I hope that helping to improve these practices for them will also improve our overall classroom management.  I read an article about emotional intelligence in Edutopia that really opened my eyes to different things. Emotional intelligence includes information on students’ ability to monitor their own behavior and feelings.  This has a lot to do with the self-assessments I will have students do in class to reflect on group work practices. In addition, there was an article in Edutopia about transitions and this is an aspect that will also help facilitate better classroom management.

What resource mediums were used?

I read a lot of articles on Edutopia, but also decided to investigate Solution Tree. When researching on my own, I also found examples and guides for how to create self-assessment rubrics which is helpful.

How will this topic enhance and support student learning?

Classroom management, in my opinion, is the single most important thing in a classroom.  In order for students to learn behavior-related topics, the class needs to run smoothly.  In order for students to learn academic topics, the classroom needs to have certain expectations and procedures in place.  In order for students to transition well, they need to know what is expected of them and be able to do it quickly and quietly.  All of these things lead to more successful learning processes for all involved.

Submitted by: Leah Piper

Engaging Students through Bell Ringers

What's My Plan?

Young student is lying on the floor and looks his laptop. Isolated on white. Stock Photo. Clipart.com School Edition, Vital Imagery Ltd., 15-06-2012, https://schools.clipart.com/download.php?iid=328814&tl=photos. Accessed 12-09-2021.

I would like to focus on bell ringers for my courses to improve classroom management and MTSS. I think having an attendance question at the beginning of each class will help build relationships with students. Then having them work on a bell ringer prompt will help keep them on task at the beginning of class so that class time is not being wasted. From past experience, I recognize that the days I have bell rings students are more focused compared to the days we do not have a bellringer. 

One of the areas I want to research is best practices for bell ringers. I want to make sure that my bell ringers are accessing students’ prior knowledge and that they are being used as a formative assessment. I plan on using a tally system to track what classes are on task at the start of the period from using the bellringers. I also plan on surveying the students about the bellringers to get their feedback on how well it helps keep them engaged.

Submitted by: Kelsie Engelken