Anna Achterhoff

9. Learning Environment (LO 2.8 & 2.9) (APS 8 & 9) A. Classroom Management: One of the most important jobs a teacher has is ensuring his/her classroom is both physically and emotionally a positive learning environment where students feel secure and valued. I would introduce a few classroom management activities to my students at the beginning of the year to develop a positive climate. In place would be a system for selecting students to help each day with classroom responsibilities; line leader, door holder, student to pass out folders, etc. Students names will be written on Popsicle sticks that are drawn at random for each position. Another activity I would implement is having group circle time every morning for at least 10 minutes for students to share any news or stories with their classmates. This will create a sense of community in the classroom from the start and allow for each student to feel like what they have to say matters. Rules and behavior It is vital to set rules and expectations within a classroom for students to hold one another accountable to as far as behavior. I believe at the start of a school year a teacher should sit down with his/her class and collaborate to come up with 3-5 rules to write down in a clearly stated form for the class to go by. I would guide my students to develop rules/expectations that cover; respect of others, sharing, listening, following directions, and trying their best. After the class compromises on the final 3-5 rules and expectations I would hang the list on the wall for students to reference when thinking about future decisions. Consequences Students should hold one another accountable to the rules and behavior expectations. I want my students to be able to work things out amongst themselves before I would need to intervene. If I had to become involved in a situation or repeatedly call a student out for behavior, there would be consequences in place that follow their actions. Like the rules, I would have my class collaborate to come up a list of appropriate consequences for actions.

Anna Achterhoff

Reinforcements Majority of students these days love to use technology. I would use this common interest to help reinforce good behavior in my classroom. I would implement a system in which students receive extra computer time during centers to play their favorite educational games. Each student would strive to get 10 behavioral checks over the span of a week to receive extra time. If students misbehaved time would be taken off their initial allotted time on the computer. I would also keep a daily record of the classes behavior as a whole. Each month I would check the data and if there majority of the days were good days we would have a popcorn or ice cream party.

B. Non-Instructional Routines and Procedures Each morning my class would follow the same schedule; attendance, lunch count, calendar, weather. I would follow the same routine each day because in my schooling I have learned children need structure and consistency. I would have different students each day assigned to helping with task like collecting and passing out materials and work. I would like to instill responsibility on my class by delegating appropriate roles for students to help. When it comes to managing task in the classroom such as bathroom breaks, pencil sharpening, and hallway transitions I would go over expected behavior with the class prior to any incidents. I would cut down on pencil sharpening time by having a basket of pencils that are pre-sharpened for students to use if theirs breaks in the middle of my teaching. Specific drills for emergency situations would be talked about and practiced often in my classroom in hopes of students staying calm in the event of emergency, if there were ever to be one.