Running Head: CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT

CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT

Classroom and Behavior Management

Olivia Martin
Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 496 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2015

CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT

The only practice standing between a chaotic and caring classroom is the effective
implementation of good classroom management strategies and techniques. These tools are some
of the most vital information an educator will learn throughout their studies and observations.
Good, effective classroom management is the mark of a good and effective teacher. Poor,
ineffective management techniques are the marks of teachers who are struggling or failing in the
classroom. Enough time cannot be spent studying or developing a teachers classroom
management style.
Rationale for Selection of Artifacts
The two artifacts that I have selected are both examples of helpful and efficient
classroom management techniques. The first is a picture of the Marble Jar. This is really an
excellent method to encourage students in the whole group setting to follow the behavioral
expectations required of them. This is used as motivation tool for students to behave in
situations when they are away from the constant supervision of their main teacher. For example,
at Rosemont Elementary, when students are away at specials, such as art, music, physical
education, or lunch, they are graded on a green, yellow, or red scale of behavior. Teachers know
that when students are away from their homeroom teacher, students take on the while the cat is
away, the mice will play mentality and feel the rules no longer apply. This allows the
management styles of all the different classes to meld because the color grade students received
at their specials is translated into a response in the Marble Jar.
In my class, students receive two marble for every green card or grade they earn, but will
lose three or five marbles for a yellow or red grade, respectively. If students are excellent in the
hall, they will be allowed to put two marbles in the jar. It is much easy to lose marbles than it is

CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT

to earn them, but this adds to the challenge. When the jar is filled, the students have earned a
treat for the classroom, which the teacher will either pick or the students will vote on a few
options. Last time the students filled up the jar, they decided they wanted to play a quick
basketball game in the gym.
The second artifact I have chosen for this competency is a feedback tool used for weekly
individual student behavior analysis. These behavior feedback sheets are such give me a way to
communicate with both the student and the parents to provide examples of positive behaviors,
those stars or things they are doing well, and to provide examples of negative behaviors, those
stairs or things the student needs to work on. This format is a way that I can collect data over a
long period of time in regard to individual student behavior as well as provide a foundation for
communication with parents. The students are required to get this sheet signed when they take it
home in their weekly feedback folders and return it to me the next day. I can then keep them for
my records on the students and use for reflection at a later date.
Reflection on Theory and Practice
The environment of a classroom is one of the most definitive contributors to students
ability to learn. In my time at Regent University, I have spent many hours studying different
approaches to using classroom management strategies in order to make my classroom have an
enriching learning environment for students. While the above mentioned techniques are efficient
tools to keeping students on track with their individual and group behavior, there are so many
more strategies that I have learned that I implement on a daily basis in my classroom.
At Regent University, I have learned the importance of working smarter, not harder. I
studied closely, the ideas of Fred Jones. Jones (2013), through his study of many teachers, has

CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT

determined one of the most effective ways to maintain good classroom behavior is through a
practice known as proximity. This practice involves the teachers constant movement and
circulation throughout the class and using subtle cues to get students back on task (Jones, 2013).
From personal experience, I can testify to how exhausting it is to constantly say a students name
in order to get them on task. Through proximity, the location of the teacher and perhaps a tap on
the desk is enough to keep students on task. It is the practice of classroom management through
body language. While it is something that is harder to prove in an artifact, it is definitely a
technique used in my classroom.
In a very real sense, classroom management is the most important thing that I ever
learned from my studies at Regent University. Moreover, it is the one practice I can never learn
enough about. Classroom management involves interactions with the biggest variable in the
school system: the students. It is because of this unknown and every changing factor, that
teachers must continually grow and reevaluate their understanding on effective classroom
management techniques.
Above all, I must remember within my classroom management philosophy the idea of
grace. It is important for teachers to not just spout rules and be harsh on their students for
breaking said rules, but to help students understand the much larger purpose for the rules. The
Lord gave us rules to protect us and help us grow. They provide structure and expectations.
Similarly, our classroom rules provide a structure and an enriching environment for students to
grow, learn and be safe. I will operate out of a place of grace and understanding for my students
because I know that such a positive atmosphere is essential for the work that is to be
accomplished in my classroom.

CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT

References
Jones, F. (2013). Tools for teaching (3rd ed.). Santa Cruz: Fredric H Jones & Associates, Inc.