Lexi Olinger

4/1/19

Philosophy of Classroom Management

An effective plan for classroom management is an essential tool for creating a positive

learning environment. According to Smith and Dearborn (2016) teachers who teach expected

behavior early and effectively will spend less time solving conflicts and get to spend more time

teaching content (p.12). I believe there are many aspects to effective classroom management

strategies which include mutual respect, a sense of safety, and a strong understanding of the

expectations, procedures, and rules in the classroom which work together to create a positive

learning environment.

Respect is an important I firmly believe that students treated with respect will, in turn,

treat their teachers with respect. Mutual respect is my main goal for my classrooms. Students

who feel they have a voice in the classroom are more likely to participate in a positive manner.

Respect is shown to students by listening to their ideas, honoring their emotions, trusting that

they are doing right, rather than assuming they are doing wrong, and much more. Teachers who

provide the signs of respect will see that students treat them with respect as well.

Students need to feel safe and able to take risks in order to learn effectively in a

classroom. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1943), students have to feel safe in their

environment before they are capable of critical and abstract thinking. Students need to feel not

only physically safe- that no one will injure or harm them- but also mentally safe. Learning

environments need to be open to new ideas, expectant and permitting of mistakes, consistent,

and accepting of differences to give students maximum opportunities to learn and share

concepts and ideas.

Lexi Olinger
4/1/19

When students have a strong understanding of what is expected of them and the

consequences for not meeting those expectations, they are more likely to follow the rules. One

important way to start developing strong understanding of the rules and procedures is to allow

students to actively participate in creating the rules and consequences. Then, when students

break the rules or receive consequences, teachers can remind them they were part of

developing the expectations, so they should know to live up to them. It is also important that we

explicitly model appropriate behavior to show students what is expected. Once we have taught

the expectations and consequences, it is important to be consistent in enforcing rules and

administering consequences. If students see that you do not always follow through with

discipline, they will test and push limits until they break the system.

Using effective tools is another important aspect of classroom management. Having

attention-getting strategies which do not require the teacher to yell over students are highly

effective and can include noise makers such as bells or chimes, rhythmic clapping, and call and

response vocalizations. Finding away to capture and bring student attention back to the teacher

in a quick and effective way saves time and frustration on the teacher’s behalf. Classroom

management tools such as Classroom Dojo help teachers not only keep track of student

behavior, but offer another platform for parent/teacher communication. Being consistent in use

of systems like Dojo are important so that students know what is expected of them and what will

happen when they do not live up to what is expected of them.

Many patterns arise in conversations, books, and theories about classroom

management. All ideas usually boil down to showing students respect, teaching students to
Lexi Olinger
4/1/19
understanding expectations and consequences, and being consistent in enforcing and

upholding the rules. I believe, that most importantly, teachers must also be models of the same

positive behaviors they expect from students, or students will not respond to any sort of

classroom management strategies.

Lexi Olinger
4/1/19

References

Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. ​Psychological Review, 50​(4), 370-396.

Smith, R., & Dearborn, G. (2016). Conscious Classroom Management: Unlocking the secret of great

teaching (2nd ed.). Fairfax, CA: Conscious Teaching.