Standard 5 – Classroom Motivation & Management Artifact 1 Joely Rogers

Standard 5 – Classroom Motivation and Management

The teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to
create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active
engagement in learning, and self-motivation.

Artifact I for Standard Five: Classroom Motivation and Management

Name of Artifact: Discipline and Management Plan

Date: Fall 2009

Course: FL561 Teaching Second Languages: Theory into Practice

Rationale

The well-managed classroom is a supportive learning environment that

encourages students to be active, creative and motivated seekers of knowledge. Such an

environment does not; however, normally manifest without some type of effort on the

part of the teacher. In support of standard 5, Classroom Motivation and Management, I

offer this artifact “Discipline and Management Plan,” that I created as part of the

requirements for FL561 Teaching Second Language: Theory into Practice. I am including

this artifact because it required me to identify some of the classroom management

problems relevant to the population I plan to teach, and research solutions to them.

Nunan says that “the exploration of classroom issues and problems should lead

teachers from practice to theory and back to practice again as a sort of on-going

professional growth spiral” (Aebersold & Field, 1997, p. 1998). Classroom issues and

problems are in a continuous state of flux; for example, when I first attended college over

20 years ago, there were no cell phones, with the exception of those big, clunky things

that you plugged into your car’s cigarette lighter. Text-messaging (texting) of course, was

a non-issue. Nowadays, cell phones and texting are critical disruptors in the classroom
 Standard 5 – Classroom Motivation & Management Artifact 1 Joely Rogers

and teachers must find a way to balance their students’ rights to personal freedom with

their own need for a well-managed classroom.

The “Discipline and Management Plan” that I wrote for FL561 was my first foray

into thinking about important management issues in the adult language classroom. I came

up with what I believe are four main components of a well-managed classroom: 1) a

semi-circular classroom seating arrangement, 2 management techniques that discourage

late arrivals/early departures, 3) positive feedback coupled with occasional rewards and

4) firm discipline policies on cellular telephone use and/or texting during class. As I near

the end of my MATL program and the beginning of my teaching career, I still believe

that these are critical components; however, I realize that like cell phones/texting, new

issues will arise in the classroom that I must address. I believe that the key to effective

classroom management is a blend of flexibility and firmness, coupled with willingness to

walk the spiral of practice-theory-practice again and again.

 Standard 5 – Classroom Motivation & Management Artifact 1 Joely Rogers

Artifact I – Discipline and Management Plan

Classroom management can be defined as “creating and maintaining a classroom

environment conducive to students’ learning and achievement” (Ormrod, 2008, p. 500).

There are 7 community colleges in Dallas (Texas) county which offer ESL (English as a

second language) courses (n.d.). My future goal is to teach at one of them; therefore the

target student population for this discipline and management plan is adults ages 17+. I

feel that the key components of a well-managed adult language classroom are: a proper

classroom seating arrangement; management techniques that discourage late

arrivals/early departures; positive feedback coupled with occasional rewards and firm

discipline policies on cellular telephone use and/or texting during class.

Classroom Seating Arrangement

During my classroom observations and in my own language courses I have

encountered two main types of classroom seating arrangements, the semi-circle or

horseshoe arrangement, and the ‘traditional’ arrangement with rows of desks in straight

lines. M. Elliot Fulton, a professor at the University of Connecticut, prefers the semi-

circle stating “Each student can see every other student (as can I) and each person's ideas

are given value in discussions” (Dunne, 2001). I feel Fulton makes a valid point about the

semi-circle creating a feeling of equality in the classroom, as well as allowing for easy

communication amongst the students (no one has to stand up or turn around). Moreover,

since students are directly facing each other and the teacher, they may be less likely to

text, doze off or do other assignments during class. In my future classroom the desks will

be arranged into a semi-circle.

 Standard 5 – Classroom Motivation & Management Artifact 1 Joely Rogers

Late Arrivals/Early Departures

Late arrivals are distracting to the whole class and students who depart early risk

falling behind. My French professor discouraged early departures by only assigning

homework or giving quizzes at the end of class. This seemed to work well and I am

inclined to try it in my future classroom. The issue of late arrivals is more problematic.

There are some individuals who are habitually late for everything; however, there are

others who may have legitimate reasons for being late, like traffic (a huge problem in

Dallas), work or childcare issues. Bhavsar (2008) suggests using an object lesson where

the teacher presents a unique object that pertains to the day’s lesson during the first few

minutes of class and asks the students to discuss it while productively waiting for late

arrivals. In a language classroom this could be a piece of realia, such as a newspaper or

magazine clip that pertains to the day’s lesson. Bhavsar (2008) also suggests making

copies of this object to hand out to all students for their notebooks. I really like this idea

of productively waiting for tardy students rather than penalizing them and plan to try it in

my future classroom.

Positive Feedback and Extrinsic Rewards

Positive feedback is a critical part of the language classroom. I mention this as a

key component of a discipline and management plan because I believe that if students

don’t feel they are succeeding, they may become bored and/or disruptive, and possibly

drop the class. Barbara Gross Davis (1999), a professor at the University of California,

Berkley, says that frequent, early, positive feedback encourages students to become self-

motivated independent learners. I agree with Gross Davis, and in my future classroom I

plan to be generous with positive feedback.

 Standard 5 – Classroom Motivation & Management Artifact 1 Joely Rogers

In addition, I feel that occasional rewards, if they are properly managed, are not

out of place in the adult language classroom. A system for earning extra points, such as

winners of a classroom word game is one possibility. I think the key to extrinsic rewards

is finding a way to utilize them to encourage learning, without allowing them to foster

intense competition. In my future classroom, I plan to implement a trial period of

extrinsic rewards, such as extra points, and observe its affect on student motivation.

Telephone Usage and Texting in the Classroom

When I first went to college in 1988 there were no hand-held mobile cell phones

and certainly no ‘texting’. Today, I cannot think of anyone, except maybe my 87 year-old

grandmother, who does not own a cell phone and who has not at least tried texting once.

In everyone classroom I have been in during the last 3 years there has been at least one,

usually several, occurrences of cell phone usage and/or texting during class. To me,

hearing a cell phone ring, or even worse someone answering it, are two of the most

unnecessary and distracting things that can occur in a classroom. As such, I will have a

very strict policy about telephone usage and texting in my future classroom. My policy

will be: 1) No telephone usage or texting is allowed in the classroom. 2) The penalty for

talking on the telephone and/or texting is dismissal from the classroom until the

conversation is finished and 1 point off your final grade. The policy will be in the

syllabus and I plan to post “Turn off your Cell Phone” in a visible place in the classroom.

Please note that students who must take telephone calls pertaining to serious emergencies

(accidents, illnesses, etc.) will be an exception to the 1 point off rule, but they must make

me aware of the situation.

 Standard 5 – Classroom Motivation & Management Artifact 1 Joely Rogers

Conclusion

All of the classroom discipline and management issues I have proposed in this

plan are based on my experiences observing language classes at a local community

college level this semester, as well as my own language learning experiences as an adult.

My belief is that without some discipline and classroom management there cannot be

complete harmony in the classroom; and without harmony, learning cannot take place. I

am 99.9% sure that other discipline and management issues will arise once I start

teaching and plan to conduct research and/or ask for help from experienced teachers

when they do occur.

 Standard 5 – Classroom Motivation & Management Artifact 1 Joely Rogers

References

Aebersold, J.A. & Field, M.L. (1997). From reader to reading teacher. New York, NY:

Cambridge University Press.

Bhavsar, V. (2008). An object lesson to deal with tardiness. Retrieved December 2, 2009,

from http://tasctip.wordpress.com/category/dealing-with-classroom-

issues/dealing-with-tardiness/

Dallas County Community College District. (n.d.). Fast facts. Retrieved December 2,

2009, from http://www.dcccd.edu/About+DCCCD/DCCCD+Facts/

Dunne, D.W. (2001). Do seating arrangements and assignments = classroom

management? Retrieved December 2, 2009, from http://www.education-

world.com/a_curr/curr330.shtml

Gross Davis, B. (1999). Motivating students. Retrieved December 2, 2009, from

http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/mot

iv.htm

Ormrod, J.E. (2007). Educational psychology (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson

Prentice Hall.