Holl 1 Daniel Holl Classroom Management Plan

Part 1 Summary of Context for Learning I am currently in an untracked freshman biology class at Central Coast New Tech High School. CCNTH is a part of the New Tech Network of schools. It is focused on Project Based Learning (PBL), so much of the learning is collaborative and student centered. Students choose to attend this school, but in the future it will be lottery based. Of our 104 freshman students there are fourteen IEPs and six 504s. There are no English language learners. Since there are no English language learners in our class, speaking and writing are not big problems. The students are all proficient with English and we will be practicing our scientific language throughout the year. They already have a small background from what they learned in seventh grade Life Sciences. The Lucia Mar School district has 49.3% of students on free or reduced school lunches and 13.9% English language learners. CCNTH in particular doesnt match these statistics because it is a new school. The students are in their first year of project based learning which is much different than any of their backgrounds. They can already work in groups and are learning to collaborate. I have noticed much development throughout the projects of their ability to argue and reason with their colleagues. They all seem willing to voice their opinions if they do not agree with something.

Holl 2 They do need to work on collaboration, as the students are still immature and not used to having to work together. They must learn to work together to solve problems and critically think. Their academic language is building as we introduce them to more scientific vocabulary. They are good at incorporating new vocabulary into their conversations. Although they are learning how to reason with their colleagues they need to learn how to get along better as they get into arguments and blame many of their mistakes on others.

Part 2 Management Framework TPE 11 Social Environment: Creating a Climate for Learning Classroom management is essential to becoming a great teacher. Every teacher has a system that works for him or her, and not everyone can implement the same system. I decided, as a beginning teacher, that two models of classroom management are both equally important to me; Assertive Discipline and Discipline with Dignity. These two plans are very much alike but do have some differences. I would like to pull parts from each to use in my own classroom management plan. I see Assertive Discipline as a good way to establish rules, and I see Discipline with Dignity as a good way to handle misbehavior and create positive motivators. I would like for my classroom to be an open learning environment where students are comfortable, having fun, and open with me. At CCNTH we promote a growth mindset and that is very important to me as well. I want students to be able to collaborate with each other on assignments and feel free to ask me

Holl 3 questions. I believe that students must collaborate and teach each other in order to truly learn; not independently seek answers without discussion. In order to promote this class atmosphere I need a firm set of rules that allow for freedom, but keep students on task. This is where I see Assertive Discipline coming into my classroom management plan. Evans et al. (2009) suggest that the Assertive Discipline plan includes, three major components: a set of classroom rules, types of positive recognition for students who obey the rules, and a hierarchy of consequences for students who disobey the rules. Assertive Discipline says that establishing a good set of rules at the beginning of the year lets your students know what the consequences and expectations of the class will be (Canter,1989). I plan on having my own set of Biology Procedures and Syllabus, and a class-made set of Class Norms. My Biology Procedures and Syllabus will set the policies I need in order to have an organized classroom. Policies included in these will establish grading, eating/gum, attendance, homework, use of equipment, and lab policies. These would be my way of establishing my own rules of the class. I would then let my students make up the Class Norms, which would include policies of respect, talking, timeliness, and tech usage. This way the students come up with their own norms that they must live up to. With these rules in place at the beginning of the year I will have a structured classroom where students will have clear expectations for behavior (Evans, 2009). The student-made Class Norms would be displayed on a poster on a wall in class. I would take four or five of the most common, or best rules,

Holl 4 from the students and create this poster along with the consequences written on it. This way the Norms would always be displayed in class and when a student is breaking a norm you can refer to the poser that he/she and their peers created. This holds deeper in students hearts because they are not just rules that the instructor created, but something that they were a part of. This also takes pressure off of me as the instructor because I can say that they made the rules and I am not just acting on my own to discipline them. The hierarchy of consequences is set at the beginning of the year. First offense is the students name on the board and 5 minutes detention, second is suspension of tech and headphones for the rest of the day with 10 minutes of detention, third is a call home with 10 minutes of detention, and fourth is a visit to the principals office. Students are never ridiculed in front of the class and the warnings are rather silent but firm (Canter, 1989). Silently writing a students name on the board and making eye contact would be good enough for most students (Wong, 1991). I want the level of respect in my classroom that would allow for this technique to reach students. I would establish this by using Discipline with Dignity as well for handling misbehavior. Discipline with Dignity says that, if teachers take the time to build relationships with students, the strength of those relationships can help minimize conflicts (Delisio, 2011). I think that this is very important to my classroom and goes hand in hand with Assertive Discipline. I want the atmosphere of my classroom to be positive and on-task. In order for this to occur there has to be a high level of mutual respect. I have seen that when I relate to students on a

Holl 5 more personal level, for example asking them how their favorite sports team is doing (and actually showing interest), that students feel that you care about them as a person, and gain a respect for you as an actual person and not just an instructor. Discipline with Dignity is perfect for me because I want to teach students more than just Biology; I want to teach them how to be a good individual and gain an interest in knowledge. Discipline with Dignity is about building positive relationships with students so that when you do have bad times with them they will listen to you (Delisio, 2011). Building these positive relationships with students takes time and perseverance. Students are not used to having instructors who want to interact with them on a personal level so they will be thrown off at first, especially minority students. This has happened to me a lot these past weeks of teaching at CCNTH. ESL students will give me short answers when I ask them about their weekend, or what they want to do in the future. But with some optimism and perseverance as an instructor they will slowly open up with me until they just want to keep talking. This establishes respect in the classroom, and gives the students empathy for the instructor. According to Delisio (2011) it, helps kids realize that it [following the rules] is the right thing for them to do -- not because someone is watching them, but because it will make their lives better. I do not think that this could have been said any better because this is a universal concept that anyone from any background could accept. Once Discipline with Dignity is in order it makes discipline much easier as an instructor. Implementing Discipline with Dignity involves questioning students

Holl 6 instead of lecturing them when they misbehave. Some of the important questions are, What were you doing? What will happen if you continue this? What can you do differently next time? (Delisio, 2011). These kinds of questions make students internally evaluate their own behavior. This seems much more effective to me then lecturing students on what is right and wrong myself. Students are conscious individuals who can understand their misbehavior. I want students to feel welcome and comfortable in my class and I believe with the two guiding models of Assertive Discipline and Discipline with Dignity they will. They will know the rules, and know that if they break them there will be consequences. But the way I will go about treating my students, using Discipline with Dignity, should lead them in the right direction in the first place.

Table 1: First five class meetings 2-3 Learning objectives/goals Activities/Icebreakers/Team builders (List ideas and time spent) Academic Content (How much time? Topics to introduce) Spend of class period on introductions and name games. Spend remainder on SOW poster. Spend about half class on worksheet and half on collaboration

Day To learn names, and 1 establish goals of class, and learn about students.

Daily journal Create name tag Various name games (You, Me, Left, Right) Introduction of Scientist of the Week poster!!

Day To learn about 2 students using All About Me Worksheet, and teach the students about myself

Daily journal Its All About Me Student introduction worksheet Collaboration Jigsaw on PowerPoint of me

Holl 7

with PowerPoint. Day To begin to establish 3 procedures (Biology lab rules, made by me).

jigsaw of my PowerPoint. Daily journal Give out class procedures Procedure Charades o Explanations of each one. Spend all period playing charades of procedures and in depth explanation of them. Spend of class with geese collaboration and analysis of it. Spend making norms with students to compile into official Class Norms poster. Spend about of period going over Norms Poster, and consequences. Spend rest of period on group test.

Day Introduce 4 collaboration and establish classroom norms (students rules for behavior).

Daily journal Use geese collaboration PowerPoint. o Have table teams discuss collaboration o Bring into class discussion Classroom norms consensus placemat

Day To go over Norms 5 Poster which students created and consequences. Also give first group test of the norms, syllabus and procedures.

Daily journal Go over Norms Poster Norms, syllabus, and procedures group test

TPE 10 Instructional Time: Organization and Routines Organized classrooms are effective classrooms and can be enhanced with daily routines. An important daily routine I will implement in my classroom are daily journals. As a routine, it will be established that the students will start daily journals every day immediately after walking into class. Daily journals are silent independent activities in which the students will have to respond to a prompt in a

Holl 8 few short sentences on ECHO (school-wide website for assignments and grades.) They will not only quiet the students down, but are good ways to get students to practice writing in a biology class. I can use journal grades for the written communication grades. Journals would reflect what the students did the previous day, or make predictions regarding a new subject to be introduced. During the time students are working on their journals I will have time to take attendance and catch up with students. It is important to have time at the beginning of class to be able to do this silently and not waste instructional time. I will always keep the class agenda updated on ECHO, but will also write it on the whiteboard along with homework and standards/goals. This way the students will always be aware of what is happening in class and what is due. Also, it is a way to prepare in case tech goes down (ex. no wifi.) Students need a tangible agenda to refer to so that they always know what is going on. Students and parents will always be up to date on grades thanks to ECHO. I can publish grades instantly, and students can view them to see how they stand in the class. One of the most efficient ways I have learned to grade is by circulating with a tablet while the students are working so that I can grade while making sure students are on task. This saves me time after school grading and even talk to students during the grading process. Parents who have their students ECHO passwords will also be able to view grades. I will mainly keep in contact with parents via email because being at a tech school it is the easiest way to communicate. I will also have a phone in my classroom in case email does not work. I would like to be as transparent as

Holl 9 possible in my procedures and grading so that students and parents know why they got the grade they did and how they can improve. This is easy to do using comments while grading assignments. TPE 4: Making Content Accessible A very important part of an effective classroom is making the material relevant and accessible. Differentiated instruction and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) are two important techniques that make content accessible for all students. They both emphasize giving multiple means of representation for content (Hall, Strangman, & Meyer, 2003). Differentiated instruction is important to students for giving them multiple means of content, process, and products (Tomlinson, 2001). Using different sources of content is important for students understanding. The content is what we want students to learn. Using different teaching styles to portray content is important as well. Differentiated processes for students to learn content makes students more interested and helps sense making. Examples of differentiated processes are using different assessments such as, written and oral presentations, models, media and technology, visual arts, and diagrams (California TPEs, 2013). Lastly, differentiated products show a teacher the extent of what students have learned over a long period of time. These long-term products motivate students to own the curriculum (Tomlinson, 2001). UDL is characterized by giving multiple means of representation in instruction so that all students can understand the content in different ways. According to Hall, Strangman, & Meyer (2003), Critical to successfully

Holl 10 implementing UDL theory is the use of digital materials. This is especially important at CCNTH because we are a tech-based school. I believe that the use of technology and digital materials is of great importance in the classroom. This permits students to learn at their own pace and outside of the classroom. Absent students can stay up to date from home when instruction is student centered and web-based. It also allows for the use of translational software for ELLs, and many different choices of media for students with other learning disabilities. It permits the use of audio and video to teach content as well. Technology lets the teacher create adjustable lessons with multiple ways of assessment. It also saves the teacher time in creating lessons when there are already so many great interactive websites and learning modules available.

Part 3 Maintaining a Productive Learning Environment for Everyone Discipline/Intervention A good classroom is structured and runs smoothly. In order for this to take place a teacher must be good at keeping control of the classroom environment, and have a good discipline system. According to Harry Wong, Good classroom management practices maximize the amount of time that students are engaged in learning activities (Pg. 84). So the more structured t he and engaged the students are, the less amount of time a teacher will have to worry about discipline. For students who exhibit distracting behaviors or attempt to test my boundaries I have a consequences plan in place; also mentioned in Section 2.

Holl 11 First offense is the students name on the board and 5 minutes detention, second is suspension of tech and headphones for the rest of the day with 10 minutes of detention, third is a call home with 10 minutes of detention, and fourth is a visit to the principals office. This is a good ladder of consequences that should get the student to quit the disruptive behavior. For misbehavior such as bullying and acts of racism, sexism, or other bias I will not take lightly. These students will be sent outside of the classroom when they are caught and I will talk to them when I have a moment to step outside of class. These issues are very hurtful to other students and I would have a conversation with the bully outside of the classroom. I would let it be known that this kind of behavior has no place in my classroom and depending on the degree of bullying I would report it to administration. Students who exhibit this kind of biased behavior sometimes do not know the kinds of emotional stress that they put on other students. Another strategy for students who commit a major offense or challenge my authority would be to call their parents and set up a meeting. This way I could get to the root of the behavior and try to make changes. I want students to always feel like I care about them because this way they can see things from my point of view. Parent meetings can be effective in changing behavior, but if they do not work then talking with administration would help to solve the problem.

Holl 12 Addressing Barriers to Learning I want my classroom to be multicultural. I want to encourage multiple perspectives and promote learning from across different cultures. I am passionate about the subject of biology and I want my students to be as well. Students from diverse populations will appreciate my classroom and be inspired to learn science. According to Ruby Payne (2008), many students are at risk and teachers need to assess students resources to see what they have available to them. This can be done by observations of students, talking with parents, or talking with students. In my class everyone should feel welcome and cared for. To make these statements a reality I need to incorporate UDL in my classroom. I need to accommodate for all students so they can all get a similar experience from taking my class. By recognizing the incongruences between the voices of the school and the voices of the students I will exhibit a culturally responsive classroom (Gollnick & Chinn, 2013). According to Gollnick & Chinn (2013), The curriculum should reflect accurately the class structure and inequities that exist in the US (Pg. 101). Many students drop out of school because they feel like their voices are not accepted. I will address this in my classroom by giving students choices, showing interest in my students, and connecting class with outside, relevant, issues. Students with special cultural differences or religion will be accepted and accommodated for (Gollnick & Chinn, 2013). I would be sure to use examples that related to the dominant culture of my class, and specific examples for students from other cultures that needed additional help. If they need time off for

Holl 13 religious holidays they would not be penalized, but will still be responsible for the work due in class that day. If a class activity were to be against a students religion or cultural beliefs I would come up with an alternative assignment for that student. I would never force a student to do an activity that they were not comfortable doing. Students with disabilities will be accommodated for in my classroom. Whether they need extra time on an assignment or a choice between different assessments, students with disabilities will be kept up and get a good education in my classroom. I want to create caring relationships for all my students, especially ones with disabilities. English language learners are also accommodated for in my classroom. I will have many means of directions for assignments, such as oral directions and written directions. I will also take advantage of translation programs on the Internet. Parents of English language learners will be accommodated as well. I will provide the syllabus and welcome newsletter translated into other languages as needed. Parents are a valuable resource to a classroom, which need to feel welcome and important. Parents have a closer relationship to the students, and are a valuable asset when trying to reach students. Parents can also encourage students to study or do homework. If a student was not turning in work or trying in class then I would contact their parents to see if there was an outside issue. Parents are also essential for volunteering. Parents may be

Holl 14 professionals who can talk to your class about a particular subject, or they can serve on a grading panel for oral presentations.

Parents, Guardians, Families Dear Parents, My name is Mr. Holl and I am your son/daughters 9th grade Biology teacher. I look forward to a great year with this new class. I have high expectations for all of my students and I will do all I can to help your child meet those expectations. I believe if we work together your child will have a very successful year. You are invited to call or email me at any time with regards to your childs performance. If you have expertise in a specific scientific field, scientific hobby, or different culture that you would like to share I would love to hear about it. I would love to incorporate parents into the classroom as much as possible. I will keep grades updated every Monday night; I want your childs progress to be as transparent as possible. It is important that you and your child are informed of my high standards of classroom behavior no everyone knows what is expected. I have attached a copy of my classroom norms, as well as the course syllabus. If your child has any difficulty conforming to the norms throughout the school year, I will notify you promptly. That being said if your child ever reports a problem in my classroom about another student or becomes discouraged please let me know. I consider it a great responsibility and privilege to be your childs teacher this year, and look forward to meeting you.

Holl 15 Sincerely, Dan Holl Works Cited

California The California Teaching Performance Expectations. Comission on

Teacher Credentialing. Revisions Adopted, March 2013. Pg12-13.

Canter, L., (1989). Assertive Discipline: More Than Names on the Board and Marbles in a Jar. Phi Delta Kappan, v71 n1. p57-61.

Delisio, E. R., (2011). Discipline With Dignity Stresses Positive Motivation. EducationWorld. Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin534.shtml Evans, V. et al. (2009, Dec 23). Classroom Management. Education.com. Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/classroom-management/

Gollnick, N. M., & Chinn, P. C. (2013). Multicultural Education in a Pluralistic

Society. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

Hall, T., Strangman, N., & Meyer, A. (2003). Differentiated instruction and

implications for UDL implementation. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum.Retrieved November 22, 2013

Holl 16 fromhttp://aim.cast.org/learn/historyarchive/backgroundpapers/differentiat d...

Payne, R. (2008). Nine Powerful Practices. Poverty and Learning. Vol.65. No.7

Pgs. 48-52.

Tomlinson, C. A., (2001). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability

classrooms. (2nd Ed.) Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Wong, H., Wong, R. (1991). The First Days of School: How to be an Effective Teacher. Sunnyvale, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications.

TPE 4- your choice Did you set a personal goal based on one of the TPE's not listed in the rubric(8)? Did you include a reflection on how you achieved this goal with the work submitted (9)? Does the reflection clearly describe, multiple and diverse strategies to accomplish this goal (10)? TPE 10 Instructional Time Establish procedures for routine tasks and manage transitions to maximize instructional time. 10 = Management plan clearly describes multiple, diverse strategies & approaches to maximize instructional & engaged time. Procedures & routines plan for ways to differentiate instruction. TPE 11 Social Environment a) Establishes rapport with students & families; b) responds appropriately to sensitive issues (such as special needs, language acquisition, religious observances, and cultural diversity); c) creates a positive climate for learning; d) has a clear discipline plan 10 = Management plan clearly describes multiple, diverse strategies & approaches to create a positive climate for learning; Fully addresses a, b, c, & d in culturally responsive ways TPE 13 Professional Growth

Holl 17

Access resources (professionals, organizations, research) for professional growth; demonstrates a cohesive vision for classroom management 8 = few general references to concepts introduced in classes, links are not explicit or well-developed. No outside research was conducted. Rationale reflects an emerging philosophy classroom management. Final submission includes revised first draft with revisions. 10 = the candidate cites multiple relevant readings & additional outside research sources to support analysis & strategies. Rationale reflects a thoughtful, flexible, & clearly designed philosophy of classroom management that aligns with principles of culturally responsive teaching & social justice education. Final submission includes revised first draft with clear revisions based on feedback that improve the overall quality of the paper