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Caroline Fletcher

EDUC 370-Dr. Hawk

Classroom Management Model
April 18, 2015
Behavior management is something that should be considered thoroughly before
becoming a teacher. Behavior management is the removal and correction of unwanted behavior
that is occurring in the classroom. It does not mean punishing students for inappropriate actions;
it incorporates redirecting students to a more appropriate behavior. By having a well thought out
model for behavior management, it will help a classroom run much more smoothly throughout
the year. If rules, expectations, and consequences are explained clearly from the beginning of the
year, students will know exactly what to expect based on their behavior. By having the
expectations clear, student learning will be increased. There will be fewer distractions for
students leading to a more cohesive, trusting, learning filled classroom.

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As a teacher, it is extremely important to find out why a particular student is acting the
way they are. Maybe something is going on at home that causing them to act out and get
attention at school. If a teacher just punishes the student, all that is happening is a temporary
removal of the inappropriate behavior. The momentary management strategy may seem easier for
now; however, the behavior will most likely continue to return throughout the school year.
Learning will have to stop temporarily not only for the student being punished, but also for the
rest of the class while the teacher addresses the issue. Through appropriate behavior management
strategies, a classroom can be full of students eager to learn and interact with others
appropriately.
The role of behavior management should typically fall into a parents responsibility.
From the age even before children come to school, parents should be teaching a child how to
appropriately interact with others. From the basics of sharing toys to waiting your turn, children
should have a basis before even coming into their first years of school. A family is the first
connection that a child will have, and it is essential that these relationships are positive and
encouraging. The school should have basic rules that are enforced throughout. These should be
rules such as treating others the way you want to be treated, walking when you are inside the
building, and respecting teachers, students, faculty, and staff. Within each individual classroom,
there should be other rules that a student is expected to follow. These can be more specific;
however, there should not be so many rules that students are unable to remember all of them.
Teachers also need to enforce school wide rules in their classroom. Schools should be
supplemental to the behavior management that students are receiving outside of the school day.
Young students rely on their teachers for behavior management, especially in their first
few years of school. They do not know exactly what to expect, and a teacher needs to help

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convey these expectations to students. As students get older, they become more responsible for
their own actions and for understanding how their behavior impacts them. Teachers start with the
majority of the responsibility for the management, but they lose it as students get older. It
becomes transferred to almost completely the students responsibility. Teachers should be an
extension of a schools role in behavior management. Teachers who have completely different
behavior expectations from the rest of the teachers in the school will have a difficult time
implementing their rules because of how different it will be from childrens in other years.
The process for determining the rules of the classroom should involve mainly the teacher,
but also the students as well. When deciding what rules should be in the classroom, a teacher
should first figure out what the school-wide rules are. It is important not to contradict what the
school has implemented as a rule, since the students will already be accustomed to these. As a
lower elementary school teacher, I believe the list of rules should not be longer than about five.
There can be many more expectations and procedures for students; however, they would not fall
under the list of rules. After determining what the school-wide rules are, I would make sure that I
have determined the list of rules that best fits the group of students in my classroom. This should
and will change every year based on the students that are in my class. The list of rules will be
displayed visibly for the students to see on a daily basis. The 5 basic rules that I will have in my
classroom, but will be adjusted based on the class that I have will be:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Listen while someone else is talking.

Respect everyone and everything in the school.
Be kind to others in the room.
Keep your hands and feet to yourself.
Follow all instructions that are given to you.

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I modeled these rules for the class that I have this semester for my field placement. While
these would not necessarily be effective for my first class, the rules would be extremely effective
for that particular class. Once I have read these rules to the students on the first day of school, we
would talk about what each rule means to them and what it looks like in the classroom. After the
first few days, I will ask if the students think any rules need to be changed. Once I look into their
concerns and I have a better idea of the students in my class, I will make any adjustments
necessary. The next day, as a class we will go through each rule again and determine what it
means to them and what it looks like. This way, the students have a clear understanding of what
is expected of them while they are in the classroom. As Harry and Rosemary Wong said in their
article Consistency, Classroom management refers to all of the things that a teacher does to
organize students, space, time, and materials so that learning can take place in a consistent
environment (2014). By setting your class up for success, learning can take place throughout the
year. Many students need structure and benefit from knowing what to expect each day, so little
things like sticking to a pretty typical structure can really help students.
In order to keep students focused and learning throughout the year, I will implement
some strategies to promote good behavior in the classroom. The first thing I will do is have the
rules listed somewhere visible for the students. This will be a constant reminder of what is
expected of them when they are in the classroom. Another small thing that I will do is to ensure
that even while working with a small group, I am able to see everything that is going on in the
classroom. By being able to observe what is going on, I can hopefully keep my students focused
and on track even if I am not standing there making sure they are doing their work. In my
classroom, I will use a reward system similar to what I have observed in my field experience
class. They each have a jar with their name on in where they can collect and lose gems

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throughout the week. At the end of each week, students who have a certain number of gems can
turn them in for a prize from the prize box. Some discipline systems make it obvious if a student
is having a bad week; however, this makes it more private so that not every student knows how
many gems you have.
My classroom arrangement will be extremely important to how I want my classroom to
operate. With small clusters of desks, students will be able to easily work together in group work
assignments that I plan to use frequently. If they have a question that does not need a teachers
response, they can quietly ask the people around them without disrupting the entire class. As a
whole, I will use a whole class reward system of whole class activity time. While it may vary
each year from class to class, the majority of students would enjoy having extra recess time at the
end of the week. In order to determine if the students have earned this reward, they will need to
have received compliments six days from other teachers. This does not have to be six days in a
row, but after the sixth day, we will plan a day for their reward. This other teacher could be one
in the hallway who noticed how quietly the class was waiting for everyone to use the restroom,
or maybe the students were well behaved in P.E. or music that day. This will encourage the
students to hold each other accountable throughout the day not only in the classroom.
Misbehavior is going to occur in every classroom. The key to avoiding the misbehavior is
to ensure that students know what is not acceptable and what will occur should they choose to
not follow the rules and procedures. Harry Wong emphasizes the importance of the first day of
school and how this sets the tone for the rest of the school year. Without effective
implementation on the first day, it will be extremely difficult for students to know what is
expected of them (Wong, 2014). Another big part of correcting behavior in the classroom is
getting students to realize what they did was wrong and take ownership of it. Barbara Coloroso

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has a four step process for discipline that I believe can be extremely helpful in the classroom.
The four things are: It shows students what they should have done, it gives them as much
ownership of the problem as they are able to handle, it gives them options for solving the
problem, it leaves their dignity intact By allowing my students to accept what happened and
make the appropriate changes, it will help encourage students to create a classroom environment
where they feel safe.
A theorist that I do not believe I will use in my classroom is Alfie Kohn. Kohn
discourages the use of rewards in the classroom because he believes that students will come to
expect a reward every time they do something. In his book Punished by Rewards, Kohn (1993)
says, For behavior changes to last, it is usually necessary to keep the rewards coming (p. 36). I
strongly disagree with this statement. Many students seek the reward, so they will continue to do
the behavior even if the reward is not there. The reward does not need to be given to the students
every time, so if you sparingly use the reward, students will be kept guessing as to when they
will see a reward. I do not see myself using Kohns theories in my future classroom.
To me, punishment, consequences, solutions, and restorative practices all mean very
different things. Punishment implies that a rule is broken and in an authoritarian way a student is
forced into compliance by doing what they are told. Examples of punishments are sitting in the
corner, not being allowed to talk during lunch, etc. Consequences can be good and bad based on
the action that occurs. The word consequence typically has a negative connotation; however,
positive consequences are important as well. Consequences should lead to an opportunity for
students to learn something. This can be realizing what impact their action had on another
student, or the impact that it has on the entire class. Consequences will be used more frequently
in my classroom than punishment. Solutions should imply that all students involved think this a

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fair way to remedy the problem, not just the student who was hurt. By getting all students
involved who were in the incident, it allows for students to see others perspective of what
occurred. The goal of restorative practices is to make sure that the issue does not occur again and
that everyone who was involved feels as though the problem has been completely solved. This
can range from all playing together at recess again to more serious things like no longer bullying
at school. All of these can be used in a classroom; however, I believe that the two most effective
ones are consequences and restorative practices.

References
Wong, H., & Wong, R. (2014). Consistency. Instructor, 124 (2). Retrieved from http://0search.ebscohost.com.alex.bridgewater.edu/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=a9h&AN=98928294&site=ehost-live
Inner Discipline. (n.d.). Retrieved April 25, 2015, from
http://www.metu.edu.tr/~e133376/project/Inner Discipline.htm
Kohn, A. (1993). Punished by rewards: The trouble with gold stars, incentive plans, as, praise,
and other bribes. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.