1.

Establishing a Positive Classroom Culture

In order to get to know my students, I will start out the school year with a student take
home survey (see attached Interest Survey link to view artifact). This survey will help me better
understand each student as an individual as well as help me to understand what their learning
preferences are and how to best accommodate for their learning goals. Getting to know your
students and being able to effectively accommodate for everyone through differentiated
instruction is key to a positive student-teacher relationship and key to student success and their
achievements. I plan to start off each day with a fun and engaging puzzle in order to create the
optimal learning environment. I want my students to remember my class as fun, interesting,
engaging and challenging but not overly challenging. I also want them to remember me for the
relationships I made and the support I provided for each student to achieve their best. Math is
often seen as boring, unnecessary and too challenging for many students. They believe they arent
good at math and therefore cannot learn math. I want to change these views one classroom at a
time. A very important component to creating this atmosphere will be to choose and create
engaging tasks that apply to real world situations. I will use the student surveys to shape the paths
in which I create these tasks in order to stimulate interest in each student.
Research shows that the causes of many classroom behaviors labeled and punished as rule
infractions are problems of the student and teacher not relating to each other interpersonally.
(Marzano, 2003) The more I can differentiate instruction to student interests and the more
meaningful relationships I can make with each student, the better my classroom management will
in turn be. One other component that I believe will be important to the classroom environment
and adjusting instruction are unit evaluations. These evaluations will help determine what went
well and what could be changed, both on their part and mine. Students will be able to reflect on
their progress and efforts. If they have suggestions of topics that would be interesting or types of
activities that would be beneficial to the upcoming unit, this would be a great opportunity for
them to express these suggestions.

2. Developing Classroom Rules and Procedures:

Classroom rules and procedures are extremely important to create on day one and
consistently continue to implement each day. Students must have a clear understanding of what is
expected of them and what is expected of teachers. I strongly believe that the classroom rules,
procedures and the resulting consequences that follow specific misbehavior should be established
with the collaboration of the students and the teacher. Having student input attaches value to the
rules and procedures and also helps students build on self-discipline skills. When there is value
and reason behind these rules, students are must more likely to follow them. This strategy gives
students a certain degree of control and freedom with the exception that the teacher always has
the final say (see attached Classroom Rules link to view my list of expectations and rules).
In my class, respect and communication are the key rules. Students and teachers must respect
each other in order for effective teaching and learning to occur. With that said, I believe upper
level high school classes are a bridge to college education and should be structured similarly. The
classroom should be a higher learning experience with a student centered learning environment.
Students will be given the responsibility to leave the classroom when appropriate. They will still
need to sign out in order to account for their whereabouts, in case of an emergency, but will be
able to get up and go to the bathroom or get a drink when needed as long as the timing is
appropriate. Students will be allowed to use their cell phones as long as it doesnt become an

issue interrupting instruction or learning. If they absolutely need to take a phone call they will
know to take it into the hall. Students now days have very different life styles, some may have
children and others may have family emergencies and need to have their phones on them. In order
to keep the rules fair for all, cell phones will be allowed for this reason. Cell phones are also an
integral part of instruction when needed for research purposes (in the instance of no IPads) or for
collecting teacher conducted poll responses and other technology activities.
Tardiness is unacceptable unless extenuating circumstances apply or if they are out of their
seats for good reason, contingent to my own digression. Three tardies will result in an unexcused
absence and therefore detention. Flexibility and understanding will be necessary in some
situations. Homework will have due dates however, they can be turned in by the end of the unit
(before the test) for partial credit. Students will also be allowed to redo assignments in order to
allow for material mastery. If students want to retake a test, they will be able to do so if and only if
they can prove to me they deserve to by putting in the adequate amount of work. The retakes will
require all assignments to be turned in with at least a B or higher. This can be a lot of work for
some students to achieve but I want to instill the motto that hard work and dedication will pay off.
Hard work and dedication will give them the reward of test retake in order to improve their grade.

3. Classroom Layout:
Student desks will be in four groups of four in order to accommodate for a cooperative
learning environment. Each group will have a total of four smaller tables that make up one large
table. This will ensure that students are able to pull apart their desks making an adequate amount
of space between one another come test time. It also allows for flexibility when creating groups of
different sizes rather than just groups of four. The teachers desk will be strategically stationed
near the door in order to create a welcoming environment Having the teacher desk at a close
proximately to the door allows me to easily and efficiently greet students as they come in as well
as when they leave. Another reason why I chose to have the desk near the door facing the rest of
the classroom is to eliminate the possibility of blind spots in the classroom and ensure an open
view of all students and activities. The shelving unit, near the teachers desk, will provide a space
for students to turn in assignments and check for late work. Motivational posters and quotes will
be incorporated throughout the classroom, but most importantly, outstanding student work will
also be displayed at the front of the classroom near the smart board in order to provide examples
of the work I find to fulfill the high expectations I hold for all students. This display of hard work
will provide a sense of accomplishment for those who have work hung as well as provide a
motivation for those who strive to be on the wall. I intend to have each students work displayed at
least once throughout the duration of the class. With the exception of the four groups of desks, I
will also provide 3 different learning areas. One learning area will be an independent study table,
located at the font of the classroom farthest for the bulk of the classroom noise, for those who
better succeed working on their own. The other two stations allow for collaborative group work.
The circle rug set up incorporates a relaxing environment with a group white board easel allowing
for students to work together through hands on practice. I have seen and heard many students
express their enjoyment of working in a group on a whiteboard critiquing one another as they
work through problems to find the best solution, often times displaying a variety of insights and
approaches. The blocked seating will also allow for group collaboration as well as an opportunity
for individual work. Blocked seating allows for a unique and fun setup for students to relax as they
work on homework and projects. The main source of technology used in the classroom will be the
smart board as well as graphing calculators. I hope that students will also get the opportunity to

have a one-on-one learning environment with IPads in order to utilize a multitude of math
programing software such as GeoGebra and TinkerPlots.






















http://classroom.4teachers.org


5. Monitoring the Classroom and Responding to Student Misbehavior:


Applying consequences to misbehaviors can be difficult in some situations because I dont
want to come off as the mean teacher, but at the same time, it is proven that students grow and
learn from their mistakes. Being consistent and prompt when applying consequences is very
important in ensuring fairness and equal treatment. If teachers do not react to a situation or
misbehavior in an efficient manor, students are likely to see how far they can stretch their
boundaries. This leads to a lack in dominance and a decline of effective classroom management.
Handling misbehavior while still maintaining a positive classroom climate is key to a teachers
success. The following are a list of some of the misbehaviors I will not accept in my classroom:

Cheating
Talking during a test
Foul language
Inappropriate contact
Inappropriate conversations
Throwing objects of any kind
Yelling/ screaming

Name calling
Disrespecting others

These misbehaviors, as well as many others, require immediate action. The resulting
consequences would come from the following list of hierarchy responses:

Hierarchy of Responses to Disruptive Behavior
Consequences for the disruption of instruction and student learning may include any/all of the
following:

Proximity
Re-direct
Verbal Cue
Seat Change
Call to parent/guardian
Loss of wanted stimuli or privilege
Detention
Referral to administrator
Suspension
Expulsion

These responses progress from nonverbal to verbal and then to direct depending on the
severity of the misbehavior. Implementing the hierarchy list of responses in a variety of situations
is a great way to minimize and prevent student misbehavior and interruptions. Along with the use
of hierarchy responses, working with the student to discuss what is going on and what need
change is often necessary in order to incorporate student involvement and accommodate for their
input. Especially in aggressive misbehavior cases, teachers need to sit down the student, give them
positive feedback on a particular behavior and then identify the behavior that needs changing
while collaborating with them to come up with an appropriate plan to correct the misbehavior.
Their participation in the process is likely to result in a successful intervention.

The concept of withitness is an important concept in monitoring student behavior. If a
teacher cannot multitask and lacks a sense of what is happening in all areas of the classroom at
any point in time, the students are likely to misbehave. Teachers must be perceived by students as
having eyes on the back of their heads. Being a server for many years and listening to everything
around me as well as keeping a close eye on everyone in my section allows for a prompt response
when needed. Teachers must be able to anticipate what may happen and be prepared to act upon
it at all times.