Running head: CLASSROOM AND BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT 1

Classroom and Behavior Management

Faith Ferrulli

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2021

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Introduction

The student teaching experience’s overarching goal is to grow and develop my skills to

become an effective classroom teacher. The classroom and behavior management competency

allows me to evaluate the procedures that are currently in place in my classroom while also

developing new ways to implement a more positive classroom environment. When it comes to

classroom management, the word discipline often comes to the forefront; however, discipline is

not the focus of classroom management. In retrospect, to be an effective teacher who implements

classroom management, there must be a focus on “managing the classroom over disciplining the

classroom” (Wong, Wong, Rogers, & Brooks, 2012, p. 60). The artifacts that I have chosen for

this competency highlight the practical evidence that supports a positive learning environment

while simultaneously being developed and rooted in my faith.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

Artifact One

Positive reinforcement is key to the development of a positive learning environment for

these students. I have implemented positive reinforcement by providing students with instant

reward, satisfaction, and feedback when they work together to complete a task or exhibit positive

behaviors and build one another up. A book titled “How Full Is Your Bucket?” demonstrates the

concept of building one another up and withholding from sharing harmful comments or such

actions. When students exhibit behaviors that fill up another child’s “bucket” or participates in a

way that provides others with a clearer understanding of the topic, I add drops to their group’s

bucket or the whole group bucket, depending on the responses and participation. As a language

arts team teacher, I have two different groups of students that I have the privilege to teach. Each

group of students has three subgroups based on their seating and reading levels. At the end of
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each month, the group buckets are counted, and whichever group has the most receives a reward.

Once the class bucket is filled, the whole class receives a reward.

Implementing this cooperative reward system allows students to visualize the immediate

product of their participation up overtime. It also allows them to take responsibility in the

classroom learning environment through positive reinforcement. Another example of positive

reinforcement that I have implemented into the classroom is an occasional GoNoodle dance

break that allows students to have a brain break after they displayed a significant time of working

hard and putting forth considerable effort. The implementation of positive reinforcement will

enable students to see what behaviors. Are praised versus the behaviors that need to be

readdressed and reevaluated. There is an instant shift in their perspective of appropriate

classroom behavior when they See another student exhibiting behavior that gets praised.

Artifact Two

The second artifact I have included in this competency is the simple calls and responses;

or attention grabbers. When students get off task, or their noise level gets too loud during

independent or group time, I, as the teacher, will present a call, and the students will respond

with a particular phrase. For instance, I use the call “holy moly” with the afternoon group, and

the students respond with “guacamole.” This interactive call and response grabs the students’

attention and allows them to readdress their focus back onto me to give further instruction or

advise students to refocus and decrease their noise level. This artifact highlights both the

behavior aspect in the classroom portion of this competency and how it addresses the classroom

as a whole and all of the students in regard to either their behavior or to give them further

instruction.
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The attention grabbers are used frequently, so students are aware of the correct response.

The consistency creates a procedure for them so that they can respond and redirect their focus

quickly. The interactive and humorous attention grabbers allow students to be filled with joy

while being redirected by the teacher. It is an efficient way to grab the students’ attention while

also creating an environment that is warm and welcoming as relationships are built with the

various attention grabbers through selecting attention grabbers that relate to the students. My

cooperating teacher has an ocean-themed classroom, and so, another attention grabber that

emphasizes the idea of creating relatability with the students is the call “shark bait” and the

response “oooh ha ha.” Finding key ways to grab the students’ attention while also creating a

simple management tactic is key to creating a positive learning environment. These attention

grabbers allow me to capture students’ attention without raising my voice or using a negative

tone. Students find joy out of these attention grabbers, and I often hear them implementing these

attention grabbers themselves when their peers are getting too loud. There are many attention

grabbers for various purposes, such as refocusing students, addressing something that needs to

change, or for transitions.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

The purpose of classroom and behavior management is to create an environment in the

classroom that supports learning and growth while also making sure students follow procedures.

To effectively implement classroom behavior management strategies, there needs to be solidified

teacher-student relationships that support deep learning and positive social and emotional

development within the students (Schonert-Reichl, 2017, p. 137). While studying at Regent, I

have come to understand the importance of relationships with students as a fundamental and

pivotal point in the learning experience for both the teacher and the students. An atmosphere
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where students feel comfortable with correction and management will allow students to be more

willing to “grapple with challenging material and persist at difficult learning tasks” (Schonert-

Reichl, 2017, p. 139).

The two artifacts that I have implemented into this competency revolve around being

organized and having structure within the classroom. In order to be an effective teacher,

classrooms need the foundation of organization and structure to provide students with

consistency within procedures in such a way that allows students to be able to decipher what will

happen next and be able to grow in a predictable and consistent environment (Wong et al., 2012,

p. 61). I am currently student teaching in a title one school in Virginia Beach City Public

Schools. Due to my school’s location and the school population, it is evident that some students

come from backgrounds or home lives that are inconsistent and unpredictable. As a teacher, it is

vital to provide an atmosphere in the classroom for the students that is predictable and consistent.

After all, there is research to back up the claim that “when we provide students with an

atmosphere that is safe, predictable, consistent, and nurturing, there will be an increased level in

student achievement” (Wong et al., 2012, p. 61).

Teaching requires flexibility, and I have often come across various tactics and strategies

to implement different management techniques in my classroom to address behavior, issues, or

overall classroom management. When procedures like this are implemented on the go, it only

reinforces the idea that “mastering classroom management means anticipating problems that

might arise and creating systems that help you avoid them” (Romano, 2012, p. 12). Some

classroom behavior management strategies work with a group of students, while others will not. I

have seen this first hand as my morning group is very different from my afternoon group. The

ability to focus varies on levels given the students and the level of support that they need. That
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being said, not all strategies will work in every classroom. However, it is pivotal to know your

students and find strategies to create a positive learning classroom environment where the

students will flourish.

Faith Integration

As a student teacher in the third grade, I never realized how much I would come across

overwhelming stress and anxiety in students. Due to their parents’ pressure or their own, these

students allow their mistakes and grades to define who they are. It is heartbreaking to see

students get show overwhelmed and upset when they make a mistake or do not get the grade on

an activity or assignment they were hoping to get. With that being said, my faith integration in

my classroom practices is vital in the relationships I build with my students and the classroom

management strategies that I’m implementing. I try to get across to my students that their

mistakes and grades do not define them; instead, they are so much more. I aim to implement

positive reinforcement with principles of faith behind them. With the bucket filling technique in

the joy that the attention grabbers bring, I am implementing concepts from 1 Thessalonians 5:11

(ESV), where it states, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you

are doing.” I am continually reminding my students that their words and their actions affect

themselves and their peers.

The ability to create a sense of teamwork and a positive learning environment in the

classroom is so pivotal to the students’ social and emotional learning. When they can view their

peers as teammates, there is an implementation of Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (ESV), which states, “Two

are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up

his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” In

partnership with the concept of teamwork through “How Full is Your Bucket?”, there is a
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constant reminder to my students that words have power so as to emphasize the importance

stated in Ephesians 4:29 (ESV), “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such

as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” a

personal goal in teaching is to pour into my students as much as I possibly can, so that they are

filled with the fruits of the spirit and feel loved and safe in the classroom.
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References

Romano, M. (2012). The new teacher's toolbox: Mastering classroom management (part 2). The

Science Teacher, 79(8), 12-12. Retrieved March 6, 2021, from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/43557731.

Schonert-Reichl, K. (2017). Social and emotional learning and teachers. The Future of Children,

27(1), 137-155. Retrieved March 6, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/44219025.

Wong, H., Wong, R., Rogers, K., & Brooks, A. (2012). Managing your classroom for success.

Science and Children, 49(9), 60-64. Retrieved March 6, 2021, from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/43747385.