Kelly Montei

EDU 352

Carrie Mitchell

January 16, 2022

Behavior Management Checklist

The checklist for classroom behavior management reviews what actions and policies a teacher is
presenting in their classroom. This is so the teacher can reflect on how their practices are going and
what steps are needed to improve them. Besides this checklist other administrators should be reviewing
this along with other colleagues who could provide some insight, and with the combined effort the
reward and punishment system should be fair and just for everyone involved. Ideally a teacher should
be not easily angered or swayed by miniscule disruptions and find humor in them. They should be well
prepared for any situation and understand the risk that accompany every lesson plans. To prevent
situations from escalating rules should be posted and followed through appropriately. The one major
takeaway the author of the checklist wants people to take away from this checklist is the notion if things
are structured in an orderly routine, then things should go smoothly.

When I took the Classroom Behavior Management Checklist there was a lot of situations that were not
applicable to me as I do not have a classroom yet and have not dealt with many of these scenarios. In
college classes there are already rules set so when I am giving lessons, I do not have to address the rules
and/or follow through with the consequences. But in recent years, I have been discovering more about
myself regarding my temperament and these discoveries can help me find steps on how to be a better
teacher.
One of the things I really struggle with is when students start to cry when rules are being enforced and
then turning to another adult for counsel. I used to work at a preschool in high school and the lead
teacher expected me to help make sure that all students were being enforced, and some of the students
did not like what some of the rules were. When I went up to them and tried to gently redirect them into
doing something else, they would burst into tears and run to another adult saying that I was being mean
to them. When they started to tear up it did make me uncomfortable, but I have been proactive in trying
to learn how to handle the discomfort.

A few years later after some more observation and consultation with the lead teacher and articles from
the internet, I got to try again on a one-on-one basis with two toddlers who live nearby. The first toddler
I worked with the parent asked me to work with them to get them to read more. When I came over the
child did not want to read but instead play outside on the swings, so we compromised and read on the
swings. By doing this it allowed both parties able to do what they want and made reading fun. I
observed that the child was more immersed with the book because it wasn’t as stifling as sitting in a
chair and reading a book. This is when I learned the importance of accommodating objects that interest
the students to help get and objective done.

The next toddler who I worked with I spent more time with watching and interacting with them in
comparison to the first. In comparison to the first child, this one lived quite a sheltered life away from
those in their age group. It was often a struggle to leave because the child did not have a lot of
playmates, and as such would often have throw a tantrum. The parents were excellent in allowing the
child time to recenter their emotions and provide great insight on how to do it in the classroom. They
would be patient with the child to help them come up with the right words to convey what they were
feeling and offering opportunities for him to separate into another room to regroup. The last time I was
there I was able to help him find the right words to talk to me and convey what he was feeling, and that
was quite an accomplishment. I left that clinical with a good relationship with the child because of how
fun and nice I was to him.

Another thing that came to mind when reviewing this checklist is an experience I had while taking a
science class at Washtenaw Community College. I was teaching a lesson about different seasons and the
teacher purposely had a student misbehave in the class and my task would be to address the behavior
appropriately. The student who misbehaved decided to start to smash Oreos in the middle of the lesson,
and I purposedly ignored it. By ignoring it the student got fed up with not receiving my attention and
stopped, especially after seeing that students who were acting appropriately were getting my attention.
This was a different approach them most of my peers but was most effective because the student was
able to remain in class. These motives were discovered after we had a discussion after class where we
both had a good laugh.

The one area where I struggle is how organize and varied my lessons are, and that is because I do not
have enough practice yet in making them so. This is a skill that will be developed over time and once I
enter the classroom and see the students then it will be easier to account for them. Most college classes
offer only a few variables and as such there is more to be desired to effectively accommodate a lesson.
My goal is to learn more strategies and constantly reflect on lessons to improve and be more
accommodating. This can also improve the relatability of each lesson as well, because the more we
know of students the more relatable they can be.

References

Behavioradvisor.com. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16, 2022, from

https://www.behavioradvisor.com/BehManCheckList.html