Ashlee Miller

Professor Suk
EDUC 230-03 Education Field Experience
Spring Semester 2023

Observation Report #2: Classroom Management and Routines

I. Observation #2: Classroom Management and Routines

II. Grade Level and Subject Area: Second grade/ English language arts and

mathematics

III. Setting: The classroom type of my second grade field experience placement is

inclusive and general education based. The school setting is at an elementary school

in a suburban area. There is one teacher and 14 students in this classroom. An

intervention specialist also comes in once a day for 40 minutes.

IV. Pre-Observation: Before this class, I was able to observe several different

elementary classes during my senior year in highschool. Throughout my time

observing these classes, I was able to see the different teacher’s techniques in their

classroom management techniques and routines. I noticed how some teachers chose to

display a daily schedule on the board, while some did not. I also was able to observe

how some teachers were more authoritative while managing their class, while some,

like my current cooperating teacher, is more permissive. In addition to my history of

observing classrooms, I have also learned a variety of different classroom

management techniques which I have seen in my observations over the years. To

support my ideas in this observation, I have collected the source, “Behaviorist

Approach to Psychology: Definition, History, Concepts, and Impact” which discusses

some background information about behaviorism and the pros and cons to using it. I

also found a source titled “Engaging Young Children in Thinking Routines”. This

article talks about how important it is for young children to have an established

routine and schedule. My final source is, “Classroom Behavior Management: A

 Dozen Common Mistakes and What to Do Instead” which explains the right and

wrong ways to handle a classroom.

V. Data: Mr. R and his students know exactly how their day is going to go. They have a

very similar daily routine that rarely changes. Mr. R has the daily schedule up on the

board every day with the times for each subject. This does not get erased and changed

the next day. For example the board will say, “Math: 11am-11:40am”. Then below, it

could say “Snacks: 11:40am-11:55pm”. Each day though, Mr. R writes what they will

be doing for each of their daily subjects. As far as Mr. R’s classroom management

style, he lets his students have a lot of freedom. There are not a lot of times where he

is standing at the front of the room giving a formal lesson. Instead, the students are

put into grouped centers where they rotate every day. Every once in a while, students

will become off topic within their centers and fool around with their group members.

When this happens, Mr. R will sometimes go over and correct them. He does not have

to say much when he goes over. He may say something like, “What’s going on over

here?” and the students will redirect themselves. There are not many instances where

Mr. R has to deliberately correct a student. I have only seen one time where he has

had to pull a student aside for misbehavior. He never has called any student out in

front of the class though. One of Mr. R’s main classroom management techniques can

be connected to behaviorism. He uses “Ruffer Dollars”. He will give his students fake

money to reward good behavior and periodically, they go shopping for prizes with

that money.

VI. Analysis: I think Mr. R’s classroom management and routines work very well for

both himself and the students. As I mentioned before, both he and his students know

almost exactly how their day is going to go because Mr. R has a schedule posted. It is

important for young children to have structure like this in their lives. The article,
“Engaging Young Children in Thinking Routines” discusses this importance. The

author says, “Organizing the day around routines provides children with consistency,

confidence, security, trust, and a sense of safety, because the routines allow them to

identify patterns that help them predict what is going to happen next” (Salmon, 2012).

I absolutely see all of these positive effects within Mr. R’s classroom. I also

mentioned before, how Mr. R handles classroom management. He has been a teacher

for over 10 years, so I think he tends to let a lot of misbehavior slide. He is definitely

permissive over authoritative with his students. This is an idea connected to

behaviorism. SimplyPsychology.com says in their article about behaviorism,

“unwanted behaviors, such as tardiness and dominating class discussions can be

extinguished by being ignored by the teacher (rather than being reinforced by having

attention drawn to them)” (Mcleod 2023). It’s a known concept that children often act

out in seek of attention from an adult. When Mr. R ignores some of the bad behavior

that goes on in his classroom, he is not giving them that attention. That being said,

some misbehavior has to be given attention. When Mr. R needs to correct obvious

misbehavior, he does. I mentioned how when the students are at their centers that

sometimes they can get a little rowdy. When this happens, all it takes is for Mr. R to

walk over and ask, “What's going on over here?” for the students to settle down. I

think this is because his students have a lot of respect for him. I think he gets that

respect from his students because he respects them back through the trust and freedom

that he gives them. Another management technique Mr. R uses is “Ruffer dollars”

which I explained already. This is connected to behaviorism. His students don’t

realize this, but by handing out Ruffer dollars (the stimuli), Mr. R is conditioning

them to make good choices. This is exactly what behaviorism is all about.
VII. Recommendations: It’s difficult for me to come up with many recommendations as

to how I would change Mr. R’s classroom management techniques and routines. I am

a huge fan of using behaviorism in the classroom, which I see a lot of in Mr. R’s class,

so I would not change anything about that. I also love Mr. R’s usage of a listed daily

schedule. Through my research, I have learned how important a daily classroom

routine is to provide structure for children. The only thing I wish Mr. R would do

differently, is to focus his attention on one specific student’s misbehavior. I notice this

student saying a lot of rude and disrespectful things not only to Mr. R, but also to her

peers. Research shows that ignoring bad behavior in students lessens said behavior

because they aren’t getting the attention they crave from teachers. While this is true,

the article, “Classroom Behavior Management: A Dozen Common Mistakes and

What to Do Instead” explains why this isn’t always the right way to respond. The

article says, “Ignoring must be used in combination with behavior-building strategies,

such as reinforcement of appropriate behaviors, teaching replacement behaviors, and

reinforcing peers. Ignoring teaches students what not to do, but does not teach them

what they should do instead” (Barbetta et. al., 2005). Based on this quote, Mr. R

should be praising this student for her good behavior so she knows the right way to

behave and speak to her peers and teacher. This is something I would recommend Mr.

R doing.

VIII. Post Observation: While thinking and reflecting upon the questions asked in this

observation, I have strengthened and learned new ideas. Specifically within

behaviorism. I have always known that I want to implement a reward system in my

future classroom. Based on this observation, this thought has been strengthened even

more. I also learned a new side of behaviorism through my research. This has to do

with a teacher ignoring certain behavior. Whenever Mr. R does this, I always think to
 myself, “Why isn’t he doing anything?”. I now know that he likely does this, because

he doesn’t want to reinforce that behavior. Moving forward with my visits to Mr. R’s

classroom, I will understand why he doesn’t always engage in misbehavior.

IX. Citations:

Barbetta, Patricia, Norona, & Leong. (2005). Classroom Behavior Management: A Dozen

Common Mistakes and What to Do Instead. Retrieved April 23, 2023, from

https://web.cortland.edu/andersmd/psy501/12.htm

Mcleod, S. (2023, March 1). Behaviorist Approach to Psychology: Definition, History,

Concepts, and Impact. Simply Psychology. Retrieved April 5, 2023, from

https://simplypsychology.org/behaviorism.html

Salmon, A. K. (2012, June 25). Engaging Young Children in Thinking Routines. Taylor &

Francis. Retrieved April 5, 2023, from

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00094056.2010.10523133?journalCode=

uced20

X. Appendix: N/A

Schedule
● Observe how your teacher handles the classroom daily routines. Is the schedule
posted? Is the schedule adhered to? Is the schedule flexible?
Mr. R is very organized with his classes' daily routines. The daily schedule is posted
on the board everyday. In this schedule, Mr. R provides the order of the subjects along
with how much time the class will spend on each. This typically does not change,
meaning that this schedule repeats every day. The schedule is usually adhered to.
Every once in a while though, I have seen Mr. R switch subjects when it makes sense
to. I also have seen him spend extra time on a subject by doing a mini lesson to clarify
any confusion the students might have.
● What do you notice about the schedule: Is there enough time given for the
scheduled activity? Are the students aware of the schedule?
I have noticed that there is plenty of time for each subject and or activity. Mr. R has
been teaching 2nd grade for a while, so I think he has mastered his schedule. He
 knows what works and what doesn’t work. The students are definitely aware of the
schedule. I have seen them walk over to the board where it is posted to look at what
they are doing for the day.
● Is it effective? What might you change?
The schedule is very effective. The only thing I might consider changing would be
spending more time on science and social studies. The time allotted for each subject is
probably something that is set for all of the classes though.
● Does the teacher have the freedom to create the schedule for the day, or is it
created by the district? If it is created by the administration, what parts of the
schedule does the teacher have the authority over?
The schedule is created by the district, but Mr. R has the freedom to move some
things around. For example, social studies and science can be switched around with
math. Language arts is set in stone though for the time that the class completes it.

Guidance
● How does the teacher respond to misbehavior?
Mr. R is very calm when he responds to misbehavior. I have noticed that when his
students get a little rowdy, that he will subtly redirect them. It seems like his students
have enough respect for him that they know when they need to refocus. Mr. R also
respects his students to make good choices.
● Are consequences given? What are they? Are the students aware of the
consequences they will receive?
I have not seen Mr. R have to give any major consequences. However, I did see him
pull a student aside once after she drew on her nose with a marker after he said not to.
I’m sure the students are aware that if they do something really bad, that they know
they are not supposed to do, that they will face consequences.
● Is the guidance consistent?
The guidance is definitely consistent. Mr. R and the students both expect almost
exactly what their days will look like.
● Are there conflicts that go unnoticed? Are there conflicts that are unresolved or
brushed off? Do the students play an active role in resolving the issues, and how
much are they involved?
There are some conflicts that seem to go unnoticed. I’m not sure if Mr. R sees the
conflicts and doesn’t decide to respond, or if he doesn’t see them at all.
● Is there sarcasm used? Is there an element of time-out or cool down used?
Mr. R uses sarcasm with some students. The ones that he knows that understand what
he means he will use it with. Some of them, he can’t though.
● Is there a class system in place for rewards and punishments? For example, is
there a marble jar to be filled by the whole class and then a group reward given?
Mr. R has Ruffer dollars that he gives out to his students. He lets them buy prizes
periodically with that money.
● How are the parents notified of misbehavior; why and when are they notified?
 Mr. R would talk to the parents at pick up if he can’t get in touch with them over
email. Mr R. addresses an issue first but if it isn’t resolved, that's when he goes to a
parent. Then he will go to the administration.
● Does the teacher use the principal/director in the building for disciplinary
action? When, why, and what would warrant the principal’s involvement?
If Mr. R does not get a response from a parent about misbehavior or the student’s
behavior isn't resolved, that's when he goes to principal. Anything physical would
warrant principal involvement automatically though. Also, repeated offenses would
warrant principal involvement.
● How are teachers assessed? When are they observed? How is the teacher told
that they are doing something incorrectly? Is there a ‘write-up’ system? Is the
infraction placed in the person’s personal/personnel file?
Mr. R is tenured so he gets one planned and announced 40 minute assessment and one
unannounced drop in for 20 minutes. One is in the beginning of the year anywhere
from October November. The second one is anytime after that till around March.
● How have COVID protocols impacted classroom and community engagement
related to schedule and/or guidance?
The way Mr. R had to set up the room for COVID made it so that students couldn’t
collaborate with each other much. It made it hard to do. Certain mouth sounds and
mouth looks like “th” were not able to be seen with masks so it made it harder for
students to grasp that idea. A lot of students are visual learners so its hard for them to
get it. In 2020 the schedule was changed because the students were in person and
virtual. Students fell behind because of this because they needed refreshers a lot of
when they were at home virtual.