Focus Area Two 1

Jacie Hidalgo

EDUC 1301.2A1

Dr. Johnson

16 February 2024

Focus Area Two

To complete focus area two I observed a sixth-grade science class and was allowed to

explore the teacher’s management style. Among the different types of management systems, I

was able to view how this teacher set guidelines, rewards and consequences, goals, and strategies

for gaining attention.

The guidelines that this teacher has set for her class are followed every day without

exception. When the students come into the classroom they are to sit in their assigned seats and

not get up until attendance is taken. This rule is to ensure every student is accounted for. It also

gets the students ready to participate in the daily classroom assignments. Each student gets three

passes at the beginning of every sixth week that they are allowed to use to leave the classroom.

After these passes are used, there is to be no more leaving the class unless it is an absolute

emergency. However, this is different for certain students. A few of the special needs students

need to be able to leave the class whenever they start to feel overwhelmed. This can happen more

than three times in six weeks, so it would not be fair to restrict their access to leave. A great way

to end each class period is to do something that the teacher calls “good things”. If a student has a

good thing to share, they raise their hand and then announce it to the class. This teacher

explained, “The students love the share personal details about the good things happening in their

life, and I like to hear them!” This is something that I would like to incorporate into my future

classroom so that I can get to know my students and end each class on a good note.
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To make the class cooperate this teacher has created a reward and consequence system. A

fun reward that this teacher does to encourage student cooperation is a sticker chart. For every

good deed presented or achievement the student makes a sticker is added to their chart. The

teacher lets the children pick their stickers so that it is a more interactive experience. Verbal

encouragement is also used to promote good behavior from all the students. The teacher

explained the reason for her reward system by stating, “If a student sees that another student is

getting rewarded for something good, then it makes them want to be recognized for their good

actions too.” Just as there are rewards to good behaviors, there are also consequences to bad

ones. If a child acts out enough times, they are no longer allowed to participate in fun classroom

activities. Instead, they are instructed to write a paper on how their actions disrupt the learning of

others. Of course, the punishment does not last forever, so as soon as they are done with their

essay the child is allowed to participate again. The reward system is the same for all students, but

the consequences differ from student to student. For special needs students, bad behavior is dealt

with according to their specific documentation. For example, if the student has a behavioral

intervention plan the teacher must follow the instructions for giving punishments. One

cooperation technique in this plan is to give the students time to cool off by sitting them in the

hall for a few minutes. If this does not calm the student down, they are then sent to the

counselor's office.

Setting goals is this teacher’s favorite way to encourage students to strive for excellence

and raise their expectations of achievement is by creating digital vision boards. At the beginning

of this year, each student got to decorate and explain what their personal and academic goals are.

Each time a student passes a test, participates in class, or does a good deed their goal bar levels

up. The great thing about these vision boards is that they are completely private. The students do
Focus Area Two 3

not have to share with others where their goal bar is at or what their personal goals are. Since

these boards are personalized, all students get to participate, even the special needs students.

Their goals will look a little different than the other students, but the concept is still the same. I

feel that these vision boards build on the student’s strengths by giving them the chance to

visually see what concepts in class they are excelling at and which ones they need to work on. It

is also a great tool for students to build their academic interests. They will begin to enjoy coming

into class as they start to accomplish the goals that they have set for themselves. This will make

students see that school doesn’t always have to be boring and feel pointless. I was able to view

one student's vision board and all of the things that they have accomplished so far throughout the

year. The teacher told me that this particular student was not engaging in class at first, but now

they are determined to graduate as valedictorian. She believes that the activity sparked this

student's interest in school. I love these vision boards and I plan to add them into my class. Not

only does it encourage the students to engage in class, but it also lets the students have fun.

This teacher’s strategy to help students stay engaged and maintain their attention on class

topics is to use two short activities. As soon as the students enter the room, they are to complete a

“bell ringer”. This is a mini assignment that keeps the children entertained while also preparing

the class for the lesson. This teacher also uses “boom cards” for when the students finish all of

their work and need something to do. These are review cards of past lessons that the kids can

interact with and study for their next test. Although it may seem like busy work to keep the

students quiet, the point of these short assignments is to keep the student’s attention on bettering

their knowledge of class topics.

While observing this six-grade science class, I have learned many different ways to

manage a classroom. Guidelines, rewards and consequences, goals, and strategies for gaining
Focus Area Two 4

attention are all methods that must be utilized for a classroom to operate successfully. Without a

management system, students would not have the guidance that they need.