My Classroom Management Plan is a blend of several different theories that stem from my philosophical beliefs of existentialism and essentialism. The main classroom management practice I intend to follow is the Win-Win philosophy developed by Spencer Kagan, Patricia Kyle, and Sally Scott in 2004. This strategy relies on cooperation between the parent, teacher, and the student to not to prevent misbehaviors by dealing with the issues at the source. Another goal of this method is to not just keep the classroom orderly but to teach the students autonomy and self-discipline. This model fits my existentialist beliefs because it is extremely student centered, aimed at helping them make positive decisions that will lead to their own personal growth as a student. No student wants to fail, and the win win model looks at every misbehaviour as a reaction to a specific need not being met (Kagan, 2004, 153). By working with students and parents we can make sure the needs of all students are met and therefore prevent misbehaviors. Although the win win model will be my primary strategy I will also draw from is Assertive Discipline, which is the most straightforward approach to classroom management that involves giving a clear set of rules and consequences for breaking them. This model was developed by Lee and Marlene Canter in 1976, it appeals to the essentialist philosophy because it gives kids the necessary clear cut approach to discipline (Canter, 1976, 2). This strategy provides the students with rules and consequences for breaking them, whereas the win win approach provides preventative strategies as well as help make adjustments after misbehaviors occur. Together these two approaches give my class a traditional structure as well as giving me flexibility to meet the needs of each individual student.
The main focus of any classroom management plan is preparation, what you do before class to prevent misbehaviors from happening. In their Win-Win model Kagan, Kyle, and Scott identify disengagement as one of the main reasons why students misbehave, so creating a challenging differentiated curriculum is the first step toward classroom management (Kagan, 2004, 161). Another main element to the win win model is building relationships with students and working together to eliminate misbehaviors. The second strategy I would use in my classroom is same side meetings, individual meetings with students to discuss needs they have and how they can be met (Kagan, 2004, 164). A key part of these meetings is to validate the need that the students has and then figure out together how you can address that need to prevent misbehavior. A prep strategy present in both the Win Win model and the Assertive Dominance model is creating a set of class rules, however unlike a traditional set of class rules that are designed by the teacher I would have a set of class rules that is created by the students and the teacher together. Lastly I would use parent teacher conferences as a means getting to know your students better so you can adjust your curriculum to make sure it meets students needs. These strategies come from the win win discipline and work nicely because they help the teacher work alongside the students to make sure students needs are met. This makes sense because it eliminates misbehaviors at the source, students who are comfortable and have their needs met do not misbehave.
The second element of classroom management is supportive, this is what you do during class to prevent misbehaviors. The first strategy I’m going to use is warm up vocab at the beginning of every class. This way students come right in and are instantly being productive instead of messing around waiting for class to start. Another method I am going to use is putting breaks in my lectures where students are asked to think about a topic and do a quick write in their notes. This will follow the 10:2 rule to make sure students are active and the lectures never exceed their attention span. Another support strategy I plan to use is keeping a strict time schedule and transitioning the class quickly into another activity. By not giving the class too much down time I can keep them focused and prevent misbehavior. My last support strategy comes from the win win model and that is to create cues with individual students at their same side meetings. I will use these cues to alert them of when they are starting to exhibit a behavior to remind them of our conversations. Hopefully these strategies, along with the preparation strategies will prevent a majority of would be misbehaviors.
The Last step in a classroom management plan is the intervention stage, how you deal with students at the moment of disruption. The first strategy I would employ is to give the student a break to compose him/her self and then come back and get back to work. Many times students are angry from something that happened outside of the classroom, or are just feeling overwhelmed and need a quick break to refocus. Another strategy to use is the traditional approach of applying consequences to their misbehavior. At the beginning of the class expectations were laid out and if students misbehave they need to know their are consequences, including detentions or grade subtractions. Another strategy to use at the moment of disruption is the picture it right strategy, which is to ask the student what they think this situation would look like if things were going perfectly (Kagan, 2004, 155). This gives the student the opportunity to consider how things could be going more effectively and hopefully they get back on track. Another way to get a student back on track after a disruption is to simply ask them to make a better decision after a disruption (Kagan, 2004, 155). This is a simple way to give a student and opportunity to correct themselves before the situation goes any further. Within the scaffolding of the win win model, having open discussions with students about their needs and having them sign contracts, these simple cues should remind students of the agreements they made. All of these strategies should be followed up with a parent-teacher-student meeting to review how the disruption happened, and how we can prevent it from happening again.
These strategies all fit my philosophy because they are centered around the student and keeping them involved throughout the process. Existentialism is all about the student making their own decisions and deciding their own path. The win win model keeps students heavily involved and the teacher is mostly a facilitator in having them find their own path. I do keep an element of assertive discipline as a last resort, I think this model speaks to the essentialist in me. The part about this plan that appeals to me most is the potential to not just keep an orderly classroom but to help students build life skills such as self discipline.