Classroom Management

Classroom Management & Discipline

EDUC 326

The main goal of this course is to enable you to design positive classroom experiences where you and your students can engage in meaningful work together. To assure that you meet this goal: The course design shows you how to create meaningful and respectful relationships with students. The course also demonstrates the importance of doing worthy work together: work that is worthy of the people doing it and that can be accomplished successfully in the time frame available. The course illustrates specific ways you can create a classroom that is a safe and comfortable space in which students and teachers with common goals can work successfully together. The course introduces you to four models of classroom management, with an emphasis on the constructivist model. - Simon Fraser University Course Detail

Module 1: Creating Meaningful Relationships

Progress Log Week 2

Take a few moments to fill in the "heads"—for each of the needs as you experience them at this time in your life.

When do you feel:
- Safe?
- Loved?
- Powerful?
- Free?
- Pleasured?
Now think about what you do or do not do to make sure you are feeling those things?
- What actions do you take or not take?

For this week, what really stuck to me about choice theory is how much our behavior is influenced by our own needs. Sometimes the actions we take feels very much like a routine that we forget the meaning behind what we do, and this loss of meaning can alter our emotions in an unhealthy way. For example, we can become sad, even depressed, not knowing why we are doing what we are doing, and begin to have the lack of motivation to keep going and persevere through difficult times.

For this week’s task, I had to reflect on my own needs. Specifically, when I feel safe, loved, powerful, free, and pleasured. I feel safe when I am surrounded with loved ones. I feel most loved when I am appreciated, and is shown through actions or words. I feel powerful when I am active on a regular basis. I feel free when I don’t have to worry about money or finances. I feel pleasure when I spend time with my dogs on a peaceful walk or just in the outdoors.

When it comes to feeling safe, the actions I take include taking time to spend with my siblings and family. I usually make the effort to see them by going to church Sunday nights after work followed by dinner. However, I do find it very difficult to make time for this at times even though it is only ones a week. Reflecting on these needs I realized that there are some needs that are ranked higher or at more importance than the others. Now, the biggest need for me is the need to feel free. Since I am a full time working student who live independently and have bills to pay for this need is a priority. Even looking back during my undergrad, my actions of never having a weekend always being either at school and filling up my schedule to be at work as much as possible was to fulfill the need to be free. In addition, I am always planning the future to also fulfill this need, and to make sure to save money so that I can pay my student loans as soon as possible. There are many times from my undergrad and even now, where I do feel this need is not being met, and this influences my emotions. Lately, I have moments of just pure panic, lots of stress, and even sadness. At the same time, maybe I feel this way because I am so focused on fulfilling this one need, that I ignore and put aside the other needs. Therefore, it is important to have that balance to focus on each need. For example, because of the pressure to earn money, I spend less time with the people I love and my dogs who all help me feel more grounded. In addition, to save money, I stopped going to the gym and was not active for long period of time. All this makes me neglect fulfilling other needs that can potentially reduce stress, and increase joy in life.

For the future, I will reflect on my needs daily, and make sure that I am spending an equal amount of time and energy to fulfill all needs and not just one. I can also apply this into a classroom setting. For me one of the biggest influence on classroom management is the relationship with our students. It is important to get to know you students to recognize their individual needs. We can then use this knowledge to create an environment and present lessons that allows them to fulfill their needs which potentially increase motivation and participation.

Peer Interaction Task Week 2

Go out and do something that makes you feel good. Do it today!
Describe what you did and post it to your discussion group in Canvas.
Encourage one another to feel good.

For the peer interaction task this week one of the many things that make me feel good that I decided to do was take my dogs at the MacDonald off leash dog park. It has been pouring rain the last couple of days so I took the opportunity in this sunny afternoon to complete the task. I have two dogs who love this dog park because it has a beach area, a large grass area, as well as mini trail. During our time at the dog park, I usually like draining my dogs’ energy first before meeting other dogs. Therefore, we first played in the grass area, and one of the tricks I like to do to get their excitement and energy down is instead of playing fetch and giving them the ball, my boyfriend and I just pass the ball to one another and make the dogs run back and forth between us. Afterwards we walked down the beach area to meet other dogs, and go for a little swim. We stayed at a space where there were minimal rocks near the end of the beach followed by a walk in the trail that circles back to the grass area and the parking lot to give time for the dogs to dry up and get rid of excess sand.

One of the reasons why this makes me feel good is you not only get exposed to the sun yourself but I take enjoyment in watching my dogs have fun, having a calm relaxed walk with nice scenery where I get out of the zone of a busy life. Especially now being a working student, I've learned to treasure moments like this where I can spend time with my significant other, and pets that I consider my own children.

Choice Theory

Type Theory: Extroversion & Introversion

Peer Interaction Task Week 3

See the instant inventory on page 67 and following of the textbook to determine your own type preferences.
As a teacher, what strategies would work for you to get the best energy you can?

For this week’s task, I really enjoyed doing the survey and figuring out my own style. However, sometimes when I do take these tests I always wonder how accurate they really are. For example, there are many times where I felt like I can be both A or B, and in most areas, I would have 2 A’s and 3 B’s or vice versa which to me isn’t good indicator if I am one over the other. Did anyone else find this? Over all I am pleased with my result and can see myself acting the description out in my own life in both the classroom setting and outside teaching.

Here are my results:

Introversion vs. Extroversion (B,A,B,A,B) – I struggled with question 5 and opted for B

Intuition vs Sensation (B,B,A,A,B)

Thinking vs Feeling (B,B,B,B,A)

Perceiving vs. Judging (A,B,A,A,B)

Final Result: INFJ

“Stimulating influencer, expressive, value-driven, stressed clarity and moral development. Serious and quietly forceful innovator, creates a well ordered, respectful, and stimulating class environment.”

Since my result turned out to be an introvert, and as a teacher strategies that would work for myself to get the best energy I can is to plan things ahead of time. I very much enjoy lesson plan making, and feel the need to take the time to create a solid lesson plan to create a thoughtful lesson. This also allows me to anticipate potential risks and create an action plan so that I can create a proactive management plan to make sure everything will go smoothly. For my students, even though I am “labelled” as an introvert, I would make sure that I am giving students both the opportunities to accommodate their learning style as well as challenge them outside their comfort zone. Like the type theory states, being able to recognize the different learning styles of your students lets the student know that you are celebrating them as a unique being, which is one of the ways we as teachers can celebrate diversity within our classrooms. How I plan to implement this is by using a variety of sharing out strategies. I would provide students the time for a quiet self-refection, pair and share, small group discussion circles, and eventually provide them with the opportunity to present to either a small or large group.

Type Theory: Sensation & Intuition

Peer Editing Task Week 4

Learning style is largely based on how we interpret information. Sensing and intuition deeply affect the way we like to receive and give information. Because of its significance in what we do so often ask questions, give assignments, determine ways to access student understanding this assignment is designed to determine how well you understand the difference between sensation and intuition and how this particular aspect of learning style affects both the kinds of assignments and/or questions you might give your students and the language you use in giving the assignments and/or questions.

Please find a short story that you personally enjoy. Imagine that you will use that story to teach a class of grade ten students. Imagine that your students are a natural mix of sensing and intuitive students. Create an assignment that will appeal to your sensing students and a different assignment that will appeal to your intuitive students.

Follow these guidelines:

Come up with two assignments, one for your sensing students and one for your intuitive students.
Carefully reread the section of your textbook on sensing and intuition (pp. 26 36) and include those things that would appeal to each type - that is, things each group would like to do, or questions each would like to answer. Please use the language and format each type would appreciate. Both content and form should be influenced by learning style preferences.

Assignment for Sensing Students

Assignment for Thinking Students

The short story I chose is a true story about a boy who went to residential school. In my perspective this is something that a class of grade 10 class is able to handle and just as long as the student's maturity level is high. I have seen this be presented in a grade 9 class in my practicum and thought it was great. I really wanted to use this one because I felt that it would also be a great resource for everyone, especially now where we are all trying to find unique ways to incorporate ABED into our classrooms. In addition to the story, I also wanted to use a short film that supplements the story.

Story: http://www.macleans.ca/society/the-lonely-death-of-chanie-wenjack/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. the story begins after the "click here to view the article"

Short Film: http://secretpath.ca/#Film (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. the whole film is long but please focus on the secret path and don't let this touch you.

Type Theory: Feeling

Peer Interaction Task Week 4

Read the section on Thinking and Feeling in A Playground for Teachers, pages 76 to 78 of your textbook.

Come up with your own thinking, feeling story of how these type differences were important to you

My thinking and feeling story comes from my work experience being a copy and print associate. First and foremost, even though the survey recently done proposes that I prefer a feeling approach, there are many instances where I need to have more of a thinker approach vs a feeling approach. At work, I get to experience meeting people with different types of personality, have various request for orders, and as well as deadlines. In many cases I get customers who have very important projects or presentations, and customers who have worked hard to create their presentations. Unfortunately, there are times where customers would come in at the last minute of their deadline and need their job done right away. There are just some request that we can’t do in store due to the limited materials and machine we have in store. For instance, there was a customer who needed multiple posters larger than 24 x 36 inches. Due to our machine limitation, the biggest size poster we can print in colour is 24 x 36 inches, anything larger we must send out to production which takes 1-2 business days. Long story short this customer did not take the news very well, claiming that it is ridiculous that we are a print shop who can’t print their job, and start going on about other negative experiences in other stores and how overall, we have poor customer service. Most of the time I understand that when customers become angry and blame us, it is probably due to a lack of sleep and the pressure of meeting a deadline. To keep the customer happy and help meet their deadline I must take a thinker approach by offering multiple solutions. Option one, they can print their poster in a smaller size, I will be able to produce it right away and it will be less expensive. Second option is I can print the poster in sections, and they will just somehow put the picture together, like a puzzle piece. I just had to keep calm and make sure I don’t respond back with the same negative feeling approach to the customer and most of the time they calm down, become more understanding and are willing compromising.

Peer Interaction Task Week 4

If you are a teacher right now, how do you handle late assignments? If you are not a teacher how do you think you will handle them?

As a student, how do you feel if someone in your class is allowed to hand assignments in later than the required deadline when you handed it in on time?

If I were a teacher now the way I would handle late assignments would include multiple steps. First and foremost, I would want to build a community value within all my classrooms that hold students responsible to hand in assignments on time. I would like to build that positive relationships with my students as well as a classroom environment where students are motivated to finish assignments on time but at the same time feel comfortable and honest enough to tell me the reasons why they could not hand in their assignment on time. I would have a policy that students must hand in their work in progress on the day the assignment is due even if it was incomplete. If students handed me a “work in progress” I would allow and give them a one week extension. In addition, students who have given a complete work will also be given the chance to re-submit the assignment with the week extension. The advantage of having handed in a complete work is that students will be able to get feedback from me “the teacher” on their work and can make it better for a better grade. For students who don’t hand in anything at all, I would be understanding about the reasons why they couldn’t finish on time, but not having done anything at all would have consequences such as having only an extension for one to two days. This policy will be explicitly explained in the very beginning of class for every class so that it is fair to all students.

As a student, I don’t really mind if someone else were able to hand in an assignment later and got an extension because it does not directly affect myself and my work. In addition, I would have had to hand the assignment in regardless so I would prefer having it done sooner than later. However, if I did need an extension on an assignment, because life happens, I would expect that the teacher would treat all students fairly and provide me with extra time to hand in an assignment when needed.

Understanding Students With Special Needs

Assignment 1: Students With Special Needs

Select the need and find three articles or chapters which also inform the teacher about the needs of this group of students.

Summarize the main points of each of your readings.
What ideas do they have in common?
Are there any conflicting ideas? If so, describe them.
Based on your reading, write a letter to yourself promising three things you WILL NOT do and three things you WILL DO regarding the students with special needs. Send the letter to yourself and read it in two years.
Imagine you are a student with special needs in your classroom. Write a poem such a student would write in his or her private journal. The poem should reflect how the student feels in your classroom.

Assignment 1

Continue to Module 2