Student Centered
The first aspect of my classroom management plan is that it should be student centered. The students in my classroom will be put in situations to become responsible young people and, in time, responsible adults. Although health and physical education is my specialty it is also important to place emphasis on life lessons such as personal accountability and responsibility. My students will also be well informed of the behavior standards in our classroom and these standards will be displayed at all times. The standards I set forth will also be developmentally appropriate to age and grade level. It is also vital that my students know the consequences of breaking the rules and know that everyone will be treated fairly and equally. I will have an energetic, comfortable, efficient, and safe classroom and gymnasium.
Positive Approach
Positive reinforcement is something that is crucial in a quality classroom management plan. Students who make the correct choices and are positive members of the classroom should be recognized and rewarded. By doing this I hope to entice other students to follow the examples set by their peers. During my time at Bradbury School, I implemented a technique called the point system. Each time a student was a positive member of the classroom I would simply say, Point. These points were kept on a display board in the gym. Students were given points for things such as helping someone, volunteering to demonstrate, or working well together in groups or partnerships. At times the entire class would receive a point because they were all creating a positive classroom environment. Each week we would tally our class points and if we reached our designated number we would plan a day in the gymnasium and enjoy some well deserved games of the students choice. This positive approach allowed my classroom to have large amounts of participation and brought my classes together as a whole.
Proactive Not Reactive
In my experiences I have learned a very valuable lesson. That any lesson has to be proactive not reactive. It is my duty to plan ahead to prevent any behavior or safety issues. For example, during my teaching practicum, i had to plan and teach a unit block on australian football, which was something completely new to me. Because i didn't have any past experience as a player, i taught myself through videos and articles about this sport, which is considered dangerous by many people. However, i eliminated all dangerous aspects of the sport, allowing me to control and eliminate that issue from our unit. The unit went very smoothly and students were very productive, even the less physically gifted enjoyed playing "aussie footie".
