Considering both learning theories, my code of ethics, and the essential decisions I will make each day as a teacher, my personal management philosophy will be centered on creating responsible students who can learn for themselves.
Between the two theories, I tend to lean more towards humanism due to the fact that it is very student-centered. I believe that students should be given as many opportunities to explore, discover, collaborate, and discuss as possible. Instead of training students to learn through reinforcement of desired behaviors, I will give students tools to learn on their own. For example, a main focus of my class will be learning to research and to evaluate sources so that students can find information and learn about topics on their own. Furthermore, I will use a humanistic approach in correcting misbehavior in my class. I will first use redirection, and then when needed I will ask students to complete a reflection form pertaining to their behavior. On the form will be questions based on the behavior that ask the student to think about how their actions affect their learning and the learning of their peers. I will ask students to think about the classroom expectations that are set up at the beginning of the year, and if they are meeting those expectations or not. Throughout my class I will also ask students to assess themselves on their behavior. For example, if the room starts becoming too loud, I will ask all students to self-assess their noise level and adjust it if it is too loud. Hopefully through reflection and self-assessment, students will learn to behave according to the classroom rules and expectations. I hope to teach my students that learning is rewarding in itself, and use few rewards in my classroom. A reward system I may use, however, would be based off of my experience in practicum. My cooperating teacher used classroom dojos, a system in which students could earn points for consistently following classroom expectations or by completing bonus assignments then cash in their points for rewards such as eating lunch with the teacher or teaching their own lesson. I feel that this would be a good reward system to use, although I would not want it to be a main focus in the classroom that distracts from authentic learning.
Throughout each subject area, I will work to create as many group discussion-based activities and projects as possible in order to promote collaboration in the classroom. With this type of group work, my classroom will need to be organized and set up in such a way that students can work easily together as well as having specific procedures to facilitate group work. Along with procedures, I will need to create a classroom community in which students feel safe to share their ideas and work with others. In order to do this, I will need to use engaging activities at the beginning of the year as well as teach tolerance and respect for others. Using discussion supports the humanistic approach of teaching, and I hope to teach students to use the Socratic method of questioning so that they truly explore their ideas and the ideas of their peers. I feel that through discussion and asking questions, students will be able to think critically about any given subject area and that they will learn at a deeper and more meaningful level.
In order to involve parents in their child’s education as much as possible, I will use a variety of communication methods. I feel it is very important that parents are able to view their student’s work, so I will send home Friday folders at the end of each week with work that the student chooses to share with their parents. Also, for sake of organization, I will have my students use daily planners to keep track of homework and other reminders that they will take home to be signed by a parent each night. This will keep students accountable for their work and teach organizational skills that they will need once they reach middle and high school. Furthermore, I will create a classroom website that contains my plans for the year, my contact information, homework assignments, reminders, resources for help with different subject areas, pictures from the classroom and other components for the parents to view. In this way, parents can keep up with what is going on in their child’s classroom in a convenient way. I will also try to make personal calls to parents as often as possible, not only when there are issues. In these ways, I hope to keep the lines of communication open and welcoming for parents because I believe that learning should not only be done in the classroom.
Overall, my main philosophy about classroom management is that it stems from the environment I will set up as a teacher. I hope to create a welcoming, safe, and open classroom in which students are pushed to think critically and discuss their ideas. The strategies I use to manage my classroom should compliment and support the idea of student-centered learning. In the next chapter, I will further explore these strategies in my classroom management plan.
Between the two theories, I tend to lean more towards humanism due to the fact that it is very student-centered. I believe that students should be given as many opportunities to explore, discover, collaborate, and discuss as possible. Instead of training students to learn through reinforcement of desired behaviors, I will give students tools to learn on their own. For example, a main focus of my class will be learning to research and to evaluate sources so that students can find information and learn about topics on their own. Furthermore, I will use a humanistic approach in correcting misbehavior in my class. I will first use redirection, and then when needed I will ask students to complete a reflection form pertaining to their behavior. On the form will be questions based on the behavior that ask the student to think about how their actions affect their learning and the learning of their peers. I will ask students to think about the classroom expectations that are set up at the beginning of the year, and if they are meeting those expectations or not. Throughout my class I will also ask students to assess themselves on their behavior. For example, if the room starts becoming too loud, I will ask all students to self-assess their noise level and adjust it if it is too loud. Hopefully through reflection and self-assessment, students will learn to behave according to the classroom rules and expectations. I hope to teach my students that learning is rewarding in itself, and use few rewards in my classroom. A reward system I may use, however, would be based off of my experience in practicum. My cooperating teacher used classroom dojos, a system in which students could earn points for consistently following classroom expectations or by completing bonus assignments then cash in their points for rewards such as eating lunch with the teacher or teaching their own lesson. I feel that this would be a good reward system to use, although I would not want it to be a main focus in the classroom that distracts from authentic learning.
Throughout each subject area, I will work to create as many group discussion-based activities and projects as possible in order to promote collaboration in the classroom. With this type of group work, my classroom will need to be organized and set up in such a way that students can work easily together as well as having specific procedures to facilitate group work. Along with procedures, I will need to create a classroom community in which students feel safe to share their ideas and work with others. In order to do this, I will need to use engaging activities at the beginning of the year as well as teach tolerance and respect for others. Using discussion supports the humanistic approach of teaching, and I hope to teach students to use the Socratic method of questioning so that they truly explore their ideas and the ideas of their peers. I feel that through discussion and asking questions, students will be able to think critically about any given subject area and that they will learn at a deeper and more meaningful level.
In order to involve parents in their child’s education as much as possible, I will use a variety of communication methods. I feel it is very important that parents are able to view their student’s work, so I will send home Friday folders at the end of each week with work that the student chooses to share with their parents. Also, for sake of organization, I will have my students use daily planners to keep track of homework and other reminders that they will take home to be signed by a parent each night. This will keep students accountable for their work and teach organizational skills that they will need once they reach middle and high school. Furthermore, I will create a classroom website that contains my plans for the year, my contact information, homework assignments, reminders, resources for help with different subject areas, pictures from the classroom and other components for the parents to view. In this way, parents can keep up with what is going on in their child’s classroom in a convenient way. I will also try to make personal calls to parents as often as possible, not only when there are issues. In these ways, I hope to keep the lines of communication open and welcoming for parents because I believe that learning should not only be done in the classroom.
Overall, my main philosophy about classroom management is that it stems from the environment I will set up as a teacher. I hope to create a welcoming, safe, and open classroom in which students are pushed to think critically and discuss their ideas. The strategies I use to manage my classroom should compliment and support the idea of student-centered learning. In the next chapter, I will further explore these strategies in my classroom management plan.