Context: I developed a Classroom Management Plan as part of a course I took during Fall 2003, Techniques for Instructing Social Behaviors for Elementary Students with Mild Disabilities. My Classroom Management Plan includes:
1) an overarching philosophy statement
2) description of a classroom environment that enables effective teaching and learning
3) guidelines for developing classroom rules
4) strategies for managing challenging behavior
5) ways to establish a positive classroom climate
Other artifacts illustrate the ways in which I implemented this Classroom Management Plan in the second grade classroom in which I completed my student teaching. These artifacts include an example of a daily Blackboard Configuration (BBC) I used to communicate learning targets to students, an Expectations for Group Behavior poster I used during community meetings and large group conversations, and a Functional Behavior Analysis that I completed for a student who demonstrated challenging behaviors in the classroom.

I demonstrate understanding of effective, proactive classroom management strategies through positive reinforcement for students and clear, focused teaching of expected classroom behaviors. Rather than focusing on negative feedback of student behavior, I motivate others to act appropriately by rewarding students who deserve positive feedback. I describe exemplary classroom behavior, particularly during transitions, as another method of providing positive reinforcement. For example, I might say, "Second graders who are making good choices are re-reading their letters and thinking about ways to make them better" or "Second graders who are showing me that they are committed to their learning are using a zero voice and ignoring their neighbors who are chatting." I refer students to our classroom rule, "Learn and let others learn," by asking students to describe the expectations. When I ask students, "What does a second grader look like who is learning and letting others learn?" I elicit their ideas and hold them accountable for meeting behavioral expectations. I use appropriate attention signals and help students manage transitions smoothly by dismissing a few students at a time and having necessary materials ready. Finally, I use verbal and visual communication techniques and design tasks that position students actively and are more likely to help them stay on task.

The classroom management plan and related artifacts illustrate my commitment to respecting students as I describe the ways in which I create a learning community in which individual differences among students are respected and accommodated through the classroom environment and the recognition that some students may need more explicit teaching and practice of expected behaviors in order to internalize and learn them. Students have choices in my classroom, and I believe that they can be taught to make positive choices because I respect each child as a capable learner. When a student demonstrates a challenging behavior, I am able to analyze the antecedents that lead up to and the consequences that result from that behavior, and think carefully about what classroom interventions I could create to help that student manage his or her own behavior. Rather than punish the child for his or her behavior, I respect the child and work to create a classroom climate in which each student's positive self-concept is supported and nurtured.

Reflection: As my written plan for classroom management describes, I believe that expected classroom behaviors can be learned, and I strongly believe, "If you expect it, you have to teach it." During my student teaching experience, there were times when I had to teach and re-teach expected behaviors, such as how to come down to the carpet quietly, how to line up for lunch, and how to clean up the classroom space and put away materials correctly at the end of the day.

After a few weeks of full-time student teaching, I noticed that scraps of paper, pencils in need of being sharpened, picture books needing to be re-shelved, and other bits and pieces of trash were beginning to appear more and more frequently at the end of the day. One afternoon shortly after I noticed this pattern beginning to develop, I described to my second graders some of the things I had been finding on the floor at the end of the school day. I said to the class, "Either one of two things is probably happening: 1) You have forgotten what it looks like to do a good job cleaning up and we need to practice, or 2) I haven't been giving you enough time to clean up and really do a good job. I'm going to assume that I haven't been giving you enough time, so today, I'm going to give you a few extra minutes to clean up your tables and floor."

I chose one student to "show us" what it looks like to clean up, and as she put pencils and crayons back in the tubs, threw scraps of paper in the recycling bin, put her folder away in her drawer, and began straightening the glue sticks, I described her behaviors out loud to remind the rest of the class what was expected. After this student had put on her coat and backpack and sat in her seat, I said to the rest of the class, "I bet the rest of you can do just as good of a job cleaning up and getting ready to go home as Danielle did. Ready . . . go!" I observed students checking underneath chairs and tables for trash, putting materials and supplies back in the right places, straightening books on the bookshelves, and sitting at their seats with coats and backpacks on, ready to go home. By explicitly re-teaching students expected behaviors in a positive way, I maintained respect for learners and positioned them in such a way that they could be successful in meeting my expectations for clean-up at the end of the day.

Yet a question remains: How much ownership should I give students in developing the expectations, standards, or rules that govern the classroom at the beginning of the school year? Students who develop a "classroom constitution" or have an input on the rules show greater understanding of the rules and are more likely to follow them because they have a greater sense of ownership in the classroom (Sprick et al., 1998). Yet I must confess that it would be challenging for me to relinquish this control, to begin the first day of school without a clearly defined rule or expectation to communicate and teach students. I wonder how to let students have an active role in developing the rules in our classroom, while maintaining a clear structure and boundary that students will understand beginning on the first day of school.

With the right amount of teaching and practice, I would like to believe that it is possible to create a sense of shared control in the classroom, a classroom managed by students AND teachers. Yet I know that not all students come to school with the requisite knowledge and experiences that there are certain ways of being in an academic setting. Should I expect them to meet a standard and hold them accountable on the first day of school for something for which they have not yet been taught? Is it realistic to expect students to develop a set of class rules when they come from homes and backgrounds with little structure and few explicit rules and boundaries? Respecting the child does not mean allowing the child to live by his or her own rules - respecting the child means creating an environment where all children can feel safe and respected.

Therefore, an effective compromise might be to explicitly teach students the expectations at the beginning of the school year and help them to create a list of observable behaviors that show understanding of these expectations. Students can use this list to self-assess their ability to follow the classroom rules and manage their own behavior. Yet the classroom rules should not be rigid and fixed for the entire school year. Rules that are not working to maintain appropriate behavior and expectations should be modified to meet the needs of the class for whom the rules exist. I like to think of classroom rules as a "living document," flexible and changeable when the teacher or students find that the rules simply are not working.

Sprick, R., Garrison, M., and Howard, L. (1998). CHAMPs: A Proactive and Positive Approach to Classroom Management. Longmont, CO: Sopris West.