Physical Environment
The importance and variety of a properly designed early childhood classroom cannot be over-emphasized when providing a learning environment for children. I will provide in my classroom safe and orderly spaces, filled with a variety of materials that will make the classroom more satisfying for both the teacher and the children. Furthermore, well-designed areas will decrease the number of conflicts that may arise. Quite naturally, any space must accommodate all the activities it will be required to house. Therefore, when making my classroom environment safe and orderly, I must make accommodations to have certain spaces to be multipurpose. It will be very important to make sure these areas, as well as other areas in the classroom, are filled with a variety of materials organized into appropriate activity areas.
Clearly defined interest areas will allow young children to work best in small groups where they can learn to relate to other children, establish friendships, and solve problems together. The use of low furniture in these areas will allow me to see into all areas while at the same time giving children a sense of privacy. Use of low furniture also helps define work spaces that help children concentrate because they will not be distracted by other activities taking place in other areas. These different areas will be defined by what activities will be taking place in them. For example, I will have such areas as: dramatic play, art area, building area, science/sensory area, game area, and quiet area.
I will also make sure to provide an area where children can relax and be alone with friends. This space will have large pillows, beanbags, and carpet. This so called �soft area� is very important for young children because it is important to their mental health and it promotes positive behavior because children who spend long hours in a group environment need time to themselves where they can rest.
When it comes to supplies and materials in the room, they should be displayed on low shelves where children can reach what they need. This helps promote independence because the children will be responsible in getting materials out and putting them away. When displaying materials on shelves they must be in the area where they will be used. I will place labels and pictures showing where each object belongs. Logical grouping of materials promotes their appropriate use. Labeling the place for each object helps children maintain a clean and orderly environment. When it comes to the teacher�s supplies and materials, I will keep them up and away from the children so that they cannot access them.
When the children walk through the door, they will be hit with all different colors coming from the pictures and posters on the walls. I hope to have a room with big windows that allow for natural lighting. The pictures I will have on the wall will be displayed on the children�s eye level, thus children will take better notice. I will also display the work of the children. Displaying their original artwork shows them respect and value for their hard work and effort.
One last important thing to me, when it comes to the physical environment of my classroom, is that I will make sure the classroom materials will reflect the cultural richness of our society, the backgrounds and life experiences of the children, and people with different abilities. Children need materials they can relate to through past experiences, before they are asked to learn new concepts. A respect for diversity is important for identity and self-esteem.
Behavior Management
Many disputes and conflicts can be prevented by careful planning and with positive adult support. There is always a reason behind children�s behavior. Misbehavior is usually directed at achieving one of four goals: revenge, power, attention, and/or feelings of adequacy. I know I can�t force a child to change his or her way of behaving, I can only change the way I behave with the child. My ultimate goal in behavior management and child guidance is not to manage children�s behavior, but to help children manage their own behavior. I am aware that conflict situations provide important learning opportunities for children. Therefore, when it comes to classroom management, I will not deprive the children these opportunities to learn problem-solving skills.
My role as a teacher in children�s conflicts is to de-escalate them when the children can no longer work out their problems by themselves. When I communicate with the children in my classroom I will use �I� statements instead of �you� statements. I will use gentle body language and make sure that I listen to both sides of the issue. I will try to focus on the present and future of the child�s behavior instead of past behavior. Also, I will focus on the child�s behavior and not the child. Most importantly I will keep in my mind the needs of each child and their best interest when it comes to fixing their misbehavior, and not focus on my best interest.
My classroom rules will consist of four basic principles. Those four basic principles will be caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility. I believe any rule thought up by a child can fit into one of these four basic principles. For example, if a child is not keeping their body to themselves, they are not respecting the other child�s space. That is why I will not have a list of rules in my classroom, but rather have these four principles posted in my classroom where every child will see them. Therefore, when a child is not following the rules I will state what they are doing wrong and how it relates to one of the four principles.
When it comes to classroom management and discipline, I will not use punishment, but logical consequences. There are two types of logical consequences. They are naturally occurring consequences and imposed consequences. Naturally occurring consequences usually occur when the problem belongs to the individual on whom the consequences fall. For example, Sally leaves her coat out on the playground and when she goes back for it, the coat is gone. I then say to her, I am sorry that it is gone and tell her it is her responsibility to keep track of it. Imposed consequences often occur when a behavior creates a problem for another person who then must impose consequences in order to change the behavior of the individual creating the problem.
When I impose logical consequences on the children in my classroom I will try to keep certain things in my mind. Such things as being a consultant in helping the child solve his or her own problem. Keep the burden of the solution on the child and not me while implying that the child is capable of solving his or her own problem. I must also tie the time and/or place of the misbehavior to the consequence. These are just a couple of ways I will try to manage children�s behavior in my classroom.
Parent Communication
One of the most vital parts of teaching children and managing a classroom is communicating with their families. There is no one right way to communicate with parents, therefore as a teacher, I have to utilize many different methods to communicate with parents to build rapport. One of the first methods I am going to use is a parent board. On the parent board will be pictures of the activities the children have been doing and other information such as the weekly curriculum and things the children have to bring from home to school. I will have the parent board on a table where there will also be a notebook where parents can leave me messages, and where I can leave them messages. I will also have monthly newsletters to the parents that I will set out on the parent table.
Another way I will communicate with parents is by having parents come into the classroom and be a classroom helper. I would try to get every parent to come into the classroom at least one time during the school and spend the day with their child or at least a couple hours. This would help me to get to know the parents of the children I teach and this would give me a good chance to build rapport with the parents so that communication will be made easier.
Some of the most basic methods I will use to help me communicate with parents are by use of the telephone. I will call parents when need be and make sure that they know they can call me when needed. Finally, the last way I will communicate with parents is by talking to them face to face. Things I know to remember when talking to a parent are to first approach them with a smile or pleasant look and then introduce myself if I have not ever done so in the past. I will always try to start out the conversation with the parent with something positive about their child. If I were communicating with the parent because of a problem their child is having in my class, I would first tell them the issue at hand and then offer some possible solutions. I then would tell them what I want their role to be after I let them talk about what solutions they have. If they need to further talk to me I would offer them other times they can talk to me. I also would give them other possible people to talk to if they feel that they need to.
When communicating with a parent I want them to feel that they can ask me questions about their child�s education or other issues they might have. If I can�t answer their questions, I will flat out tell them I don�t know the answer, but I will find out. I also will make sure not to make promises I can�t keep. If need be, I will always make myself available for a teacher-parent conference when scheduled ahead of time.
Instructional Planning & Delivery
When it comes to instructional planning and delivery in my classroom I am going to start with the Wisconsin model academic standards. The reason I am going to start with the standards is because in the classroom the students are working towards a goal, and those goals should be set higher than the standards. If I do not teach my students to at least the level of the Wisconsin standards, then I have not set the goals high enough for my instructional planning. If I set goals for my instructional planning, that gives me a start in what direction I need to go in my lesson planning.
The second step I am going to take in my instructional planning is assessment. I have to measure the progress of achieving my goals by doing assessments of my students. Two kinds of assessment I will be doing are what you would call summative assessment and diagnostic assessment. The summative assessment will be tests, examinations, final projects, or other things depending on grade level of the students. These types of assessments will tell me if the students are learning the objectives and making progress towards meeting the goals. On the other hand I will use diagnostic forms of assessments when it comes to planning on how far I have to go to get my students to reach the goals or in meeting the standards. I will use diagnostic assessment at the beginning of the school year and before I begin each new unit.
The third step in my instructional planning is planning for the long-term. My long-term plan will be as simple as planning my year end academic goals and group those goals into some discrete units to make sure that I cover my long-term academic goals.
When it comes to the delivery of my lessons, I am going to keep it as simple as possible. Even though there are many different formats of lesson plans I can use, there is one general way I can make all the different types of lesson plans fit me. Using the following format to teach my lessons will help my students obtain the goals and objectives of my lessons. The format I will use is to first introduce the lesson. Then have an opening to the lesson, which is when I will tell the students what they will learn and why it is important. Next, I introduce the new material and teach it to the students. Afterwards, I allow time for guided practice and then independent practice. These two areas are where I make some informal assessments to check to see if the students learned the objectives. Last, but not least comes the closing. This is where I stress the connection of the lesson and check the students' understanding by doing some type of assessment, usually a summative form of assessment.
Conclusion
I believe classroom management is the key that unlocks the ability for children to learn and in creating an environment where children feel safe. I plan on creating an environment that is conducive to learning for all children. I plan on involving all the children in the planning of what type of classroom rules I will have. It is only fair to involve the children in the making of the classroom rules since they will be the ones responsible for following the rules. Therefore, if a student breaks a rule in class it is just not my rule they broke, but a rule they help create. I have learned that dealing with behavior problems is not necessarily the most important part of classroom management. It is the building of rapport between the children and me. By creating a good rapport with my students will alone help manage the behavior in the classroom. I will set high expectations and encourage my students to succeed. Finally, my classroom management will not only be about creating a good rapport with the students, but creating a rich and engaging curriculum.