I. Philosophy of Management:
I have learned that, in the classroom, building positive student-teacher relationships is important in order for students to respect teachers as authority figures. I explored how teachers can build these relationships with students and found that “introducing myself using some of my favorite things” was beneficial in helping my students “connect with me” as an educator (Task Blog #3). I have noticed that my management style leans toward “referent authority,” which involves a teacher perceiving that “students have a good relationship” with him/her and a teacher communicating “that he[/she] cares about and likes” his/her students (Levin & Nolan, 2014).
Another thing that I have learned is that methods such as two minute relationship building are helpful in building these positive teacher-student relationships. I found that this method was useful “to learn more about student interests” and to gain student trust (Blog #7). I discovered that by “having a personal conversation” “about whatever topic interests” my student I was developing a closer connection with her while also getting her excited to speak to an authority figure (McKibben, 2014).
The last key thing that I learned is that when one method is not highly effective, try another one until that effectiveness level is reached. Sometimes it is easy to forget this, but an example of how this worked in my classroom is when I tried a new method for lining up students on their way back from specials one day. My “new method of using ‘bubbles’…resulted” in better behavior in the hallway from the majority of my students (Blog #6). I was looking at the situation from a “student-directed teacher” perspective by trying “to determine what motivates [my students] and” trying “to find ways to meet…unmet needs” (Levin & Nolan, 2014).
II. Classroom Context:
In my classroom, the learning environment looks collaborative, but mainly student-centered. Students focus on gaining new knowledge while trying to become more independent learners. My collaborating teacher and I’s roles in the classroom are focused on helping our students become these independent learners by guiding them in the right direction when necessary but also by letting them figure things out on their own.
My learners’ needs are to be asked probing questions and to be talked to one-on-one in some cases. Students all have specific interests and they want these to be taken into account in their learning environment. Students also have natural tendencies to want quick answers or solutions to confusing or complex problems, but probing questions help these students fulfill their need to think critically in order to become more independent learners.
My learning environment’s needs are to have an open climate that welcomes students input and suggestion while also having a comfortable community-style climate that lets students take risks and try new things. My environment needs to be able to support my students’ need to become more independent learners as well as my students’ need to have their interests and input valued in the classroom decision-making process.
III. FEAP 2:
Information regarding FEAP 2 can be found under the FEAPs Portfolio tab. This is hyperlinked in the heading "FEAP 2" above, or can be found at the direct link below.
http://thisisbriannasblog.weebly.com/feaps-portfolio
IV. Reflection on Classroom Management:
My facilitation of the learning environment has impacted the learners in my classroom by influencing student behavior in positive ways. For example, through the two minute relationship building task one of my learners gained “an appreciation for adult figures” and showed “excitement when speaking to teacher figures” (Blog #7). Another example of my impact is when I shared my interests with my students to show them how they could “connect with me,” which helped to “build positive teacher-student relationships” (Blog #3).
My next steps related to classroom management are to focus on continuing to influence student behavior in positive ways by using the two minute relationship building method with other students in my classroom and focus on finding new methods to use to build positive teacher-student relationships. My goal is to use what I have learned through my experiences this semester to improve my classroom management in the future. I want to take the data that I have collected and analyzed and use it to create a better learning experience for all of my students, whether it is in my current classroom this year or in my own classroom next year.
I have learned that, in the classroom, building positive student-teacher relationships is important in order for students to respect teachers as authority figures. I explored how teachers can build these relationships with students and found that “introducing myself using some of my favorite things” was beneficial in helping my students “connect with me” as an educator (Task Blog #3). I have noticed that my management style leans toward “referent authority,” which involves a teacher perceiving that “students have a good relationship” with him/her and a teacher communicating “that he[/she] cares about and likes” his/her students (Levin & Nolan, 2014).
Another thing that I have learned is that methods such as two minute relationship building are helpful in building these positive teacher-student relationships. I found that this method was useful “to learn more about student interests” and to gain student trust (Blog #7). I discovered that by “having a personal conversation” “about whatever topic interests” my student I was developing a closer connection with her while also getting her excited to speak to an authority figure (McKibben, 2014).
The last key thing that I learned is that when one method is not highly effective, try another one until that effectiveness level is reached. Sometimes it is easy to forget this, but an example of how this worked in my classroom is when I tried a new method for lining up students on their way back from specials one day. My “new method of using ‘bubbles’…resulted” in better behavior in the hallway from the majority of my students (Blog #6). I was looking at the situation from a “student-directed teacher” perspective by trying “to determine what motivates [my students] and” trying “to find ways to meet…unmet needs” (Levin & Nolan, 2014).
II. Classroom Context:
In my classroom, the learning environment looks collaborative, but mainly student-centered. Students focus on gaining new knowledge while trying to become more independent learners. My collaborating teacher and I’s roles in the classroom are focused on helping our students become these independent learners by guiding them in the right direction when necessary but also by letting them figure things out on their own.
My learners’ needs are to be asked probing questions and to be talked to one-on-one in some cases. Students all have specific interests and they want these to be taken into account in their learning environment. Students also have natural tendencies to want quick answers or solutions to confusing or complex problems, but probing questions help these students fulfill their need to think critically in order to become more independent learners.
My learning environment’s needs are to have an open climate that welcomes students input and suggestion while also having a comfortable community-style climate that lets students take risks and try new things. My environment needs to be able to support my students’ need to become more independent learners as well as my students’ need to have their interests and input valued in the classroom decision-making process.
III. FEAP 2:
Information regarding FEAP 2 can be found under the FEAPs Portfolio tab. This is hyperlinked in the heading "FEAP 2" above, or can be found at the direct link below.
http://thisisbriannasblog.weebly.com/feaps-portfolio
IV. Reflection on Classroom Management:
My facilitation of the learning environment has impacted the learners in my classroom by influencing student behavior in positive ways. For example, through the two minute relationship building task one of my learners gained “an appreciation for adult figures” and showed “excitement when speaking to teacher figures” (Blog #7). Another example of my impact is when I shared my interests with my students to show them how they could “connect with me,” which helped to “build positive teacher-student relationships” (Blog #3).
My next steps related to classroom management are to focus on continuing to influence student behavior in positive ways by using the two minute relationship building method with other students in my classroom and focus on finding new methods to use to build positive teacher-student relationships. My goal is to use what I have learned through my experiences this semester to improve my classroom management in the future. I want to take the data that I have collected and analyzed and use it to create a better learning experience for all of my students, whether it is in my current classroom this year or in my own classroom next year.
References:
Levin, J. & Nolan, J. (2014). Principles of classroom management (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson.
McKibben, S. (2014). Two Minutes to Better Student Behavior. ASCD Inservice. Retrieved 31 October
2016, from http://inservice.ascd.org/two-minutes-to-better-student-behavior/
Levin, J. & Nolan, J. (2014). Principles of classroom management (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson.
McKibben, S. (2014). Two Minutes to Better Student Behavior. ASCD Inservice. Retrieved 31 October
2016, from http://inservice.ascd.org/two-minutes-to-better-student-behavior/