Can I ask you what is your classroom management plan?
I’ve adapted my classroom management plan from Dr. Marvin Marshall. It’s all about intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. There are four levels of behavior that are posted in the classroom for students to easily reference.
Here’s basically how it’s set up…
you do good because you want to, not because you could get something out of it (i.e. do well because you want to be the best you can be)
you do good because you are being rewarded in some ways (i.e. do well in school because you have to get good grades, not get in trouble, etc.)
being in others’ personal space, bossing, bullying and/or bothering others
out of control, noisy, unsafe
Sorry this picture isn’t better quality. It’s the only one I can seem to find right now.
The students’ goal is to be at level D or C, and they need to figure out what they should do to reach those levels. I like this plan because it’s super easy to redirect the class or individual students. If the class is getting a little rowdy, I just ask them what level they are at, and then ask them to change their behavior.
If an individual student continues level B or A behavior after being asked twice to change, they are given a “My Behavior Plan.” I’ll either place this on his/her desk while I’m teaching as to not interrupt the lesson, or ask to see the student after class. This half sheet of paper has a few questions for the students to answer.
1. What level of behavior was I? What was I doing?
2. How did my actions affect the class?
3. How did my actions affect myself?
4. What will I do next time?
5. What is my self punishment?
Yes. The students need to punish themselves. My belief is that I didn’t do anything wrong. If I punish the students for their bad behavior, they are going to be mad at me when I didn’t make the poor choices in class. If they have to punish themselves, it seems to make their unacceptable behavior more real to them, and they are more likely to remember not to do it again.
This plan has worked really well for me for the past 4 years, and I’ve used it from 4th grade all the way to 12th grade. I think it can easily be adapted to various grade levels. One thing I suggest, especially for younger grades, is coming up with a list of acceptable self-punishments with your class at the beginning of the year. This at least gives them a starting point, and you won’t get the, “Can my self-punishment be to not have a cookie for dessert tonight?”
Thanks for the great question! Hopefully you or someone else will find it at least a little bit helpful :]
