If there are two words that I could describe what I have learned the most about it would be classroom management. I was paired with a collaborating teacher whose classroom management was on point at all seconds of the day and has played an integral role in strengthening mine. This is something that I identified as one of my focuses for improvement in the beginning of the year, and can honestly say that I have seen growth myself. It hasn’t been easy—kindergarten is new to me, and our students had a LOT of energy this year! But this “challenge” has helped me to grow even more.
Click on the title or “Read More” link to read about my reflections on classroom management :)
Classroom management is something that I will continually improve and change over my many years of teaching that are ahead of me. I have learned many things from my CT about classroom management that will help me in my own classroom as I continue to grow. One of the biggest things I’ve learned is how important it is to be very, very, explicit. At first, it sounded silly listening to myself give directions of every little detail of an assignment, repeating it, and then having the students repeat it to me. But I have learned how important it is to take the extra couple of minutes to do this—without taking those extra minutes to do so, you will lose even more valuable instruction time during the lesson if students do not have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. Something that my CT always reminds me of is how young students need to hear something as much as 50 times for them to know/remember, even if it means sounding like a broken record! This has become something that I think about continuously while planning my lessons; making sure every detail and movement is thought of and additionally how I will set these expectations for them. It is a lot to think about, but helps to keep the classroom running smoothly, expectations set, and learning meaningful!
One of the reasons why I struggled with my management in the beginning of the year was because I would be too nice to them. It killed me inside to see them upset! I’ve realized even though I am addressing behavior, without following through with consequences, behavior doesn’t always improve and it becomes a distraction to the learning of the other students in the classroom. While it still pulls at my heart strings to watch my students get upset, I’ve enjoyed watching my students faces light up through positive reinforcement. I believe that it is so important to address positive behaviors on a constant basis. Not only does it bring positivity to learning and the classroom environment, but it increases student confidence and behavior. I have watched this happen first hand with all of my students. Putting some students on a positive behavior plan has completely turned their behavior around and their learning has greatly benefited from it. For other students, positive praises and incentives have helped to keep them on task and has given them so much pride in their work and their learning! Positive reinforcement has become one of my favorite classroom management strategies, but at the same time I have seen the importance in following through with consequences and addressing behavior.
There is so much more that I have learned about classroom management from being in my classroom this year, but this post would be so long if I wrote about each thing! While I have learned so many important things, the most important thing I believe in is getting to know your students academically and personally. It is so important to know the student academically, but just as, if not more, important to actually know that child. We all know that a piece of paper cannot give a student justice. Love each child as if they were your own; respect them as a learner and a person. Ask them how they are doing, what they did that weekend, and what they love. Furthermore, tell them about you. Let them get to know who you are, and that you don’t actually turn your desk into a bed to sleep in when school is over. Bring all this into the classroom—make learning relatable and at the same time show them you care and respect who they are and what they like. Teaching is all about the students, make the most of it for them!