Zach Vaughn's Classroom Management Plan

I believe that the purpose of education is to prepare students for life in a democratic society by providing them with the critical thinking and problem solving skills they will need in their everyday lives. However, all the idealism in the world cannot help a teacher achieve this goal if the students are not learning in the classroom. I believe that, in order for students to learn, they need to be actively involved with the course material and that, in order to do that, a teacher needs to provide two main things: (1) an inclusive classroom community that embraces diversity and utilizes it in culturally responsive classroom instruction and (2) a variety of learning formats and activities to reach all learners.

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According to Bruce Larson, author of Instructional Strategies for Middle and High School Social Studies: Methods, Assessment, and Classroom Management, "developing a class eco-system and student behavior are closely linked to instructional strategy, planning, and learning" (2017, p. 54). So I believe that, as a teacher, I need to do everything in my power to create a community in my classroom. I will use monthly classroom meetings, weekly current event assignments, my classroom arrangement, in-class collaboration, and my Google Classroom and class website to initiate and maintain a cohesive classroom community.

 

Studies have shown that social and cultural identities have a significant influence on how students learn and their perceptions of the content being taught (Parker, 2015). Therefore, teachers need to be able to utilize diversity in an appropriate and responsive manner. According to Parker, "teachers can adjust class structures for participation so instruction becomes culturally responsive by using a variety of different groupings and interactional patterns in their classrooms" (2015, p. 99). As a teacher, I will do just that by integrating in-class collaboration (which has students work together in groups to achieve the common goal of learning the course content; nothing unifies people like a common purpose or goal) into my classroom as well as independent and whole class instruction.

 

According to Kounin's Model for classroom management, students will rarely misbehave if they are actively learning and engaged in the class (Larson, 2017). In order to keep my students engaged, I will utilize what Kounin's Model calls Valence and Challenge Arousal (the use of multimedia presentation, teacher enthusiasm, and a variety of activities to keep students engaged) (Larson, 2017, p. 60-61). The use of this will provide my students with a variety of learning formats (such as videos, graphic organizer notes, group activities, projects, and readings from opposing viewpoints) that will hopefully engage them and help them learn the course material.

 

I will also utilize the 6 facets of understanding outlined by Wiggins & McTighe in their book Understanding by Design: explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge (2005). These facets allow students to not only better learn the course material, but also to create a closer community through the inclusion of diverse opinions, ideas, and feelings as well as  the lessons that they can learn from introspective thinking that results from exposure to other these diverse ideas in their classroom. I plan to infuse this type of thinking and community building through personal experience into my classroom with the use of current events, which can be controversial, and cultural heritage projects (Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month, Holocaust Remembrance Week, etc.) and through the general discussion of past cultures and ideas via different points of view (i.e. the exploration of the New World through the eyes of both the Europeans and the Indigenous Peoples).

 

As the old adage goes: "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" (Wiktionary, 2017). The purpose of a teacher is to give students the tools to figure out their ideas and potential contributions to our democratic society. In order to prepare them, they need to know how to work with others, critically think about and justify their own views on ideas, respect others' opinions (even if they do not align with their own), and recognize the significance of past events or ideas on contemporary thought and action as well as identify and execute their own contribution to the world they live in. This has to start in the classroom and, as a teacher, it is my job to guide and encourage them to follow the path that will lead them to the point where they can feed themselves.