Regarding Classroom Management

One of our assignments was to put together a Classroom Management Philosophy.  While I feel that there are far too many variables this year to solidly place myself into a "philosophy", I can see how the exercise of putting my goals into a format like this will help me take steps in the direction of where I'd like to see myself.

So below is my philosophy in progress:

Classroom Management Philosophy

As I have entered this journey of teaching I have already seen a shift in my thinking, my behaviour and my expectations in how I will choose to manage my classroom.  I recognize that this change may become more drastic as I actually engage in a classroom atmosphere and begin to see the intricacies of classroom management play out with different student influences.  I do believe that as teachers, and more specifically, as reflective practitioners, there is some fluidity in how this looks and that as we get to know our students from year to year, there is some adaptation that has to happen to meet their needs as well.  Having said that I can see that finding a solid place in my basic philosophy is of utmost importance in order to provide my students with the most consistent experience.  Finding this philosophy is a challenge for me but rewarding as I get to know who I am as a teacher, on a deeper level.

As I have explored the various power bases I believe that I fall mostly within the category of “legitimate power”.  While I wouldn’t say that I fit the “stereotype” I believe that a great deal of my expectation in the classroom lies with the authority that I hold as a teacher.  I have also been impressed with the fact that my job is to ensure that students are successful.  I do recognize that another significant aspect of my passion for teaching lies in the development of relationship with my students and as such I believe that I could move comfortably into some aspects of referent power.  My deepest desire is to have a classroom that both student and teacher are respected and that we work hard for each other because we care enough to find success for each other.

I am unsure where I fall at this point, in practical terms, where it relates to theories on management.  I believe I have tendencies to be more teacher directed at this point but as I have begun delving into what promotes the greatest level of learning in a classroom I would like to begin moving more towards the balance of collaborative.  I know that my classroom will not likely fall heavily into student directed at any point as that is not my natural place of comfort.  While I may make adjustments in various situations or activities I know that I will find my most comfortable place of teaching in a classroom that focuses on the collaboration between teacher and students to achieve the optimum environment for learning.

In terms of motivation, I believe a balance can be found between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and I also see that there tends to be imbalance to some degree in the early years of schooling.  For example, while it is possible to have primary students, specifically kindergarten and grade 1, intrinsically motivated, I do understand that the use of rewards can sometimes be an effective tool in helping students understand the habit of being intrinsically motivated.  That may sound somewhat contrary, however, I have found that minds can be trained to see the reward and then slowly remove that reward to feel the thrill of success on its own.  Just as I hope to have a classroom that works together collaboratively, I would like to see that focus then be a part of what helps them find motivation without my prompting.  I know that there will likely be a component to my classroom that will reflect an extrinsic motivation factor but I do not plan for that to be the primary means of motivation.

Finally, my understanding of “least interference” is that when issues of behaviour or misbehaviour arise in the classroom that I would find ways to address them that would initially begin with an evaluation of the action determining the need to address it immediately or ignore it.  With the assumption that it needed to be addressed in the moment there would be a set pattern of interaction that would happen starting with non-verbal cues and moving into verbal cues as the need arose.  I tend to be someone who leads with verbal cues so this may be an interesting challenge for me as I begin interacting with students in the classroom.  I believe it will take me some time to hone my skills in this area but would like to work more into using non-verbal communication to address specific situations whenever possible.



**Edit...After handing in my assignment and receiving feedback from my instructor, it was brought to my attention that my power base may be more "expert" power than the other two. This is another interesting phenomenon in education; when you ask an individual to evaluate who you are and seeing their response. I do not disagree with that assessment of possibly falling into expert power more than legitimate power in some aspects of my life but it will be very interesting to me to see how this works in the classroom.