Classroom Strategies for Improving Behavior Management

Behavior management is one of the biggest challenges that all teachers face. Some teachers are naturally strong in this area while others have to work hard to be an effective teacher with behavior management. It is crucial to understand that all situations and classes are different. Teachers must quickly figure out what works with a particular group of students. There is not a single strategy that a teacher can implement to establish better behavior management. Instead, it will take a combination of several strategies to create the desired atmosphere of maximized learning. Veteran teachers often use these simple strategies to maximize the time they have with their students by minimizing the distractions. Establish Rules and Expectations Immediately It is well documented that the first few days of school are essential in setting the tone for the remainder of the year. I would argue that the first few minutes of those first few days are the most critical. Students are generally well behaved, and attentive in those first few minutes giving you the opportunity to captivate their attention immediately, lay the foundation for acceptable behavior, and dictate the overall tone for the remainder of the year. Rules and expectations are two different things. Rules are negative in nature and include a list of things a teacher does not want students to do. Expectations are positive in nature and include a list of things that a teacher wants students to do. Both can play a role in effective behavior management in the classroom. Rules and expectations should be simple and straightforward covering the essential aspects of behavior management. It is essential that they are well written avoiding vagueness and wordiness that can be counterproductive by creating confusion. It is also beneficial to limit how many rules/expectations you establish. It is better to have a few well-written rules and expectations than a hundred that no one can remember. Practice! Practice! Practice! Expectations should be practiced several times throughout the course of the first few weeks. The key to effective expectations is for them to become a habit. This is done through prioritized repetition at the beginning of the year.  Some will see this as a waste of time, but those that put in the time at the beginning of the year will reap the benefits throughout the course of the year. Every expectation should be discussed and practiced until it becomes routine. Get Parents on Board It is crucial that teachers establish meaningful, trusting relationships early on in the school year. If a teacher waits until there is an issue to reach out to a parent, then the results may not be positive. Parents must be as aware of your rules and expectations as the students are. There are many ways to establish an open communication line with parents. Teachers must become adept at utilizing these different forms of communication. Begin by making contact with the parents of those students who have a reputation of having behavior problems. Keep the conversation entirely positive in nature. It is likely that this will provide you with credibility as they are probably not used to hearing positive comments about their child. Be Firm Do not back down! You must hold a student accountable if they fail to follow a rule or expectation. This is especially true at the beginning of the year. A teacher must get their bluff in early. They can lighten up as the year progresses. This is another vital aspect of setting the tone. Teachers who take the opposite approach will likely have a difficult time with behavior management throughout the year. Most students will respond positively to a structured learning environment, and this begins and ends with consistent accountability. Be Consistent and Fair  Ã‚   Never let your students know that you have favorites. Most teachers would argue that they do not have favorites, but the reality is that there are some students that are more endearing than others. It is essential that you are fair and consistent no matter who the student is. If you give one student three days or detention for talking, give the next student the same punishment. Of course, history can also factor into your classroom discipline decision. If you have disciplined a student several times for the same offense, you can defend giving them a tougher consequence. Stay Calm and Listen Do not jump to conclusions! If a student reports an incident to you, it is necessary to investigate the situation thoroughly before making a decision. This can be time-consuming, but ultimately it makes your decision defendable. Making a snap decision can create an appearance of negligence on your part. It is equally essential that you remain calm. It is easy to overreact to a situation, especially out of frustration. Do not allow yourself to handle a situation when you are emotional. It will not only diminish your credibility but could make you a target from students looking to capitalize on a weakness. Handle Issues Internally The majority of discipline issues need to be addressed by the classroom teacher. Consistently sending students to the principal on a discipline referral undermines a teacher’s authority with students and sends a message to the principle that you are ineffective in handling classroom management issues. Sending a student to the principal should be reserved for serious discipline infractions or repeated discipline infractions for which nothing else has worked. If you are sending more than five students to the office a year, you likely need to reevaluate your approach to behavior management. Build Rapport Teachers who are well-liked and respected are less likely to have discipline issues than teachers who are not. These are not qualities that just happen. They are earned over time by giving respect to all students. Once a teacher develops this reputation, their job in this area becomes easier. This type of rapport is built by investing time into building relationships with students that extend outside what happens in your classroom. Taking an interest in what is going on in their lives can be endearing in developing positive teacher-student relationships. Develop Interactive, Engaging Lessons A classroom full of engaged students is less likely to become a behavior issue, than a classroom full of bored students. Teachers must create dynamic lessons that are both interactive and engaging. Most behavior issues originate out of frustration or boredom. Great teachers are able to eliminate both of these issues through creative teaching. The teacher must be fun, passionate, and enthusiastic while differentiating lessons to meet individual needs in the classroom.

Ap Human Geography - 4570 Words

Heather Furlong AP Human Geography Summer Assignment Quote: â€Å"We were first introduced to rap music during one of our visits to Mobimbi, a quarter where the foreigners who worked for the same American company as my father lived† (Beah 6). Explanation: The theme of region is shown in this quote as the author describes one of his many trips down to Mobimbi. Region describes the geographical unit based on characteristics and functions of culture. This quote also shows a very specific type of region called functional region, which is an area that has been organized to function politically, socially, or economically as one unit. The town of Mobimbi that the author speaks of is a place of social gathering for the people of his area.†¦show more content†¦Boys learn at a young how to climb and provide for their families. This theme of nature-culture is very prominent in this chapter, because without learning to climb they would have a lot less food to feed to their families. Quote: â€Å"I began to feel my ribs when I touched my sides†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ Later in the evening, the boy’s mother gave each of us an ear of corn† (Beah 30-31). Explanation: The theme nature-culture is used in this quote as the author talks about how hungry he is, and also how a woman gave them corn she had grown. Nature-culture helps us investigate how groups of people interact with the Earth’s biophysical environment and examine how the culture, politics, and economies of those groups affect their ecological situation and resource use. The author and his friends are currently fleeing from the RUF. The RUF is an army made of young boys. While the boys are fleeing they have no food, but when they find a young boy who has food, they take his food and eat it themselves. But the mother of the child takes pity on the boys and gives them each their own ear of corn she has grown. This is an example of nature-culture, because it shows how people are utilizing the Earth and its resources to survive in tough situations. Also the town that they wandered into has a farming culture; this is how the people of that town make money by selling their corn, and how they also live healthy lives from the nutritional valueShow MoreRelatedAp Human Geography3578 Words   |  15 PagesIssamel Velazquez Human Geo 4/12/13 P3 Chapter 14 Key Issue 1 1. A resource is a substance in the environment that is useful to people, is economically and technologically feasible to access, and is socially acceptable to use. 2. The problem is that most resources are limited, and Earth has a tremendous number of consumers. 3. Geographers observe two major misuses of resources: We deplete scarce resources, especially petroleum, natural gas, and coal, for energy production. 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Magnolia Therapeutic Solutions Case Study Free Essays

Magnolia Therapeutic Solutions is a well known nonprofit that provides psychotherapy for clients with Post Traumatic Syndrome Disorder (PSTD). Magnolia contributed several hours of intensive help to the victims of 911. In return NYC gave the organization a large grant to help it meet the demands of PSTD services. We will write a custom essay sample on Magnolia Therapeutic Solutions Case Study or any similar topic only for you Order Now Mary Stewart, the founder of the organization believed that the grant given in 2001 would be renewed in 2002 as well. Much to her surprise the grant was not renewed. The grant was already factored into her budget for 2002 and she had to go back and revise the budget. Mary was $500,000 short and in turn had to lay off one third of the employees. My Decision Versus the Boards The board of directors chose to approve the budget, based on Mary’s 2001 budget and financials. My decision would have been the complete opposite. The decision I would have made was to ask Mary for documents backing up the proposed budget. Mary made the budget based on her grants and fundraising from 2001. She did not take into consideration that the grant may not have been renewed. If she had made a lower budget, or even a back up budget, she would have had an alternative plan if NYC did not renew the grant. I made the decision I did because Mary’s 2002 budget was made up on monies she was not even sure that she would have. Mary even based the development department raising more money on a grant she was not even sure would be offered to the organization. Organizational infrastructure had a large affect on my decision to reject the budget. The policies and procedures that are put into place by an organization are done so to build accountability and adjust to internal and external requirements. According to Business Development Group, Inc (1999-2009), â€Å"Properly implemented policies and procedures prove to be very critical for achieving growth and profitability through the more efficient allocation and utilization of a company’s limited resources† (para. 3). Causes Behind the Ultimate Problem There were several causes behind the ultimate problems Magnolia suffered. This seems to have stemmed from the lack of accountability and responsibility with the financial management. First, Mary had written a budget based on funds that were not guaranteed. She even based raising money for the organization on higher grants for 2002. Since the 2002 budget was written on false grants, this caused a huge problem and several staff members got laid off. This caused the organization to come to a stand still. This problem could have been solved a few different ways. Either by writing a budget with the grants and funds Mary knew 100% would be available. Or she could have written the budget with the NYC grant and had a back up budget incase it was not renewed. This way the board of directors could have seen either way Mary had a budget that could actually be carried out. Secondly, in 2001 the organization used the remainder of the grant to â€Å"increase other administrative services. † The surplus from the grants in 2001 should have been budgeted into the growing organization and the services provided, not administrative services. â€Å"The identification of a human service agency’s programs, the creation of a program structure, the assignment of program managers, and the designation of responsibility centers are the basic building blocks of financial management† (Martin, 2001, p. 16). Main Differences There are several differences in a non-profits inability to thrive and a for-profits inability to thrive. First, a non-profit can fail in acquiring â€Å"revenue† by not getting enough grants and not having enough staff. For-profits fail to get revenue by not making enough profit. Secondly, non-profits accrue expenses through program supplies, staffing, bills, and rental space. A for-profit accrues expenses through production, staffing, bills, paying out shareholders and owners, and getting the necessary supplies to keep up with newer products/technology. Lastly, non-profits do not have the resources to pay employees/volunteers for training or higher education. This could result in a nonprofit’s inability to thrive. Training key employees is usually part of most for-profit organizations. Money is typically not an issue and organizations that make a profit know if they put money into an employees training, the end results will come back to them. Risk Management â€Å"Risk management can be defined as the identification, planned control, and reduction of risks to a human service agency† (Martin, 2001, p. 187). Magnolia’s deficit happened because Mary and the organization did not have any risk management set in place. Had the organization had a risk management plan, Mary would have known better than planning a budget with unknown funds. â€Å"A formalized risk management program is one of the few ways a human service agency can reduce service delivery costs without cutting either staff positions or operating budgets† (Martin, 2001, p. 187). If Magnolia had used the essential tasks of risk management it may have been able to find a way to keep employees or get funding elsewhere. The five tasks are risk identification, risk evaluation, risk control, risk funding, and administration. These tasks are a key component in helping nonprofits thrive. Had Magnolia identified problems or issues that could potentially happen with the budget and shortfalls it could have minimized the outcome. Conclusion Because of Mary Stewart Magnolia had become a nonprofit organization that was helping in such a needed area, PSTD. Magnolia continued to thrive and receive many awards for the services performed. The organization received a large 1-year grant from NYC to help 911 PSTD victims. When it came time for Mary to write the budget for 2002 she included the 2001 1-year grant from NYC. In the end Mary’s budget caused a deficit in the organization and one third of the employees had to be laid off. If there had been a better risk management plan in order this could have been prevented. Also, if Mary had created a budget that was based on grants she knew they would be receiving the organization could have continued providing the excellent services at the same rate. How to cite Magnolia Therapeutic Solutions Case Study, Free Case study samples