Members are dedicated in their care and commitment to students. They treat students equitably and with respect and are sensitive to factors that influence individual student learning. Members facilitate the development of students as contributing citizens of Canadian society.
Classroom Management Philosophy: Highlighting the Importance of Relationships in Education
My Philosophies for Governing Behaviour
Fostering positive, trusting, and respectful relationships with students is essential in governing student behaviour. From my experience, students respond with more appropriate behaviour when they know that you genuinely care for them and their success. I bring a caring pedagogy to the classroom because I always emphasize bonding with your students and getting to know their interests; my investment in them allows me to be a more effective teacher. In tandem, I would classify myself as a “warm demander” because I build strong relationships with my students and express high expectations of them (Jones & Jones, 2021). I invest much energy in their growth, and I expect them to invest just as much energy in themselves; therefore, my classroom management philosophy is reflective of the pedagogies of Dewey, Noddings, and Kleinfeld.
Supporting Student Needs and Goals
I believe that all students want and have the capacity to succeed. There is an intention behind all student behaviour, whether it is productive or unproductive. Becoming acquainted with my students ables me to have a clear understanding of their individual needs, goals, and challenges, which ultimately inform their behaviour. Making education engaging and practical is crucial from a students’ perspective; when they acknowledge the value of their education, they are more invested in their learning, thus, reducing disruptive behaviour and risks for failure. My pragmatic educational philosophy correlates with this outlook because I view education as an opportunity for growth within an interactive environment. This progressive pedagogy primarily focuses on the individual interests and abilities of the students to prepare them for life even outside of the educational sphere (Williams, 2017). Intertwining student interests and curriculum expectations is the most effective way to keep the students engaged with the material. Dewey argued that teachers had to start with the experience and interests of students and patiently forge connections between that experience and whatever subject matter was prescribed (Noddings, 2005). Therefore, reiterating the importance of fostering relationships with your students and showing them that you are there to support them on their individual journey; results in better classroom performance.
I believe students want to be seen and acknowledged. The simplest yet most effective way I show my students that I value their presence is by greeting them at the door; every day at the beginning of the class, each student will receive a high-five before entering. Consistently greeting students with a warm welcome will positively impact overall student learning (Jones & Jones, 2021). I think this is a great way to break down some relationship walls and boost the energy of the class. As high-fives are usually celebratory in nature, they give us a kick of dopamine which will increase student motivation and mood (Estrada, 2021). In my experience, students are often tired and sometimes unenthusiastic about school. By implementing this small energetic action, I can boost the mental wellness in the room and create a more upbeat learning environment. A crucial part of building relationships with students is caring about their well-being. This hand-gesture acts as a non-verbal form of communication, which may serve as a way to check-in with students. If you find the response and energy are low, you can adjust your lesson to first attend to the learning mindsets in the room or check on any particular students who may seem extra-low that day. Therefore, this small gesture can positively affect the attitudes coming into the classroom and improve student behaviour seamlessly.
An Facilitator Approach
As an educator, I assume a less authoritarian approach and embrace a more facilitator-student relationship. I believe that there should be mutual respect between the educator and student and that students are more responsive to a teacher who wants to earn their respect versus expect it. Noddings’ caring pedagogy expresses that care must be relational and responsive, consistent with my beliefs about trust and bonding with students (Noddings, 2005). Having a non-traditional facilitator role will encourage student reliance on you for help. For example, when I was a student, my printmaking professor embodied this facilitator figure. Her non-traditional relationship with the students allowed us to be more inclined to ask questions and feel free to explore and possibly mess up. By implementing this type of relationship in the classroom, I too can express to my students that there are no mistakes, only “happy accidents.” When students learn in a non-judgemental, safe, and supportive environment, they are more likely to be in a growth mindset. I can attest that the fear of failure can prevent growth and success. This progressive teaching method meets many of the basic needs in William Glasser’s Personal Needs Theory. By facilitating a student-centered learning experience, students have a sense of belonging and form strong peer-to-peer and teacher-student relationships, have power over their learning, have the freedom to explore and problem solve from failure, and finally, have fun.
Community is a consistent factor in many Personal Needs Theories. I believe outside of the explicit responsibilities of an educator, one of the most important duties is to create a classroom environment that promotes community and belonging. As an educator, I have an open-door policy, which means students may come into the classroom and visit with me during lunch period. When I was in high school, my drama teacher always let her students stay and have lunch in her room if they wanted to. I find this an effective way to foster positive and appropriate relationships with her students because she got to know them as individuals beyond the student label. Having the time to share personal interests facilitated stronger relationships and created a more productive learning environment in return. By employing empathetic non-evaluative listening, students are less likely to express their feelings through negative behaviours and via healthy forms of communication. This open, genuine, and welcoming attitude manifested a family community within the classroom, which caused better educational experiences for everyone. I have witnessed how this policy also sets a platform for students to form relationships with their classmates in a safe space. Peer rejection has proven to correlate with negative attitudes and adverse behaviours; creating a free of judgement and inclusive classroom can aid peer relationships and positive performance in school (Sturaro et., 2011, as cited in Jones & Jones, 2021). Thus, meeting the basic needs of belongingness, proposed in Maslow’s and Glasser’s theories. Furthermore, teaching styles correspond with parenting styles, as both affect adolescent behaviour. Relating to my forementioned pragmatism, Baumrind’s authoritative parenting style directly correlates with my view of myself as an educator. Akin to a warm demander, this approach to governing adolescent behaviour focuses on having reasonable control but with lots of warmth and responsiveness (Santrock et al., 2010). Therefore, my classroom management style is a steady balance of high expectations and genuine care for my students’ personal success.
Classroom Management
My approach to classroom management is preparing the environment to be preventative of disruptive behaviours. This form of preventative approach is especially present in my teaching methods. My progressive teaching philosophy focuses on experiential learning; this style of pedagogy includes interactive experiences, simulations, and other innovative modes of delivery. This method has proven successful in my experience because students are more engaged and less distracted. During the observation period of my practicum, while my teacher was using traditional modes of teaching, I noticed many of the students were fiddling, twitching, bouncing their legs, and playing on their phones. In this digital age, this generation of students is accustomed to processing lots of information at once, multitasking, and coping with immediate access to information and people. For example, I noticed that phones were a major distraction in the classroom. Students were constantly Snapchatting, texting, and scrolling through Tik Toks. Thus, I created a Snapchat text analysis assignment, which meant students were required to complete it on Snapchat. By requiring the students to use their phones for an educational purpose, they remained on task, the success and submission rate was higher, and made text analyses more fun. I also facilitated a game called; the red flag game, where students raise a red, yellow, or green flag to indicate if an action in a relationship is healthy or unhealthy. Since the material was relatable, practical, and accessible to the students, and the cards ensured their hands were occupied by something besides their phones, the engagement was high and unproductive behaviour was low. Therefore, by integrating new hands-on learning experiences, students are less distracted and can be more active; thus, expelling any pent-up energy they would usually have from sitting for 150 minutes in the current classroom schedule.
I strongly believe that classroom management also corresponds with mental wellness. As I have stressed throughout this essay, I must build healthy relationships with my students to ensure they are putting their best efforts into their education. When students feel that the teacher has their back, they exude more self-confidence, which leads to productive behaviour. Furthermore, emphasizing greeting the students before they enter is my way of helping them leave their negative energies at the door. My role as an educator is to be a support system for my students; it is proven that child depressive symptoms are lower for students who report higher-quality relationships with their teachers. (Rucinski et al., 2018, as cited in Jones & Jones, 2021). In support of my students’ mental health, I and my teaching must be consistent and reliable. For example, I will not have pop quizzes or any unexpected assessments because this may be triggering to students coping with anxiety. I always keep my students informed and prepared to reduce any anxious feelings that may impact their performance. Finally, mental disorders can affect students learning needs, and disruptive behaviour can arise when unmet. By being conscious of mental wellness in the classroom, misbehaviours will decrease.
“Classroom management is not about having the right rules…it’s about having the right relationships.” – Danny Steele
References
Estrada, J. (2021, October 31). Mental health experts say this two-second habit is the new power
pose. The Zoe Report. Retrieved January 19, 2022,
from https://www.thezoereport.com/wellness/confidence-building-habit-high-fives-to-yourself
Noddings, N. (2005). Caring. In The challenge to care in schools: An alternative approach to education (pp. 15–27). essay, Teachers College Press. Retrieved 2021.
Santrock, J. (2010). Educational Psychology. N.p.: McGraw-Hill Education.
Williams, M. K. (2017). John Dewey in the 21st Century – ed. ERIC Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved October 4, 2021, from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1158258.pdf.