Design Of My Classroom
(Please look to the sketch and attached explanation)

Philosophy of Teaching Correlated to the Learning Environment

    I’m the kind of person who tends to lean toward an idealist view of the classroom and learning.  I believe that every child has the capability to learn and grow as an individual within the walls of the classroom and by the interactions he/she experiences with their peers.  I realize that even though everyone is capable of learning, it is essential that a classroom have structure and routine for that learning to take place.  I think that the teacher needs this and students need this and appreciate it to be able to function and learn.  I believe group work is essential for students to have a worthwhile learning and social experience.  I will definitely have desks that are in groups because I think students learn from one another just as much as they learn from their teacher.  I want my students to feel that their learning environment is an open one where they can freely communicate with me about problems, concerns and good news.  I would have a box where students could drop a note voicing these concerns throughout the day if they so desired.  I’m a big believer in positive reinforcement (by comments, bulletin boards of great work, special activities, and individual student recognition in front of the class) and how it helps student’s motivation and learning in the classroom.  I believe that students learn and should learn in a variety of ways.  Therefore, in my classroom I want to have centers, centers that involve hands on manipulatives, the arts, and uses of the five senses as much as possible.  I also believe that through modeling and practice students are capable of being able to work in centers and work together without constantly needing the teacher.  I want a classroom where no child feels that they cannot share a part of themselves with the teacher and their peers.

Developmental Study

    From the developmental study I learned that third graders are active and they base a lot of importance on who their friends are.  By having groups with desks and in centers I hope to be able to help students make new relationships and learn how to work with people other than their “best friend.”  The centers and group work (adhering to as many different learning styles as possible) will help students with using their high energy levels for good use!  Third graders are also at the point where they are starting to mature from their days as second graders.  I would meet this need by having more independent jobs in the classroom.  I would also reinforce activities being introduced by saying, “You know, I heard that the fourth graders were also doing this project!  You all must be as smart as the fourth graders to be up for such a challenge!”  I feel that constantly challenging my third graders will be important because they are intellectually ready for problem solving, reading and their longer attention span will help them to focus on the subject at hand. Third graders have to have the chance to talk with their peers to be able to grow intellectually and socially.  Many students in the third grade have different maturity backgrounds and by being grouped everyone learns something new from each other.

Development of My Own Classroom Learning Environment

    In my classroom I would begin to introduce the learning expectations and environment to the class by reading them a book about a “healthy” classroom (I still need to find this resource, Hooray for Diffendoofer Day would be a good resource for this area).  From the very beginning of the school year we would model and practice group and center work and discuss why group/centers are essential for our classroom to be a place for learning.  I will go over with the class why it is important to work together as a community and hear from the students what they think it means to be and work in a community.  I believe that student’s need to know that what they are doing in class really has meaning to the outside world and myself.  I will have bulletin boards that display student’s work and progress so students will know that I realize they are working hard and that I want other people to know their accomplishments too.  I truly believe in having open communication with my students and I would (during the first week of school) want to hear from them on their ideas of how our classroom could be a learning environment where everyone can take part. As a class we would post our ideas somewhere in the classroom to be a reminder and encouragement to the teacher and the students.  I would like for the students to help me in the structure of the classroom by working together to come up with our classroom rules.  I feel that if students have a part in this activity they have ownership and may think twice about breaking a rule they made themselves.  I would also meet with the parents the first week of school to explain our goals for the year and what the learning environment will be like for their child.  I will be open to criticism and suggestion to make our class a better one for their child.  With the parents and the students I would address why the desks are grouped and why they are not in individual rows.  I want my class to know my expectations for them as learners and my thoughts on how group work affects their learning.  I would have encouraging quotes all over the room about learning, goals, dreams, and challenging one’s self and the whole group.  I would have these things because I believe that student’s need constant reinforcement with love because many will only find this when they are in school.   As a teacher I hope my class can begin to learn to work together and learn from one another as a community should.
 
 
 
 

Classroom Routines

My three routines that I chose to observe and analyze are the following:
· The way students take care of their papers and work to turn in
· What students do when they first arrive to school
· How the teacher signals the students when she needs their attention

Description of Routines and Selection Process

1. The first routine, “the way students take care of their papers and work to turn in” was very important and interesting to me because I have often wondered how to successfully get work home and to make sure students do not lose the papers they need during the day.  In Mrs. Jones class in a box there is a manila envelope that at the top the child’s name is written.  On the cover of this envelope there is a parent sign sheet for homework that needs to done and checked by parents.  Students know to get this folder at the end of the day to get their homework and if they do not have a lot of homework, to get their parents to sign where they have read and for how long.  During the day there is a separate folder for all the students called Work in Progress.  This folder is for work that was not completed during the day and will be worked on at some other time.  Students keep this in their desk at all times and they do not take this home because it is meant for classwork.  The students are very use to this routine and for many of them it is a lifesaver because many of the third graders have a hard time with organization.
 

2. The second routine, “what students do when they first arrive to school” was important to me because I would like to know how to get the day started right and how to be actually productive when so many students are coming in at different times.  In Mrs. Jones class she gets to school very early, she has written on the board what the students need to do when they first come in.  They already know that they need to come in and put their things in their cubbies.  Before they sit in their desks they need to do “Lunch Count” which is where students pick what they want for lunch by putting their class number on the food they would like.  On the board these activities, since it is November now, go under the first sentence, “Prepare for the day.”  Since the students have to take care of their “Grass Head Guys” they have to water their plants during this time as well.  Mrs. Jones usually has the students write in their journal or read a favorite book while everyone is assembling in from different places.  When the first bell rings the students know that they need to be finding their seats and getting prepared.  When the second bell rings the students stand up and get prepared for the pledge of allegiance and moment of silence.  The students know they are about to start the day when Mrs. Jones moves to the front of the room and says, “Everyone clear everything off your desk except for your planner.”  The students know what they are supposed to do in the mornings and with this routine the students are usually quite calm, subdued, and on task.
 

3. The third routine, “how the teacher signals the students when he/she needs their attention” was extremely important to me, because I do not wish to be the teacher who yells constantly to try to get my students attention!  I also would like to know different ways in which the students and I can work together to make sure everyone is paying attention when needed.  Mrs. Jones uses the wonderful-hand-raised-peace-sign to get her students to listen and be quiet.  The students, as soon as they see her hand raised, begin to raise their hands and the room is silences as the mouths close like dominoes falling.  Sometimes Mrs. Jones just stops and doesn’t say anything when the students are not paying attention, soon one student notices this and raises their hand, and the class becomes quiet.  Not only is the hand-raising routine a good strategy, turning off the lights also works wonders most of the time.  Mrs. Jones turns off the lights, or has a student turn off the lights when the children are not on task and are being too loud.  The kids know this signal and they immediately focus their attention on the teacher.  Sometimes Mrs. Jones will couple the turning off the lights with, “Third graders freeze, wherever you are, freeze.”   These routines are simple ones that students pick up on quickly and they feel that they can be a part of the classroom discipline.

Interview with Mrs. Jones

    Mrs. Jones has been using these routines for a large majority of her teaching career because of their effectiveness.  Mrs. Jones says that with the morning routine she tells the children that if they do not use their time wisely and get everything done then they take away from their time to socialize with their friends.  She has found that this works explaining to the children why they must follow this routine and how their actions affect the class and themselves.  The homework envelope and work in progress folder have always been used in her class and they are routines that all students are successful with. She says the lights out routine is tried and true and she has used that forever with all her students.  The lights out routine is a good routine because by the third grade the students are quite use to the idea of the lights going off and what they are suppose to do when this happens.  Mrs. Jones occasionally claps her hands and the students must clap back to show that they are paying attention to her. This routine works sometimes, but you cannot always do this in places other than the classroom. She has found that the raising peace sign is the best attention getter thus far. Of course, on some days none of the routines (involving getting the class’ attention) work, but most of the time they are successful because they are easy for the students to remember and be able to participate with.  Mrs. Jones mentioned that she and Mrs. Warren use to put the children’s names on the board as a routine to get their attention, but she no longer does this because she attended the “Bringing it all Home” workshop.  She said that when they did put students names on the board this worked well and helped students with their misbehavior problems.  They had a book where they wrote down in the book the names that were on the board that day and why and if a student had a week that showed them not getting their name on the board they received some sort of reward.   Mrs. Jones was sure to add that each year is different and you never know how each class is going to respond.  She mentioned that if one person is absent it can change the effectiveness of the classroom routines greatly.

Routines Smoothly or Not So Smoothly

    The routines tend to go smoothly when Mrs. Jones is in the classroom.  I have found that on days when Mrs. Jones is absent and myself and Ms. Bond are present the students take a little longer being able to focus.  They always know to do their homework folder and they need to be reminded to put items (and which items) in their Works in Progress folder.  In the morning time, even when Mrs. Jones is present sometimes the students are so wound up that they have trouble remembering to do Lunch Count and they do not immediately get on task with reading and their journals.  I think that on some days students still are not awake and they would prefer to gather with their friends at their cubbies to chat than to go to their desks and begin working.  On some days if we did not constantly remind them and push them along some routines would never occur.     The hand signaling routine sometimes does not go smoothly if the students have just returned from recess or P.E.  Students have a rough time refocusing after these activities and one or two students who are not paying attention can cost the whole class.   I have also observed that when the students are spread out among the classroom the hand signal does not always work because they cannot see Mrs. Jones or they choose not to see her by hiding and continuing their misbehavior.  This is where the light-turning off routine comes in handy because when the lights go off every student is aware!
 

The Routines in My Classroom

    I would most definitely use all three of these routines in my classroom because I have seem Mrs. Jones, a veteran educator, use these and be successful.  In all three of the routines I will not have the chance to lose my cool and the students will know what their responsibility in the classroom is.  In all of these routines the class and myself are working together to make the classroom structure work.  With the take home envelope I’m helping the students know what is expected of them for homework and I’m communicating with parents about what they need to know about their child’s work.  With the Work in Progress the students do not lose important papers that will need to be finished at a later time (I’m learning that you hardly ever finish an activity in one learning session!) and this saves a lot of time.  I’m a big fan of the raising hand routine and lights off routine because students seem to respond to these routines quickly and I think they enjoy them.  Every student in the class loves to be the first one to remember to raise their hand and remind their peers of what needs to be taking place at that particular time.  I feel that with these routines students in my classroom will feel that there is organization and structure and that they can have a part in helping make the classroom a better learning environment.  I also will be sure and use the morning routine where students know what is expected of them by looking to the board for instruction.  I feel that by letting my students have an outline of the morning and a routine I can allow them to show their maturity and responsibility.  The choice of journal, reading, or art will mean a great deal to them and will give them leeway in what they feel like doing that particular morning.  Overall I feel that this is a great way to start the morning with third graders and starting the day off right is extremely important.
 

                                                                Classroom Behaviors
 

Description of Student’s Behaviors
 

Tom:
Tom is a third grader who has no self-confidence; and this year he has struggled as far as making friends.  Tom tends to tattle frequently and is very interested in what the other students are doing at his table. For instance he one day he told me every time we lined up to leave the room about the students who had “passed” him and the students that were talking.   He frequently tattles on people when he doesn’t even know if they are doing something wrong or not.  At his group table, one day, he frequently tattled on Sara because she was writing in her diary and she wouldn’t let him see it.  Tom, at the beginning of the year, would bang his head against his desk when something did not go his way and he frequently screamed and cried as well.  The student teacher informed me that he had to be taken out of the room at the beginning of the year because he started crying because he had not gotten his way during reading time.  He would not stop crying and it took forever for him to calm down, he did as soon as he got what he wanted.  Tom constantly says, “I can’t do this,”  “I don’t understand,” and he always thinks that the other children are “out to get him.”  Tom struggles with classroom assignments and one day he and I truly were having a time because he kept saying he could not do his science work and he thought I should do it for him.  Tom also has a side to him that can be very, very hyper and then he can suddenly drop to moping and complaining. When Tom is leaving P.E. he is full of excitement and bouncing off the walls, but if the P.E. teacher reprimands him for misbehaving in line then he immediately huffs and puffs and mopes angrily.  Everyday when his table is not called to line up first he says, “My table is always last, I’m always last.  We never get to be first, it isn’t fair.”  When he said this one particular day, Mrs. Wheeler made him go back to his desk and sit down for whining and then he really was last in line. Tom does not listen to authority very well and he has a bad attitude many times and talks back to the teacher trying to help him or discipline him.  Near the end of my internship I asked him nicely why he was misbehaving in the bathroom and why he had done something I had asked him not to.  Tom began to smart off to me and defend himself with no evidence.  He walked away from me when I was still talking to him and was muttering negative remarks as he went back to the classroom.  He later surprised me for apologizing for his behavior in the bathroom and for smarting off to me.
Casey:
Casey is also a third grader who has trouble finding and keeping friends.  Casey is a notorious tattle-teller and she does not know how to interact in a friendship, an example of this would be when we were making groups for a science lesson and no one wanted to be Casey’s partner because they said they found it very hard to work with her and they knew they would get in trouble.  Casey is very spoiled and must always have her way; therefore she does not know how to compromise at all.  I was trying to help Casey and Bob with their writing assignment and Casey would not budge on her views on what she thought the story should entail.  Bob quickly gave up and the story was all about what Casey wanted it to be, whereas it was supposed to be a group effort.   Casey does not respond well to authority at all and usually will purposely not do what you ask her to stop doing or not go where you tell her to go.  On several occasions when I have given Casey a warning she has repeated the action, such as during our class reading time when Casey was reading another book when she was supposed to be listening to the teacher.  I lightly tapped her shoulder and gave her a warning look and not five minutes later she was reading again right in front of me!  When I asked her to go to her seat, she just sat there for about five minutes and finally got up to go.  Casey has a problem of being very jealous of the other girls in the class and this also does not help in making friends.  Casey’s jealously is witnessed almost everyday in the classroom when she tattles on two other girls for ridiculous things such as saying hello to one another, or helping each other with class work.  Casey is very lazy and does not want to start on work, an example of this would be when the students were working on a science assignment and Casey had not done anything in a time span of 45 minutes.  She is usually quite spacey and does not follow classroom instructions.  Mrs. Wheeler had gone over in the big group the instructions for a science assignment and then given the students a handout that gave examples and gave explicit instructions (which were a repeat from what Mrs. Wheeler said in the big group) on what to do.  Casey just sat in her group and talked to the other student and then when there was five minutes left of work time she started the assignment and did it completely wrong.  Casey did not even look to her handout and she wanted me to do the work for her (another common everyday happening).
 
 

Behavior Categories
Tom:  At the beginning of my internship I first thought that Tom would fit under the Crier category because he seemed to get upset very easily and he would cry a great deal and he was quite sensitive.  As the internship went on though, Tom did not cry as much and he never seemed to relate well to a “caring adult.”  Since the Crier did not seem to fit I began to think that Tom fit under the Disrespectful category because of the many numerous times Tom did not speak to me the way a student should speak to a teacher. He constantly made faces when asked to do something and he does not seem to have a high regard for other students.  I have met Tom’s mother though, and he seems to come from a stable home where his needs are met and so this led me to believe that Tom does not fit perfectly into the Disrespectful category.  My final conclusion is that Tom fits almost exactly into the Complainer category.  My evidence shows constant examples of Tom whining and complaining whether it be through tattle telling, whining out in class about assignments he can’t do and the fact that he is never asked to do anything or just pouting while doing individual work.

Casey:
Casey was quite hard to pin down as I observed her throughout the semester.  I first thought she was definitely Disrespectful, she would not listen to anything I said and seemed to only care about herself and her needs.  Casey proved to not be that hostile though, and I did not know about her family situation either to know if her basic needs were being met.  Casey often would act as if she was being frustrated, but I think more of this came from not wanting to work.  Casey, many times throughout the semester showed signs of being a Dreamer.  She often got the “deer in the headlights” face at the most appropriate times in class (anytime a school lesson was being taught).  Casey is not quiet at all though, but she did have a lot of trouble focusing on class work and turning that work in (an example above with Mrs. Wheeler and a classroom science assignment).  Since Casey is so much a child who does want to be around other kids I could not pin her down as being a Dreamer.  I believe from my evidence and my observations of Casey that she is very close to the category of the Agitator.  Casey never seems to care about anything I say and she is constantly trying to get others in trouble (especially if she is the person involved- nothing is ever remotely her fault).  She is constantly seeking the attention of others by tattle telling and operates without loyalties in that she can never keep a friend.  I cannot say how Casey acts at home so I do not know if she hits or pushes her siblings.  I do know that Casey is very use to getting her way because she has great difficulty in understanding that she cannot always get what she wants.

Tom The Complainer and My Classroom
Behavior:
I think that I have came as close as possible on putting Tom under the Complainer category.  I have listened, observed, and interacted with Tom and I know what can be changed and the things that I should look over.  And I think that this model of the Complainer will be helpful to me as a teacher so that I can use it when talking to parents, students and other colleagues.
Effects:  I have seen in Mrs. Wheeler’s class the effects of Tom’s behavior.  Class time is frequently wasted, I feel undermined when I try to help Tom, I’m frequently frustrated, and many of Tom’s classmates are frustrated with his constant misbehavior.  Before reading the actions section of this website I felt helpless in helping Tom other than being patient and not showing frustration.
Actions:  I find nothing wrong with identifying some of the causes of the misbehavior, and with pinpointing student needs being revealed, but I’m not so sure about parents cooperating with modifying the student’s behavior at home.  Many parents automatically believe that it is the teacher’s fault that their child is having problems.  I of course would still go to the parent and try every possible avenue to help the student, but I feel that some parents may not be very acceptable to the idea that their child is a complainer.  I think that having some person to be the child’s companion or special buddy is a great idea, in fact we have used this idea in Mrs. Wheeler’s class with Tom and things starting to get better.  I think having personal conferences with the student is important because they need to feel that you care about them.
Mistakes:
This list of mistakes shows some of the feelings I have had in my mind as I interact with Tom!  It is so easy and human to get frustrated and to want to be defensive with the child, but I have always had to remember that I am dealing with a child, not an adult.  I must remain neutral and understanding and I have to listen to the student and their needs.  It will be hard to deal with the student during classroom time because of classroom time restraints.  I will have to find ways in which to work with this student and not take away from the other student’s time.
 

Casey the Agitator and My Classroom
Behavior:
Again, if I had a student in my classroom who showed signs of Casey’s behavior, I would begin to take notes and observe her every move in the class to make sure I had pin pointed the correct behavior.  Observing and listening will be the key in finding out the correct behavior category of a student.
Effects:
I agree with everything the effects column has to say about the effects of a student’s behavior if they are the agitator.  I have seen the effects of Casey’s behavior in our classroom, how her classmates tend to repeat some of her actions, how her classmates become fed up with her and do not want to be around her.  I become quite frustrated when I try asking her to do something three or four times and she still does not do anything.
Actions:
Again, I wonder about specifically talking with the parents; when our student teacher had an incident with Casey, her mother was not very compliant with Ms. Mallory and did not want any advice on how to help her daughter. I agree that a teacher should be open with students and parents about misbehavior and how to correct it, but I think a teacher should keep in mind that some parents may completely disagree with what they are suggesting.  I think it is very important to look into the primary and secondary needs to see if the student may actually need these.  I think it will be very important for me, as a teacher to think about what is really going on with this child and to have a conference with the child to talk about their behavior as the “actions” column suggests.   I think it is very important to be openly honest with students and share your concerns as their teacher so they will know where you are coming from.  It is also extremely important to always reinforce good behavior and to give the agitator specific jobs so that they can feel like they are in control.  I like the idea of setting up a contract with the student and would like to do this with all my students at the beginning of the year.

Mistakes:
It will be very important for me as a teacher to follow all 14 mistakes listed:
1. Openly and publicly accusing certain students of being agitators.
2. Failing to see the real fear of being discovered that underlies the agitator’s behavior.
3. Believing the agitator’s actions are directed personally toward us and, therefore, reacting personally toward the agitator and his/her behavior.
4. Getting into an argument, causing division among the class.
5. Issuing punishments to the group, causing strong student reactions.
6. Jumping to the conclusion that the agitator is responsible for a current situation, based on past history.
7. Overreacting to all incidents of criticism and calling them agitation.
8. Making threats to stop the behavior and backing ourselves into a corner.
9. Feeling that "I must have the last word if I am to be the winner."
10. Becoming involved in a power play.
11. Openly confronting the student in class. This action can only cause serious difficulty for all. And our concern about losing respect may readily become a reality.
12. Accusing a student too harshly and/or in the presence of class members.
13. Playing detective, and acting unfairly when we aren’t able to pinpoint the culprit.
14. Attacking the followers rather than confronting the agitator.

I’m not sure how any teacher could disagree with these suggestions on being a better teacher and on how not to act towards a student who is an agitator.  In my own experiences with children I have learned many of these suggestions to be true.  In my classroom it will be very important that I act as a teacher should and do not become a detective, or a policeman, or a person that the student fears or is constantly angry with.  I want the classroom to be one in which my students know that I will treat them fairly and work with them to help their misbehavior problems.