The classroom management style used in my field experience classroom is a school-wide behavior management chart. Each day the students start on the color "green" throughout the day they can either move up or down the chart based on their behavior. If the teacher needs to tell the student to stop what they are doing more than once or twice the student then has to go move their clip down on the chart. When students are listening really well, being super quiet, or doing what they are supposed to without the teacher telling them she will have him move their clip up. Students who receive "pink" get VIP privileges the next day and get the sit at a special table instead of their normal seat. Whichever color the students get is marked in their take-home folder at the end of the day for parents to see. Each color is also worth a certain amount of classroom money that the students can use to do fun activities like watching a movie at the end of the 9 weeks.
STOP LIGHT BEHAVIOR SYSTEM
I think that the stop light behavior system can only work in some cases. I find this style more useful with lower elementary classes because they sometimes forget what they are allowed and not allowed to do in school. I don't see this system working for students higher than grade 2, at this age students know what they can and cant do and I just don't think it works to tell them they are on a certain color because they more than likely won't care. I don't like the fact that with this system most the of the time teachers are calling the students out in front of their whole class and this might embarrass the student and make them ask worst.
MY FUTURE CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
I will have my students be able to earn classroom bucks based on things such as completing homework, helping classmates, answers questions, doing well on tests, and just behaving well. The money will be able to be used to buy items in our classroom store or for things like "game day" or "movie day". I will also have a system like the warm fuzzy jar that is classroom-wide so once it is filled up the whole class with get to participate in an activity. I want my classroom management for focus more on good behavior than bad. But it students are bad or forget to turn in homework multiple days in a row or don't finish their work in a timely manner they will have to pay me money from the money that they earned.
My step-daughter's 3rd grade class rewards good behavior with prizes such as pencils, bookmarks, and no homework passes. I believe that these rewards are very age appropriate and are desirable rewards for the students. I personally love the occasional no homework passes which gives a both a break from our busy days. I like the class Dojo store, that is a great idea. I think when you can develop a great relationship with the students, the chances are that they are more willing to exhibit those desired behaviors because they don't want to disappoint you and strive to make you proud. Great blog post! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAmanda
The teacher I work with also does trade in points for prizes. Some of her prizes are like coupons to bring a stuffed animal to school, wear no shoes, sit at her desk, show and tell, free time. Dojo seems to work really well with the children and most teachers use it so it is something they can be familiar with each year.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the delayed responses, I had internet troubles with traveling. I also love the positive reward system. I learned even more this semester that using the stoplight strategy is really hurtful for the students who struggle daily. Especially if the student is like my own daughter, who needs to move and dance to help her learn. Her teacher last year would always move her color down because of this, but her teacher this year understands that is how she learns best and works with her.
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