My Classroom Management Philosophy

When thinking of classroom behavior, I think of children running around screaming and disrupting the whole class. I also think about how I want my class to run. But in order for my classroom to run smoothly I need to identify my classroom management philosophy. Classroom management techniques refer to the strategies that teachers employ to effectively create safe, respectful classroom environments that reinforce positive behaviors and eliminate behaviors that negatively impact learning. Management strategies range from specific "rules of thumb" recommended by educators such as ensuring expectations are clearly identified and responses are consistent to more comprehensive theories that emphasize human relationships and respect for diversity

Teaching and learning activities are centered on the teacher in the traditional classroom management model. Here, teachers are active, while students remain passive during the course of in-class activities. The reactional model refers to a model where undesirable behaviors are addressed by using rewarding or punitive activities. The preventive model is intended to create a classroom setting that is able to foresee and prevent any possibly disruptive behavior. It can also be regarded as a model for taking precautionary measures against probable classroom problems. The developmental model takes into consideration the developmental characteristics of students that are deemed essential to classroom management. In-class activities should be designed in accordance with the physical, mental and affective developmental steps of the learners. Finally, the holistic model not only prioritizes the preventive model, but also allows teachers to adopt any action from other models to eliminate undesirable behaviors and situations (Başar, 2005; Şentürk, 2006). In today's schools, teachers face problems posed by a shortage of classroom management models and methods for dealing with ever-changing student profiles. As such, further research is needed to determine the best classroom management model for both teachers and students in state schools (Roadhouse, 2007), particularly in light of the fact that the transition from behaviourism to

Their research pinpointed ten challenges including acting out, aggression, hyperactivity, poor social relationships, defiance, immaturity, poor academic achievement, poor attention span, and inadequate self-concept (Wilhite et al., 2007). Although this study was conducted nearly half a century ago, the challenges identified continue to pose problems for teachers today (Loeser 2015). The challenges described above as well as the common responses teachers employ are representative of what occurs in many classrooms across the nation from Kindergarten through Grade 12. In fact, over the years, the challenges described have become more complex and the responses have become more intricate given the changing context of the world in which we live. Holliday (2005) indicates that schools and teachers are expected to recognize and expertly control emotional, social and cognitive variables that influence student learning. Furthermore, Holliday asserts that teachers are increasingly expected to fill the gap caused by poor parenting, poverty and learning