Classroom Management - Setting Expectations - Essay Example

Communicating Expectations for a 5th Grade To determine room behavioral expectations and consequences, teachers must first decide what their goals are regarding student conduct. Rules that facilitate those goals must be clearly defined by the teacher and communicated to students and their parents in written and verbal forms. Teachers must explain their goals, why the rules and procedures exist, and how students can meet teacher expectations. This information should be posted on the classroom walls, handed out to students, and sent home to parents.

Teachers must also decide a reasonable system of consequences and rewards to promote the best behavior from students (Marzano, Pickering, Arredondo, Blackburn, Brand, and Moffett, 1992, p. 13). Classroom areas for consideration include 1) entering the classroom. Students should enter the classroom in a quiet and orderly way, look at the board to see what they need, get their materials, and sit down to start the warm-up activity. 2) hallway conduct. Students should be in a straight line when traveling down the hallway as a class.

They should travel on the right side of the hallway and stop and start when directed. 3) answering questions in class. Students should raise their hands and wait to be recognized before answering a question from the teacher. 4) homework. Students should have homework ready to turn in at the beginning of class and may not work on it after the bell signals the start of class. 5) lunch. Students will line up at the door before lunch, and travel to the cafeteria together in a straight quiet queue.

Students will make sure their eating area is clean before leaving the cafeteria. 6) taking roll. Students should be sitting quietly in their seats when the bell rings. The teacher will take roll as students complete a warm-up activity to start instruction. 7) cooperative groups. Student groups should be quiet and focused, with significant contributions from each group member. 8) personal conduct. Students should treat each other, themselves, and school property with appropriate respect conveyed through their language and actions.

Allowing students to participate in creating rules, procedures and consequences offers several advantages. First, it demonstrates to students that their standards for comfort and order are important to you, and that you desire to make them feel comfortable. It also allows a teacher to consider rules, procedures and consequences that they simply might not have thought of otherwise. Lastly, it demonstrates early in the teacher-student relationship that they will be expected to give input on important matters when asked.

But student participation also has disadvantages. First, it can give students the impression that their approval and input are needed in situations where the teacher does not desire them. Also, it creates a difficult situation for the teacher if students suggest rules and procedures that are impractical or go against school policies. Lastly, students may suggest policies or procedures that are contrary to those suggested by other students, creating a strain on the relationship between those students and a more difficult choice for the teacher.

To assess student understanding of the classroom behavioral expectations and consequences, two evaluation methods can be used: student role playing that demonstrates what rules and procedures to follow in a situation, followed by a formal assessment in the form of a written quiz. After discussing behavioral expectations, the teacher will ask student groups to role play how they should act in different classroom situations. A written quiz testing students on various policies and procedures can also be used to check student understanding.

ReferenceMarzano, R., Pickering, D., Arredondo, D., Blackburn, G., Brandt, R, and Moffett, C. Dimensions of learning. Aurora: CO: MCREL Institute,1992.