Sorry I’m an hour behind…I just had to help a team of 5 people rescue my roommate. She was stuck in ice in our parking lot.
When I think of classroom management in my placement, I immediately think of PBS. Rashkis is in the process of implementing PBS as a school-wide program. My teacher is on the school PBS committee, so she works very hard to include it in our classroom. In the back of are classroom you will find 18 Popsicle sticks in little pockets on a poster. They have 4 colors on them. In past years, students flipped them for negative behavior. This year, students are asked to go flip their sticks when they are caught being good. At the end of each week, they earn tickets based on how many times they flipped their sticks. I have found this method to be surprising helpful. A classroom full of students talking a little too loudly can be nearly silenced by pointing out a student who is working quietly and ask them to flip his/her stick. My only worry is that some days we are not consistent (we go all morning without telling anyone to flip). Our attempt to account for this is “bumping students up”. At the end of the day when we mark folder with the color students ended on, we look at their day as a whole and take this into account, sometimes they are moved up a color. One of the other reasons I really like this strategy is because a student that is having a bad day can receive recognition for doing something well. This often helps their attitude for the rest of the day!
We also have a class-wide positive behavior support. We have an empty jar. The class as a whole earns scoops of popcorn. Once the jar is full, the class receives a reward. This helps students to work together and hold each other accountable for following the rules.
I found it surprising at the start of the year that there were no plan at all for negative behavior. Thinking of my elementary years, I think of being terrified of flipping a card, writing my name on a clipbroad, moving to read on the traffic light and many more. However, I have come to see that simple relevant reactions to misbehaviors are extrmely effective. Students that are talking on the carpet are sent to their seats. Students who cannot share crayons are not to use them for the rest of the day. These punishments are relevant and immedaite. This is what makes it so effective. With that said, I am amazed at that fact that we hardly use these, becuase students are so motivated by the implementation of PBS.
