Assignment Task:
Observing a variety of teachers and students will help you develop your own classroom management style. Each classroom will look different because each classroom has a unique set of students with varying needs. For example, what works with toddlers and preschoolers is unlikely to work with school-age students. In order to see a variety of management styles and student behaviors, you will be required to observe more than 2 classroom setting. For this field experience, observe at least two different birth-preschool classrooms. During your observations, take note of established rules, routines, and any other strategies the teachers use to help make a safe and supportive classroom environment. In observing student behavior, take note of any atypical behavior and how the teachers manage these behaviors. Following the observations, interview each teacher about their management plan and philosophy. Select three of the five interview questions below: What factors did you take into consideration while developing your classroom management plan? In what ways did you collaborate with your peers, students, and families in creating your classroom management plan? By what methods are rules and routines communicated to students and families, and how are the rules and routines reinforced throughout the school year? What accommodations do you make in your plan for children with exceptionalities? When are behavior interventions are necessary? How does your management plan help you to plan for and determine the interventions? Develop two additional questions to ask each teacher about their classroom environment.