Journal Entry #8- Fairness

Since starting this semester I have gained a greater understanding that fair is not always equal. In the classroom a student who has a learning disability or disability of any kind, or a student who has simply not been exposed to as many learning opportunities may need additional time and/or support when completing a task. Although this may look unfair to the students who do not need support, it is fair and can be made clear it is fair by stating that fairness means meeting every ones individual needs. To the students with various learning disabilities or delays they may see it as unfair to be called on without warning and asked a question when they are still trying to process what was said before the question was asked.

The FAT city workshop various activities we did in class opened my eyes. I now understand a little better how struggling students feel and know that it is not good or fair to put them on the spot. I learned that if you make arrangements with students that will help them succeed, such as standing in front of their desk before you ask them a question; they will be able to focus and feel better about answering the question because they will know it is coming. I will be more aware and considerate of the needs of individual students I work with and will try to make sure I know each student well enough to know who needs additional support and who does not.

Journal Entry #7- Reinforcement

The school as a whole practices being SMART, which means to be: Safe, Mindful, Accepting, Respectful, and Truthful. SMART is part of the school wide PBiS which is a school wide “Incentive Program” where students receive SMART cells when they demonstrate one of the qualities of SMART. This is an example of positive reinforcement. These cells are placed into classroom jars and once the classroom jars are full they go into a larger school container, which is in the shape of a head and the cells make up the brain. When that container is full they receive something special, such as extra recess. This is a way to encourage and foster the positive behaviors that are expected in school and in the community.

In the classroom there is a system in place so students as well as adults can keep track warnings and other behavior modifiers including behavior plans which are used school wide. The system in place is a three card system. The chart is organized by students’ numbers so people who are not part of the classroom or are unaware of the numbers will not know which student is having a difficult day behaviorally. Students all start on green each day. If a behavior gets out of hand students are asked to flip their card and they go to yellow. Yellow indicates a warning. If the behavior continues a student may be asked to flip their card again and this time they go to red. Once a student reaches red they need to write a Behavior Plan. This is an example of negative reinforcement, there is a negative consequence for actions in the hopes they will stop.

I feel that students and teachers really enjoy the PBiS smart cells and get excited about them. I have seen them used very effectively and have seen a shift in behavior, especially in the hallways. I think the negative reinforcement used with the cards is not really liked by the teacher or the students, but it is effective for most of the students.

Journal Entry #6- School-Wide Systems

Effective school-wide management means there is a consistently enforced plan to address both negative and positive behaviors throughout the school. My own belief about managing behavior is that it is important to have consistency, there needs to be clear guidelines and expectations, and there needs to be both positive and negative reinforcements for both positive and negative behaviors. PBiS is one method to praise positive and expected behaviors throughout the whole school. I feel it is an effective way to enforce the behaviors because students earn special privileges as a whole and have clear goals they are working towards. It is also effective because it can be discreet if more private praise is appropriate in a situation. From my current knowledge of PBiS I do not know what they have in place to address negative and unexpected behaviors. I believe everything I have seen has been a school-wide intervention plan or classroom plans, I would like to see more information on PBiS to know if there are interventions to deal with negative behaviors in place or that are recommended. At my current placement there are behavior plans that need to be filled out when there are a number of unexpected behaviors though out the day as well as an online template students can fill out if they feel they are being bullied.

Journal Entry #5- Visual Supports for All Students

In my own classroom I would use visual supports in a number of places including: the schedule, job chart, class and school rules and expectations, the classroom library, and any other area that needs to be organized or is meant for certain tasks (bins, shelves, folders). I could also have visuals for the morning and afternoon routines as a reminder of what is expected.

Last week I learned a lot about how beneficial the visual supports are for many students and that there are a variety of different ways that these can be incorporated throughout the day. Another area that was new learning for me was the concept of Social Thinking. I had briefly heard about some of the ideas before the presentation, but I felt it was beneficial to look at the concepts more in depth. I think moving from a view that the child who is acting in unexpected ways is a bad child to seeing the behaviors as bad or undesirable and separate from the child is a very positive step. By showing students it is the behaviors that are undesirable, not them we will be able to positively enforce desired behaviors and students will have more self-confidence. Students who are constantly being redirected have historically been viewed as a ‘bad child’. This kind of label sticks with someone and if they hear it enough they might believe it and it may become a self fulfilling prophecy, “If everyone says I’m bad, I must be bad, so why try to be good?” By separating the behaviors from the child we can eliminate this kind of reinforcement and give students more opportunities to thrive.

In my current placement there are visuals used all over the classroom. There are visuals used in the schedule, there are visuals on the job chat, and as reminders of classroom rules. There are a number of different visuals in the classroom library including: labels on the various bins used to organize the types of books, and posters on the wall helping students find a book that fits their needs as a reading. There are also other posters that help prompt students with having discussions and for writing procedures. I feel that everything used does work effectively, there is little confusion and students can use the visuals as references.

Journal Entry #4- Classroom Rules

The rules in my current classroom are:

· Treat others the way you want to be treated

· Be responsible

· Respect others property

· Be a team player and a good sport

· Be safe

These were arrived at through a number of whole group collaborations. As a class they met and discussed what they feel is important. Unfortunately I was not there for most of the creation of the rules and cannot accurately say they were decided on. I can speculate that there was a brainstorming session or two that generated the ideas used to create the rules. After these ideas were generated they would need to be refined and stated in the positive. It is important for rules to be stated in the positive because it is more beneficial in creating a positive community environment in the classroom.

The rules are posted on the wall near the door; they are not a focal point of the classroom but are easily referenced. Everyone is aware of the rules because they were all part of their creation. They are taught through discussion and examples. Students are also aware of what happens when they do not follow the rules. There is a three step system within the classroom students are given verbal piece that correlate with colored cards on the wall. First there is a reminder that correlates with the green card, a warning with yellow and then when the behaviors do not change the card goes to red and the students needs to complete a success plan. Success plans are used as a school wide intervention used to understand where behaviors come from and what can be done to help change them.

Journal Entry #2- Classroom Routines

In my classroom placement there are a number of different routines in place. In the morning when students come in they need to put their homework, Monday and math folders in their designated bins. Most students are able to do this without assistance but some need reminders. I was not there when this was introduced but I assume that when the folders were originally given to students my mentor teacher would have talked with the students about what they are for and where to put them. Another morning routine is the morning message, putting out chairs, and a morning worksheet students complete and have checked before the day begins. I also missed these being introduced but I assume that during a class meeting time the routines were taught and discussed.

One routine that is used throughout the day is students having numbers; this allows fairness when a volunteer is needed. These numbers are also used to establish line order whenever the classroom needs to walk through the halls. This eliminates any confusion and disorder when a line needs to be formed and also saves time. The students are seated at numbered tables, which allows for easier transitions because you can call groups of students by tables.

Students know that before they leave for lunch and recess they need to get their agendas out and place them on their desks. When they get back students know that they need to record their homework assignments off the SMART board and have their agendas checked before putting them in their backpacks. At the end of the day my mentor teacher always walks out with the students to give them high-fives and say good-bye. I feel that all of these routines work very well and students know what to expect. Some students need some reminders but over all they know what to do and when to do it.