It is essential for a teacher to maintain a positive and healthy environment in the classroom. Having a safe, calm and happy environment for the students is crucial for the growing minds. Not only that, students must have a procedure and routine to follow each day. In my classroom, I will have a clear set of rules and procedures for the students that will come with positive as well as negative consequences.
Here are the three primary classroom rules I have applied in my classroom during my student teaching:
- You can do anything in the classroom as long as it does not create a disturbance for anyone else.
- Be respectful and kind to everyone around you. Give others the respect you would want to receive.
- Instead of quitting and going into a panic mode, try it again with an open mind (Trust that you can do everything).
Along with these rules, I have also used positive and negative consequences for the students.
Positive Consequences: I have used positive reinforcements for the students during my student teaching to show appreciation. Here is a list of some of the many things I appreciated in the classroom.
a) Students who do what they are supposed to do in the classroom.
b) Students who make better choices during group or individual activities.
c) Students who show an act of kindness.
d) Students who do a great job in homework/classwork.
I have used verbal as well as non-verbal praise for the students. Sometimes, they also get to have a candy in the classroom if they do a fantastic job for two days in a row.
Watch this clip to another kind of positive reinforcement I used with the kids. They loved it a lot and called it “fun” and “stress relieving”.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxir0znojuc&w=854&h=480]
Negative Consequences: I have also used negative consequences for the students in my classroom, and they were well aware of it. Here is a list of the negative consequences students get for not doing what they supposed to be doing and/or for creating a disturbance in the classroom.
- Verbal or non-verbal warning to the student.
- They owe five minutes of PEX time for one time. The time increases if the students continue to make bad choices.
- Sit outside the classroom at a table and do classwork over there.
- A note for the parents or a phone call (only happens if the student shows extreme bad behavior for a long period).