Classroom Management Plan
I believe in win-win discipline as defined by Spencer Kagan in his book Win- Win Discipline. Using
the win-win discipline method the teacher helps the student come up with respectful and responsible
strategies for dealing with their specific behavior needs. The students learn how to handle themselves
appropriately and the teacher no longer has disruptions, so everyone wins. I believe in this method
above all others because I feel the student and teacher should be a team. I also believe in having
procedures over rules, as Harry Wong describes that, “A rule is a dare to be broken, while a procedure is
a step to be learned (2009, pg. 169)”. Procedures also help to give students clear expectations and
maximize the amount of time spent on learning. Wanting to create a positive atmosphere for learning, I
incorporated both of these theories into my classroom management plan.
According to Kagan students act out because they have one of the following positions: attention
seeking, avoiding embarrassment, angry, control seeking, energetic, bored, or uninformed (2004).
Students fall into these positions because their needs are not being met. We have all probably been in
one of these positions before. Many of us have probably needed some extra attention at one time,
avoided an embarrassing situation, needed to vent our anger, looked to control a situation, felt antsy,
found something boring, or had no clue what was going on. The positions are all natural human feelings,
and are not the central problem. However, the disruptive and disrespectful behavior students can
display because of these positions is not acceptable. Rather than have a classroom system based on
consequences and rewards alone, I plan to incorporate Kagan’s theory of win-win discipline and work
with students to create solutions to their disruptive behavior. As I am a big believer in having a system
of classroom management that allows me to meet students’ needs and create an environment where
the students and I are on the same learning team, I have designed my classroom management plan to
follow Spencer Kagan’s pillars for win-win discipline: “same-side”, “shared responsibility”, and “learned
responsibility” (2004).
In my management program students will help to create the classroom agreement. I have
created a classroom agreement with only one class rule: respect yourself and others. As Harry Wong
says, “A rule is a dare to be broken (2009, pg. 169)”. So instead of many rules I plan to have many
procedures, and only one rule. However respect is a rule that works for almost all types of classroom
disruptions. For example Kagan defines four categories for classroom disruptions: aggression, rulebreaking, confrontation, and disengagement (2004). All of these disruptions can be related to a display
of lack of respect for ones’ self or others when it really comes down to it. I plan to have a Socratic
seminar with my students on the first day of school where we will define how different types of actions
can be disrespectful, what respect is, why respect is important, and how this rule is beneficial to the
students. I plan to have this rule posted as a banner above the white board in the front of the room.
The classroom agreement will state the one class rule (respect), the rewards for following the
rule, and consequences for breaking it. I have already designed one reward for the agreement; a
homework pass for every month the student is completely respectful. There remains a second blank on
the contract where students will brainstorm and vote on the first day of class for a reasonable second
reward for always showing respect. Students will also brainstorm and vote on a punishment for students
who are disrespectful twice in one week, after being given a second chance. When creating the
punishment I will give the students feedback and not allow anything too lenient or too over the top to
be included in the final vote.
Acts of disrespect will be handled using specific steps. Any major offenses of disrespect that
physically or mentally harm another student are not tolerated in my classroom and will be brought to
the attention of the principal and the students’ parents. However, when students are disrespectful in a
manner that is not physically or mentally harmful, they will be asked to retreat to the couch in the
corner and fill out a problem solving sheet on how they could have better handled their actions.
Students who are too worked up to clearly reflect on their actions can be asked only to sit in the couch
and can fill out the problem solving sheet on the following day. After filling out the worksheet and
reflecting on how to change their behavior for the better the student will sign and date the sheet
agreeing to move forward and act better in the future, and then conference with the teacher about their
solutions on the problem solving sheet. Then I will place the work sheet in the day 1 folder on the
second chance scale in my room.
The second chance scale will be a continuum of folders on the wall marked days 1-5 and a sixth
folder marked “Great Turn Around”, every day a student continues to act with respect their worksheet
will stay on the second chance scale and will move down one of the five folders on the chart. At the end
of each day I will move worksheets down one folder on the continuum. When a worksheet reaches day
five, the student may remove their worksheet at the end of the period and place it in the paper
shredder. If the student does not remember to remove their worksheet at the end of the period it will
be waiting for them and the shredder the next day in the “Great Turn Around” folder. Students who
prove themselves and act respectfully during their second chance will not have to serve the class
designed punishment for acting disrespectful twice in one week. However they will not be eligible for
that months homework pass.
If a student continues to act disrespectfully their worksheet will be removed from the second
chance scale and they will be filling out the back of the sheet, which is a letter home that explains how
they have been disrespectful. Students who have been disrespectful twice in one week will also serve a
punishment that will be created and voted on by the class on the first day of school.
I believe by involving students in the class agreement, giving students second chances, and
helping them to develop solutions before giving them a punishment incorporates all three of Kagan’s
pillars for win-win discipline. The students will feel we are on the same side because they helped to
design the agreement and feel like a team striving to provide an environment where we can all be
treated with respect. I will also stress to students that we all make mistakes and deserve a second
chance, as long as no one was seriously hurt. I will explain that instead of jumping right away to
punishments in my class, the student will develop strategies on how they could have better handled the
situation, the student will conference with the teacher about their problem solving, and then be given a
second chance to move forward and act with respect. This will show students that I am on their side and
help to create shared and learned responsibility. Students will see I am on their side, because I give
them chances to improve before handing out punishments; I would rather see them improve then be
punished. Shared responsibility is created by giving the students a problem solving work sheet as a
format to reflect on their actions, and I will also help students reflect on ways to improve their actions in
a one-one student-teacher conference. Learned responsibility is also promoted as students problem
solve ways to act better in the future and practice turning their behavior around by being given second
chances.
I plan to keep a log of students who fill out problem solving sheets and those who end up
sending letters home. If a student has to send home three letters or is filling out problem solving sheets
on an almost weekly basis, I will begin taking an inventory of that student’s disruptions. Kagan says
there are four ABCD disruptions: aggression (A), rule-breaking (B), confrontation (C), and disengagement
(D) (2004). For each disruption type of ABCD disruption he suggests specific preventative strategies. If I
find myself observing a student displaying frequent behavior disruptions, I will try to prevent these
behaviors by researching and building in preventative strategies to my management plan using Win-Win
Discipline as a guide. Since I will be using the preventative strategies from Win-Win Discipline I will keep
track of the students disruptive behavior using a behavior chart where I can make checks in columns for
A, B, C, and D disruptions. Once I figure out which category of disruption the student falls into the most,
I can then begin implementing preventative strategies for that type of disruption.
I also plan to prevent classroom disruptions on a whole by having many very clearly defined
procedures for the classroom. According to Wong a procedure is a method for getting something done
in the classroom and helps a teacher prevent behavior issues, as students readily accept the idea of
procedures, because it simplifies the teacher’s expectations. Procedures are also not related to reward
and consequence and not viewed by the students as a “dare to be broken (Wong, 2009, pg. 169)”.When
students have clear expectations through procedures more time can be spent on academic learning and
less time is spent on discipline.
I believe the design of my management plan will be beneficial to the students as it does not
pose me against them. Instead the students and I work as a team to try and move their behavior
forward. Everyone is given a second chance, but the second chance has to be earned by a behavior turn
around. My behavior plan is structured in a way that helps students to identify more positive ways to
responded instead of acting out and will help students to learn responsibility over time. By reflecting on
their negative behaviors and following up with teacher-student conferences on their behavior
reflections, students will learn to act appropriately and disruptions should become minimal. My
management plan also includes the implementation of many procedures to help minimize student
confusion of expectations. This plan will help me and my students create an environment of respect and
structure. But most importantly it will help create an environment where learning can occur.
References
Kagan, S., Kyle, P., & Scott, S. (2004). Win-Win Discipline: Strategies for all Discipline Problems. San
Clemente: Kagan Publishing.
Wong, H. & Wong, T. (2009). The First Days of School: How to be an Effective Teacher. Mountain View,
CA: Harry K. Wong Pulications.