Running head: MINI-INTERVENTION 1: CLASSROOM CULTURE CHANGE

Classroom Culture Change

Johnny Hughes

May 5, 2017

Capella University
MINI-INTERVENTION 1: CLASSROOM CULTURE CHANGE

1. Describe your current classroom management style and how it affects the

management of diverse learners. Creates a detailed description of current classroom

management practices, and includes multiple examples of most common practices

and how these practices impact the management of diverse learners.

The school I teach at is a public charter school in Aiken, SC. Our school houses

grades 3k - 8th grade, and the students are racially and culturally diverse. They are

generally on a higher academic level compared to the surrounding mainstream public

schools probably due to parental involvement. Major studies, such as the one from

Henderson & Mapp (2002), find that the children of involved parents earn higher grades

and test scores, enroll in higher-level programs are promoted, pass their classes, attend

school regularly, and have better social skills. I see that at my school. The parents have to

volunteer at the school each year to keep their child enrolled, so parental involvement is

high. Also, our school did not qualify for Title-1 status this past year. If we do not qualify

next year, we lose the desired Title-1 funds. Children coming from higher socio-

economic household generally test and behave better than those coming from lower

income households have lower scores, so this could be a factor in the level of our

students (OECD, 2011).

As Schindler (2010) write, it is important to cover daily procedures, and I cover

these at the beginning of each day. To keep this clear to the students, I keep a poster on

the side wall of the classroom showing the daily routines and rituals. This contains five or

six simple directions such as: come in room quietly, get all books and utensils out, and
MINI-INTERVENTION 1: CLASSROOM CULTURE CHANGE

put homework on the corner of your desk. When we finish our daily bell-ringer, I

inevitably have a student or two tell me they do not have a pencil or book. They then ask

if they may go to the hallway cubbies and get it. I go to my daily routine board and point

to the applicable rule as a reminder that those routines are to be followed every day, and

if a student does not do so, it cuts in on learning time and affects the other students. I

always let the student get what he or she needs, but if it is a student who is a repeat-

offender, he or she loses five minutes of recess. It tends to be the same students who do

this, but after a few weeks of losing chunks of recess, the desired behavior begins to be

exhibited.

I avoid group punishments as much as possible due to the obvious unfairness to

the small number of students who never talk out of turn. Unfortunately, I have used group

punishments (time off of recess) frequently over the past few weeks due to the increasing

level of talking during times when discussion is clearly prohibited.

I have a good habit of giving behavioral expectations with every assignment.

Some assignments are group work, which involve talking, and others are single-person

work. Those must be quiet times due to the nature of the assignment. During these, I play

classical music as a cue for no talking. The students are told if they hear music in my

classroom, it is quiet time. The students are now ignoring that, and they are losing recess

time. I give one “freebie” warning, then each time I tell them to stop talking during a

quiet assignment, I remove five minutes off of their recess time. They are now averaging

10-15 minutes lost every day now, which is not fair for the five of my 25 students who

never talk out of turn.

MINI-INTERVENTION 1: CLASSROOM CULTURE CHANGE

2. Describe a classroom management practice to change and describe the desired

effects of the change in detail.

I would like to find a different way to correctly identify and address the students

who are demonstrating negative behaviors and punish them appropriately without

involving the few students who are following the clear classroom expectations. I wish to

do this for obvious reasons. I prefer positive reinforcement overall (and use that for the

majority of my classroom procedures) but plan to continue removing small increments of

recess from the students who are not following the daily rituals and routines.

3. Propose an immediate implementation plan that targets a specific change in

classroom management.

I wish to identify the group of students who are interrupting instruction and make

them realize what they are doing to their peers. I am positive that most are doing this

without the realization that they are constantly breaking the daily expectations and are

affecting their fellow students.

I have created a plan that quietly and quickly identifies the students who are

interrupting class which leads to them seeing what they are doing and seeing they need to

stop. I plan to hand out tokens to the students when they are interrupting class. They will

be instructed before-hand (at the start of class) that if they receive a token, they must put

it on the corner of their desk and behave for the rest of the class period. If they get a

token, they do not lose any recess but must come back the next day with an essay

entailing how they are hurting their fellow students and what they plan to do to fix that

undesired behavior. They will also be told that if they do not return the completed essay
MINI-INTERVENTION 1: CLASSROOM CULTURE CHANGE

the next day, I will contact the parents, but if they return it, it is gone and forgotten. The

problem is fixed, so there is no need to address it any longer regarding that individual

indecent.

4. Develop a script to introduce and approach this management change with students

that includes specific, age-appropriate details.

I start my class each day with an overview of what we are covering and a

reminder of daily procedures and expectations. I will add the following to that

expectation speech:

Script
Instructor: “Good morning, class!

As you know, behavior has changed recently, and all students are losing recess time,
despite some of you doing what you are supposed to. Everyone, check out the side
wall. (wait a moment) You will see the daily expectations that we follow every day.
Those are not being followed, and we now have an opportunity to correct some
behaviours so we can go back to having fun again, and I can teach properly.

Starting now, when you talk out of turn or talk when I am teaching, which is the main
issue currently, I will place a token on the corner of your desk. Leave it there. If you
get a token, it mean to please stop talking, and that you owe me a paper that will be
done that night. You will not lose any recess, however.

The paper will have some requirrements but will not be long. I will hand you the
rubric to it at the end of the day if you get a token. The rubric states you must tell me
three or four reasons how you talking while I am giving instruction or teahcing the
material affects your fellow students, then you will list one way that it affects me as
your teacher.

I dislike punishing you, and I really dislike you losing recess. If you lose recess, you
don't get to play, and I spend my recess time sitting with you. That is my time to enjoy
the outside weather and chat with my co-teachers, so it affects me as well.

Please stop interupping class. I give everyone lots of time each class to do group
work, so you get to interact with your friends. I just ask that you do it at the
approrpate times.”
MINI-INTERVENTION 1: CLASSROOM CULTURE CHANGE

(later on, I place a token on a student's desk and make brief eye contact before
moving on).

The next morning:

“Thank you for your essay. Please don't do it again, but it's no problem. Let's just
move on like this ever happened. Do you agree?”

5. Describe a way to measure changes in the classroom climate based on specific

changes in instructor behaviors.

I will record the number of tokens handed out each day and compare the numbers

at the end of each day for 7 school days. I will also meet with each student to discuss

what he or she wrote in the essays to gauge if they meant what they wrote.
MINI-INTERVENTION 1: CLASSROOM CULTURE CHANGE

References

Henderson , A. & Mapp, K. (2002). Southwest Educational Development Laboratory,. Report

Conclusion. (PDF , 87 KB, 5pp)

OECD (2011), “Does socio-economic background affect reading performance?”, in PISA 2009

at a Glance, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264095250-20-en

Shindler, J. (2010). Transformative classroom management: Positive strategies to engage all

students and promote a psychology of success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Peer-Feedback Form

Ask a fellow peer to provide feedback on what you have written. They should check off the box
next to each question, and write a brief comment that will improve your work.

Peer reviewer: Sharon Birchmore Date: 5-5-17

Trait on which to provide feedback Yes No Comments

Describes current classroom
management practices and how they
affect the management of diverse
learners.
Identifies a classroom management
practice to change and describes the
desired effects of the change in detail.
This looks good. I have the same
students and know how they act.

This sounds like it should work.


Describes a way to measure changes in Looks good.

the classroom climate based on specific
changes in instructor behaviors. 

Is the classroom culture change well I like it and hope this works.
organized? 
MINI-INTERVENTION 1: CLASSROOM CULTURE CHANGE

Is critical thinking evident?  Yes. I can see the logic behind the
decision.
Is the writing clear and concise?  Very clear!

Do word usage errors occur? 

Do grammatical errors occur? 

Do mechanical errors occur? 

(Punctuation, capitalization, et cetera).
Is APA 6th edition used correctly? 

Self-Assessment of Competencies

Criteria Non- Basic Proficient Distinguishe Comments

performance d
Describe Does not Does not Describes Creates a Current
current describe describe current detailed classroom
classroom classroom classroom classroom description of management
management management management management current practices were
practices and practices or practices or practices and classroom described with
how they address how address how addresses how management a detailed
impact these these they impact practices, and description.
management practices practices the includes Examples of
of diverse impact the impact the management multiple practices and
learners. management management of diverse examples of impact of
20% of diverse of diverse learners. most common management
learners. learners. practices and of diverse
how these learners were
practices included in
impact the description.
management
of diverse
learners.
Describe the Does not Does not Describes the Identifies a Identified a
MINI-INTERVENTION 1: CLASSROOM CULTURE CHANGE

Criteria Non- Basic Proficient Distinguishe Comments

performance d
effects describe the describe the effects desired classroom classroom
desired as a effects desired effects desired as a result of management management
result of as a result of as a result of changing practice to practice to
changing changing changing (increasing, change and change and
(increasing, (increasing, (increasing, decreasing, or describes the described the
decreasing, decreasing, or decreasing, or eliminating) a desired effects desired effects
or eliminating) a eliminating) a specific of the change of the change
eliminating) specific specific classroom in detail. in detail with a
a specific classroom classroom management Provides a strong
classroom management management practice. strong rationale
management practice. practice. rationale for supported with
practice. the selection examples.
20% and supports
the rationale
with examples
from other
practitioners.
Describe a Does not Describes a Describes a Describes in Described a
way to describe a classroom way to detail a way detailed way
measure way to climate measure to measure to measure
changes in measure change, but changes in the change, change.
the changes in the does not classroom demonstrating
classroom classroom connect it to climate that is the
climate that climate that is specific based on appropriatene
is based on based on changes in specific ss of the
specific specific instructor changes in measurement
changes in changes in behaviors. instructor based on the
instructor instructor behaviors. changes they
behaviors. behaviors. make in their
20% own
behaviors.
Develop a Does not Develops a Develops a Develops a Developed a
script to develop a script that short script in script to script and
introduce script to lacks which a introduce and described how
and introduce and sufficient teacher approach this to introduce
approach approach this detail in the describes how management and approach
this management description of to introduce change with the change
management change with how they and approach students that with students.
change with students. would the change includes
students. introduce and with students. specific, age-
20% approach this appropriate
management details.
change with
their students.
MINI-INTERVENTION 1: CLASSROOM CULTURE CHANGE

Criteria Non- Basic Proficient Distinguishe Comments

performance d
Propose an Does not Proposes an Proposes an Proposes an Proposed an
immediate propose an immediate immediate immediate immediate
implementati immediate implementatio implementatio implementatio implementatio
on plan that implementatio n plan but n plan and n plan and n plan and
targets a n plan or fails to targets a demonstrates demonstrated
specific target a include details specific a thoughtful a thoughtful
change in specific about how change in rationale for rationale for
classroom change in they will classroom the choice the choice;
management classroom make the management while provided a
behaviors. management change to behaviors. providing a detailed
20% behaviors. their own detailed description of
management description of how change
behavior. how they will will be made
make the in own
change in management
their own behavior.
management
behavior.