CIE 508 - Classroom Management, FINAL PAPER
CIE 508 - Classroom Management, FINAL PAPER
Jill Snyder
students. As the year progresses students grow and change, both physically and mentally. This
past school year I worked as an elementary instructor’s assistant for intermediate resource. In
resource, I worked specifically with students from third grade through fifth grade and this
included some of the students from our autism program. For the sake of this paper, I will be
C was enrolled in general education with pull-out minutes for math, writing, and reading.
At the time, I did not know the full extent of C’s medical history, all I knew was that she was
suggested to be in the autism program but her parents wanted to keep her in general education. C
was a sweet girl who loved having toys and free time. She was easily distracted and sometimes
even defiant when it came to work. There were multiple instances throughout the school year
where she had negative outbursts, ranging from work avoidance to problems with peers. I will be
speaking on one specific incident that occurred well into the year, after I had already built a good
relationship with C and knew her triggers and how to help her calm down.
The resource teacher had left the room for a bit, I cannot recall whether it was for a
restroom break or to talk to a colleague. Regardless, he was gone long enough for this incident to
transpire and for me to have to deal with it on my own. The students were working on a
worksheet, there were four students from fourth grade and two students from third grade in the
classroom. I was working with one of the third graders on his sight words. The students were at
voice level 1, so they were talking fairly quietly. C had a sudden outburst, screaming at one of
her peers to be quiet. She began to throw anything on top of the desks off the desks and even
pushed a desk over. Immediately, I gathered the other students and had them wait outside the
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classroom, I did not really have time to think. The student who C yelled at quickly explained that
she had called something C drew “ugly,” and that had led to C’s reaction. I gave that student a
look and told her I would be speaking with her later. Back in the classroom, C had, luckily,
finished her outburst and was situated in our calming corner. I walked over and thanked her for
putting herself there but also began to speak about her behavior:
“C, thank you for using the calming corner, that was a good choice. But do you
“No…”
“That’s right, because Mr. B and I didn’t do anything to you right? So it was not
“I’m sorry…”
“It’s okay! Thank you for apologizing, I will talk to (the student she yelled at)
when Mr. B is back. I do have to let the other kids back in though okay, but you
I had the other students come back in and asked them to help clean the room. I was met
with groans of how unfair it was to have to clean up someone else’s mess, which I agreed with in
my head. I promised to award them Dojo points and maybe even let them choose a small item
from the treasure box if they helped, and they did. The resource teacher came back as we were
cleaning, I updated him on what happened. After this incident, the rest of C’s day went without a
hitch. I feel it was a mix of procedures, my calm composure, and my relationship with C that
allowed for the incident to not transpire into something worse. I could have easily started yelling
at her to stop or physically tried to stop her, but since I was aware of how her behavior was, I
knew that letting her take out her emotions on a few inanimate objects was the best course.
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Thinking back to that time, finding her in the calming corner was all due to our
where ours was the first week of school. To see it utilized was great. Fourth grade teacher Renita
Marshall-Martin spoke on the many procedures she establishes at the beginning of the year to
keep her classroom running smoothly, from pencil sharpening to needing a drink of water. She
really showcased how teaching her procedures and routines at the beginning of the school year
set her up for success (SanBdoCitySchools, 2019). I did not realize it at the time but teaching the
students about our calming corner set us up to be able to handle situations such as the one with
C. She was aware there was a spot specifically made when you feel overwhelmed and she chose
to utilize it. “Classroom procedures increase on-task time and greatly reduce classroom
disruptions” (Wong et. al., 2018). While C’s behavior was disruptive towards the classroom
environment, knowing that there was procedure in place for such events helped limit this
disruption.
I also now realize how important my relationship with each of my students was when it
came to helping them. If I had not spent time and built a relationship with C, she could have
easily ignored me or had a bad reaction when I chose to talk to her. I have seen her do both of
those scenarios to other staff at the school. But because she knew and trusted me, and I knew her
and what triggers her, we were able to have a simple conversation about her behavior that led to
her understanding why it was wrong. In the video The Power of Relationships in Schools (2019),
Dr. Cantor speaks on the importance of students having a strong enough trust to release the
positive hormone of oxytocin. Cassdy, an eighth grade student, states that it is easier to ask
questions and feel comfortable in class if she is comfortable with a teacher (The Power of
Over my time in this course, I have come to learn that classroom management should not
be focused on managing the students. While there will be times where a bit of first-hand
management will have to come to play, it should not be the daily. A good classroom and a good
teacher will have an easy-to-follow and simple set of routines and procedures that are meant to
support the students. These routines and procedures should not leave the students that they are
being taken from, rather the students should be able to understand why they are in place. As an
educator, I will strive to set routines and procedures that work for me and my students. I will also
strive to build and foster positive relationships with all of my students, no matter the day or the
mood.
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References
SanBdoCitySchools. (2019). Teaching Procedures, Routines, and Rules During the First Week of
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaedonG8-_Q
The Power of Relationships in Schools. (2019). Www.youtube.com. Retrieved July 16, 2023,
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzvm1m8zq5g&t=75s
Wong, H. K., Wong, R. T., Jondahl, S. F., & Ferguson, O. F. (2018). The classroom management