Running Head: CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT IN KINDERGARTEN 1

Classroom Management Competency

Ivory Ysquierdo

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2019

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Introduction

Included in this Competency, are Classroom Management strategies used within the

Kindergarten classroom I am currently in. As a school that is strictly a Positive Behavior

Intervention School, the classroom has had to be reevaluated. These two artifacts include

“Caught Being Good” tickets and “Mystery Walkers” sticks that are used daily as students show

positive behavior.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

The first artifact presented is for students that are caught showing positive behavior

throughout the week. This might include the students that are participating and showing respect

during rug-time or it may be given to students that are showing the school values – respect,

responsibility, and safety. Students will place these tickets in a bucket and at the end of the week,

the teacher will pick ten tickets from the bucket and those students will be able to pick a prize

from the treasure box or a piece of candy. This strategy works to show students that when they

are showing positive behavior, they will be rewarded. I emphasize the fact that as students are

“Caught Being Good”, they will heighten their chance in getting chosen to go into the treasure

box. I chose this artifact because I have seen how this incentive works in the kindergarten

classroom. As soon as I grab the red tickets, they know I am about to give out tickets. They

quickly get silent and give me their attention as necessary. Sometimes, I will say, “Goodness! I

think I will give out some ‘Caught Being Good’ tickets today. They then quickly correct their

behavior. The students can get as many tickets as they want into the bucket and can be called on

as many times in a row as they do. This shows the students that when they are respectful,

responsible and safe, they will be rewarded.

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The second artifact that I have included are sticks used for a system called “Mystery

Walkers”. Next to the front door are a jar of sticks with each of the students’ names. I pick a

stick form the jar each time we exit the classroom and go into the hall. I will usually pick two

students’ names (one for the walk to the destination and the other for the walk back). I will let

the students know I am picking, “Mystery Walkers” that are “Single, straight and silent”. This

means that the students are not touching anything around them, they are in a straight line and are

silent in the hallway. As we walk down the hall, I watch the students I picked and make sure they

are demonstrating the correct way to walk down the hallway, even if the rest of the class is not. I

do not tell the class until we return to the classroom who the “Mystery Walkers” are. If the

students walked down the hallways “Single, straight and silent,” they will be able to go to the

treasure box. The students love this system and are always sure to remind me to pick a “Mystery

Walker” when we go into the hallway. There have been times when I would have to tell the

students that my “Mystery Walkers” were not “Single, straight and silent”. I then will have a

conversation with that student and explain to them the actions in the hallway that I saw were not,

“Single, straight, and silent,” but next time they are chosen they can show me they are capable of

walking down the hallway in excellence. I liked this system, especially the stick aspect of this

strategy, because at times, I know some students tend to have speculation of who the teacher may

want to pick, so with the sticks, it shows the students that just because they were chosen the time

before, does not mean they cannot be chosen again.

I chose these two artifact because they show effectiveness in the classroom as well as

easy, yet fun ways to get the students to want to show positive behavior.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

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I absolutely loved my Classroom Management and Instructional Strategies course, UED

406. In this course, one of the main things that I learned was consistency. I learned that the

students are prone to follow the strategies if they see that their teacher is consistent in their

positive reinforcement or disciplinary tactics. This has really stuck with me as I continue to

improve my classroom management skills because I have seen how in my failure to be

consistent, the effectiveness is not as apparent. According to an article found in “The Well

Managed Classroom,” Harry Wong states in, “The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective

Teacher, “Contrary to what many people believe, the number-one problem in the classroom is

not discipline—it is the lack of procedures and routines […] On the first day of school, you can

begin teaching the procedures and routines that you will use. Never assume that you will have

time to tackle bad behavior later” (Wong, 4). I strongly agree with this statement. This is because

I have seen this to be true. There are many ways to make sure this is being implemented,

however, I have seen how recognizing the good behavior reinforces the expectations. In the PBIS

Forum 15 Practice Brief: PBIS in the Classroom, it states that, “It is recommended that

classroom teachers acknowledge positive student behavior at least five times more often than

they acknowledge student problem (i.e., 5:1 ratio)” (Page 3). Especially with Kindergarten,

students need to be continuously reminded of what is expected of them. Without clear

expectations, the students will not be able to do what the teacher expects.

I began my first placement of Student Teaching without knowing the proper routine and

procedures fully and therefore let a lot of things go that did not need to be let go, but needed to

be addressed there and then. I saw how this really affected my time as a Student Teacher at my

first placement, but really impacted the beginning of my second placement. I knew that I wanted

to establish a steady procedure, such as, before leaving the classroom, the students make sure
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they are ready to enter the hallway. This was different from my previous placement as I often

times didn’t address students until they were already misbehaving. Another thing I have seen to

work for the, “Caught Being Good” tickets, is the idea that when one student is showing good

behavior, other students want to do the same. When one student is highlighted like, “Oh! I love

the way Harper is sitting crisscross apple sauce and has her eyes on the board. I’m going to give

her a ticket,” other students want to do the same and be highlighted as well. There are definitely

many ways to implement classroom management and I am looking forward to continuous growth

in my knowledge of how having management is important and affects all aspects of teaching a

class of students.
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References

PBIS Forum 15 Practice Brief: PBIS in the Classroom. (2015, December). Retrieved from

https://www.pbis.org/Common/Cms/files/Forum15_Presentations/RDQ 4 Brief -

Classroom.pdf

Wong, Harry K., and Rosemary T. Wong. The First Days of School: How to Be an Effective

Teacher (rev. ed.). Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications, 1998.