Music-
I have seen first-hand how music can calm students and help them work,
or get them excited about learning a topic. I would like to use a
pre-made playlist to facilitate transitions, work time, and as a cue
that it is time to clean up or leave the classroom. The songs would be
repetitive, so that students knew that one song meant to clean up,
another meant to transition to the next activity, etc. Another use for
music is with the program School Moves. This program was developed by
teachers and occupational therapists to help students with fine motor
skills, or to calm down/energize students. As different songs play
students go through a series of movements that they have memorized and
practiced. Students will learn the purpose for using each song and
practice it. The class will discuss the usefulness of the tool, and if
students are dissatisfied we can try to develop new things that will be
better. This fits with my belief in offering students choices with
limits and fits my collaborative power base.
Stop Signs-
For my inquiry project, I created three stop signs intended to help
students learn to self-manage their own behavior. There are three
colors, yellow, orange, and red. The yellow sign is given first and
tells students "Please stop what you're doing and make a better
choice." The orange sign is given second and says "Second
Warning-please stop what you're doing. We will talk at recess." Last is
the red sign which says " Please take this and your red folder to
_______________'s office." The red folder then has work for them to
complete and they have a pre-arranged place to go to until the teacher
can come talk to them. Students learn what this tool means through a
discussion with the teacher. They then understand the purpose of the
signs is to minimize embarassment and allow them the opportunity to
correct a problem on their own. If they are unable to solve the problem
then they know the teacher will be meeting with them at recess to find a
solution. Finally, if none of the above are successful students know
that they will be asked to go to a quiet place away from the classroom
to work. This tool fits my beliefs that students should be held
accountable for their behavior and that no behavior is a problem until
it is negatively affecting someone else. Furthermore, the signs allow
me to continue to teach by only requiring me to walk over to the student
and place a sign on their desk. This minimizes distraction and
embarassment to the student.
Love & Logic-
I would like to create a Love & Logic classroom by discussing the
following with students: I will treat you with respect, so you will know
how to treat me; feel free to do anything you want that doesn't cause a
problem for anyone else; if you cause a problem I will ask you to fix
it; if you can't solve the problem, or choose not to, I will do
something; what I will do will depend on the special person and the
special situation; if you feel something is unfair, whisper to me "I'm
not sure that's fair." and we will talk about it. This management
strategy fits my belief that teachers and students should collaborate
together and that students are capable of solving their own problems.
Teachers can't control student behavior, they can only influence it, so
it is important that students learn how to manage themselves with
minimal interference from the teacher. It does nothing for the student
to have the teacher do all the worrying about the problem and all the
work to solve it. 
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