Self-reflection and Classroom Organization

Happy Presidents’ Day! Having a day off gives us time to enjoy our favorite activities and de-stress from day-to-day responsibilities. I enjoy gardening and walking my dogs. Both provide me with quiet time to reflect on what’s going well and what goals I’ll set next.

Self-reflection is an important tool for special educators. Ask yourself questions such as:

• What’s working the way I want it to during my day?
• What time of day, subject, and/or activity is the most difficult to complete?
• What feels hectic during the day?
• Which students are meeting their goals? Which students are not?
• Are students meeting my behavioral expectations?

When we take the time to reflect on our success in the classroom and what we want to improve, we’re able to monitor our progress, set goals for improvement, and give ourselves a much-needed pat on the back. In today’s blog, we’ll take a look at how we can further improve our classroom organization.

Special education classrooms can have many activities taking place at the same time, so structured routines and procedures must start with us! When our day and our classroom are well organized, we’re also modeling organizational skills for our students. Try these tips:

Post a written agenda of what will be done during the day or classroom period so students know what to expect. This works really well for students with organizational skill deficits. Provide each student a copy of the schedule so he or she can check off each activity as it is completed.

Review your daily schedule each morning and note special transitions or unusual schedule changes. Prepare your students ahead of time for these changes in their routines.

Label special areas in your classroom, i.e., those places for homework assignments, extra handouts for students who were absent, supplies, etc.

Post arrival and dismissal procedures. Review these often and include monitoring student progress with these procedures in your behavior management plan.

Assign class jobs to teach students responsibility and let them assist you with classroom organization.

Prepare a special activity for those occasions when a lesson falls flat or the mood of your students just doesn’t fit the lesson. It’s always a good idea to have a backup plan.

What organizational challenges have you conquered this year? Setting up a new classroom? Sharing a room with a co-teacher? Pushing into several classrooms to work with small groups of students? Working with new materials, equipment, or software?

Join our February blog and share your organizational success stories so fellow readers can benefit from your ideas! Thanks for your comments thus far.

Have a great week!
Maureen Gale

Comments

[Mary]

Hello everyone just wanted to comment on the behavioral support room. I had the pleasure form OCT to Dec. 2008 to substitute in such a room. they were great kids and it took a lot to gain their trust. When they see me in the halls now they ask when I am coming back. There is one in particular that is very comical and I call him "curly top" he smiles rarely but when i say good mrning curly top he smiles and it seems as though his day goes better.

[Maureen]

Thanks Jen. You've given me an opportunity to share one of my favorite books with our fellow bloggers. Check into CHAMPs by Randy Sprick. CHAMPs is a proactive, instructional and positive approach to classroom management. I encourage all the teachers I work with to read it from cover to cover! The strategies outlined in CHAMPs will help you organize classroom procedures and routines and teach behavior expectations. The CHAMPs material will walk you through "tweaking" any part of your day and/or specific activities or transitions that are in need of improvement. Check out Randy's website at www.safeandcivilschools.com for information. I'm sure you'll find it a valuable resource. Please continue to join our blog. Thanks for commenting. All the best. Maureen :-)

[Maureen]

Thanks Malonie.
Happy to help out. One of the things I've learned about special educators is the more you collaborate on ideas and strategies the more everyone involved learns. Blogs and online courses are great opportunities to network and I enjoy both participating and facilitating. Thanks for your comments. Please continue to share and join in blogging. Maureen :-)

[Jen K]

Maureen, you have definitely stated it well, as for keeping ongoing self-reflectionand the importance of consistenty for our students. Any suggestions for a 'continuum of services' provider, who has some self-contained students, as well as some partial resource students?

[MalonieB]

Great ideas and reminders.
Thanks for the inspiration.