Chapter 4 WBT

Chapter 4: Charting Progress

Imagine next year is completed. You've faithfully charted your own behavior as an instructor and your students’ progress. Looking back, what did you learn?

At the beginning of the year, I decided I would chart my students’ growth along with my own progress. My goal was to do a weekly evaluation using a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest).   At first it seemed daunting to spend so much time evaluating behavior.  I turned it into more of a game, so I could challenge myself weekly. I kept it on my desk, so I could read it every day and be mindful of my actions.   I really believe that “you can’t manage student behavior if you can’t manage your own”.  I found I became consistent, which the children pick up on right away.  I found it very helpful in gauging my performance.

Once I started charting my students’ behavior,  I arranged it much like a peer mentoring program; I grouped my “fence sitters” with the “Alphas” or “leaders” of the class.  I charted the children’s behavior on the same scale I used for myself, starting with two areas of focus.  One was the 5 powerful classroom rules; the other was working together without being loud and disruptive to others.  Right away, I witnessed that the “leader and alpha” children were seriously influencing the “fence sitter” children to stay on task longer.    I could now see the progress in my classroom management plan and how the chart was working.

By the end of the year, I really was proud of how much progress the class and I had made. This was the best year by far, being able to see the progress I was making in the classroom.  Next year, I can fine tune it even more and watch the magic happen.  I can’t wait!