Classroom management is one of the most important aspects of any classroom. First and foremost, it is crucial and a must to have clear and written expectations for students from day 1. Spend time with your students going over expectations, desired behaviors, and model them. Do NOT think of this time as a waste of instructional time, it is one of the most important days of the school year. Always offer praise and reinforcement to students when expectations are met and avoid punishment at all costs. One system used to monitor and manage student behavior is a token economy. A token economy is designed to increase desirable behaviors and decrease undesirable behaviors with the use of tokens. The "tokens" can vary and differ depending on what your students are interested in and what grade level your students are. During my student teaching experience in the High School, I used Dunkin' and Starbucks gift cards as tokens.

During my Professional Semester, my cooperating teacher gave me full reigns to re-organize and design the layout and physical space of his classroom. The classroom was always organized and each space within the classroom had a purpose. I think the organization of a teachers classroom and physical space depends on the students and on the daily activity or assignment. There were days when rows of individual desks were needed for independent work, but there were also days when students needed to collaborate and communicate with classmates in groups. My desk was always positioned in the back of the room or easy monitoring of students and classroom assignments. Additionally, a student supplies center was at the front of the classroom. Students used this space for markers, glue, tape, staples, and so on. Students, in order to maintain full engagement, need to be up and moving during the course of a class period and having desks that are easily movable is key to an organized and efficient classroom.