William Penn University professor’s teaching techniques featured on online teaching website
William Penn University
William Penn University Assistant Professor of Education, Kathryn Roe was featured this August in an online blog, Gazette.Teachers.Net. The online article on Effective Teaching, titled “Planning, Planning, Planning” discussed the importance of a Classroom Management course for becoming an effective teacher. It was written by Harry and Rosemary Wong, a well-known pair in the education field for their articles and books about being successful educators.
Roe began her correspondence with Dr. Harry Wong after attending a presentation at Central College in Pella, IA. According to Roe, Wong was impressed with her Classroom Management curriculum and later contacted her for his monthly article for Teachers Net Gazette.
Professor Roe’s past experience as a principal and as an educator allows her to offer positive insight in her Classroom Management class. In the class, students are taught to create a Comprehensive Classroom Management Plan and how to use those plans to be successful as a teacher.
“The final Comprehensive Classroom Management Plan is worth 25% of their grade,” Roe said. The education professor has her students turn in every part of the plan twice for feedback and revisions, and all assignments leading up to the final product contribute to over 50% of their final grade in the class.
According to Roe, the Comprehensive Classroom Management Plan includes each student’s belief statements about effective teaching. The plan also includes: ways to arrange a classroom, rules and consequences, letters and forms used for communicating with parents, and a First Day of School lesson plan. All artifacts within the plan are created to reflect each student’s teaching style.
Roe also emphasizes the importance of procedures in a classroom, such as how to calmly get students’ attention, how to organize bathroom breaks, and methods for taking attendance.
William Penn University education students have learned that the Comprehensive Classroom Management Plan can be an essential tool when applying for teaching positions. Kip Schuler, a former student of Roe, took his Comprehensive Management Plan with him to his interview and was hired as a high school science teacher at North Mahaska.
Harry and Rosemary Wong’s article featured many other teacher/student duos and their implementation of Classroom Management in their curriculum at other universities in the United States. Roe continues to use their books, including The First Days of School: How to be an Effective Teacher in her own education classes.
