Classroom Management

What is Classroom Management?

Classroom management is the process of creating and maintaining orderly classrooms. It is what you do to prepare the lesson, the environment, and the students for learning.

Effective classroom management consists of teacher behaviors that

produce: high levels of student

involvement in classroom activities

minimal amounts of student behavior that interfere with the teacher’s or other students’ work

efficient use of instructional time

Importance: keeps students motivated

to continue their work allows more time for the

teacher to teach the lesson to the students

keeps disruptive behaviors down to a minimum

Without classroom management, students

would not get the education they deserve and may not even feel

safe in their school environment.

An effective teacher understands issues that

affect adolescent growth and behavior.

Children need to feel valued. Learners need to have fun and

freedom. Learning needs to be practical

and applicable. Mistakes arise from inexperience. Peer pressure is intense for teens. Emotional energy in teens runs

high.

An effective teacher recognizes cognitive and

cultural diversity. Students learn through different modalities, styles, and a variety of multiple intelligences.

Learning is affected by students’ cultural perceptions and background experiences.

Professional Standards

Dress –instructors should model the highest standard of professional behavior at all times, including dress.

Not like

this…

But this

Speech – in class, as well as via phone and email. Humor is generally appropriate, but be cautious because not all students will take your comments in the same manner. Avoid sarcasm.

Student confidentiality – students have the right to expect that their private issues remain private, so all grade or performance issues should be handled on an individual basis

Behavior toward students –

students have a right to expect that

their instructors behave in a

professional and courteous manner.

Teachers should model respect for students by virtue

of the way they interact with them.

Attitude – something attracted you to teaching at some point; try and remember what that was and use it in your class. Each instructor has different strengths. Find yours and use them as a basis to conduct your class.

Game Plan for Effective

Classroom Management

I. Create a Positive Climate

When students feel safe, secure, and are engaged, learning increases. Learning decreases when students feel threatened or unchallenged

A. Promote and Maintain High Expectations

Announce and post statements that communicate high expectations.

Reinforce high expectations through consistency.

B. Know Your Students Call your students by name

Ensure learning opportunities promote diverse student background (culturally and socio-economically)

C. Engage All Students in the Learning Process Develop a system to ensure all students are called on and have an opportunity to participate.

II. Classroom Organization

In organizing your classroom, consider ways in which you can make students feel welcome, encourage involvement, and allows for learning experiences in a multitude of arrangements.

A. Furniture Arrangement

Consider traffic flow for teacher proximity and student movement.

Arrange student seating to allow for maximum visibility and accessibility to the learning activities and to limit distractibility.

Create room arrangements that allow for flexibility and activities that may require movement.

The learning environment should be designed

according to learning objectives and desired

outcomes not just habit or a janitor’s best guess.

B. Have A Seat Plan

Have a seating chart ready before students arrive.

Have a plan for helping them find their seats.

C. Maintain Plans for Materials and Assignment

Management Have bins or folders for student assignments.

Place materials for student activities in a regular location for student access.

Always have materials and equipment checked and ready before students arrive.

D. Create Bulletin Boards

Be sure bulletin boards are informative, relevant, aesthetic, and related to class activities.

III. Develop Rules, Routines, and Procedures

It is critical for an effective teacher to have rules and procedures in place for students and that students fully understand the working expectations. Class rules should be aligned with both the school’s plan and the school system’s code of student conduct.

A. Create and Communicate (Verbally and in Writing) Fair

Expectations Create a limited number of rules

(three to five) that are clear, specific, and stated positively.

Involve students in the process of understanding, developing, and implementing rules and procedures.

Reinforce rules by practicing them with students.

Sample Rules For The Secondary Level

Obey all school rules Be prepared for class. Be in your seat and ready to

work when the bell rings. Obtain permission before

speaking or leaving your seat. Respect and be polite to all

people. Respect other people's property.

B. Develop Routines and Procedures for Tasks that

Occur Regularly Identify specific activities and

develop a step-by-step procedure for completing the activity (e.g., sharpening pencils, turning in assignments, arrival and dismissal, quieting the class, etc.).

Practice these procedures with students.

C. Set Up a System of Specific Consequences and Rewards

Be sure consequences are reasonable and logical to the situation.

Be consistent and fair in applying consequences.

“Whenever an instructor imposes two very different

penalties upon two or more students who have committed very similar violations, there is an

increased likelihood that the instructor can

legitimately be accused of engaging in discriminatory

conduct .”

IV. Assign and Manage Work

Assignments should be based on instructional objectives and provide opportunities for students to extend, refine, or rehearse the skills or content of the lesson.

A. Promote Student Responsibility and

Accountability to Learning Make sure students fully understand what

they are supposed to do and how they are to do it.

Communicate clear procedures for assignment distribution and collection.

Monitor student completion of assignments and mastery of skills/content.

Provide timely feedback on assignments. Develop and administer a fair and prompt

policy for make-up work.

B. Develop and Implement a Fair and Consistent Grading

Process Ensure your system for grading is consistent with the school and school system’s policy.

Record both formative and summative progress of student growth.

Record both grades and daily attendance.

Involve students in monitoring their own progress.

V. Prepare for Instruction

When students are actively engaged in learning, they

are focused on the task and are involved with the

material, so fewer behavior problems exist. Therefore, an effective teacher has

prepared meaningful lessons that involve students for

every minute of class time.

A. Plan for Long-range Units and Daily

Instruction In planning, consider the following: (a)

purposes for instruction; (b) prerequisite learning needed to accomplish the goals for instruction; and (c) procedures to be followed by students to achieve the objectives for instruction.

Utilize appropriate resources for instructional planning such as Scope and Sequence documents, curriculum guides, and textbooks and instruction resources (including print and non-print materials).

Always think back over your day and determine those

things that went well and those things that

did not. Make written notes in lesson plans and

textbooks to remind yourself the next

time.

B. Develop Plans that Include Best Practices for

Instructional Delivery Diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of students and use these to guide instruction.

Develop lesson and unit plans from curriculum and perceived needs of students.

Provide continuity between lessons and make this clear to students.

Include materials and activities for students according to their needs, interests, and abilities at the appropriate level of difficulty.

Base assignments on the objectives of instruction and provide opportunities for students to practice the instruction in guided and independent activities and/or projects.

Assess students based on their accomplishment of the stated objective(s).

. Do not get so tied to your lesson plan that you lose the

“teachable moments” that you

might not have scripted in advance. Be flexible enough

to let go of the plan if necessary to seize

the moments as they come.

VI. Manage Behavior To manage behavior in the classroom, effective teachers use anticipatory responses to reduce misbehaviors and are consistent in their delivery of consequences.

A. Be Proactive Identify the causes of misbehavior

and develop routines and experiences that reduce these occurrences.

Utilize proximity to monitor student involvement and behavior.

Model appropriate behaviors. Communicate and reinforce class

rules and procedures. Use verbal and non-verbal cues to

redirect inappropriate behaviors.

B. Be Consistent Follow through with all infractions by

following the school’s behavior management plan and the student code of conduct.

Communicate both positive and negative behaviors with parents and students.

Use appropriate consequences. Immediately correct behaviors. Help students to recognize inappropriate

behaviors and related consequences. Use neutral language when correcting

behaviors.

If you come down on the offending student at a later date, he/she may wonder why you let

the behavior continue for so long. Silence on the part of the

instructor is often interpreted by the students as consent, so by

not saying anything immediately, you are giving an implicit nod to the behavior. Failure to resolve student misbehavior in a timely manner can also cause the other members of the class to question

your policies.

Level of Significance

Reward Penalty

Minor

Smile Compliment Cheery note on assignment Small amount of tokens traded for small reward

Eye contact Have student state rule broken Change seats Isolation Confiscation of forbidden objects or notes

Level of Significanc

e

Reward Penalty

Moderate

Posting Good Work

Positive Note to ParentsSpecial Privileges

Staying after schoolLoss of privilegesCall to parents

Level of Significanc

e

Reward Penalty

Extensive

Field Trip

Large amounts of tokens traded for large rewards

Trip to Principal’s OfficeLoss of special class event

Examples of Misbehaviors

in Class Side conversations Rambling/going around the topic Arguing and disagreeing with

everything you say Silence Cheating

VII. Maintain Momentum

As the year progresses, stay focused on successes and maintain the momentum of continuous improvement.

A. Expect the Unexpected

Plan for interruptions in case they occur.

typhoons, fire & earthquake drills, symposium, mass, school programs

B. Build a Culture of Excellence

Promote a continuous desire to learn.

Do not settle for less than students’ best efforts.

C. Reflect and Seek Out Support

Learn from your experiences and inevitable mistakes.

Ask mentors, colleagues, and administrators for assistance.

Attend professional development.

D. Take Care of Yourself

Build skills for time and task management.

Find ways to relax, enjoy the job, and manage stress.

Celebrate success.