Effective teachers are passionate about educating their students. They want to spend their time teaching, not dealing with classroom disruptions. Thus, here are some classroom management tips to help teachers settle problems, or prevent them from occurring, so that they can spend more of the classroom hour on teaching and learning. The first tip is to teach highly detailed routines for every repeatable moment. Well-taught routines, performed with excellence, are among the clearest indicators of exceptional teaching. Showyour students explicitly, step-by-tiny-step, how to enter the classroom in the morning, how to ask a question, how to turn in work, and how to perform every other routine that make up the common movements and transitions of your classroom. Another tip is to focus on the disruptive students. If students aren’t paying attention or busy doing other things, get them focused by using nonverbal signals of disapproval. If they are talking, pause and look toward them. If in front of the class, continue with the lesson but walk toward the problem students and stop near their seats, while still teaching. Having you so near usually shuts off the unwanted activity as the rest of the class’s attention is directed toward the misbehaving students. If there is a discussion going, direct a question to the student who is not paying attention or misbehaving.Building a behaviour-influencing relationship with your students is also important tip to consider. Having a positive relationship with students makes everything easier, particularly classroom management. When your students like you and trust you, they’ll want to please you, which gives you powerful leverage to influence their behaviour. Next tip is to keep an eye on your students. Class goes so much better when you can see your students. Turn your back on them and you may get surprised. Position your so that most, if not all of the class is visible. Watch out for shelves, computer equipment or class supplies that can block your view. When teaching, try to be facing students as much as possible. And last tip is to take responsibility for your students—both their learning and behaviour. In our profession, perhaps more than any other, it’s easy—too easy—to point the finger at outside circumstances. When you take responsibility, however, when you stand up and say,“It’s up to me, right now, and at this school!”there are no limits. Again, managing a classroom with elementary and high age students never ends. It is an on-going process, but once the foundation is laid, it only takes occasional reminders.
By: Lyria DC. Sapit | Master Teacher I | Mariveles National High School
