As teachers, we dream of having a classroom where all students are engaged, well behaved, and follow all of the rules. You never have to write students up, call home, raise your voice, send students to the office, or issue consequences. An administrator could walk in at any time and see your classroom running like a well-oiled machine. In this fantasy, you are a master classroom manager without a care in the world. Everything is coming up roses.
However, this is not always the case. While some people are natural classroom managers and their classrooms look like the fantasy mentioned above, others have to work a little harder and gain experience in order for this dream to become a reality.
The fact of the matter is, in order to achieve harmony in your classroom, it will take a bit of forethought, planning, and good classroom management techniques to make it happen. Essentially, classroom management is the most important skill for you to master as a teacher. Without it, you cannot effectively teach your students or have a productive day as a teacher.
In this post, we are going to explore the top twelve classroom management tips any teacher will need in order to effectively manage a classroom and have a successful school year.
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Determine Your Teacher Personality Type
This tip is all about knowing yourself. It’s difficult to teach or develop a classroom management plan if you don’t know a bit about yourself. Your personality will dictate and mold your management style and philosophy. Take a look at the different personality types below in order to figure out your teacher personality type. Keep in mind that you may be a combination of personality types. Use these personality types to start you thinking about yourself.
- Type A (Go-Getter) – High achiever, competitive, ambitious, organized, aware of time and uses it wisely, proactive, loves to set goals
- Type B (Relaxed and Social) – Consistent, relaxed, steady, enjoys work, has a calming influence on people, grounded, peaceful, less competitive
- Type C (Rule Abiding Perfectionist) – Detail-oriented, a perfectionist, rarely breaks the rules, reliable, avoids conflict, introverted
- Type D (Distressed and Sensitive to Others) – Friendly, empathetic, work stresses them out, resilient, loners, lacks confidence in their abilities to teach
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Determine Your Teaching Style (How You Teach Your Students)
Your teaching style is based on your educational philosophy, classroom demographic, subject area, and the school’s mission statement. Consider the styles listed below in order to determine your ideal teaching style.
- Teacher-Centered – Students put their attention on the teacher, work alone, and collaboration is prevented. Students are in theory quiet and paying full attention to the teacher while being able to make individual decisions. This authority model is a teacher-centered model and entails lectures and one-way presentations. Students are expected to absorb information and take notes.
- Student-Centered – Teachers and students share the focus and interact equally while the teacher maintains authority. Group work is encouraged. Communication and collaboration are used and encouraged.
- Blended Style (Hybrid) – An integrated approach to teaching blends the teacher’s personality and interests with students’ needs and the curriculum appropriate methods.
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Figure Out Your Ideal Management Style
Your management style will determine how you will run your classroom and develop your classroom management plan. Take a look at the theories listed below in order to figure out what philosophy works for you. You may like to use a combination of styles when it comes to managing your classroom.
- Behaviorist – This management style uses conditioning, rewards, and consequences in order to manage student behavior.
- Assertive Discipline – This style uses an obedience-based approach. It involves a high level of teacher control in the classroom. The teacher has a firm, but positive manner.
- Positive Discipline – Students learn and adapt their behaviors to meet classroom expectations. It teaches them to make better choices.
- Instructional Management – This style is teacher-centered and prevention-based. It focuses on teacher behavior, movement management, and group focus. Teachers manage students by keeping students productively busy.
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Create A List of Class Rules
Rules are necessary because they provide structure and clearly defined boundaries. They help eliminate stress. In order to teach and inspire your students, they all must follow the rules established in the classroom. Make sure you teach them the first week of school. Post them in a spot where they are visible to every student. Refer to them regularly.
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Establish A Set of Classroom Procedures
Procedures are important because they establish an official way of doing something. They help maintain an orderly classroom. Students are more productive and learn more when procedures are in place.
Make learning the procedures a concrete, hands-on activity during the first week of school. Plan on spending a lot of time teaching, practicing, and reinforcing procedures at the beginning of the school year.
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Choose A Seating Arrangement and Layout That Works with Your Manage Style and Subject Area
Seating arrangements can make or break your classroom management plan. It will determine how you and your students will flow around the room. Your layout should be based on how you want your students to move through the room, the subject you teach, and your management plan.
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Decide If You Want to Implement A Reward System
Issuing rewards or not to your students will be determined by your classroom management philosophy.
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Devise Consequences for When Students Break the Rules
Consequences are a powerful way of responding to misbehavior and helps them take responsibility for their actions. Remember, consequences should be relevant to the situation.
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Reduce Noise and Distractions
Noise can come from inside or outside the classroom. Noise can make it hard for students to learn. A few ways to reduce noise is by using rugs, closing the door to the room, turning off noisy equipment, and placing soft tips on the bottoms of tables and chairs.
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Build Relationships
Earning your students’ trust is crucial to classroom management. It helps to foster a positive learning environment and academic success. Listed below are a few tips on how to build relationships with your students.
- Provide structure
- Be enthusiastic and have a positive attitude
- Use humor
- Make learning fun
- Treat them with respect
- Get to know them
- Learn names quickly
- Post student work
- Praise in public. Correct in private.
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Be Confident
This can be hard to do at times, but here are a few tips for building your confidence as a teacher.
- Walk tall and confident
- Set ground rules
- Project Your voice
- Be prepared
- Have a backup plan for your lessons
- Manage your emotions
- Know your subject matter
- Remain professional
- Steer clear of negative people
- Look for evidence that you are awesome
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Be Consistent!!!
Consistency in rules and procedures provides safety and security for students and creates an engaging learning environment. So be sure to consistently practice rules and procedures. Students will follow them when the teacher effectively models and instructs expectations daily.
In closing, classroom management is one of the cornerstones of effective teaching. Knowing yourself and developing a plan will help you efficiently manage your classroom and create a safe learning environment for your students.
What tips did you find most helpful in this post? Tell me in the comments below.
BONUS: For more educational tips and tricks for teachers and parents, check out my other website The Modern Schoolmarm.
