Classroom management replaces the outdated term behaviour management. The focus is no longer on students’ negative behaviour. Instead, we consider how the environment of our classroom can be made conducive to learning. After all, students who are busy learning have much less time with which to misbehave. In this context, the term environment broadly refers to the physical learning space, the classroom atmosphere and the expectations set down for students.
Read more: How to manage your classroomIn this article, I list ten tips for effective classroom management. Notice how the emphasis is always on pre-empting possible challenges rather than responding in knee-jerk fashion to them. My advice relates to (i) classroom displays, (ii) desk layouts, (iii) seating plans, (iv) entrance routines, (v) MS PowerPoint, (vi) non-verbal communication, (vii) your voice, (viii) interaction patterns, (ix) rewards and sanctions, and (x) exit routines.
1. Create engaging classroom displays
Students will enter your classroom for the first time and form an impression. They will expect a clean and tidy workspace with adequate equipment. But a classroom is not an office. In addition to cleanliness, students will expect wall displays which are both eye-catching and informative. Your classroom displays should achieve several aims. First, you should display students’ work; this will mean a lot to them. Second, you should create displays that will help students with their work; treat displays as an extra learning resource. Third, you should aim to produce interactive displays – in other words, displays which the students contribute to during the lesson.
2. Choose a sensible desk layout
The student desks in your classroom are not bolted to the floor. There is no school rule which would prevent you from re-arranging them. And yet it may not occur to you to experiment with different desk layouts. Arranging the desks in your classroom can have a significant impact on classroom dynamics, student learning and student behaviour. Consider the advantages and disadvantage of each layout type. For example, traditional rows will allow all students to see the whiteboard, but it will be hard for you to check work. Clusters will allow students to collaborate more effectively, but some students won’t be able to face the front. Your choice of desk layout will depend partly on the physical dimensions of your classroom. You must consider accessibility as well as exit routes in the event of fire.
3. Adopt an effective seating plan
Seating plans are not popular among students, but they are vital for classroom management (and, incidentally, for differentiation). First, a seating plan provides a good opportunity for you to stamp your authority on a new class. It’s symbolic: students need to feel like they are entering your space, where your authority is absolute. Second, a seating plan allows you to position your students according to their needs. If you have talkative students, cut off their audience. If you have easily-distracted students, keep them away from windows. If you have disruptive students, place them right at the front under your watchful eye. You get the idea. If you are lucky enough to have support from a teaching assistant, you will need to consider his or her seating position as well.
4. Be strict with entrance routines
The manner in which students enter your classroom will set the tone for the whole lesson. One boisterous late-comer is all it takes to de-rail a lesson. Pre-empt this scenario by standing outside your classroom, ready to greet the students and to correct any unwanted behaviour (or address uniform concerns). Once your students have entered the room, the learning should begin immediately. This means (i) you have already placed exercise books on appropriate desks, and (ii) you have already displayed a (simple) starter activity on the whiteboard (with clear instructions). Students should enter in an orderly fashion, unpack their equipment and set to work – all quietly if not in silence. This routine will take a while to establish, but don’t lose patience.
5. Use MS PowerPoint sparingly
At its best, MS PowerPoint is among the greatest lesson planning and classroom management tools. At its worst, however, it is a recipe for boredom and laziness (for both you and the students!). So how can you maximize the benefits of this essential software, without inflicting death by PowerPoint? First, MS PowerPoint allows you to reduce your unnecessary teacher talking time (TTT) – as you can simply display the tasks on the screen. Second, the software allows you to model expectations for presentation. You can even share images of example student work. But not all lessons require PowerPoint. In fact, it’s a good idea to take a break from it every so often – so your lessons do not become too predictable.
6. Leverage non-verbal communication
You have complete authority within your classroom. You control the entrance, exit, routines and interaction patterns. It’s the only way the student-teacher relationship can work effectively. Your non-verbal communication must at all times signal this authority and confidence. Please watch YouTube videos about NVC before the start of each academic year. My advice would include: (i) stand with weight evenly distributed on both feet, (ii) do not pace around the room while talking, (iii) never cross your arms, put your hands on your hips or in your pockets or lean back against a wall. You get the idea. But at the same time you need to appear approachable and reasonable. It’s a trickly balancing act.
7. Use your voice
Some teachers advocate shouting in certain circumstances, while others maintain it always shows a lack of control. I think tone is the crucial factor here – and not volume. It is possible to call out (project your voice) across a loud classroom without resorting to angry shouting. I find that a disappointed tone is far more effective than an irate one. You should speak loudly, clearly and with confidence. And try to limit your use of non-fluency features (fillers). One way you can appear confident when giving instructions is to avoid the word ‘please’. For example, instead of saying ‘please could you sit on your chair properly’, try ‘I need you to sit on your chair properly; thank you’.
8. Be clear about rewards
Think about the last compliment you received. It felt great to be appreciated, didn’t it? Well, students deserve (and crave) recognition as well. But it has to be done in the right way. Here is some advice for giving praise. First, you should only offer praise when a student has exceeded your basic expectations. Second, praise must be specific (instead of saying ‘well done’, try ‘I like how you….’). Third, you should catch them being good. This means that you ought to be on the lookout for praise-worthy behaviour (too much teacher-student interaction is negative these days). Fourth, the reward needs to be tangible, meaningful and age-appropriate. House Points and stickers are suitable for younger students, but not for older ones. Consider allowing older students to skip the breaktime snack queue as a reward for good behaviour.
9. Be strict with exit routines
Students tend to believe that the change-over bell determines the end of a lesson. They may think they can simply get up and walk out the door upon hearing the bell. Of course they can’t. Remember that it’s your classroom. Students don’t have the right to enter or leave without your say-so. You should never allow students to leave your classroom en masse. The manner in which they depart from your classroom will determine the manner in which they arrive at their next. If you allow your students to leave your lesson in a disorderly fashion, you will make things difficult for the teacher who will see the students next. Moreover, you should never allow your students to leave until your classroom is tidy.
10. Make the most of detentions
Detentions used to be punitive. We used to force students to write lines – or, even worse, to sit in silence while they reflected on their behaviour. This didn’t work. It’s a vicious cycle, which simply breeds more resentment. Of course you should issue detentions as a last resort – but these require sensitive handling. Teenagers have not yet reached cognitive maturity. If they get legitimately annoyed at something, they may lack the emotional maturity to deal with this in an adult-like way. Use the detention to (i) explain to the student why they have been sanctioned, (ii) understand the barriers preventing that student from meeting your expectations, and (iii) set behaviour-related targets for next time. If all that sounds a bit progressive – a bit liberal – that’s because it is. But I assure you it does work. Most of the time.