How to Build Effective Classroom Management Strategies
In this article we look at classroom management strategies for three main levels in education, primary, middle, and high school levels.
Five Classroom Management Strategies That Work
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Classroom management must be the focus of the first week back into the classroom.
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Teachers who spend the first week of school working on all aspects related to classroom management will find that their classrooms will effectively run themselves whereby allowing for real teaching and learning to take place.
The strategies recommended in this article can be applied to both the traditional and online classrooms.
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Building Strategies For Classroom Management
Classroom management when done correct can really enhance how much students learn in the classroom, whether it be in the traditional in-person classroom or the online classroom.
When classroom management is not done correctly students will no only lose the chance to learn what they need it, they will also lose their identity in the classroom as they begin to feel lost with what is happening in the classroom.
Getting your classroom ready also helps with classroom management since it is the beginning of establishing a safe learning environment.
Classroom management done correctly brings as sense of comfort to the class, much like the comfort that comes from a good meal in the kitchen.
Why Establishing Classroom Management Strategies Is Important
In the early days of a new school year, a teacher must focus on classroom strategies for their sake and the sake of the students themselves.
The consequences for overlooking this important aspect to teaching will have serious negative impacts to learning.
Five Important Classroom Management Strategies for any Classroom
Five important classroom strategies include:
1. Creating a Safe Classroom Environment
2. Establishing Effective Classroom Rules and Routines
3. Establishing Easy Transitions
4. Using Silent Cues
5. Harnessing Teacher Intuition
Proper classroom management strategies at any level in education works best when the teacher works with the students to establish certain ground rules.
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What Should Teachers Consider When Building Classroom Management Strategies
These rules come from the students and means that students are in control of how the class starts and finishes, along with rewards and consequences to actions and behaviors in the class.
When it comes to rewards and consequences, teachers must include students in the discussion, and should not promise unattainable responses for either rewards or consequences.
Teachers should NOT break their personal bank accounts in handing out rewards, but instead offer up rewards that have significant meanings to students and are worth their effort.
Teachers must NEVER make promises of rewards, and then not follow through with such promises. For example teachers should not promise bonus points on a test question, and then not deliver.
Just as important, teachers should NEVER offer a consequence that is not feasible for the student or teacher to carry out.
Teachers should be conscious of the fact that often times when punishing students they often end up punishing themselves.
If for example the student has their free time taken away, the teacher may have to give up their free time to spend with that student in time-out.
Classroom Management Strategies in K-12 Education
In looking at the different levels of education, the one common thread is that the teacher and students should work on the strategies together.
The different approaches to classroom management strategies will vary with how much attention students give towards their teacher.
Classroom Management & The Primary School Level
At this level the students are more focused on being pleasing to their teacher, and their friends are pretty much after-thoughts where they have no shame in calling out each other when they are not behaving as they should.
Students at this level can be tasked with simple classroom jobs as it makes them feel like they belong and a sense of responsibility.
They are accepting of rules presented by the teacher, so there is no need to negotiate which rules make it to the list.
Consequences should revolve around showing what actions make students happy or sad, and that students want to be happy and not sad.
Classroom Management & The Middle School Level
The tides begin to turn at this stage of learning as students begin to focus on being pleasing to their fellow classmates and friends rather than the teacher.
This means that the teacher needs to become more of an expert in negotiations between two choices, making one choice (the recommended one) seeming to be much more appealing than the other.
Students at this stage assume much more responsibility in forming proper classroom rules and procedures as such that the teacher is seeing a class essentially run itself.
The students help to determine the rewards and consequences that the students function as a team and that any consequences may reflect badly on the class instead of one individual.
Students may take ownership of their consequences by writing why they are receiving the consequence and in understanding that this goes into their portfolios for the class.
Classroom Management & The High School Level
The teacher at this level is mainly the mediator as negotiations are much more decided among students and respect for the teacher develops, if the teacher is versed in communication and knowing when to step in to mediate the negotiations.
Since the students at this stage are fully aware of how consequences may impact on their reputation and/or grades, there is no real need to emphasize consequences other than the first day of school.
Students may understand that any official consequences may be recorded in their official records that could impact on their future educational careers.
Classroom Management Strategies In The Online Classroom
When it comes to place, that is the face-to-face classroom verses the online classroom, classroom management strategies should have the same impact, but naturally the approach will vary.
Sure the “mute” button could act as a good source of control for a noisy online classroom, but teachers should not depend on technology alone to help in discipling the students.
In the online class, students are to be made aware in the beginning of the class that if they fail to abide by the classroom rules or procedures, then they would need to fill out a report and it goes into their portfolio.
However, students should also be aware that any rewards they receive also goes into their portfolio.
Related Topics
Connect to our other pages as you navigate through our website. Explore what these pages have to offer you and you will be glad you did!
- Read more about strategies for improving behavior
- Click here to see what different approaches may benefit classroom management strategies.
- Click here for resources in building effective communication strategies with students.
- Click to read fun and exciting ways to help students build strategies for online learning
- Get your classroom ready with our checklist here!
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Final Thoughts...
Classroom management is very important to both the teacher and the students in the classroom. It should not dismissed by the teacher because they expect students will stay well-behaved during the entire class.
Teachers who encourage students to become part of the classroom in setting up a positive learning environment find that it benefits both students and the teacher, because the time spent in the classroom can be used effectively when it comes to learning.
This also helps when building the teacher – student relationship in making learning easier.
When students are ready to learn the teachers can improve their teaching strategies effectively in the classroom.
Share Your Thoughts!
We would like to hear from you! Let know your thoughts in the comments below on classroom management strategies in the classroom.
2 Comments
The Teacher Treasury
I love how this article also includes classroom management in an online setting. True, having the microphones muted is really helpful in minimizing classroom noise; however, it is also good to consider that having a super quiet class might also feel a bit awkward.
Danya Khelfa
Well said, and thank you for your kind words! I am glad you enjoyed the article!