Tips For Effective Teaching (2) more about classroom management

byJamesNewton

271 followers

2 years ago

In this post I am going to share more strategies which, should you as a teacher consistently employ, will improve the effectiveness of your classroom management and the efficacy of your teaching.

As a teacher the classroom you work in is your domain. ALL of it is, not just the area around your desk!

Therefore, one of the effective ways of imposing your 'presence' as the authority figure is simply standing by the doorway to your classroom as the students enter. This action silently but effectively communicates to students they are entering the room by your direct consent and is on your terms not theirs.

The converse of this is that as the students enter and the teacher is behind his/her desk that they, the students, establish the ground rules for their behavior despite any 'classroom' rules which many be posted on the wall!

By acting as the 'gatekeeper' will give you the opportunity to greet each student as so establish individual connections. Also, it will provide the opportunity to spot any 'negative demeanors' on students before they have a chance to disrupt the classroom ambience you want to establish.

Students will flood into a classroom over a period of several minutes during which time the classroom can be quite chaotic. Quite naturally many will be wondering "What are we going to be doing today?" while others may just act as if they have 'free time' until they are told (by you) otherwise!

By simply giving them written instructions that they can all immediately see allows those students who are wanting to get on with the lesson directions to act upon. For those who tend to need 'herding' into an attitude of learning it reduces their excuses for 'off task' behavior and the necessity for your direct intervention.

Here's Golden Tip 1!

Whatever you write (or project) on the black / white board at the front of the class, you should walk to the back of the classroom to see whether it is actually legible to students who are sat at the back!

It is good too to have your grading system and behavioral expectations posted in plain sight (administrators often expect to see these!) but it's the impact of posting daily tasks which will work best!

In much the same subliminal way that standing at the doorway of your classroom 'influences' the demeanor of the students entering so a teacher's desk portrays a teacher's 'exclusive domain'.

But as a teacher the WHOLE of your classroom is your domain so there's a real necessity for you to walk around it as the students are working - which frequently makes them get back to the tasks you have allotted them!

Again, the influence of simply walking around the classroom reinforces the implicit message, "This is my (teaching) domain and I control what's going on here!"

Golden Tip 2: You may want to talk to a student 1:1 concerning their work and in crowded classrooms this may mean getting physically close to students, so ALWAYS keep a desk between you and the student and try not to touch them!

Golden Tip 3: If you should find yourself alone in a classroom with a student (due to their request or 'pressure' from a parent or administrator ALWAYS keep the classroom door open!