Although teaching is an extremely rewarding job, it can be overwhelming at times and requires a lot of patience, instinct, awareness, and effective classroom management. It is highly recommended that you use a variety of different techniques so that the teaching process runs as smoothly as possible.
In this post, we will look at why classroom management is important, and some of the popular ways to manage the classroom effectively, from both a teaching and learning perspective.
Why is classroom management important?
As a teacher, it’s important to set expectations for students through a range of techniques to help create and maintain certain behavior standards in the classroom. If there are no rules or respect within the classroom from students, then it will begin to affect their performance and leave teachers struggling to teach.
It’s important to create an environment in which students can enhance their academic skills and allow them to flourish, which is the impact of effective classroom management.
Use polite and constructive language
One easy way to successfully manage your classroom is through the way that you communicate with the students and how they communicate with you. Make sure that you use polite language and treat them with respect, as it is likely that they will reciprocate this. It is also important to offer constructive criticism when needed.
This would mean that students will be able to learn from their mistakes and avoid making similar ones in the future. You should also use language that is suitable for them, so if you are teaching younger students you need need to use simpler language so that they fully understand the instructions given to them.
Ask the students to help to set the guidelines
This management technique is best implemented at the start of a new school year or semester. By asking the students to help set the guidelines of what is and isn’t acceptable in the classroom will help them to feel included.
It is highly likely they will adhere to rules that they have helped devise rather than ones that they are told about, and this would mean that disruption is minimized which will make the teaching and learning process run smoother.
Use a range of mediums for teaching
Each student is different, and they all have their own preferred way of learning, so it is important to accommodate them all. You may find that some students struggle to read long passages from a book, or that some thrive under these conditions.
To solve this, you could look at either getting people to read out loud to the class (as long as they are comfortable doing this) or see if you can get an audiobook version. Other students may learn better through watching videos and it important that you harbor this, that way, the student will be able to learn in a way that benefits them.
Make lessons varied
If you are stood at the front of the classroom every lesson, the students will likely become bored, which in turn can lead to disruptive behavior. By varying the way that you teach, you would be minimizing this risk. Ways to avoid this can include setting the students fun and relevant projects that will also encourage them to learn in their spare time, as well as building variable teamwork skills.
Adapt your grading system
Some students dread getting their grades back while others look forward to it. To prevent the negative thoughts that come with grades, you can look into how you grade tests and assignments. Instead of grading them A-F, you can try to implement a 3-grade system, where you tell the students that they either exceeded expectation, met expectation, or did not meet expectations.
This way, you are making the grading system more bespoke per student. If someone is constantly performing well, you would become used to it, and giving them a grade A for everything will not benefit them in the long run, as becomes expected.
If a student tends to struggle, but they outperform themselves on a test, you telling them they exceeded your expectations can help to encourage them down the line.
Conclusion
It’s important to encourage and motivate students by implementing a range of effective teaching and learning techniques in your classroom to help create a nurturing environment that allows students to maximize their learning potential.
As a teacher, what sort of classroom management techniques do you use to ensure the smooth running of your lessons? Share your classroom management techniques in the comment section below.