Strategies for Effective Classroom Management

Goals of Classroom Management

Classroom management is one of the tasks that a teacher should do. It is proven that a well-managed classroom leads to higher achievement on the side of the students as well as the teacher. One important purpose of classroom management is to ensure that no one will be left behind. There are two main goals of classroom management:

1. Preservation of Order

   Having a well-managed classroom will lead to an organized and peaceful class. There will be few disruptions so the class instruction will flow smoothly. This will help both the teacher and the students have a more concentrated focus on the objective of the class rather than the unnecessary nuisance.

2. Maintenance of control

   One of the powers of the teacher is to maintain control of the class. It does not mean that the teacher has the absolute power to control the class. However, in a well-managed classroom, the teacher still has the authority to ensure that the class behaves accordingly. The teacher can still resolve most of the obstructions within the class.

Benefits of Effective Classroom Management

All in all, these are the major benefits of effective classroom management:

1. Increases student engagement

2. Decreases disruptive behaviors

3. Makes good use of instructional time

9 Effective Classroom Management Strategies

Listed below are some of the effective classroom management strategies that teachers may use in their classrooms.

1. Proximity control

This strategy involves moving or standing next to a student, the teacher can convey the fact that they are paying attention to the student’s current behavior and giving them the opportunity to correct the behavior without direct intervention.

Proximity control is like an odorless, tasteless, invisible chemical that can cause a strong reaction. As the teacher, you can use proximity to mitigate a situation without drawing attention to it or disrupting the lesson. Proximity enables you to minimize situations.

Always make sure that your proximity is respectful towards a student's need for personal space.

2. Non-verbal signals

Non-verbal signals are the first cousins of proximity control. Non-verbal signals involve gestures, body language, physical stance, eye contact, and touch. Some commonly used by teachers are raising an eyebrow, clearing the throat, eye contact, tapping the foot, and putting hands on the hips. Non-verbal signals are quick to resolve simple disruptions and are typically adequate.

3. The 4 questions

Another way to address the disruptive behaviors of students.

1. What are you doing?
2. What are you supposed to be doing?
3. Why aren’t you doing it?
4. What are you going to do about it?

By asking these questions, the student can have the realization of his/her mistake and make arrangements to correct them. However, this may not apply to some who are slow to notice their wrongdoings so the teacher may directly state what the student did wrong.

4. Use fewer words and less emotion

It is easy to drift into lengthy lecturing, nagging, and yelling questions to which we don’t want to hear the answers. Instead, we can maximize the time if we use fewer words and less emotion. For example, the teacher may say:

1. I need you to…

2. Please…

3. Let's stay focused.

We just hope that the students are mature enough to abide by what we say. Nevertheless, using fewer words and lesser emotions is effective when used appropriately.

5. Pair a three-second freeze with the teacher's look

In this strategy, the teacher freezes for three seconds while giving the disruptive student what they call the teacher’s look or a glare. This is also another form of non-verbal signal. We just hope that the student gets the message and stops his/her disruptive behaviors.

6. Create a natural break in the lesson to talk privately with students who are being disruptive.

This is also another way if the student keeps on being disruptive after doing the other strategies. It would be better to talk privately with the student and warn them of the consequences of their actions if they continue doing it.

7. Ask simple questions that prompt students to self-correct.

If someone is being noisy in the class, the teacher may ask,” What is our rule again regarding being noisy?” By asking this question, the students may get the message and correct his/her disruptive behavior.

8. Involve the students to engage, not embarrass them.

Another reminder is not to embarrass students who are being disruptive. Some may want to embarrass the disruptive students and call them to answer a question they know he or she couldn’t answer. However, it would be better to engage the disruptive student rather than embarrass them. For instance, you may use their name in examples to get their attention.

9. Provide support until the students get successful

Lastly, the teacher must be patient when dealing with disruptive behaviors. We should extend our level of patience and not lose our temper immediately. Support the student to be able to correct their disruptive behaviors.

These are just some of the effective classroom management strategies that you may apply in your class. Again, by employing these classroom management strategies, you can decrease the disruptions in class, increase engagement of the students, and maximize the time for more important matter.