EDUC 5240 Written Assignment 1.

November 2021

What are the three key areas for new teachers to master to maintain effective classroom

management when considering the Cini (2017) list of seven below?

1. Classroom Design

2. Rules

3. Discipline

4. Scheduling

5. Organization

6. Instructional Technique

7. Communication

In order to look at maintaining classroom management let us first consider why is is

important? According to Kratochwill T.R. et al (2021) Effective classroom management:

Establishes and sustains an orderly environment in the classroom.

Increases meaningful academic learning and facilitates social and emotional growth.

Decreases negative behaviors and increases time spent academically engaged.

It is clear to see why this is essential for the new teacher to master.

To be a Newly Qualified Teacher the classroom is often a minefield. I personally felt

completely out of my depth and comfort zone in my first placements. Today I asked this

question to a student teacher in her last placement and she stated rules, organisation and

instructional techniques without hesitation. I found this interesting but was not in complete

agreement.
The most important tool to master as a teacher is communication skills in my opinion . Cini

(2017) states, “Communication is the most important aspect of classroom management. It is

essential to have clear and consistent lines of communication with your administration,

colleagues, students and parents. Without it you will lose the respect of peers, the attention of

students, and the cooperation of parents. Be responsive to the concerns of others. Be flexible

and willing to accommodate reasonable requests”. I agree as nothing can be achieved if you

do not have effective communication which has many layers and complexities. You must be

very mindful of your verbal and non verbal communication. Your tone can upset or scare

young pupils or antagonise older ones. Your posture can do the same. The point is that

communication underpins the foundation of the relationship with the pupils and the overall

establishment of the culture of the classroom environment. It could be argued that

instructional techniques are a specific form of communication. I personally remember a class

my first week of teaching, many centuries ago, where I felt like I was winning until I gave a

slightly glib reply to a teenage pupil without meaning to as it was in my nature to be a little

sarcastic. The pupil was enraged and responded with such venom that is set off the whole

class. This was a communication error on my part without thinking for several reasons; 1) I

did not register the tone myself, 2) The pupils did not know my sense of humour, 3) I had not

had time to establish a trusting relationship with the pupils in order for such reply to be taken

positively. Now please hear me out before you say that being sarcastic is a heinous crime and

should never be allowed. I believe that humour can be a great asset in the teacher's

communication. It can break tension, diffuse a situation between pupils or yourself. It can

lighten the atmosphere of the whole class in a tricky spot or challenging task. However, a

new teacher must completely avoid such practises until they have established a good, trusting

relationship with all the pupils in the class. I would like to note that I trained in Secondary

schools working with teenagers who are often a very different and emotional lot. They make
sense of the world through humour and sarcasm. This is to say that part of my role as a

behavioural mentor is to communicate with my pupils in a way that makes a connection but

also demonstrates how to be humorous without offending. Learning how to have fun without

being disrespectful. Another important aspect of communication is emotional intelligence.

According to Daneil Goleman(1995), renowned American psychologist,”that is the ability to

understand your own emotions and those of the people around you.” I would suggest that a

new teacher must first start with keeping their own emotional negative reactions under check

inorder to maintain a positive environment for the learners community. Understanding the

emotional needs of your pupils is essential and changes with many factors such as age.

Communication is key to classroom management.

One of the very first things on the very first day that you communicate are the class rules.

These can be as simple as “be respectful, be on time and be prepared to learn” Cowley 2020.

Establishing a classroom essential agreement or set of class rooms on the first day is the

emergency of the discipline for the rest of that year. Discipline starts with laying out some

simple rules that everyone follows. In order for the pupils to feel safe and have clear

boundaries the teacher must ensure the whole class understands and follows the rules. This is

a fundamental step in establishing a positive learning environment where pupils feel safe

from bullying and can focus on active fun learning. If the new teacher does not clearly set

classroom rules from day one and ensure that the whole class understands the consequences

of not following them, then classroom management will be nearly impossible. Cini (2017)

states that rules,“develop rules that foster respect, caring and community in your classroom.

Make your expectations for behavior clear at the beginning of the year by reviewing these

rules with students. Continue to reinforce your rules throughout the course, and post them in

a visible location. Consider having students sign a contract that shows they have read the
rules with their parents and understand how to behave properly.” I would also argue from my

experience that authority in the classroom is given by teenage pupils to you. That is to say

that it is extremely difficult to force an adolescent to do anything but if you are seen as firm

but fair and that you make everyone equally follow the rules then the majority will happily

comply in effect giving you the authority rather than challenging yours. I often felt and still

do refer to teaching as performing an act. In the beginning you ‘act’ the confident teacher,

reinforcing the rules and establishing a positive classroom culture. Later you are the confident

teacher but the whole lesson can still be seen as a performance. I feel this is a useful analogy

for a new teacher as it helps you see a professional distance from the events of the class as

you learn to reflect on each lesson. You critique your performance rather than yourself which

can be personally a more positive experience and learning technique. The point is that rules

lead to discipline which facilitates good classroom management.

To conclude I would suggest that organisation is the next essential skill for a new teacher to

establish. Cini (2017) states, “Stay organized inside and out. Keep your student files,

assignments, lesson plans and administrative paperwork in order. It sets a good example for

your students and keeps you from wasting instructional time looking for materials. Share this

system with your students. Post the classroom calendar, homework schedule and assignments

on the board. Allow students to see how you take notes. It helps them distinguish irrelevant

information from essential details. Encourage self-directed learning by providing students

with their own agenda (notebook). You may require students to have their notebooks checked

at home or during class”.To me organisation covers so many aspects of teaching, from

organising resources to reduce disruption and aid independent work, to being highly

organised in your planning and delivery. To be organised has a positive impact on every

minute of every lesson all day. It is the most effective way to develop and continue your

teaching practise. I remember the mantra I was taught as a student teacher; challenge, pace,
engagement. That means you give your pupils a challenge, often as they walk in the room.

You keep a timer for the opening task to encourage a reasonable pace to the activity. This

results in a high level of engagement across the class. Now you have started the lesson flying

you can maintain or relax into a more project focused task as all the pupils are on task and

engaged. The point here is such methods and practises are only possible once you are very

organised, plan to detail then reflect on your delivery. According to the International

Baccalaureate(2010) IB learner profile- the student and teacher should be;“Reflective-They

give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience. They are able to assess

and understand their strengths and limitations in order to support their learning and personal

development” They should be willing to learn from this in order to strive to be a lifelong

learner. The new teacher often trips up here as I remember spending three hours planning a

one hour lesson and the pupils did not understand or could not follow my plan. This is the

time a new teacher panics and does not realise sometimes you have to drop your detailed

plans in favour of something simpler that the pupils can follow. This again illustrates that part

of the organisation skills is always having a plan B or even C. Over time, as teachers we

develop a box of tricks. Things we pull out of the air to use in such times when our best made

plans fail in order to keep our classes purposefully engaged. It is important to note that what

works wonderfully for one class may fail for another. The differentiation and diversity of

each class can impact the manner of engagement and understanding. The new teacher must

be vigilant to all the variables of every class and checking organised notes and reflection per

class/pupil will be extremely helpful in establishing their good practise and classroom

management.
References

Cini, S. (n.d.). Seven key elements for effective classroom management. Retrieved April 16,
2021, from
https://classroom.synonym.com/seven-elements-effective-classroom-management-6562940.h
tml

Cowley S.(2020) “Getting the Buggers to behaviour” 5th Edition, Bloomsbury Publishing

PLC. UK

Goleman D.(2005) Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, Bantam. USA

International Baccalaureate. (2010). The IB learner profile: A singular capacity for

Kratochwill, T.R., DeRoos, R., & Blair, S. (2010). Classroom management module.

American Psychological Association. Retrieved on April 16, 2021, from

http://www.apa.org/education/k12/classroom-mgmt.aspx