Classroom Management Strategies, Tips

and Techniques
Dorit Sasson
• What happens when your lesson doesn't succeed? Here
are a few classroom management techniques and
strategies to help you regain that class control.
• As a new teacher, you might find some of your hard
prepared lessons do not go as smoothly as planned.
Classroom management or loose class control is usually
one of the main reasons for why this happens. It is easy for
a new teacher to enter a panic mode when thirty or so
heads aren't exactly listening to you. So what can you do?
Always consider the classroom seating arrangements
It may just be that your classroom seating arrangements
need rethinking. Social dynamics is a big factor for rowdy
behavior. Look at your seating chart. Disruptive students
who have been sitting next to each other may now need to
be separated. The minute you neutralize the social
dynamics of a classroom seating arrangement, you might
find it easier to teach.
 Stop the Lesson
• Your lesson plan is not grounded in stone. While trying to cope with a difficult
classroom situation that seems like hell, stop and take a few seconds of time
out. New teachers often think that stopping the lesson shows a sign of weak
classroom management. For some odd reason, they think they should be doing
all the talking to gain class control. Those few seconds are like gold offering you
other solutions.
• You just need to be more open and give it all a chance. Observe the class. What
is going on? What needed to be changed? Listen to your teacher intuition. It is
often precise and on track. For example, too much explanation can be
sometimes too preachy, and you can teach something more inductively.
 Don't Forget Discipline

• Good teaching is a mix of classroom management strategies and interesting teaching

approaches that motivate students. Again, if you find the class is not attentive for learning
new material, stop and wait. One option is to remind and perhaps even reteach classroom
rules and procedures. Illustrate what happens when they don't abide to the classroom
rules. They should realize that poor behavior will create a wider gap in terms of your
classroom teaching and their learning. They should understand that the responsibility
rests on their shoulders.
• Another option is to stop the class and use body language such as eye contact. Sometimes
eye contact is a very effective nonverbal way to regain class control. When you eye that
one disruptive student, she or he will come to realize that he or she is the reason why you
stopped the lesson. This will give the rest of the class a message of your expectations for a
simple classroom procedure. They should be attentive when you are explaining!
 Final Words
• Deep down inside, kids do want to learn and
succeed; they just have a very hard way of showing
it. But by using a variety of classroom management
techniques and strategies, hopefully you will improve
your lessons and gradually know what works and
doesn't work for your particular classes.
 • The Teacher as a Classroom Manager
• How to Use Classroom Management Activities
and Techniques
Dorit Sasson
• When new teachers enforce procedures
consistently, teachers acquire more effective
control of their classrooms.
• An effective classroom organization plan involves advance
planning of a lesson, from beginning to end, using a
variety of procedures. For the teacher, this means utilizing
classroom management techniques all throughout the
lesson in order to maintain a consistent learning
atmosphere. Such techniques involve focusing on the
whole class, rather than on individual students and their
behavior.
• Because teachers are watched by thirty five or more pairs
of eyes at a time, it is crucial that teachers focus on
procedures that enforce his or her role as a manager.
• To review, procedures are classroom methods for
accomplishing daily routines and other specific
activities that recur frequently in classrooms. They
usually apply to a specific activity, and are usually
directed at accomplishing something. An effective
classroom plan usually has 90% classroom
management and 10% teaching new material.
 Some examples of classroom procedures are:
• admit late students
• how to greet and seat students
• collecting and reviewing homework
• methods of informing the class of the day’s lesson
• leaving the class.
• Students will constantly test the teacher’s reaction to all classroom
management issues. In this respect, consistency is the key.
 Content Based Procedures – Beginning the Lesson
• Once the teacher has acquired control of the class, she or he is
ready to teach new material. Some useful techniques include
writing the lesson agenda on the board during the first five minutes
of the lesson and discussing them. Others include doing something
that will catch their motivation right away. Starting the lesson with
taking the attendance roll often has the effect of loosing the
students. Once the students are on-task, more menial routine
procedures can be done quietly, such as checking the roster.
 Maintaining On-task behavior
• Students should be prepared for the main task of the
lesson. If they are expected to read a historical narrative,
they should be given enough background information. If
they are to read a text that is not in their mother tongue,
the teacher should pre-teach the new vocabulary. In short,
the main task of a lesson should follow some prior activity,
in order to elicit what students already know.
Brainstorming is a good classroom management technique
because every student participates on his or her level and
every child is involved.
• The blackboard (or whiteboard) could have all the components of the
lesson, including the times, denoted for each part of the lesson.
When the students have completed the tasks, the teacher can check
them off.
• Teaching is a mixture of “ups” and “downs.” In one lesson, they can
work at a high level and another they go down and forget all the
things a teacher has taught them. But this shouldn’t cancel the actual
classroom organization plan, which should be based on reviewing and
reinforcing classroom procedures as consistently as possible.
• It is important to avoid repeating the same kind of lessons within a
period of a month. Give the students a feeling of diversity and
excitement.
 Final Words
• With time, students should know the basic routines and procedures of a lesson.
They should also know which punishment a teacher normally gives for such things
such as not handing in homework or making noise in class. At the same time, they
should also know what they need to do in order to receive positive reinforcement
.
• Classroom management techniques and activities in conclusion, should be
focused on the whole class rather than on individual students in order to maintain
an ongoing effective and consistent classroom organization system. Only later, can
a teacher shift his or her attention to individual students and start using the more
individual approach. Once a teacher passes this stage, he or she knows his/her
class from inside to outside. Should individual problems with discipline persist, it
is preferable to deal them in an alternative way.
Strategies for Effective Classroom
Management
 The Positive Teacher and Classroom Control
• The teacher is the biggest influence on how well students behave in a
classroom. It's not the quality of the students, the involvement of the
parents, or the administration that make the most impact. It's the teacher's
attitude.
• Students tend to live up to the teacher's expectations. Expect great things
and they rise to the challenge. Expect poor classroom behavior and again,
they will meet that challenge.
• Since the teacher is the number one influence on classroom control, it's
imperative to leave personal problems at the door. Once in the classroom,
having a positive attitude and outlook makes the students feel secure. They
relax in that security and are more willing to adhere to the classroom
routines. When the teacher is positive, the students are able to be positive
and more successful, too.
 Firm Classroom Routines and Procedures

• Building effective classroom discipline becomes almost a non-issue with firm procedures and routines in
place. In a well-run classroom, the routines make it look as if the class runs itself. When students walk in the
door, they know exactly what to do. As they work, they know the proper procedures for everything that
needs to be done, from sharpening pencils, to passing in papers, to taking a restroom break.
• Procedures and routines are two different things. A procedure is how something is done, such as passing in
papers. Plan for an orderly procedure that will prevent students from running around the room, or bopping
each other on the head with stacks of papers. If there is no procedure in place, these things will happen,
guaranteed.
• Routines are the order in which things are done. Plan a regular daily schedule beginning with bellwork.
Bellwork is a morning procedure students are expected to do the minute they walk into the classroom. This
serves two purposes. First, students have no reason to loiter in the back with friends, saunter around the
room, or ask, “What should I do?”
• Second, it gives the teacher time to deal with the morning influx of papers, notes, and taking attendance.
After bellwork, begin the daily routine. A classroom management strategy for elementary school is to post
the daily routines on the board. A middle school or high school option is to have each student use a planner.
• Having procedures and routines in place for everything reduces the need for classroom interventions for
misbehavior.
 Give Consequences That Make Sense
• Make the punishment fit the crime, as the old saying goes. Positive
classroom discipline reflects clear expectations and fairness. Justice
and fairness are of major importance to adolescents.
• Some examples of punishment fitting the crime:
• If a student sticks chewing gum on a desk or chair, he must put on
protective gloves and spend a recess period cleaning gum from
school surfaces.
• If a student shouts out and interrupts others in class, she loses the
privilege of participating for the rest of the period.
• Students appreciate consequences that are simple and
straightforward because they make sense.
 The “Are You All Right?” Technique in Classroom
Discipline
• Often students misbehave when they have problems to
deal with. Keeping this in mind, if a student is disruptive,
it can help to take the student aside and privately ask if
everything is all right. Let him know his behavior is
surprising and out of character and is causing concern. If
a teacher lets a student know she cares, it often resolves
the behavior issue. If there is a problem, the student
now knows there is someone to talk to about it.
 Praise Openly, Discipline Privately
• Everyone loves to get recognition for things done well. When things go smoothly
in the classroom, praise the class. If an individual does something that shows
good behavior, praise the student. When the praise is scattered around the room
evenly, no one will feel the teacher has a pet.
• No one likes to be disciplined in front of others. As much as possible, take the
positive discipline conversations to a private level. Be clear about expectations
and avoid nagging. Even if a student becomes agitated and yells, (and this does
happen,) the teacher must still remain calm. Yelling at the student only escalates
the problem. Students appreciate teachers that stay calm and in control.
• Effective classroom management begins with a positive teacher, firm procedures
and routines, and techniques that show respect to the students. With these in
place there will be very few behavior problems.
•  
Foundations for Positive Classroom Behavior
by Pearson Education Development Group
• Think About Your Approach
Take some time to think about the strategies you plan to use to encourage
positive classroom behavior. Clarifying your strategies will make it easier for
you to lead the class confidently and effectively.

Visualize Possible Challenges

Imagine possible classroom challenges and review your strategies for dealing
with them. Having clear-cut strategies will help keep you grounded when
these challenges do arise.
• Make Your Expectations Clear from the Beginning
Make sure that students know what you expect of them. The classroom
rules you present should be positive, specific and concise. You may wish to
post them in the classroom or distribute them for students to sign. You
should also spell out what will happen if students do not meet expectations.
• Model Positive Behavior
Occasionally, you may have to remind yourself to follow your own rules. For
example, if you ask students not to drink beverages in class, refrain from
keeping a cup of coffee on your desk, even if you do not drink it during class.

Encourage, Encourage, Encourage

When you praise students who are excelling, don't forget to encourage those
who are trying, but struggling. These students often lack confidence and
need more positive reinforcement.
• Show Respect
Showing respect for your students includes listening to their needs and
preserving their dignity. It also means living up to their expectations of you,
such as greeting them at the beginning of class or returning corrected
homework in a timely fashion.
• Be Consistent
Be sure to address student behavior in a consistent manner. Be wary of
shifting strategies when misbehavior occurs. To students, this may show a
lack of decisiveness. Find a strategy you like and stick with it.
• Keep Students Busy and Challenged
Busy students are far less likely to exhibit disruptive behavior. Be sure that
students are working at appropriate levels; boredom and frustration often
lead to students' acting out.
• Listen to Students' Suggestions
When building your foundation, you may be able to draw from students'
and other teachers' past classroom experiences. Ask students to make
suggestions about what should be expected of them and how misbehavior
should be addressed. Students are often more responsive to rules they
helped create.
THANK YOU