Copyright 2005 Adam Waxler
I often have teachers ask me what is the best approach to
classroom management?
As a veteran teacher I have seen far too many teachers fail
because of classroom management problems. (Remember, classroom
management and student achievement are directly related.)
And, all too often I see teachers resort to all types of crazy
classroom management plans trying to get a handle on student
behavior.
Unfortunately, many of these classroom management plans involve
elaborate systems of rewards and punishment. For example,
writing students names on the board with check marks added next
to the name for each inappropriate behavior. Not only is this
degrading, but the effectiveness of this classroom management
plan is short-lived at best. In fact, often times this classroom
management plan can have the exact opposite effect on student
behavior.
Likewise, rewarding students for behavior that is expected of
them sends the absolutely wrong message. Teachers should not
reward a student for acting appropriately in class. Rewarding
appropriate behavior is not effective classroom management, it
is bribery and the students will come to expect it. Don't get me
wrong, I am not speaking about a pizza party or movie after a
week in which the students worked well in class. That type of
reward is fine as long as it is unexpected. The type of rewards
that are bad are the ones in which the teacher promises upfront
that if "you behave today, I will give you a piece of candy."
No, the student should behave in class because that is what's
expected. Little Johnny will not throw his pencil across the
room, because it disrupts the learning of the other students and
can be dangerous, not because he will get candy!
So, if teachers do not give rewards or punishments as a
classroom management plan, then how do teachers effectively
manage student behavior?
Easy, the key to classroom management is keeping students
actively involved in the entire lesson. This is done with just a
handful of simple teaching strategies.
Here are five effective classroom management tips you can use in
any classroom regardless of subject or content area. These
classroom management tips will keep all students actively
involved in all classroom lessons. (Remember, keeping students
involved in the lesson is the most effective classroom
management plan.)
1. All-Write: Instead of having students raise their hand to
respond to a question aloud, have all the students write down an
answer to the teacher's question. Not only will the teacher get
much more class participation, but the quality of student
responses will also improve.
2. Pair/Share: Have students pair up with a partner and share
their answers before discussing it as a class. This gives the
students a chance to respond without the anxiety of speaking in
front of the entire class and also allows the teacher to
"monitor" the room and talk to various students about their
responses. The "pair/share" is great teaching strategy to use
right after the "all-write" strategy.
3. On-the-Clock: Give students specific time limits to complete
tasks and make sure you stick to those time limits. By putting
students "on-the-clock" the teacher helps the students stay
focused. I even use an egg timer to make this teaching strategy
even more effective.
4. Check-for-Understanding: Not understanding the teacher's
directions is a major cause of classroom management issues and
student behavior problems. Therefore, no matter what set of
directions a teacher gives, the teacher should always
"check-for-understanding" by simply asking a couple of students
(at random) to repeat the directions back to the class.
5. Do Now: Effective classroom management starts from the second
students walk into the classroom. Therefore, the "do now" is a
short assignment that the students are to complete as soon as
they enter the classroom. Personally, I put up 1-4 review
questions on the board every day as the "do now" assignment. The
"do now" gives the students something to do right away and is a
great opportunity for review.
Remember, effective classroom management is not about rewards
and punishments. Effective classroom management is about the
teacher keeping the students actively involved in the entire
lesson. By practicing the teaching strategies above, teachers
will greatly reduce classroom management problems.
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