Classroom Management: Practical Strategies for Your Classroom

 As I established in my previous post, classroom management is a key component to creating a classroom that is conducive to learning and decreasing disruptive behaviors that may inhibit learning. There are hundreds of different strategies that can be found, whether online or from peers. As an educator there are so many responsibilities that take up one's time that it can be incredibly overwhelming to implement the many different classroom management strategies into a class while also trying to keep up with present work and planning. In order to prevent this overwhelming feeling, there are five easily implementable classroom management strategies that can be used across all grades and in all classrooms. These strategies are to be used to make an one's job as an educator easier, while also creating a loving and productive environment where students feel they have grow to their maximum potential. Each of these strategies I have seen work well within my own educational experience. Many of my teachers have used these strategies to discover ways to promote positive behavioral habits among all of the students. A personal favorite of mine was when a teacher would give incentives for appropriately following directions, like granting an opportunity at the prize box or allowing me to do something special (ex. bring a stuffed animal the next day or chew gum while I work).

The first strategy I want to introduce is to identify disruptive behavior that is currently present among your students and attempt to determine why these behaviors are taking place. Try to determine when a child is partaking in the unwanted behavior and what might be the reasons those behaviors are taking place. Does a child struggle transitioning from math to lunch? One could attempt to lessen those behaviors by making the child the line leader, so that they feel responsible for showing others how to walk in the halls. Determining what disruptive behavior is occurring and what might be the cause can allow you to determine which ways might be the best to solve them. Another strategy that could be useful for decreasing disruptive behavior is ensuring your environment isn't promoting or contributing to disruptive behaviors. Do not have the most difficult work of your day be as soon as students arrive or right before the leave to go home. Also, try to keep a classroom that is orderly and organized so that students know what to expect when they walk/look around the room. 

A group of teachers sitting around a table, speaking to one another.

The third and fourth strategies provide tangible and practical ways that teachers can use as models to promote positive behaviors within the class. Actively engaging students during times of lessons and lectures can greatly benefit teachers and students. When students are engaged in a lesson, they are less likely to demonstrate negative/disruptive behaviors. Giving your students guided notes to follow a PowerPoint or allowing the use of dry erase boards to answers questions in real time can engage students and keep them on task. Additionally, encouraging positive behaviors also demonstrates and provides incentives for students to act appropriately. Some ways this can take place are allowing your students and/or class to earn an incentive or allowing students 5-10 minute time periods to do something they enjoy when they follow directions and behave in a respectful manner. Finally, one of the most important classroom management strategies that can be used is your peers! Talk to fellow teachers and administrators about what behaviors you might be struggling with in your class and see if your peers have had successful experiences combatting that behavior. There are many other strategies that can be implemented in all classes, however, this list is a starting point of broad practices that can be used to help your classrooms run smoothly.