How to Help Teachers With Classroom Management
Today's classrooms are made up of several different types of students. Alongside the average student sits the classroom bully, the shy introvert, the ADHD student and the Asperger's child, to name just a few of the different variations in student aptitude and attitude. A teacher must know how to manage the diversified classroom in order to provide solid teaching skills to his students.
Instructions
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Get background information on students if at all possible. Each classroom is different. Know ahead of time which students may struggle with which teaching methods. Watch, listen and note how students react to each other, how outgoing they are, who struggles to stay on task and who the class clown may be.
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Do not be judgmental. Gathering information about students and "what makes them tick" is not tantamount to judging them to be good or bad students. Use this information to understand how best to teach each student. Some children learn by listening, some by doing, some by both.
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Control the classroom. Make rules and guidelines and post them where they can be seen every day by every student. Know ahead of time, however, that rules will be broken. Plan strategies to aid students who break the rules. Be sure any disciplinary procedures take into consideration not only the importance of the rule being broken, but the aptitude of the student breaking the rule.
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Use reinforcement of a positive nature instead of negative reinforcement. In other words, try to head off problems before they occur. Disciplinary actions should be a last resort effort on the part of a teacher.
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Having a child go in front of the class to speak makes him think twice about talking out of turn. If discipline should become necessary, present that discipline in a way that will actually teach the student why the rule is enforced. Talking out of turn, for instance, may be better handled by "allowing" the student to give a short speech to the rest of the class on why being called upon to speak before speaking is important to the overall demeanor of the classroom.
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Find new and interesting ways to approach teaching. Use brightly colored paper or colored chalk. Have a talk-and-listen session to discuss the lessons of the day. Enlist the aid of two or three different students every day to hand out papers, to collect homework, to help someone who needs extra attention or just to provide something special to the class.
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Overall, try not to be domineering to the degree that the classroom is made up of a dictator and his minions. However, control must be maintained, because the alternative is utter chaos. Use your students' ideas, discuss and listen to what they have to say, and let them know up front that there are rules and that those rules are for the good of everyone. Together, teachers and students can make classroom management a breeze!
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Tips & Warnings
Try using the class clown to get a message across to the rest of the students in a "funny" way. Take him aside and talk it over with him to come up with something that will stand out for the rest of the students. Use your students' individual personalities and assets to allow them to aid in the classroom and there will be fewer infringements of the rules.
There are some children who cannot maintain calm in a classroom. Though it is important to work with students to as high a degree as possible, it is also important to keep the classroom safe. Check with school officials on how dangerous attitudes and dispositions should be handled. Sometimes it is just not feasible to stand aside or "talk down" a situation. Safety must come first.
References
- Photo Credit three puzzle pieces in rgb colors image by Stasys Eidiejus from Fotolia.com little girl making a speech image by Olga Sapegina from Fotolia.com
