5 Quick Classroom-Management Tips for Novice Teachers
During my first year of teaching, I made a lot of mistakes that still make me squirm to think about. I did, however, learn something. And it’s fair to say that, when it comes to classroom management, the majority of what we learn as beginning teachers comes from trial and error. It’s also a good idea to pay attention to the advice of people who have gone before you and made mistakes. If you’re having difficulty maintaining discipline, here are five suggestions that you can put into action right immediately.
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT TIPS FOR NEW TEACHERS
1. Speak in a normal, natural tone of voice: Is your normal tone of voice used when you’re teaching? Every teacher can recall something similar from their first year in the classroom: spending those first few months speaking at a louder-than-usual volume until you eventually lose your ability to speak.
Raising our voices to grab pupils’ attention is not the most effective strategy, and the tension it produces, as well as the negative atmosphere it creates in the classroom, are not worth the effort. Avoid employing a semi-shouting tone in front of the class since the students will mimic your tone. If we want our children to speak at a normal, pleasant volume, we must model this behavior ourselves.
It is also important to distinguish your voice tone. It is important to employ a definite, matter-of-fact tone when asking students to put their notebooks away and form their groups. To be friendly and conversational when asking a question about a character in a short story, or on the achievements made by the Roman Empire, employ a conversational tone.
The following precious nugget was shared with me by a 20-year veteran while I was in my first year of teaching: 2. Speak only when pupils are quiet and ready: After that, she instructed me to simply wait, and then wait some more, until all students had become silent.
So I gave it a shot; I resisted the urge to speak out loud. Sometimes I’d have to wait for longer than I had anticipated being able to endure. Slowly but steadily, the kids would cue one another, saying things like, “Shh, she’s trying to tell us something,” “Come on, stop chatting,” and “Hey guys, please be quiet.” They took care of everything for me.
My perseverance was rewarded. Yours will as well. Furthermore, you will retain your voice.
Three. Make use of hand signals and other nonverbal communication: Placing one hand in the air and making direct eye contact with students is an excellent method to calm the class and draw their attention to you. It takes some time for children to become accustomed to this as a routine, but it is effective. Encourage them to raise their hands in unison with you until everyone is up. Then drop your voice and start talking.
Lighting the room up and down once to catch pupils’ attention is a tried and true method of getting their attention. It might also be something you do regularly to remind them that they have three minutes to accomplish an assignment, clean up or do anything else they need to do.
When working with younger students, try clapping your hands three times and instructing the students to rapidly clap back twice as a response. This is a fun and energetic method to catch their attention and to get all of their attention on you at the same time.
Be sure to handle any difficulties between you and a student, or between two students, as soon as possible—and in the most appropriate way imaginable. Bad feelings, whether on your part or the part of the pupils, can swiftly escalate from molehills to mountains.
To deal with those issues effectively, you and the student should take a step back from the other pupils, possibly just outside the doorway of the classroom. If at all feasible, wait until after instruction to avoid interfering with the class’s flow. Ask foolish inquiries such as, “How can I assist you?” or “How may I assist you?” Don’t make any accusations against the child. Act as if you are concerned, even if you are experiencing the opposite emotion at the time. In most cases, the student will become disarmed since she may have been anticipating you to be furious and confrontational in your approach.
If you have to deal with inappropriate behavior during your lecture, always use a cheerful attitude. Instead of saying, “It appears that you have a question,” say, “Why are you deviating from your task and talking?”
When kids are having disagreements with one another, arrange for them to meet with you at lunch, after school, or in the morning. As a mediator, maintain a neutral tone while assisting them in reaching a peaceful resolution or, at the at least, a mutually acceptable ceasefire.
5. Always have a well-designed, entertaining lesson: This is the most crucial of all the tips to remember. 6. Perhaps you’ve heard that if you don’t have a strategy for dealing with them, they’ll devise one for dealing with you. Always plan ahead of time. A lesson should be completed on time rather than being rushed or rushed out of time
One thing I’ve learned from personal experience and from observing many classrooms is that bored students are a recipe for disaster. Because of bad planning, there is frequently far too much talking and telling from the teacher, and far too little hands-on learning and discovery by the students in a poorly designed class. We are all aware that creating captivating classes takes a serious mind as well as time to arrange. And they are unquestionably worthwhile—for a variety of reasons.