Behaviour Management
A lack of discipline and rules in the classroom can disrupt the learning process. Some individuals may get significantly out of control, and this can cause lessons to come to a complete stop while the teacher re-establishes order.
Students’ behavior problems can take various forms, including disruptive talking, sleeping in class, poor attendance, inaudible responses, failure to do homework, cheating in tests, and unwillingness to speak in the target language.
Solutions For Classroom Management Problems
When students have a fair understanding of the classroom rules and routines, they are less likely to break them. It is necessary for the teacher to be clear on the consequences and follow through with them.
Define Classroom Rules
Classroom rules should be short and concise, easy to understand, remember, and follow. If the teacher does not follow through and is not consistent, then it devalues the classroom rules, which in turn can have a negative effect, and the behaviour of the students may worsen.
Establish a routine
As pointed out in the previous unit, a routine is essential when dealing with a classroom of students, especially younger age groups. Establishing a routine makes it easier on a day-to-day basis for both the student and the teacher. When students enter the classroom, they already know what is expected of them and how things work. This helps them better ready themselves for the content of the lesson and will not cause disruptions by asking other students what is happening or what should be done.
Classroom management strategies and techniques
Managing a classroom of at least 20 students with a range of unique social and academic skills is a complex challenge. Some professionals believe that motivation plays a vital role in reducing classroom management and behaviour problems. Let us look at the methods below to build respectful communication, focus, and motivation in the classroom:
- Remind students about the exciting job opportunities for fluent language speakers- Teachers can also introduce reading materials, videos or invite a guest speaker, which can be very inspiring and motivational.
- Let students help set rules- Ask students what they think is tolerable and inspire them to recommend rules for the academic year.
- Document rules- Ensure your systems are not disregarded by writing them down and sharing them as a list for students to keep and reference.
- Avoid punishing the class- Address separate behaviour issues individually instead of the entire class to avoid damaging your relationships with the well-behaved students.
- Encourage initiative- Support growth mindset by permitting students to work ahead in some units, delivering a brief presentation to strengthen your lesson material.
- Offer praise- Acknowledge hard work by openly praising students, encouraging exemplary behaviour, and motivating the class.
- Use non-verbal communication. Link verbal communication with actions and visual aids to improve content delivery, helping students concentrate and process lessons.
- Hold parties- Throw an occasional classroom party to recognize students’ hard work, motivating them to keep it up.
- Give tangible rewards- Reward individual students at the end of lessons as a motivational and behaviour support method.
- Make positive letters and phone calls- Make positive phone calls and send congratulatory letters home, possibly prompting parents to include themselves further in their children’s learning.
- Consider peer teaching- Use peer teaching activities, such as reading, if you feel top performers can help engage and educate disruptive and struggling students.
- Build excitement for content- Preview fascinating parts of your lesson to hook student interest at the beginning of a lesson.
- Interview students- Interview students who are socially or academically detached to get insight to learn how to handle them properly.
- Address bad behaviour quickly- Do not delay when you need to address poor behaviour, as acting sooner will ensure that negative feelings do not brew.
- Gamify personal learning plans- Motivate students on individual learning plans by making those plans into a game through ways such as giving XP (experience points) throughout a unit to quantify skill mastery.
Classroom management is not only about getting your students to listen, but it is also about working proactively with them to prevent bad behaviour and build student participation. These approaches to classroom management and behaviour management work across subjects and grade levels. Use the ones that best suit your situations and teaching technique.