What is classroom management?
Classroom management refers to the wide variety of techniques and skills teachers use to keep students focused, organised, attentive, and productive during a class. Classroom management also ensures that the lessons in a classroom go smoothly and accordingly without any disturbance or interruptions.
Every teacher has various teaching styles and must incorporate different strategies and techniques to see whether they are suitable for their lessons and students.
The goal for any teacher is an academically productive classroom with observant and focused learners. Unfortunately, any teacher will reveal that this is much harder than it sounds and usually takes years to master, even for teachers who view themselves as relatively experienced. Things often change depending on the new students they teach every year, so being skilled at classroom management is an ongoing process and part of the lifelong learning journey that makes teaching enjoyable.
Effective classroom management impacts the ability to be good at teaching, affecting the students’ success as learners. If the classroom is out of control, it will not matter how passionate a teacher is about their subject or how much they are truly dedicated to children; learning will be negatively impacted and will not be as effective as it should!
A classroom that is effectively managed should achieve the following:
- Effective Teaching
- Efficient Use of Time
- Consistency
- Fewer Behavior Problems
Effective Teaching
A disordered classroom without systems and expectations makes it difficult for the teacher to do their job. Students do not know what to do, so they might get distracted or cause disturbances. When the teacher is continuously redirecting students or controlling behaviour obstacles, they lose significant teaching time. Classroom management approaches help create an organised classroom atmosphere that is helpful for teaching, and students will know the expectations in different types of learning situations. For example, students would know that they talk in hushed voices when working in groups and take turns talking. They might each have a particular job in the group.
Efficient Use of Time
Taking time before school starts to form routines and procedures saves teachers time in the long run. When children know what to do, it becomes a routine. After a few weeks, teachers do not need to tell them what to do. You can get your students out the door faster at the end of the day. You will not spend as much time giving directions when you train them on how to do each part of the school day.
Consistency
A teacher with effective classroom management skills creates stability for their students. The students know what is required every day when it comes to routine exercises. Students may manage better when the teacher is gone if the teacher has set expectations for daily tasks. They know how the classroom operates, so they can help the substitute run the class. For example, if the children know they are supposed to enter the room and start working on a grammar question on the board, a substitute does not have to spend time gathering the students or keeping them engaged while everyone arrives. Teachers can also create unity throughout the school by arranging management strategies with schoolwide rules. Suppose the school focuses on responsibility and respect and combines them into the classroom management procedures. The students will gather those messages throughout the school and know that the expectations are related everywhere.
Fewer Behavior Problems
The primary purpose of this management is to decrease misconduct in the classroom. Effective classroom management gives the students little time to misbehave because the expectations are defined; they know what they need to do. Changes, in particular, are easier to manage when a teacher has effective classroom management skills. The expectations for roles that are part of a classroom management plan give students limits and consequences.