An article that uses coaching as a means of classroom management. It speaks about the importance of balancing offering support to students and challenging students.
This handy tool helps you save time and energy by creating a classroom floor plan online. Be prepared to set up your classroom when you arrive by adding and moving around furniture on this web site and then printing off your floor plan and bringing it to school. Use what you have learned about classroom management to help set up your ideal classroom.
Why stay inside? Taking your students outside can actually improve classroom management and reduce behavioural problems by getting students interested and moving! This article lists reasons to take your class outside, tips for teaching a lesson outside and supplies you may want to take along with you! Happy exploring!
This site has many different links to help you with your first classroom. Links include ideas for new teachers, how to create and introduce classroom rules, classroom management strategies for new teachers, how to create an interactive word wall, how to be prepared for student absences, and many more useful links.
Fundamental classroom management techniques etc. I really liked this resource because it forces teachers to take a closer look at themselves (teaching style and how it contributes to classroom management problems etc) Topics listed in index are endless and USEFUL! Updated in 2009 -PDF available online.
Part 4 of this free online resourse dealves deeper into the need for students to feel empowered and using praise and encouragement to help meet this need and in turn prevent classroom management issues. It offers specific strategies to improve praise including how to structure it and when it is appropriate.
Whether or not you move on from Laurier to go teach in other countries it is important to keep in mind that the culture your students have come from may have an impact on the effectiveness of your chosen strategies. This article examines some of the techniques used in countries around the world.
This link has 6 different ways to arrange the desks in your classroom. It has a brief description of what works and what doesn't work about the arrangement. It outlines why it might be important to change your classroom seating plan and what the basic principles of seating are. Very useful!
Sir Ken Robinson asks the good questions that aren't be asked in education. Our education model has become so systematic with little good reasoning behind it. We've created a box for thinking, can we get out of it? Even if you don't watch the whole 11:40 minutes, you'll still get something out of this clip. The good news is: some of these changes that are needed can be done in the classroom. It can start with us.
Beth Lewis outlines her ideas around class meetings and community circles. Practical, useful and definitely applicable to multiple grade levels. Try it out if you want to work on character development or building community in your classroom.
When you feel like you are loosing them, get them standing and doing a Brain Break. They take only a minute or two, need no real preparation or fancy supplies and they can contribute huge dividends to your classroom management by allowing students to re-engage after a mental shift. They can be done with students of any age, usually make you laugh and challenge your brain often by crossing your mid-line thus engaging both hemispheres. They have even been suggested for use during exams and standardized tests. They are backed up by some action research I found on http://abllab.com/ which even shows some cool brain scans illustrating the difference in mental activity when someone was active right before or not! Definite food for thought to do more than your DPA to keep them engage, learning and not creating mischief!
Another short set of high school classroom management techniques. This author outlines some elements affecting older students' lives that do not as often pertain to primary, junior and intermediate students. Building on these, the article emphasizes good connections with students, and positive environments, suggests use of humour in class, but recommends sticking to private praise and discipline.
For those considering moving up to high school at some point in time, here are six basic classroom management strategies that are still appropriate with older children.
1) Over plan each day
2) Start on time
3) Start the year or semester off strict
4) Let them know what to expect each day
5) Mix it up a little
6) Move to the noise
Each of these is elaborated on by the author who says of himself, "I am by nature not a strong disciplinarian and like to be relaxed and fun with my class....I have however, over the years been able to find ways to combine my somewhat easygoing personality with some constant classroom rules and ideas to maintain a good learning atmosphere." Isn't that the balance so many of us need?
This is a good, in-depth read about how to effectively run classroom meetings in your own class. It talks about what classroom meetings promote amongst your students, some objectives you can address, ways to deal with challenging situations, and how to set it up for different age groups, and some questions you can use to start communication.
If you're interested in implementing classroom meetings in your next practicum (or later on as a teacher), this document will give you everything you need to get started.
This is a game that any teacher can use to improve the behaviour of his/her students. It's a point system and the students compete against the students.
I wanted to find an article that gave a list of "best" strategies to use in managing students in the classroom. I came across this particular article by Kellie Hayden, a veteran teacher with 17 years of experience. She has taught subjects from mechanics to Shakespeare, middle to highschool, and students with ADHD to students with their own parole officers. Although this article represented one teachers view, she seems to have a great outlook and great classroom management. Here are her top 5:
5-keep the lesson moving
4-don't lecture for the whole period
3-talk to your students
2-stand near distruptive students
1-talk to extremely distruptive students in the hall
(last resort is the office)