Effective Classroom Management

Work in two’s or threes

5 Minutes:

• From your teaching experience so far, list the things that you have found difficult to manage in the classroom:

What makes for Effective Classroom Management?

1. Having a good relationship with your pupils2. Having high expectations3. Making sure both you and your pupils know what

behaviours are required4. How you use praise to achieve good behaviour5. Well planned lessons6. Whether you move around the class7. How you respond confidently to pupil behaviour8. Your behaviour and appearance

1. Having a good relationship with your pupils

• If they told you to do something, would you have minded?

• Would you immediately obey if you felt a teacher didn’t like you?

• Feeling part of a class will make you more willing to follow directions

Think for a few minutes – which teachers did you like the most?

One way to make pupils feel part of a class is our use of language

vs

Because the common purpose of being together in a classroom is effective teaching and learning

Language that conveys ‘working together’ is more effective

Us You

I don’t want anyone shouting out the answers

In this class we put our hands up before answering

Change these into more inclusive statementsStop walking around the classroom

It’s important that you listen carefully to the instructions

You’ve completely wasted both my time and yours

You have not finished your work yet

You are making so much noise you are disrupting the rest of the class

Don’t speak to me like that

Original Statement

Stop walking around the classroom

It’s important that you listen carefully to the instructions

You’ve completely wasted both my time and yours

You have not finished your work yet

You are making so much noise you are disrupting the rest of the class

Don’t speak to me like that

New statement

In this class we stay in our seats

We all need to listen to the instructions carefully

This has been a waste of time for both of us

Our rules are to finish work before we…..

We are all being disrupted by the high level of noise in class

We do not accept language like that in our classroom

2. High Expectations

Rosenthal and Jacobson’s (1968) study “Pygmalion in the Classroom”

The original Pygmalion study involved giving teachers false information about the learning potential of certain primary students in a San Francisco elementary school.

Teachers were told that these students had been tested and found to be on the brink of a period of rapid intellectual growth; in reality, the students had been selected at random.

At the end of the experimental period, some of the targeted students showed superior performance on IQ tests and performed better than would have been expected of the target students with no intervention.

The conclusion was that the teacher expectations actually caused the students to achieve significantly more.

3. Required behaviours – knowing what you want!Consider

• How do your pupils arrive?

• Where do they sit?

• How do you gain their attention?

• How do you respond to unwanted behaviour?

PLANNING IS THE KEY

• Uncontrolled entry?

• Lining up?

• Do you enter with them or….

• Are you present to greet them?

Using seating plans

Seating plans can be very useful to:

• mix ability groups

• plan for peer support

• prevent rejection or isolation of individuals

• shape pupil with pupil interaction

• ensure mixed gender pairings

Numbers on tables

Lucky dip pairsRegular class

movement

4. Praise and recognition

• Real, meaningful and positive praise and recognition for effort will make the climate of the class more positive

5. Planning a lesson

Lesson beginnings are critical

Starter activities

Was your explanation effective?

Pace, delivery and momentum

Managing Transitions

Effective Closing/Plenary

6. Movement around the classroom• Some teachers restrict their use of space

by working at their desk or teaching from the front

• Think with a colleague:– Why is it important

to move around the

classroom?

Scanning and anticipation• Most behavioural difficulties begin with a small, almost

unidentifiable, off task behaviour which then escalates.

• By scanning the class, its easier to readily spot those who are drifting off task or who are beginning to misbehave.

• Frequent scanning is more effective when teachers move around the classroom.

• Movement around the class also gives us the opportunity to praise those who are on task

7. Responding Confidently to pupil behaviour

Calm Authority?

Using prompts

• General positive prompts

When one or two pupils begin to go off task

That’s been a great start. Can we now focus on ……

Using prompts

• Proximity praise

When one pupil is annoying another

Instead of targetting the misbehaviour, draw attention to the positive work/behaviour going on around..

Ruth that is a really good piece or work

Gareth, I like the way you are working quietly

Using prompts

• Giving a warning

To add to the previous prompt

You can add

Iestyn, I will come and look at your work in a few minutes

Using prompts

• Making a general request

Used when a number of pupils are going off task

Refocus the whole class on the task in hand:

OK everybody, look this way (pause)

Thanks (pause)

Now when we (re-explain the task)

Using prompts

• Rule reminders

Instead of challenging a particular pupil

Remember everyone, we must put up our hands if we get stuck

Or

Remember, we talk quietly when we are working together

What’s wrong with this?

• DON’T THINK OF AN ELEPHANT….

Use positive language“Gareth, stop annoying Tim like that and get on with your work.”

“Gareth, get on with the next question please.”

“Beth, stop turning around to talk to Angela and listen when I am speaking.”

“Beth, look this way and listen to the explanation, thanks.”

“Simon stop playing with your cards, put them away and write down your ideas.”

“Simon, concentrate on setting out your ideas, thanks.”

“Huw you’ve made an awful mess tearing up all that paper, pick them up now!”

“Huw, can you sort out the paper under your desk, thanks.”

Redirecting to task

When an event occurs – either in or outside the class - that draws the attention of pupils

• Acknowledge the event

• Redirect the group back to the task

Refocussing

8. Your behaviour and appearance

• How do you want to appear?

Stiff and stern/soft and cuddly/warm and approachable?

Remember:

Posture Facial Expression Gesture Choice of words

5. The way we behave

If teachers behave in an aggressive or disrespectful way – then pupils may well model their behaviour

(Albert Bandura’s Experiment)

TAKE A BREAKNEXT…

We are going to look at effective boundaries