Do you remember how you used to be as a kid? How restless you were in the classroom, or do you fall in that category of kids who enjoyed going to school and listening to classes? Behind every great classroom experience is an exceptional teacher who aced classroom management. I remember waiting for my English teacher to come to our class. She always asked us to tell stories and taught us a gazillion things without ever teaching anything! and that’s exactly what classroom management is. Jumping the difficulties such as lack of concentration from students, disturbances, etc. and imparting quality education without making it stressful. Let’s dive in and understand more about classroom management.
Classroom management refers to the wide assortment of skills and strategies that teachers use to keep students attentive, engaged, mindful, on task, and concentrated during a class. When classroom-management techniques are executed viably, teachers limit the issues that block the teaching and learning process and jump the hurdles effectively.
We have moved to live classes and online classrooms and classroom management remains as a major concern for tutors and educators. As more and more coaching centers and educational institutions opt for online teaching, how do you effectively manage a virtual classroom? Let's move ahead and understand more about classroom management.
Types of Classroom Management
To give you a better understanding of classroom management and to help you evaluate yourself, here’s what Diana Baumrind, a well known clinical psychologist has to say about the types of classroom management.
1.High Control-High Involvement
According to Baumrind, if a teacher has high control and high involvement in the classroom, this will result in an authoritative type of classroom. Authoritative teachers are highly involved, they support good behavior and are keen on redirecting students who do not meet the set expectations. Students usually perceive authoritative teachers as caring and reasonable. In an authoritative classroom, the students have the freedom to ask questions and clear their doubts.
2.High Control-Low Involvement
These types of classrooms will be authoritarian. The teacher will not be much involved in the proceedings of the classroom and would turn a blind eye to the students. Authoritarian teachers want to control each and every aspect of the classroom and quite often, tend to scare the students and the involvement from the student’s side would be less. There’s no room for innovation or discovery for the students. This is not an advisable way of teaching. In this type, there is a huge emphasis on rules and regulations rather than a positive environment.
3.Low Control- High Involvement
These types of teachers will be indulgent. Indulgent teachers will pave the way to a confused and chaotic classroom. Remember how our teachers used to say that the market was better disciplined than our class? It is said that an indulgent teacher’s class will always be undisciplined and noisy. This is primarily because of the low control. In this type, the teacher often gives in to the demands of the students and the students take advantage of this. Even though the teachers communicate their behavioral expectations they are not enforced in the indulgent classroom.
4.Low Control-Low Involvement
This is a permissive classroom environment. Most often than not, permissive class teachers are described as lazy or rather lethargic. They do not place expectations on their students and because of the low involvement, the students don’t get a chance to be creative or independent!
Baumrind also adds that no teacher falls into just one category. Usually, it is a mix of two or more of the above mentioned types. It is okay to go easy on your students and to be strict with them, you just have to find the right balance. A positive classroom management is a way of taking classes by eliminating any sort of punishment. It is said that this promotes positive behavior in students. Quite often teachers ask themselves how is good classroom management achieved. The answer is that, like all good things in life, this too, takes time and patience.
Exemplary teachers, in general, have solid classroom-management abilities, while the sign of an unpracticed or less successful instructor is a dislocated classroom loaded up with students who are not working or focusing.
Worry not, if you are looking for tips and tricks that will help you with classroom management, you have come to the right place. This blog will shed some light on all the aspects of classroom management. Let’s look at four principles of classroom management:
Principles of Classroom Management
1.Rules and Boundaries
As important as it is to be friendly with students, it is also important to set some ground rules and boundaries. So that they don’t take advantage of the freedom. Set your expectations straight and convey them at the earliest. This stands valid in the case of online classrooms as well. Underline the rules that you want them to follow, like being on time, sending the assignments on time, and likewise. It is also important to stand by your rules. For instance, if you want them to be punctual, you should be in the class on time. This is applicable in the case of online teaching as well. Be there when your students sign in to the class. Always remember to practice what you preach.
2.Identify gap for disruptions
This is an important area for you to concentrate on. You have to take the attention span of students into consideration and incorporate time for other activities that are relaxing and rejuvenating. Identify a good time to do this. Find some time for fun interactive sessions, it can be a Q and A session also, but ensure that you listen to all the students.
3.Participation
As mentioned earlier, I used to love my English lessons because she made us tell stories and all the students enjoyed the kind of participation that she encouraged. When you encourage students to be a part of the lesson, what you teach stays with them and they won’t be easily distracted.
4.Breathe!
It is important to keep your passion alive and give yourself time for growth and development. If your strategies and techniques are not working, don’t worry about it. Give it some time and alter it if needed. Keep yourself healthy and you will be able to create a healthy classroom.
Classroom Management Techniques
1.Entry Routine
Psychology says that people, when stressed or tensed, tend to watch movies that they have already watched because they know what is about to happen next and the fear of uncertainty helps them to stay relaxed. Every kid is different, you may not know what they are going through. Having an entry routine will help you establish decorum and balance. This can be something as small as a two-minute mind exercise or warm-up or discussing a quote that you read. Make it a routine. This will help in taking unnecessary fear off of student’s minds.
2. Methods
Establish a method in which you want students to turn in their assignments or tests. This takes inspiration from our first principle of establishing rules and boundaries. This will help to create a rhythm in the way your class works. It will help in erasing any confusion or chaos. Be methodical and communicate this with your students.
3. Recognize
It is advisable to publicly praise good work and achievements. When you acknowledge an effort or an achievement, it helps in reaffirming the student’s faith. It is important to note that the ones who failed may feel down. At this point, leave a note of encouragement to those who didn’t make it. Small gestures like this can make a huge difference.
4. Deadlines
Tight deadlines can create stress and can cause your students to lose interest in the class. Ask your students before setting a deadline, ask them if they have anything else scheduled for that date, and do the needful accordingly. You want your teaching to stay with your students. You want it to create an impact and that’s why classroom management is important.
More often than not, people think that teaching is an easy job. But, as the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. So imagine managing a group of them! As we move towards new ways of teaching and learning, the ways of teaching, the teaching strategies and techniques have to be rethought and redefined.
As teachers move online, it is important to keep in mind that there will be differences and changes. However, there are online teaching platforms that guarantee a seamless switch when you take your classes online. All you need to do is believe in yourself and the power of teaching. Stay tuned to our blogs for more informative content.
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