Introduction
The classroom management skills that you develop as a teacher can make all the difference in the world. They can help students learn more, have better grades and have a more positive school experience overall. To help with this challenge, here are seven strategies that will help you defeat classroom management obstacles:
Plan for the class start-up.
If you want to get students engaged and ready for the rest of your class, start with a warm-up activity. This can be anything from reading aloud from their textbook or watching a video together on YouTube. A good way to set the tone for your class is by having them write down their goals for that day or week so they know what they’re working toward.
Then make sure everyone has everything they need before class starts: pens and paper; water bottles among other things. Finally, when introducing yourself as a teacher—make sure that your voice is loud enough so everyone can hear you.
Be consistent with your rules and expectations.
Consistency is the key to success. If you consistently enforce your rules and expectations, students will learn to expect them from you. This makes it easier for them to follow your instructions when they need help with course material, or even just in life at school.
If a student misbehaves, make sure that everyone knows about it so that no one gets away with bad behaviour—it’s important for everyone’s learning environment!
In addition, be consistent about how often you review each rule before each class begins as well as how often students are allowed/not allowed access outside of class time (e.g., break periods). For online class management, one good rule would be turning your cameras on.
Use a classroom management system.
A classroom management system is a software application that helps you manage your class, assign tasks and track student progress. This could be really handy while online class management. For example:
- Virtual whiteboard or note-taking app (e.g., Kahoot) – It can be useful to have an easy way for students to take notes during class because it makes it easier for them to remember information later on in the day or week. It also gives teachers an opportunity to interact with their students without being disruptive by asking them questions or sharing tips on how they can improve their own learning styles.
You can also join an online course or learn more about classroom management, by talking to online teacher training platforms and their mentors here.
There are many benefits of using a classroom management system, especially in case of online class management:
- You can set up different types of assignments and see how long it takes before students complete them (this way, you can adjust the amount of work they’re given).
- You can create reports on each student’s progress toward completing their goals so you know whether they’re making good use of your time with them in class (and if they aren’t, why not?).
Limit your instructions.
When you limit your instructions, it makes it more difficult for students to work on one thing at a time and helps them focus on learning instead of doing random things and losing their place in your class.
Here’s an example: If I want my students to answer two out of three questions correctly when they’re done with this section (and they should), then I would say “When you finish reading this paragraph, click ‘Next’ below me so that we can move onto our next section.” This way, everyone knows what needs to happen next without having any surprises later on down the road!
Plan for the end of class.
When you’re teaching a class, you want to make sure that your students leave with an understanding of the material and feel confident about their abilities. Plan for this by having a clear message for both yourself and the parents at the end of each session: “I’ll see you next week!”
You’ll also want to have some way of letting parents know what will happen if they have questions about their child’s progress during class time. This can include sending out e-mails or texting them directly after each session has ended so that they don’t needlessly wait around until Monday morning before getting answers (which may not always be accurate).
Motivate students by providing rewards.
Rewards are a great way to motivate students. They can be tangible or intangible, and they should be given immediately after the desired behaviour is exhibited.
In addition, rewards should only be given out when deserved—not every time someone does something good! For example: if one day your student hands in an excellent essay but doesn’t hand in his essay in time; make sure only the deserved reward is given to the student.
Use your creativity and make your classroom engaging.
Your classroom doesn’t have to be drab and boring. Think about how you would like your students to learn. What are the things that would get their attention? What do they like? What can you do with technology in order for them to learn better?
List all the things that could go wrong in the classroom such as messy desks or bad lighting … then make sure those things don’t happen by making sure everything is organized and clean before school starts in order for them to feel good and positive.
Conclusion
Classroom management can be a tough job for teachers, but with some strategic thinking and planning, you can make it easier to manage students in your classroom. It is a step-by-step process that requires skill and knowledge. If you are keen to upskill yourself and learn more about classroom management, we would recommend you join an actionable online teaching course. You can check out Suraasa-world’s leading teacher upskilling and training company for the same.
This will help you get an idea of how you can improve your classroom skills. Through the course, you will get to learn about teaching techniques as well as online classroom management too.
