Classroom Management for English Teachers Marla Yoshida

What is classroom management? Student behavior and discipline Rules and procedures in your classroom Physical arrangement of things in the classroom Student motivation Everything you do to make your classroom run smoothly

Why is classroom management important? You must be able to manage your class before you can teach your class. We can help prevent behavior problems through good classroom management.

What do you want to change? No class is perfect. What are three student behaviors that you would like to change?

Take a positive approach Recognize and reward students when they’re being good. Try not to scold, nag, or shout. It doesn’t help.

Take a positive approach Express your instructions in a simple, positive, respectful way. Compare: Please listen. / All eyes on me. / Don’t talk to your friends. / Be quiet. / Shut up! / Shhhhh! / Would you please be quiet? Set your expectations high. Your students can accomplish more than you might think!

Positive self-fulfilling prophecies A self-fulfilling prophecy is an expectation that causes itself to come true. Teachers’ expectations have a powerful influence on their students. Have high expectations for your students, both in behavior and learning.

Movement and Proximity Move around the classroom as much as possible.

Zones of proximity

“Working the Crowd” Mobility: Moving around the room keeps students in the “red zone” more often. Deal with students’ misbehavior in private as much as possible. (You can do this more easily if you’re moving around the room.) Eye contact gives you a way to “work the crowd” from a distance.

What are the obstacles to “working the crowd”? Habit—ours and our teachers’, going back over many generations. The arrangement of the room—the teacher’s desk, students’ desks, other equipment.

Rearrange the furniture Arrange the students’ desks so there’s more room to walk around. If other teachers share your classroom, talk to them to ask their cooperation. It could help them, too. If it’s not possible to move desks permanently, train students to move their desks according to your plan when your class begins and move them back when it ends.

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An interior loop

Attention Seekers

How can we stay calm? Understand what’s happening, and then take a relaxing breath. Don’t let it get to you. Emotions are contagious. If you’re calm, the class is calm. If you’re upset, the class is upset.

Strong body language: “The Look” A strong “teacher look” is calm and without emotion. Think of England’s Queen Victoria. If the student gives you a “cute” look, resist smiling.

Strong body language: “The Turn” Turn slowly. Turn your upper body first, then the rest of you. Finish with your feet pointing squarely toward the student.

What happens to us when something goes wrong in the classroom? We get upset and feel stressed out. The “fight-flight” reflex begins. We get angry and start shouting. Adrenaline starts pumping through our body. We get more upset. It takes a long time to calm down.

Giving instructions effectively Get the attention of the class. Make sure you have everyone’s attention before you start talking, or no one will hear you. Keep your instructions simple, short, and specific. Explain each step. Pause after each step. Have the students repeat the instructions back to you.

Giving instructions effectively Demonstrate the activity with a more able student. Show what they should do. Write a shortened version of the instructions on the board. Tell students what they are responsible for doing, completing, or producing. Tell them how you will check to make sure they’ve done what you asked. Have a time limit for the activity.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Calm is strength. Upset is weakness.