Classroom Management Techniques: Stories That I Have Learned From as a Teacher
Mia Tarau
This is not the first time I have written about this, but here it is again: as teachers, we perform roles from SO many different professions in just one short class – let alone across an entire course! We have to teach structured course content while also creating independent learners who use their critical thinking in their daily lives and in their assessments. We have to foster student creativity while also enforcing assessment deadlines and course requirements. We comfort students (and should notice when they are in need of leniency, because life happens!) while also having to sanction ‘rogue’ behaviours, but without alienating the students. Teaching encompasses life skills, people skills, professional skills, tech skills, a duty of care, humanity – all in a day’s work. Too easy, right?
….
Almost.
How can we then make sure that we successfully perform all these roles and wear all these hats across a course, while also ensuring student success? This post kicks off a series of tips from our Chasing Time English team on how to manage a classroom with these goals in mind. I will begin the series with my top 2 tips that I have implemented with different groups of students over the past decade, highlighting the most important things that I have learned as a teacher.
1. Rules from the get-go, but together!
I didn’t always do this as a new teacher, but I was lucky to be a part of some amazing teaching teams where I have seen this in action. Depending on the courses I teach, sometimes there is time to engage the students in the process of establishing classroom rules. This is a fantastic tip to make students feel both welcome and responsible for their own behaviour (and consequently, learning) from day 1.
How I do it (when suitable):
a. after meeting the class in the way that suits each group, I introduce and emphasise the importance of classroom rules and acceptable behaviours
b. I then model some requirements by presenting a list of my expectations (either as a QR code leading to a class Padlet, or as a list on the classroom computer screen, or as a list printed out for each table, or all three options); students then receive this list in an introductory/welcome class email, ensuring that both students and teacher have access to it for the duration of the course
*I do allow students to discuss the list at their table, giving them time to raise any questions or concerns (this list is less flexible, however, as it should follow institutional and course guidelines, which I make sure they understand)
c. next, in their groups, they are encouraged to make another list on their own expectations of their teacher, which then also gets discussed as a class
d. finally, the class negotiates their top 5 expectations from the teacher, which we discuss and then add to the teacher’s list in the same class email, ensuring student access to it for the duration of the course.
e. You can title these lists as follows:
What I Need From You and What You Need From Me
Why should we do it?
Teaching has taught me that without this crucial introductory step, I would have to engage in a lot of correcting behaviours and extra communication with the class - which are undesirable, stressful, and which we as teachers have very little time for. Additionally, a lack of clear, jointly-established rules from day 1 might also result in more stress for our students, or in the students feeling alone or isolated from us, especially if it’s their first time in a new country and we need to establish a welcoming environment for them.
2. Regular communication that ensures students have all the necessary information, but which also places responsibility on them
This is a practice that I learned from the first lecturer whom I taught alongside in Australia. Each week, after the lecture and seminars/tutorials concluded, she would send an email to the students recapping the content and announcements for the week. Additionally, when needed, she would also send task reminders or a to-do list for the students at the end of this email, to be completed before the next lecture. This does take a bit of time after each week, but these emails do not have to be extensive. I found this to be a fantastic practice: I have been implementing it in my courses as well.
How I do it:
A simple list of concepts covered in class and a couple of bullet point reminders suffice; you can write and send this email in the final 10 minutes of class, or whenever students are carrying out activities during class time.
Why should we do it?
This small step eliminates stress for the students who might have missed class, giving them an overview of what they must catch up with. Additionally, this also eliminates stress for the teacher, as we all know how often students ‘did not know’ that a task was due; these emails ensure that they DO know! Coupled with the rule that students MUST check their emails regularly, which should be established as part of the classroom rules on day 1, this is a life-saver AND a great way to place individual responsibility on the students as well!
What are your top tips on classroom management?