Effective Classroom Management

1. Establish clear behavior expectations and learning goals and by exhibiting

assertive behavior. Research suggests of students clear preference for strong
teacher guidance and control. Assertive discipline allows no room for negatively
disruptive behavior, bullying, or ostracizing of other students.
Principal techniques -- mantras and sticking points:
 I will not tolerate any student stopping me from teaching.
 I will not tolerate any student preventing another student from learning.
 I will not tolerate any student engaging in any behavior that is not in the student's
best interest, and the best interest of fellow students.
Whenever a student chooses to behave appropriately, I will immediately recognize
and reinforce that behavior. I am an assertive teacher and I am the boss in my
classroom.
Central methods of assertive discipline:
 Make the rules very clear; don't be ambiguous.
 Catch students being "good."
 Recognize and support students when they behave appropriately.
 Consistently let students know you are happy with good behavior (be specific).
 Reward exceptional behavior.
 Make clear what the consequences are for bad behavior.
 Follow through with negative consequences for breaking the rules.

2. Use of cuing, verbal and physical signals to students' misbehavior, such as

moving closer to offending students and using a physical cue, such as a finger to the
lips, to point out inappropriate behavior. Cuing the class about expected behaviors
through prearranged signals, such as raising a hand to indicate that all students
should take their seats.
3. Providing celebrations and tangible recognition of appropriate behavior —with
tokens or chits, for example.
a. Employing group expectations and rewards that hold the entire group
responsible for behavioral expectations.
b. Employing home contingency techniques that involve rewards and
sanctions at home.
4. Establishing and communicating learning goals at the beginning of a unit of
instruction.
a. Providing feedback on those goals.
b. Continually and systematically revisiting the goals.
c. Providing summative feedback regarding the goals.
d. use of rubrics can help teachers establish clear goals. To illustrate, assume
that a teacher has identified the learning goal “understanding and using
 fractions” as important for a given unit. That teacher might present students
with the following rubric:
 4 points. You understand the characteristics of fractions along with the
different types. You can accurately describe how fractions are related to
decimals and percentages. You can convert fractions to decimals and
can explain how and why the process works. You can use fractions to
understand and solve different types of problems.
 3 points. You understand the basic characteristics of fractions. You
know how fractions are related to decimals and percentages. You can
convert fractions to decimals.
 2 points. You have a basic understanding of the following, but have
some small misunderstandings about one or more: the characteristics of
fractions; the relationships among fractions, decimals, and percentages;
how to convert fractions to decimals.
 1 point. You have some major problems or misunderstandings with one
or more of the following: the characteristics of fractions; the relationships
among fractions, decimals, and percentages; how to convert fractions to
decimals.
 0 points. You may have heard of the following before, but you do not
understand what they mean: the characteristics of fractions; the
relationships among fractions, decimals, and percentages; how to
convert fractions to decimals.
5. Use assertive behavior in the classroom by:
 Use assertive body language by maintaining an erect posture, facing the
offending student but keeping enough distance so as not to appear
threatening and matching the facial expression with the content of the
message being presented to students.
 Use an appropriate tone of voice, speaking clearly and deliberately in a
pitch that is slightly but not greatly elevated from normal classroom
speech, avoiding any display of emotions in the voice.
 Persist until students respond with the appropriate behavior. Do not
ignore an inappropriate behavior; do not be diverted by a student denying,
arguing, or blaming, but listen to legitimate explanations.
6. Foster cooperation and connection by communicating personal interest and
concern without taking up much time. Teachers can
 Talk informally with students before, during, and after class about their
interests.
  Greet students outside of school—for instance, at extracurricular
events or at the store.
 Single out a few students each day in the lunchroom and talk with them.
 Be aware of and comment on important events in students' lives,
such as participation in sports, drama, or other extracurricular activities.
 Compliment students on important achievements in and outside of
school.
 Meet students at the door as they come into class; greet each one by
name.
7. Emphasize equitable and positive classroom interactions with all students .
Teachers should, for example,
 Make eye contact with each student by scanning the entire room as they
speak and by freely moving around the room.
 Deliberately move toward and stand close to each student during the
class period which allows the teacher and students clear and easy ways
to move around the room.
 Attribute the ownership of ideas to the students who initiated them. For
instance, in a discussion a teacher might say, “Cecilia just added to Aida's
idea by saying that .”
 Allow and encourage all students to participate in class discussions
and interactions. Make sure to call on students who do not commonly
participate, not just those who respond most frequently.
 Provide appropriate wait time for all students to respond to questions,
regardless of their past performance or your perception of their abilities.
8. Awareness of high-needs students and ways of meeting some of their needs
enabling teachers to build strong relationships with these students by refraining from
criticism, rewarding small successes, and creating a classroom climate in which
students feel safe from aggressive students. Categories of high-needs are:
 Aggressive students including: hostile, oppositional, and covert. Hostile
-have poor anger control, low capacity for empathy, and an inability to see
the consequences of their actions. Oppositional - consistently resist
following rules, argue with adults, use harsh language, and tend to annoy
others. Covert - are often nearby when trouble starts and they never quite
do what authority figures ask of them. What to do:
a. Create behavior contracts and providing immediate rewards and
consequences. Describe the student's behavior clearly. Contract
with the student to reward corrected behavior and set up
consequences for uncorrected behavior. Be consistent and provide
immediate rewards and consequences. Encourage and
acknowledge extracurricular activities in and out of school. Give
 student responsibilities to help teacher or other students to foster
successful experiences.
b. For passive students, provide assertiveness and positive self-talk
training; reward small successes quickly; withhold criticism.
 Students with attention problems: hyperactive and inattentive. Contract
with the student to manage behaviors. Teach basic concentration, study,
and thinking skills. Separate student in a quiet work area. Help the student
list each step of a task. Reward successes; assign a peer tutor. These
students may respond well when teachers contract with them to manage
behaviors;
a. teach them basic concentration, study, and thinking skills;
b. help them divide tasks into manageable parts;
c. reward their successes; and
d. assign them a peer tutor.
 Students in the perfectionist category are driven to succeed at
unattainable levels. They are self-critical, have low self-esteem, and feel
inferior. Encouraging them to develop more realistic standards, helping
them to accept mistakes, and giving them opportunities to tutor other
students.
 Socially inept students have difficulty making and keeping friends. They
may stand too close and touch others in annoying ways, talk too much,
and misread others' comments. Teachers can help these students by
counseling them about social behaviors. Teach the student to keep the
appropriate physical distance from others. Teach the meaning of facial
expressions, such as anger and hurt. Make suggestions regarding
hygiene, dress, mannerisms, and posture.
9. Provide healthy teacher-student relationships through effective classroom
management—and classroom management is a key to high student achievement.
Teacher-student relationships should not be left to chance or dictated by the
personalities of those involved. Instead, by using strategies supported by research,
teachers can influence the dynamics of their classrooms and build strong teacher-
student relationships that will support student learning.
10. Here are some simple yet effective management techniques to establish on the first
day of class:
 Device for Getting the Class to Pay Attention: Teach your students a
hand clapping pattern or some other visual or auditory aid that will let them
know that you need silence and eyes on you. Practice it to make sure they
know it. Use it frequently on the first day of school and thereafter. Also, take
the time to explain to the students why it is important to have this technique in
place - how and why it will help all of you stay focused on learning.
 Establish the Importance of Listening: Teach your students the "Say Back"
game. It's simple; after you or any student has spoken, ask the class: "Raise
your hand if you can now say back what I just said (or what your classmate
 has just said)". Note the percentage of hands in the air and simply say to your
students, "I notice that approximately 60% of your hands are raised. Our goal
during the course of the year is to get to 100% - maybe not every time, but
close to it. We're learning how to listen when others are speaking." This
simple strategy will increase the students' awareness of how often and how
deeply they are listening to you or others when speaking. It also gives
students the confidence to know that when they speak, their voice will be
heard. This is tremendously important for creating an environment in which
students can feel safe to share their thoughts.
 Establish a Theme for Desired Behavior: If you say to the students that in
addition to listening to one another, we care for one another, then you have
established care as a theme or behavioral expectation. When a student is
disruptive you can ask them, "Are you showing care for what we're doing?"
Or, if a student misuses resources (i.e. leaves the cap off the marker or pens
so that the pen dries out), you can ask the student: "Are you showing care for
the tools we use in the classroom?" It's a gentle way of enforcing what you
value in your classroom: care for one another, care for the classroom
environment, and care for your resources.

11. Effective classroom management can be summed up in three words: firm, fair, and
friendly. Keep these in mind.
 Firmness implies strength, organization, resilience, and leadership, rather
than rigidity.
 Fairness implies equal respect for all kinds of learners and learning styles.
 Friendliness implies a readiness and joy of learning and association with
knowledge, engagement with the process, and appreciation of each other.

12. Lesson Plans are Scaffolds

 Another important tool that ensures successful classroom management is
effective lesson planning and scaffolding of curriculum material so that
students are engaged and challenged in class. Students who feel engaged
and motivated are much less likely to be disruptive or to stop paying attention
- if we take the time to ensure that they are motivated, students will want to
actively participate.
 Scaffolding, is associate with buildings - the structure outside that allows
workers to move around and construct the building. It is also a way of
providing these same workers with materials so that ropes and ladders can
haul building materials to higher and higher levels. Scaffold - a set of steps, a
structure, a set of tasks and expectations, a way of determining if we are on
the right track, and if the structure is sound and strong. In designing a lesson,
we should think about a scaffold. Is the project motivating? Will students want
to climb that ladder? Can the students see what this building will look like?
Are the directions clear so that students can imagine that they will be able to
climb that scaffold?
 Teachers provide a model of what the project should look like, enabling
students to feel that they can accomplish something similar themselves. Will
 students know where to find answers? Will they have to rely only on the
teacher, or can they rely on themselves, textbooks, each other, the Internet,
or outside experts? Will the scaffold design ensure some level of success?
 If the students are putting so much work into the project, they should feel
confident and competent about their efforts. Will their "building" look like the
model you presented? Will students be able to accomplish this task within a
reasonable amount of time?
Ways to use Scaffolds in an Instructional Setting
a. Advance organizers - Tools used to introduce new content and tasks:
Venn diagrams to compare and contrast information; flow charts to illustrate
processes; organizational charts to illustrate hierarchies; outlines that
represent content; mnemonics to assist recall; statements to situate the task
or content; rubrics that provide task expectations.
b. Cue Cards - Prepared cards given to individual or groups of students to
assist in their discussion about a particular topic or content area: Vocabulary
words to prepare for exams; content-specific stem sentences to complete;
formulae to associate with a problem; concepts to define.
c. Concept and mind maps - Maps that show relationships: Partially or
completed maps for students to complete; students create their own maps
based on their current knowledge of the task or concept.
d. Hints - Suggestions and clues to move students along: ―place your foot in
front of the other,‖ ―use the escape key,‖ ―find the subject of the verb,‖
―add the water first and then the acid.
e. Prompts - A physical or verbal cue to remind—to aid in recall of prior or
assumed knowledge. Physical: Body movements such as pointing, nodding
the head, eye blinking, foot tapping. Verbal: Words, statements and
questions such as ―Go,‖ ―Stop,‖ ―It’s right there,‖ ―Tell me now,‖
―What toolbar menu item would you press to insert an image?‖, ―Tell me
why the character acted that way.‖
f. Question Cards - Prepared cards with content- and task-specific questions
given to individuals or groups of students to ask each other pertinent
questions about a particular topic or content area.
g. Examples -Samples, specimens, illustrations, problems: Real objects;
illustrative problems used to represent something.
h. Explanations More detailed information to move students along on a task or
in their thinking of a concept: Written instructions for a task; verbal
explanation of how a process works.