Effective Classroom Management 101

Managing your Classroom is the Key
to Creating a Learning Environment

It is telling that so much is written about effective classroom management...nearly as much about managing students as how to teach them!

It is undoubtedly the issue that will make or break the effectiveness of a teacher, because the bottom line is, if you can't maintain order in your classroom, the children won't be able to learn.

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A teacher can approach room management in
four different ways:

1. The "I give up" model
2. The bribery model
3. The command-and-control model
4. The classroom-community model

I go into great depth on each of these teaching styles in the effective classroom management foundations article.

And continuing with the construction metaphor, the foundations of effective classroom management rest on the solid ground of the classroom climate that you establish and maintain in your room.

If a climate of "focused, fun and safe" sounds appealing (and almost stress-free) you'll find that you CAN create this little utopia. It does take hard work, especially up front, but the payoff is dramatic.

Motivation and jobs

Classroom motivation can be achieved by any teacher. But...and I'm going to sound like a football coach here...you have to believe that you can do it...that you can have a room full of kids who really want to be there every day and who really want to dive into the learning you present.

Because the bottom line is that you CAN create this motivation by understanding that kids are just small humans, and they respond to the same motivations that adults do...that you do. I'll give you plenty of examples to get you started.

Classroom jobs play a small but significant role in room management. They are not truly necessary to keep the classroom running efficiently, but they provide an important way for students to invest in the community you have created.

When people, including kids, invest in anything, they begin to feel protective of it and much more willing to make it work.

Awards and classroom community

I truly feel that any beginning teacher needs a full and honest consideration of the roll that classroom awards play in classroom management.

Classroom awards and rewards are a controversial topic. Many teachers dispense candy like a vending machine to obtain the behavior they want. And it can kind of work. But if you want truly good behavior, I think I can convince you that candy and other treats have no place in your classroom.

You can achieve great behavior using the exact things that make you want to perform at your highest level: Simply noticing good behavior and rewarding it with heartfelt, specific praise.

Gathering the children on the floor for a read-aloud is time-tested way to encourage classroom community, no matter what book you read. But reading classroom community books specifically designed to highlight certain issues is the key - that makes books into effective classroom management resources that will magnify your impact on behavior. This list will get you started.

Betsy's Tips: Managing Personal Whiteboards

No matter what efforts you expend to build up your classroom team, allowing any tattling can quickly erode your community. But there is a fine line between inappropriate tattling and appropriate telling (for safety and other issues); learning how to teach the difference is important, as are methods for handling chronic tattlers.

And speaking of community, getting your students to quickly calm down after lunch recess is a key daily factor in promoting cohesive and purposeful learning. It's all about the tansition...I go through it step-by-step.

Classroom Management Resources & Articles

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