You enter a classroom as a teacher. Few minutes into your teaching, students in the backseat of the classroom start chattering. You caution them, but they ignore you. They stop chatting for a while; when you think decorum is being restored again, they continue to chatter. As you are still addressing the misdemeanor, certain students leave the class without permission. You seem helpless as you cannot handle the pressure of managing your class properly. You watch helplessly as you see your students chatting and disregarding your presence. When you issue some sanctions, the misdemeanor drastically reduces, but only for a while.
The imagination of the above scenario will frighten any teacher. The incidents described above vividly explain what a mismanaged class looks like – the chaos, the indiscipline, and the teacher’s frustration.
Nevertheless, an effective teacher is one who is most likely immune to experiencing the above scenario. An effective teacher’s qualities include the ability to develop relationships with their students, a patient and kind personality, and engaging students in learning.
What are the Features of a Well-Managed Classroom?
Turning out to be a good manager of a classroom implies that you are aware of a well-managed classroom’s characteristics. What makes a classroom an efficiently managed one?
- Lucid Expectations. Students in an efficiently managed classroom are aware of what is expected. Students are always conscious of the teacher’s rules, boundaries, and demands in a well-managed classroom. Such students are often successful.
- Worthwhile Environment. Students feel comfortable asking questions without feeling discouraged. The classroom learning is also stress-free, thereby encouraging productivity and efficient workflow.
- Strict discipline. A well-managed classroom is one where the students are aware of the teacher’s boundaries and rules, and they respect such rules. There are normative guidelines for the class which guarantee the students’firm discipline.
Why is Having a Well-Managed Classroom Germane to a Teacher’s Success?
Being able to effectively manage a class is vital to a teacher’s professional career growth for lots of reasons. Educators need critical skills such as being able to manage their classrooms as it makes their job performance exception. And there are several curated courses that can help teachers and educators alike to have the necessary skills for the excellent preparation of their students.
Having a well-managed classroom is crucial for a lot of reasons:
- It ensures productive teaching. A well-managed classroom provides a platform for the knowledge you teach to be truly imparted to students.
- Lesser misdemeanor by students. A well-managed classroom implies that you have lesser misbehavior exhibited by students. This will not only increase the success level of your students but will also increase your fulfillment as a teacher.
- It leads to a consistent culture. Research studies observe that students generally thrive on predictability. Managing a classroom well makes you predictable as a teacher. In the long run, your students will be familiar with your style, which will improve their success.
- It promotes a mentally healthy learning environment. In a well-managed classroom, there is less display of ill behavior among students. This has a way of improving your mental health as a teacher. Invariably, a positive learning environment improves your mental health and also that of your students.
The Key Strategies for Proficiently Managing a Classroom:
Undoubtedly, having a well-managed classroom is a plus for you as a teacher. It has various advantages. However, managing a classroom efficiently has become a herculean task for many. Most teachers, especially the one new breed, find it to manage a class effectively. Some of the reasons for this failure are:
- Slow adaptability to the teaching job.
- Being bereft of ideas.
- Lack of experience on the job.
- Non-establishment of boundaries.
Luckily for this set of teachers, and the ones seeking to have a more efficiently managed classroom. There are key strategies for achieving this:
- Demonstrate quintessential behavior. As a teacher, you should model the exemplary behavior you expect from students.
- Formalize classroom rules. From strict rules relating to talking in class to rules such as taking permission to the bathroom. It should all be formalized.
- Establish a positive relationship with your students outside the classroom by reaching out to them and their parents through emails, phone calls, and letters.
- Encourage peer tutoring. You can set up a learning strategy in the class where the academically advantaged students teach the academically challenged ones.
- Have a predictable schedule. As a teacher, you should have a regular schedule to establish certain predictability with your students.
- Enroll in the ‘Well-Managed Class’ course. As a teacher concerned about professionalism and career advancement, you should be intentional about your growth. For this reason, you can leverage available learning programs that will help you become more efficient in managing classrooms. These learning programs offer courses that provide PD credits and CEUs. Interestingly, these CEUs are significant to career advancement. ECRED offers a curated course – The Well Managed Class, which is accredited and offers four CEUs. You should enroll in the aforementioned course if you are intentional about effectively managing your classroom.
Having a well-managed class makes you an effective teacher. Nevertheless, you can become a more effective and successful teacher by becoming more creative and creating a positive learning environment. This can easily be achieved by simply enrolling in Lumos Learning courses. Our nationally accredited courses are aimed at teaching you research-proven methods to improve your school culture and climate. Are you interested in becoming a better and more successful teacher? Find out more about our courses
