Teach English in Wuheng XiAng - Anqing Shi

Managing a ClassroomTo maintain an organized, fun, and educational class is almost always a teacher?s biggest challenge. Unfortunately, the only way any teacher can overcome this challenge is to be presented with it repeatedly; to learn from previous mistakes and to improve upon them. A constant trial and error is necessary for a teacher to gain control within a classroom so that it is an ideal learning environment. First and foremost, if a teacher strives for respectful students, (s) he needs to establish the rules of the classroom right off the bat. Once the rules have been established, the teacher must enforce all the rules and be consistent with how each one is dealt with. Teachers must not introduce a rule that they do not believe is realistic because once one rule is broken and the offender is not punished accordingly, other students may start questioning how tangible the other rules are. It is also always helpful to have an organized lesson plan for each day. If the activities are transitioned smoothly one after another, there is less time for students to fool around and disrupt the classroom dynamic. Over-planning can also be helpful in these scenarios. For lesson plans, it is essential to give clear and simple instructions and to be prepared. Have all the necessary materials for the lesson in easy to reach areas and always check the materials before use. For example, check markers before bringing them into the classroom and check electronics before the class starts. This will minimize set up time during the class and give fewer opportunities for students to be distracted when the teacher is preoccupied with something other than the students. Another tip is to choose carefully when, and under what circumstance, to acknowledge individual students. If one particular student is misbehaving, do not make an enormous effort to correct their actions if it is going to interrupt an activity for other students. Saying the misbehaving student?s name or using a hand gesture should suffice in those scenarios. It may also be beneficial to acknowledge how well behaved other students are; both to take away the attention from the disruptive student and to let the rest of the class know what kind of behavior you are expecting from them. And although this may not be the root of the problems of an unruly class or the key to the ideal one, a classroom?s setup can affect a teacher?s ability to manage a classroom as well. Students must be able to easily see the teacher without much effort and vice versa. Teachers should be able to see all the students clearly and be able to pinpoint which students are paying attention and which aren?t. Finally, it is never a bad idea to ask for advice from veteran teachers. Teachers with previous experience have already experimented with many different ways in their own classes to manage them. Most likely, they have already found a couple of sure fire techniques that are able to round in a rowdy class and would be more than happy to share tips with new teachers. With all the veteran teachers in each school, there is bound to be methods that are suitable for almost all scenarios that can occur within a classroom. If not, new teachers can pick a method that is the closest and evolve it to fit their classroom situation. Before new teachers will know it, they will be creating their own solutions for their classrooms and future teachers will be asking them for advice. No matter how intimidating a classroom can be, teachers just need to be confident with their lesson plans and have fun with the challenges that come up. On that note, good luck to all teachers and know that managing a classroom will become easier in no time! Works Cited 1. Churchward, Budd. 2009. Four Steps for Better Classroom Discipline. June 30, 2012. 2. ITTT Unit 5 Lesson 3. Kizlik, Bob. 2012. Classroom Management, Management of Student Conduct, Effective Praise Guidelines, and a Few Things to Know About ESOL Thrown in for Good Measure. July 2, 2012.