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Classroom teachers who take a personal interest in students, enjoy their subject areas and make instruction interesting have fewer classroom management problems.
Students come to school with personal concerns about their homes, peers, personal development, moral and ethical issues, part-time jobs, peer groups, acceptance, careers and how they are doing in school. Classroom teachers who are professionally accessible, active listeners and responsible in their recommendations quickly earn reputations for caring about students’ lives as well as their own content areas. Classroom teachers who are misguided into believing that they are there “just to teach math” will inevitably have classroom management problems and never understand why. Care about kids during instruction.
I recently asked my undergraduate classroom management students to ask the middle school students they were observing what they liked about their teachers. They got some great answers. The names have been changed, of course.
1. Clarity.
The teachers routinely start the session with a clear introduction to the goals and structure of the session. This is the power of a clear and organized session opening. When students are told what they are expected to learn, what activities will occur in the session, and how they are expected to behave, then “cooperative” students can help move slower or more difficult students through the lesson and activities. The “good” students know what is coming and provide examples. “Mr. Allen has a sign outside his room everyday that tells us what to bring to class. The outline for the goals of each class is in the same place on the board. We remind each other, at our lockers, what we need for class. In other classes, the same students are always asking to go to their lockers for things they need or forgot.”
2. Learning Opportunities Other Than Listening.
Sessions are made up of activities. When students are actively engaged they pay attention. They can only sit and listen for so long each day. Sitting and listening quickly becomes moving and messing around! “Mr. Powell makes science so interesting and fun. We are always doing experiments that have everyone curious. He uses digital cameras, the Internet, laptops, and DVDs. He records Discovery Channel and TV shows that relate to what we are doing. We do the stuff, not just him.”
3. Enthusiasm.
Nothing is more engaging than enthusiasm. Sometimes this is genuine. Sometimes, it is professionally delivered late in the day when you least feel like it. When well-placed during a session opening or during the beginning of activities, genuine enthusiasm reduces problems. Mr. Glockner was the best math teacher I ever had. He loved math and he loved sharing his interest in math with us. He would start even the most boring topic with something like, “I am so excited about the number zero that I may not be able to finish class without needing a glass of water!”
4. Explaining Until Understanding is Achieved.
Effective teachers “visually scan” the classroom constantly in search of confusion and misunderstanding. Seeing these signals, effective teachers will stop, re-teach and review. The signs of understanding are unmistakable. Students smile. They nod their heads. Half the room needed the review anyway. “Mrs. Kettlewell seems to always know when we don’t understand. She will slow down and say something like, 'I may not have been a clear on this as I could have been. Lets try it again.’ We always appreciated the second chance to learn it.”
5. Task Orientation.
Sessions are usually 50 minutes long. How much of the 50 minutes is fully engaged time on task? Efficient session openings, short transitions between activities, minimal time spent on problems, efficient material hand-out and collection procedures, organized closings all improve time on task. They control teachers, who are easily distracted by well-planned student interruptions. Circulating around the room during seat work gives the teacher an opportunity to see who is engaged and who is fooling around. Students, who are deliberately trying to reduce what they have to do, often purposefully distract the class and the teacher. “In other classes, the students enjoyed distracting the teacher at the start of class. But in here, we know better. Mr. Johnson has a way he starts the class and we know itis time to start. If we get on to another topic, it is only late in the class when the work is done.”
6. Multiple Levels of Discourse.
Effective teachers learn to use increasingly simple terms as they explain something. They usually start with the vocabulary of the discipline and sensing confusion they shift to similes, analogies, metaphors, examples and personal stories. “ Mr. Addison makes it easy to learn. He makes sure we understand the words he is using in an explanation. He gives great examples and uses words we understand to get harder ones.”
7. Use of Student Ideas.
Students can often explain a complicated concept to each other using their own language and examples. Inviting students’ ideas during discussions and problem solving sessions makes them feel more involved and valued. “We get to ask questions in here. Mrs. Weller lets us explain things to each other and work in teams to learn stuff.”
8. Supportive and Noncritical.
This is often the best reflection of the teacher’s basic personality and love of the age group they are teaching. If a teacher likes the age level they are teaching, they will not be inclined to embarrass or insult them. They will be patient and considering of questions and curiosities. “ In this class, you can make a mistake or guess at something and not feel stupid. If we are close with an answer, we are not wrong. He tells us we are close and moves to another student.”
9. Asking Interesting Questions.
A teacher who loves their content area takes the time to discover the fascinating and creative topics and curiosities. Effective teachers often start sessions with what seem to be puzzles or challenges. These high-interest questions stimulate creative thinking and are just plain fun. “Mr. Miller is the best. He always starts class with some problem that seems unsolvable. We come in and it’s on the board.”
Dr. Douglas Brooks is a Professor in the School of Education, Health and Society at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in classroom management. He is the Director of Partners In Learning.
 POSTED ON HOTCHALK
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