Basic Guidelines to Effective Classroom Management

No one area of their profession makes new teachers feel more unprepared and inadequate than the prospect of managing their classrooms, whether it be public school, college, or even online courses. There are no magic formulas to instantly acquire these skills, which, frankly can take a number of years to cultivate to a true level of effectiveness.

Three things that are necessary to become an effective classroom manager are:

• Common sense. Theories in textbooks are just that, theories. Rarely can they be applied verbatim to a real-life situation. New teachers should use what they learned in their education classes as a framework, but they should always be guided by their common sense reading of both the situation and its participants. No two students are alike and one student handled poorly can poison the whole classroom atmosphere.
• Fairness. Most new teachers have trouble accepting that it is simply human nature to like or to enjoy some students more than others. The real mark of professionalism is to be consistently fair with all students regardless of their personalities or the degree to which they present a problem in the classroom.

• Courage. No matter how young they may be, students can spot fear and trepidation in a teacher and they will use it to their maximum advantage. Most teachers will agree that in the beginning, the ability to run a bluff and to appear completely collected and in command of the classroom is essential.

Some practical steps to keeping the classroom environment organized will help.

• Be clear and precise with your assignments. Know what you want and make sure your students know what you want.

• Arrange the room effectively for traffic flow and good utilization of space. Make sure all the students can see and hear.

• Don't be hesitant to rearrange the setting or to move individual students, but try not to change the seating chart in an obvious, punitive way.

• Have a set of classroom rules. Discuss them on the first day of class and then post the rules prominently in the classroom.

When inappropriate behavior does occur, act quickly and minimize the interruption to instructional activity. Begin with eye contact and non-verbal signals before calling the student's name in a clear voice. Redirect bad behavior with a statement of something more appropriate. "Tom, would you look at the board? Everyone look at the board while Tom reads the first line."

Above all, praise good behavior and genuine accomplishment. Do not fall into the trap of being the kind of teacher who only interacts with students to deliver warnings or punishments. Teachers who create an atmosphere in which students want to please, rather than displease have the best handle on management principles.

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