Things That Affect Classroom Management

Classroom management is a key element to establish a successful learning environment in any classroom. Classroom management is the skill of organizing and managing the class, having a friendly, relaxed manner, and maintaining discipline. For a class to be able to learn effectively the teacher must be able to inspire confidence in the students. He/she must know when to be firm and when to leave the students alone. In other words, the teacher must be flexible and change his/her role according to the activity and situation without being dominant or leaving the students uncertain.

This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate SENA S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.

Eye Contact

First of all, good eye contact in the classroom is essential to establishing a good rapport with the students. We are aware that eye contact can convey messages. A teacher who never looks at students in the eye will appear to lack confidence and could have problems with discipline; on the other hand, staring at the students is not very productive either. A good teacher must know ‘How she/he can use eye contact in the classroom’.

Body Language

Good use of gestures, and the greater the variation of the voice, the greater the effectiveness. A dull monotone will only create boredom and lead to students not paying attention and misbehaving.

Also Read: The Benefits of a TEFL Certification for English Language Educators

Names

Using students’ names correctly in the classroom is as important as good eye contact. The name of a student should be used at the end of a question, not the start. This keeps the whole class alert, as they do not know who will have to answer.

Grouping

The other topic is grouping students in the classroom. There is no limit to the way a teacher can group students, though factors such as classroom furniture and class size can be problematic. Activities geared to the whole class, students working alone, pairs, and larger groups are appropriate and each has its place in the classroom. Also, students are often sensitive to the teacher’s position in the classroom and whether he/she is standing or sitting. If the teacher stands then he/she will be able to be seen by all students, move around the classroom and control the class. However, it can be tiring and make the students feel dominated. If the teacher sits, he/she is slightly relaxing control of the class, she/he can have his/her materials at hand and makes the classroom atmosphere feel more intimate. When monitoring students’ work, the teacher must try to do so without intruding and stopping at the flow. he/she must monitor at the start of the activity to check that they have understood, and again about halfway through to check on progress and pace.

Also Read: What does TEFL mean?

Turning Your Back

Unfortunately, there is no way the teacher can avoid turning his/her back to the students during board-work. There are, however, ways in which the teacher can reduce the amount of time he/she spends with his/her back to the class. They are:

• using an overhead projector if possible
• preparing cards with vocabulary-writing on the board whilst students are engaged on a different task
• inviting the student to write on the board for him/her
• having board work already up before the class starts.

Also Read: Useful Approach to Mixed-Ability Classrooms

Instructions

The other subject is giving instructions to students. A good teacher must know how to make the instructions effective. İt is important to use simple language and visual clues, being consistent when giving instructions. Finally, the teacher must monitor to see if they understand and follow the instructions correctly.

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Being a teacher is not an easy job and at times the teacher can find his/herself wanting to pull his/her hair out. Staying calm is very important in managing the classroom. Classroom management, when used correctly and effectively can help teachers maintain and control behaviors that may hinder learning for the class or a particular student, while at the same time maximizing behaviors that enhance learning for the students.

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