Classroom

Management
By Jeff Sudmyer and Maureen Cohen

Overarching Idea:
Effective classroom management derives from a
variety of strategies, many of which are not
commonly associated with mere discipline, and aim
at defusing conflict and misbehavior before they
arise.
Moreover, a rationale regarding classroom
management ought to permeate and underlie every
facet of teaching, from lesson planning to
instruction to assessment.
There is nosilver bullet, for this is a dynamic,
continuous process.

Establish, rehearse, and

consistently enforce clear rules,
routines, and procedures.
Seating Arrange the desks to
The beginning of the year
is critical. You must
establish clear routines and
procedures for a whole host
of behaviors
You must explicitly teach,
demonstrate, and
rehearse these
procedures. Do not simply
read a list teach, explain,
and clarify your rules and
procedures like you would
academic material.
Consistently enforce your
rules. Often, for discipline to
be effective, it must be
meted out quickly.

facilitate teacher movement to all

areas of the room.

Establish a stable/consistent
location for supplies: markers,
blank paper, etc.
Establish office hours during
which students may seek extra
help. Build this into your schedule
and do not allow other
commitments to interfere with this
time.
Phrase rules and procedures as
expectations. Phrase them in
the positive do rather than
dont.

Consciously and deliberately build

relationships with students.
Developing a rapport with students could be the most critical factor in
how successfully you manage them.
Greet them at the door.
Weekend check-in.
Ask bonus questions about something outside of school or academics.
Chat with them in the halls, cafeteria,
Say good-bye as they leave, again chat with them.
Overall, the point is to demonstrate that
(1) you are a human being,
(2) that as a fellow human being you value each student as an
individual.
Build these opportunities into your weekly routines and habits.
The larger objective here is to convince students that youre their
advocate.

Use your body and other subtle

cues to communicate with the class.
Vary tone of voice
Envelope the room
Bare down on them, monitor before you rove from group
to group
Point your body at them, walk towards them if disruptive,
stand near them
Speak slowly, wait them out
Glare
Walk away from the student you call on
Move about the room, do not become anchored to one
position
Project authority, which often involves maintaining a high
energy level
With-it-ness be alert and acutely aware of whats going
on in your classroom. Address misbehavior the first time
it occurs and move on.
If you must discipline an individual student, try and do it
quietly, calmly, and privately.

Explicitly teach them how to

behave.

Demonstrate for them how group work should look

and sound. Develop criteria with them and grade
them on it. (And give group grades.)
Require a group to move their desks together, but to
spread far apart from other groups. Use the entire
room.
Q.T. Quiet Time.
Use a class participation grading rubric.
Go over the agenda, and tell them,
Your job while we do this will be . . .
Arrange students in heterogeneous groups. The
more diligent students will have an uplifting effect
on others.

Praise, praise, praise.

Direct their attention to good
behavior. You see this? This is how it should
look.
Make positive calls home.
Pull them aside after class and thank them.
High five, fist bump?
Photocopy exemplars and share with class.
Display student work in the classroom. It
helps establish a sense of ownership for
students.

Plan engaging lessons and assess

students in a way that is demanding
but fair reward effort.
Research indicates that
students will be motivated
to work in classes where
they feel challenged to
meet an attainable goal.
Without either component
a challenge or the
expectation that with
some hard work the
objective can be achieved
students will disengage
and misbehave.
Correct and return work
quickly.
Do not ask students to sit
and absorb information for
extended periods of time.
If you treat them that way,
they will resist and rebel.

 Devise lessons that

involve student centered
activities and student
creation of knowledge. Ask
their opinion. Most
importantly, plan lessons
that integrate a number of
activities.
Think about giving
instructions ahead of time.
Give 3-step, written
instructions.
Modeling Use guided
practice. Complete a
problem or answer a
question together as a
class so that students
clearly understand how to
approach the task at hand.

Apply some forethought to how

you can most efficiently
transition
between activities.
Transition between
activities can often result
in a disruption. For
instance, if you begin class
with a warm-up, distribute
new materials or pass
back papers at this time.
Ask students to pass
papers in at the end of
class
Demand their attention..
Put your pens and pencils
down, and look at me.

Give clear instructions

possibly in writing and use a
magic word. That is: Im
going to give you instructions.
Dont move until I say the
magic word Faction!
Over-preparation Prepare an
extra reading in case a lesson
runs quicker than expected or
students are unusually unruly.
Pacing Do not slow down.
Keep the class moving quickly
from one activity to the next.
Lulls in the action invite
misbehavior. (Que-up the
video ahead of time, have
your transparencies nearby,
etc.)

Apply some forethought to how you can

most efficiently transition between
Interruptions Do not reveal your frustration. It signals to
activities.
students thatContd.
the focus of the room has been broken and will
derail the class. Acknowledge it, review, and move on.

Distributing materials Distribute in packets, it cuts down on

time. Put them on a chair near the door for students to pick up
on their way in. Assign students to distributing supplies:
markers, poster paper, etc. Train them on this.
Post an agenda and refer to it. Give them estimates for how
much time you will spend on each activity
Save business items for the end of class. The beginning is
sacred it sets the tone for the rest of the period.
Think about how much instructional time
you save/waste if you
could be slightly more efficient
with transitions.
6 minutes/day X 4 or 5 classes a week
=25-30 minutes.
This is significant.

Some final thoughts.

Student behavior is a communication can you
interpret and decode it? (When they stop behaving
this way and actually vocalize whats going on, we
call them adults.)
Students are remarkably resilient. Each day affords a
fresh start.
If you are at your wits end, be sure to communicate
with others: call home, talk to the students other
teachers, consult an administrator.
Maintain high standards for your own behavior and
appearance. (dress, behavior, language, etc.)
Observe other teachers as often as possible. There is
a wealth of experience and strategies in this school.