Classroom Management Recommendations
“Educators can't wait weeks, months or years for effective classroom data. Strengthening the classroom experience begins with how you build lesson plans” (Lupoli, 2017, p. 20).
Becoming a new teacher can be terrifying and overwhelming. Rest assured that help is scripted here! Even though it appears that you must learn and do everything at once, catch a moment to pause. Read and acclimate with the resources below and notice which one expresses your immediate needs. Let the process unveil!
The following infographic was designed to provide support to novice educators. It based on the following:
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Grounded by the school's vision and mission goals. ​
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Culturally responsive management techniques based on the school's population.
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Social validity considerations to create effective classroom routines that address how the intervention will be handled and how the behavior function determines an effective behavior intervention plan accepted with parties involved.
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Cornelius (2015) recommends the use of Marzano’s Teaching Best Practices for virtual, blended, and classroom instruction:
1. Communicating assignments rules and procedures
“Clarifying your expectations is key to a smooth-running classroom, whether it’s traditional or virtual” (Cornelius, 2015, 1 section). Uncertainty can lead to confusion since the students cannot understand the teacher’s expectations. Therefore, following through when students willfully break the rules would prove that expectations are in place. Consequently, clearly defining the teacher’s expectations defines an effective learning atmosphere. It is recommended to spend the first weeks of school establishing these routines in place to minimize disruptions. Also, breaking up the expectations into manageable parts ensures students have a complete understanding of what is expected (Cornelius, 2015).
2. Providing students with all materials needed to complete an assignment
To accomplish activities and classwork, make sure students have easy access to materials. Having technology readily available promotes collaboration as well as a file of folders labeled to promote organizational skills. Cornelius (2015) also recommends developing a classroom website to post classroom resources and digital handouts on Google Drive. Creating a classroom blog for each assignment is an effective way to link handouts for downloading.
3. Articulating and presenting goals and objectives
To enable learning, educators should articulate clear goals with every task. Cornelius (2015) emphasizes the importance of establishing daily goals in addition to district-mandated learning goals and objectives. These objectives must be collaboratively established with the students in a way that is internalized. Adjusting those goals based on students’ responses and needs facilitates its successful implementation.
4. Providing positive feedback and encouragement to students
“Positive reinforcement is key to instilling a sense of confidence, self-worth, and motivation in children, but for some students, those kinds of interactions are hard to come by in their lives outside of school” (Cornelius, 2015, 4 section). A classroom is a safe place for some students, and without encouragement, students most likely withdraw and lose interest in learning. Maintaining high expectations is vital to encourage students to persevere when challenging tasks (Cornelius, 2015). Similarly, it is important to celebrate students’ successes even if those are minimal. Offering ongoing feedback and encouragement provides excellent results. These praises can be given immediately, a note later on, or an email to parents can be powerful to promote engagement.
5. Empowering students to manage their own learning progress
​“Ownership of learning is key to student achievement” (Cornelius, 2015, 5 section). When students take an active role in their learning, they tend to thrive academically. Having access to Canvas or any other learning management system promotes this self-assessment towards improvement. Cornelius (2015) recommends having frequent one-on-one student conferences to talk about progress and encourage academic growth.
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Differentiated Classroom Management Techniques
Effective classroom management is vital since it directly affects learners' ability to learn by creating an orderly learning environment that enhances competencies. It also impacts teachers to impart the lesson effectively that ultimately impacts students' academic success. The following infographic aims to provide strategic recommendations to teachers when conducting whole and small-group instruction and what to avoid to prevent or minimize undesired behavior.
In addition, Cornelius (2015) recommends the use of Marzano’s Teaching Best Practices for classroom instruction:
1. Accessibility communication both via email and face-to-face
As technology evolves, so does communication. Educators are urged to open all the modes of communication to students in various ways to advance common goals. Encourage students to communicate by an established schedule before and after school. As Cornelius (2015) discusses boundaries, “There’s nothing wrong with building rapport and personal relationships with your students, but it’s important to model appropriate communication and save those discussions for suitable times in the classroom” (Cornelius, 2015, 6 section).
2. Monitoring student’s progress
Monitoring students' work daily through informal assessments provides valuable information to determine the level of students’ performance along with formative and summative assessments. This way the educator gauge the level of students’ performance concerning goals and objectives (Cornelius, 2015). Some educators use exit tickets, short quizzes, portfolios containing students’ work to monitor students’ progress. These portfolios provide evidence of students’ performance when grading and during parent conferences. In addition, some districts use online LMS to share grades with parents and students virtually. Online core curriculum possesses this embedded system to provide immediate feedback to students and parents.
3. Permitting students advance through the assignments at their own pace
​“Allowing students to progress through curriculum at their own pace helps them get to know their own strength and weaknesses, which builds their sense of confidence as well as a willingness to persevere” (Cornelius, 2015, 9 section). Since students learn at a different pace, teachers can differentiate assignments during small group instruction in groups with similar ability levels. However, cooperative work entails creating mixed-ability work to balance the outcome. Technology facilitates the speed of the skills presented based on students’ performance and adjusts the lessons accordingly. This embedded feature self-paces the curriculum, but it is equally important to monitor the pace. Consequently, formative assessments provide educators the information needed to monitor students’ progress.
Further Recommendations
Cornelius (2015) recommends incorporating, “I do, we do, you do” gradual release of responsibilities to learning. Flipped learning has been widely implemented with the advance of technology and previewing the lesson beforehand to acquire some skills and returning to class to deepen the knowledge. One of the challenges to effective teaching is time constraints and the demands of meeting benchmarks assessments while the students haven’t yet acquired all the skills to prepare them for such challenges.
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Since classroom management can positively affect student achievement, it is imperative to adhere to the following recommendations. Furthermore, teacher self-awareness and monitor performance based on students' outcomes equips the educator to self-regulate and adapt lessons accordingly.
Continued administrative support is key to build a sense of unity, reinforcing the school's culture, and create a strong and adequate learning environment.
