Teaching is not about control but rather the ability of the instructor to work with students to help them grow and succeed. For this reason, teachers should strive to have a bond with the student because such a relationship will cultivate academic success. Classroom management is a quintessential part of teaching and learning that takes minutes but years to master and apply. The sole purposes of classroom management are helping students engage in meaningful learning as well as enhancing their moral and social growth. This is because the activity goes beyond the recommended behavioral management techniques, which is why teachers should nurture a supportive relationship with students by implementing instruction in a way that optimizes their access to academic knowledge.
Classroom Problems
Back et al. (2016) acknowledge indiscipline as one of the major hindrances to effective classroom management and the learning process in general. Skiba et al. (2016) agree by adding that the teacher, knowingly or unknowingly, contributes to indiscipline in the classroom. For instance, students coming late for lessons or not coming to class at all could be as a result of the lesson being uninteresting. One of the reasons for this could be the teacher's fault of not making lesson plans ahead of the class. Additionally, some of the other factors that the teacher may have overlooked include communication skills, non-verbal cues, and body language, as well as time management. Failure to do so results in indiscipline. While this is the case, Back et al. also list some of the techniques that can be used to overcome classroom management problems, and they include preparedness on the teacher's part, being creative, motivating students, and providing a conducive learning environment. What is more, the teacher should bring personal problems into the classroom as it may result in impulsive and emotional decisions and unnecessary altercations with the students.
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Applicable Techniques
There are a few techniques that a teacher can use to ensure proper classroom management. For instance, the teacher should focus their attention on all students and should talk over their chatter but should instruct them to be quiet (Kennedy et al., 2017). The students should always have an idea of what is going on in the classroom, and the teacher should closely monitor them to check on their progress. While affirming that, Kennedy et al. and Voss et al. (2017) agree that the teacher should move freely inside the classroom because doing so helps in monitoring of all students as well as giving nonverbal cues. Voss et al., in particular, highlighted three major techniques that can be used for better classroom control, which are with-it-ness, ripple effect, and teaching model classroom behavior.
With-it-ness
This refers to the teacher's awareness of the various behaviors of students in the classroom before they get out of control. Such apprehension helps the teacher in keeping the students busy. Skiba et al. emphasize the essence of knowing what is going on in the class at all times, as it will help the teacher to think swiftly and solve any arising issue quickly and amicably. Voss et al. agree by adding that teacher who has mastered with-it-ness can easily identify areas where mischief is likely to occur and correct the issue before it gets out of hand. Moreover, teachers can spot the areas of opposition, or where students get easily upset and calm them down before any situation escalates. In doing so, the teacher maintains a peaceful classroom environment at all times.
Ripple Effect
In their research, Back et al. created the ripple effect idea by stating that is one student does a positive thing and is rewarded; the rest of the class is likely to follow suit. Conversely, if one student misbehaves and goes unpunished, the rest of the classmates are likely to imitate the behavior since there are no recursions. That is the ripple effect. The teacher, therefore, should strive to manage students' behavior positively because they learn from the experience of others around them.
Teaching Model Classroom Behavior
Kennedy et al. (2017) believe that teachers are solely responsible for teaching and modeling classroom behavior. When they do so, the students will know what is acceptable in class and what is not. The teacher should thus set the classroom rules and regulations that ought to be followed to the latter and should be extremely strict by punishing the students who fail to follow them. Consequently, students will be disciplined once they see the consequences of indiscipline in action. Nevertheless, the teacher should also focus on what causes indiscipline, which, according to Skiba et al., is the failure to meet students' basic needs. Back et al. attribute students' behavior to the choice theory whereby human behavior is purposeful. In their work, the researchers focused on the needs of the student and stated that students have the right to be taught in an organized and calm environment, which the teacher should provide first before stating their rules.
Conclusion
The role of the teacher is not to control the students but to help them reach the highest level of academic achievement. While this is the case, such achievements cannot take place unless the classroom environment is conducive for learning. Classroom management, therefore, should be aligned towards a mutual student-teacher relationship that harbors success as well as alignment to the set goals and class activities. Some of the classroom management techniques include with-it-ness, ripple effect, and teaching model classroom behavior. Utilizing the techniques will aid in engaging students better in academic tasks, enhancing the development of social skills, and utilizing appropriate interventional methods to curb mischievous behavior in the classroom.
References
Back, L. T., Polk, E., Keys, C. B., & Mcmahon, S. D. (2016). Classroom Management, School Staff Relations, School Climate, and Academic Achievement: Testing a Model with Urban High Schools. Learning Environments Research , 19 (3), 397-410.
Kennedy, M. J., Hirsch, S. E., Rodgers, W. J., Bruce, A., & Lloyd, J. W. (2017). Supporting High School Teachers' Implementation of Evidence-Based Classroom Management Practices. Teaching and Teacher Education , 63 , 47-57.
Skiba, R., Ormiston, H., Martinez, S., & Cummings, J. (2016). Teaching the Social Curriculum: Classroom Management as Behavioral Instruction. Theory into Practice , 55 (2), 120-128.
Voss, T., Wagner, W., Klusmann, U., Trautwein, U., & Kunter, M. (2017). Changes in Beginning Teachers’ Classroom Management Knowledge and Emotional Exhaustion during the Induction Phase. Contemporary Educational Psychology , 51 , 170-184.
