This is a guest post contributed by Dr. Alva Perry, Literacy Specialist at Scholastic.
Classroom management is often top of mind as teachers prepare for the upcoming school year. For new educators, it presents an opportunity to master building routines, manage time effectively, and discover the best methods to cultivate a positive learning community.
As a follow-up to the first post in this "Supporting New Teacher Success" series, we will demonstrate how teachers can strategize, develop, and refine their management style to significantly impact class operations and culture within the classroom. Knowing how to navigate and approach classroom management is a critical first step, and with the right strategies, managing the classroom can be a rewarding aspect of teaching.
Starting with intention
Classroom management begins with creating a class community that cherishes and acknowledges everyone's experiences and perspectives, recognizing the unique value each person brings to the classroom. The Centre for Teaching and Learning underscores that building class community with intentionality is the groundwork for effective management throughout the year. Teachers need to consider the types of learners, the learning environment, and the personalities that form a class community when developing a purposeful plan. This can seem challenging for new teachers; however, Scholastic is launching a yearlong virtual professional learning series to assist beginning educators called the Foundations of Teaching Excellence. This resource provides tools that help teachers build relationships and establish strong teacher-student partnerships using three critical tenets:
- Caring – when we as teachers care, we are investing in students' interests, encouraging their talents, and celebrating their successes through belief and affirmation.
- Communication is key, as teachers should be open, clear, and employ methods that facilitate student learning and help them overcome obstacles.
- Consistency as a teacher is crucial because students thrive in structured environments where expectations and routines are predictable and reliable. This stability supports their academic and social development.
Managing Effectively
There are various classroom management approaches available for teachers to adopt within their class settings. Regardless of which approach or style, effective management is critical to seeing positive results in the classroom. Managing the classroom effectively involves planning, organization, self-awareness, and flexibility. In the Foundations of Teaching Excellence professional learning series,new teachers can explore strategies for embedding these components into their classroom management plans through the three lenses:
Classroom Routines
Establishing routines within the classroom results in benefits such as increased student engagement, teacher effectiveness, and task efficiency. Monaghan and Thomas (2012) reported that administrative tasks such as attendance and task management consume approximately 20% of class time.Therefore, it is crucial to establish expectations and guidelines clearly to optimize learning opportunities. Clearly statingand modeling expectations, alongside providing visual cues for reference, can greatly benefit students. Additionally, presenting non-examples can help students distinguish between desired and undesired behaviors, reinforcing their understanding of expectations.
Self-regulation
Teaching students how to self-regulate is a powerful strategy for classroom management. When students manage their own behavior, they are empowered to become independent learners and skilled problem-solvers within their learning environment. Additionally, teachers can employ goal setting as a strategy to help foster this skill. By collaboratively identifying a self-regulation goal, such as refraining from blurting out in class, and guiding students to track and monitor their progress, they become more aware of their behavior and can work to address it over time.
Managing Time
While managing time in the classroom can be challenging, it is an important skill that teachers will need tocreate opportunities for student engagement and learningproficiency. One way that teachers can improve time management is by focusing ontransition time. The frequency of transitions throughout the school day varies depending on grade level and daily schedule, but typically, it ranges from 5 to 6. Therefore, efficient use of transition time is critical in maximizing learning opportunities. One suggestion we explore in the Foundations of Teaching Excellence learning series is to conduct a class-time self-audit to make use of efficient transitions. Afterall, researchers found that reducing transitions 10 seconds increased reading comprehension scores by 0.5.
Managing the classroom effectively is critical to developing a positive learning environment that ensures students can excel academically, socially, and emotionally. When teachers set clear expectations, build strong relationships, and maintain consistent routines, they create an environment where learning can thrive. A well-managed classroom gives teachers the tools to meet diverse needs effectively, ensuring every student can achieve their best. Investing in effective classroom management isn't just about students—it's about supporting both students and teachers in their journey towards success and well-being.
Product Description
The Foundations of Teaching Excellence is a professional development learning course designed to set new teachers up for success with an immersive series that builds fundamental teaching skills. Through this course, educators will learn the three most important skills new teachers need for continued success: best practices for building strong relationships, time-maximizing strategies for classroom management, and structures that assist with workloads and developing healthy habits. Click the link to learn more about training and resources for new teachers.
Dr. Alva Perry, Literacy Specialist at Scholastic
Dr. Perry is a Literacy Specialist who provides instructional support in the PacWest Region. She has 13 years of classroom experience and 7 years of leadership experience in elementary schools. She has a Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership and a master's degree in teaching and Curriculum. Before joining Scholastic, Inc. Alva was a curriculum specialist in Compton Unified School District and a site administrator in a charter school network in South Los Angeles. Her expertise is in classroom management and data analysis. She enjoys collaborating with teachers and empowering them to be the agents of support students need for learning success.
