When students are disruptive in class, it makes it difficult to teach. Disruptive students means less time teaching and more time correcting behavior. Classroom management is important in order to make sure that students feel comfortable in class and are able to receive the best education possible. A lot of times there are things to do to prevent disruptive behavior in the classroom. This article will show you the top seven strategies in classroom management to prevent disruptive behaviors.
Build relationships with your students
An effective method of classroom behavior management is getting to know your students. Building relationships with your students will build trust and respect. Students are more likely to respect the teacher's authority and behave in the classroom when there is a relationship built with the teacher. You can do this by greeting your students everyday and incorporating fun activities where both teacher and students can learn more about each other.
Build a classroom that respects your relationships
Once you have built a relationship with your students, create a classroom that allows the relationship to prosper. In order to receive respect from your students, your students also need to feel respected. Allow your students to give feedback about the classroom and to present ideas on how they can make the class better. Allowing students to collaborate in their learning makes them feel respected and in turn lessens the potential for disruptive behavior.
Make sure students understand the why behind your rules
As a teacher, you are going to have to make rules in your classroom. Sometimes your students are not going to like these rules, which could lead to disruptive behavior. To prevent disruptive behavior, make sure to explain why that rule exists. Sometimes students have a hard time understanding why certain rules are in place. By explaining the why behind your rules, students are more likely to be understanding and follow the rules. Having open communication with students allows them the opportunity to choose to respect you and your rules in the classroom.
Notice the good things that happen in your classroom
If students are only ever being spoken to about bad behavior, it makes it hard to want to behave in the classroom. Acknowledging good behavior or successes within your classrooms gives students a reason to behave. For students that need the external motivation to behave, noticing good behavior will help prevent future disruptive behaviors in the classroom. There are many ways to notice good things happening in the classroom, from something as simple as saying “good job” to throwing an end of the year pizza party. Students work hard, and their hard work deserves to be acknowledged.
Have clear expectations about behavior in your classroom
In order to expect good behavior in your classroom, it is important to set those expectations with your students. Students can not be expected to behave well without clear expectations of what good behavior looks like. Classroom rules are unique to each classroom, therefore it is important to go over your classroom expectations with the students at the beginning of the school year.
- Establish rules - create your classroom rules and make sure that they are understood by your students. It could be beneficial to have these rules displayed in your classroom so that they can be referenced throughout the year.
- Create consequences - If rules are not being followed, you will need consequences in place. Make sure that these are reasonable consequences and are fair for the rule that was broken. For example, a consequence might be to have to stay an extra minute for break or maybe lose out on a classroom reward.
- Be consistent - consistency is essential to earn the respect of students and have them listen to your rules. Without consistency, students will not think that the rules are important to follow. As well, without receiving discipline, the students will think that they can get away with disruptive behavior and it will continue in your classroom.
- Form routines - Forming routines will help with expectations and consistency. With routines, students know what they are supposed to be doing and when. Routines prevent unnecessary downtime and will help with classroom behavior management. By having routines in place, students will not have time to goof off and get out of hand.
Have a seating chart
Students' behavior is often determined by who they are sitting next to. A seating chart will be helpful in classroom management. There are many ways to go about creating a seating chart that might work for your classroom. Are your students extra talkative? It might help to strategically make a seating chart where quiet students are sitting next to talkative students to hopefully lessen the talking in class. You can also allow your students to choose their own seating and establish if they do not behave in these seats, then you will create a new seating chart. There are many ways to create seating charts, make sure to take your classroom's needs into consideration when making one.
Use reward systems
Another helpful way to manage classroom behavior is to have a reward system in place. A reward system allows you to reward good behavior and the loss of a reward could be a potential consequence to disruptive behavior. There are many ways to have rewards in place in your classroom. They can be simple or extra creative. With a reward system in place, students are having fun behaving in class and are motivated to do so.
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