8 Effective Classroom Management Strategies, your classroom will be more different

Capture Students’ Attention to Quiet the Classroom

• Try doing nothing at first. Stand quietly, completely calm. The nearest students will notice, and gradually, others will too. Allow one or two minutes of quiet before starting the lesson.
• Avoid shouting! If the classroom remains noisy, resist the urge to shout “quiet!” Instead, engage in quiet conversation with a few students who seem ready to listen.
• Harness human curiosity. Sometimes, speaking softly is a good idea! Humans are naturally curious and don’t want to miss out. Speak quietly with students nearest to you, and many others will stop talking to listen.
• Assign a task beforehand. Give students something to do before class starts. Hand out tasks on paper or write them on the board.
• Don’t interpret student chaos as disrespect. It’s a natural human trait, unless there’s something noteworthy happening.

Manage Distractions

• Acknowledge that you’re also distracted. Ignoring the source of distractions during class leads to more harm than good, as most students’ attention is already disrupted. They might be paying attention to how you’ll react rather than focusing on what you’re saying or doing.
• Recognize that some distractions are unavoidable. In such cases, avoid criticizing or embarrassing the students causing the distraction.
• Be patient with interruptions. When interrupted by colleagues or other teachers, be especially careful, even if the interruption is unwelcome and not urgent. Address them quietly and avoid showing any impatience in front of students.
• Turn distractions into positive learning experiences. If possible, find something valuable to learn from the distractions caused by students. The more students feel their distractions are acknowledged, the more they’ll try to avoid unnecessary disruptions.
• Consider the proximity to disruptive students. Stand closer to students causing disruptions. Being near them has a greater impact than standing at the other end of the classroom.
• Identify the motivation behind distractions. If disruptions persist, students might be getting bored and seeking clearer tasks. Avoid the mindset of “once started, must finish.”
• Prepare tasks for disruptive students. Have relevant questions ready for the day’s lesson; ask a distracting student to answer a question if needed. This tactic is useful for managing discouraging disruptions.

Avoid Classroom Chaos

• Establish explicit class behavior guidelines. If possible, involve students in setting these rules. The more ownership they feel, the more likely they’ll adhere to them.
• Immediately reward good behavior. Offer a smile, praise, and encouragement. When students who usually misbehave show good behavior, make sure to praise them promptly—praise can genuinely improve behavior.
• Pay attention to signals from students. Changing your teaching approach based on students’ feedback is an advantage, not a flaw.
• Immediately relocate a troublemaker within the classroom. This action signals that you’ve noticed the issue and gives the student a chance to reform.
• Take time to cool off. If you get upset with a student, find a few minutes to let both parties cool down—take the student out of the classroom for a brief period. This also sets the stage for a conversation later, apologizing for what happened and discussing how to prevent future incidents.
• Investigate the causes of improper behavior. Have a private conversation with the student causing issues to understand their motivations. Sometimes, these reasons are understandable and forgivable.
• Avoid setting excessively high expectations for students but never underestimate them either. Ensure assigned tasks match students’ abilities, and believe that even weaker students have their own goals. Clearly communicate or even omit grading criteria for assigned tasks. All these requirements necessitate a thorough understanding of students’ actual capabilities to assign tasks they can complete.

Utilize the Blackboard

• How clear is your board writing? Check the font size of your writing on the board to ensure students at the back can see clearly.
• Utilize the upper part of the board. Ensure you utilize the upper half of the board fully. Only use the lower half if you’re certain students at the back won’t be obstructed by those in front.
• List the lesson plan. Write the questions to be discussed on the board so that students can still see them when you answer these questions.
• Make sure students can both see and hear you. Avoid talking while facing away from the students when writing on the board.
• Give students the opportunity to write on the board. Treat the blackboard as a communal area and allow students to write on it.
• Use the blackboard as a classroom resource. Assign “board tasks” to several groups of students. For instance, when starting a new topic, have students organize and write down “10 questions we want answered” on the board.
• Write students’ words on the blackboard. Whenever possible, write down students’ responses to questions on the board, making them feel their ideas are valued. When students see their words on the board, they develop a stronger sense of ownership in the discussion, increasing their focus.

Ensure Equal Opportunities in Teaching

• Maintain consistent treatment of student behavior. Treat all students the same when asking questions or seeking opinions, regardless of their background.
• Mix male and female students when grouping them for tasks. As students grow older, they tend to sit with same-gender classmates, so you must intervene in seating arrangements. Instead of grouping by gender, use more casual criteria like age or hair color.
• Avoid assigning discriminatory roles. Try to avoid assigning tasks based solely on gender, like only asking boys to move furniture or carry boxes, or only asking girls to do cleaning.
• Foster students’ sense of equality. Encourage them to objectively assess unfair events and help them identify practical solutions to address inequality.
• Pay attention to students potentially subject to unfair treatment. Gather feedback from students and observe any emotions arising from perceived unfairness.
• Prevent student biases. Criticize students displaying bias in words or actions, guiding them toward correct, fair attitudes.
• Be mindful of gender responses. Often, boys’ performance may seem less favorable than girls’. Carefully observe boys’ reactions to different tasks and activities; this might assist in organizing equitable activities.
• Exercise humor cautiously. Avoid jokes or anecdotes that might be perceived as insulting by any group of people.

Strategies to Inspire Achievement

• Explain the semester’s requirements to students. Let them know what they need to learn and practice during this period, ensuring it aligns with your overall plan.
• Set different goals for students based on their abilities or past performance. All students need to progress and be challenged. Assigning the same task to all students satisfies only a few.
• Teach students to visualize their learning progress. Teach them to use charts to track their performance. This also helps develop their time management skills.
• Compare current performance to previous scores to set goals. When possible, have students review their past performance and set transitional period plans to check learning outcomes and provide feedback, uncovering each student’s maximum potential.
• Integrate exams with learning. Ensure exams are closely linked to defined learning objectives; ensure exams have specific standards achievable within a certain timeframe. Proper exam difficulty will aid students’ learning.
• Promote a culture of advanced learning in the classroom. High standards and expectations not only serve as motivation but also as expectations. Continuously setting high standards encourages students with ambitious goals and a desire to explore their full potential to succeed.
• Let students manage their own learning. This helps develop students’ autonomy and lifelong learning skills, making them more confident in further education.

Grading Student Assignments

• Leave space for comments. For instance, ask students to leave blank spaces on either side of the paper or at the end of assignments for your comments.
• Understand students’ feelings when they receive graded assignments. Remember, students are often nervous when they receive graded assignments, especially sensitive to comments on the assignments, particularly the first ones they see.
• Remember the importance of scores. When students receive grades, they often notice the scores first, which also influences their response to your comments. If the score is too high, they might ignore most feedback; if it’s too low, they might feel discouraged and ignore your comments altogether. Consider whether grading is essential and whether it’s necessary to provide feedback first and then assign a grade.
• Be cautious with checkmarks. Remember, a red X next to errors can be highly discouraging. Use other methods to indicate mistakes, like highlighting errors with a marker and providing comments nearby.
• Find better methods than checkmarks. Although red checkmarks are good news for students, additional positive phrases like “good point” or “well done” can greatly encourage students.

Gather Feedback from Students

• Notice accessible feedback. Students’ facial expressions are the quickest source of feedback. They’ll react to you, your assignments, and your teaching methods. Careful observation will immediately reveal their enthusiasm or boredom toward a particular matter.
• Collect evidence indicating student viewpoints. Do you need to issue questionnaires to students to obtain feedback on a particular event?
• Disregard unserious information. Some students may not answer questions seriously. Ignore these and focus on useful information.
• Accept praise. Don’t overlook or reject students’ praises. Let students who appreciate you know that you’ve seen their messages instead of dismissing all positive feedback.
• Also accept negative feedback. Consider any feedback as a form of feedback rather than criticism; be willing to listen and assist students in expressing negative feedback. It’s better to thank them for their feedback.
• Make students feel their opinions matter. Tell students you’ll redesign future courses based on their feedback.

Choosing the right educational tools

While a good strategy about teaching methods, using interactive whiteboards (such as the Armer Smart Board) can elevate classroom teaching to a new level. The Armer Board can help enhance efficiency and interaction in your teaching in the following ways:

Infinite whiteboard canvas.

Unlike traditional classroom whiteboards, with the Armer Board’s infinite online canvas, you never have to worry about running out of space or erasing at the end of class. You can upload to the cloud, keep records, and easily review classroom explanations after class.

Rich teaching resources.

Armer Board integrates with various applications you love, from Google Classroom to note-taking, annotation, and presentation tools. Teams can seamlessly collaborate on slides before major presentations, or directly add client comments and feedback to project management tools after calls.

The best classroom teaching tool

Armer Board offers rich interactive features, allowing teachers and students to interact with the screen through touch screens, digital pens, or other control methods. It showcases multimedia content including images, videos, and animations; facilitates annotation and explanation to demonstrate problem-solving steps, presentation processes, or highlight key points. It also supports sharing screen content to other devices, enabling convenient resource sharing and collaboration between teachers and students.