Classroom management

Topic: Strategies to set a good Classroom Environment.

When we talk about classroom environment, is one of the essential key in teaching and learning process ,without it or when it is not going well, teacher can be affected a lot.

So, it is better and very salient for a teacher to set a good classroom environment where every student will feel eager to attend it regularly without any confrontation of school staff or parents and other organization institutions to tell students the importance of attending class. Teacher should be the first person to motivate students and become their role model.

Classroom environment is one of the most important issue that should be discussed about and too much training should be provided for teachers so as to learn how to set a well accommodate classroom and other different approaches that can help them to achieve their goals, otherwise students can get less motivation which is the hindrance of learning process to occur in effective way. Many teachers face the issue of classroom environment and how to manage students as well, because you meet different challenges in the classroom, many students don’t feel eager to learn your lesson and then you become fed up.

And it is very handicapping for the teachers when someone neglect his/her lesson. Teacher thought about the all efforts he has made to make lesson more effective but becomes surprised to see students disengage in the lesson, and when you have stubborn students , sometimes they can tell you directly that they are exhausted with your teaching and then leave the classroom . So, this is an impediment issue teachers can meet in their teaching and learning process.

Classroom environment should have lot of strategies to make it perfect and get students attracted.

I meet this issue of managing classes especially level four secondary, I do my best to teach them in good ways but they sometimes don’t recognize the efforts I make to teach them effectively, and I try to have negotiation with them and ask them how they wish my lesson should be conducted , some of them come up with different strategies on how we can organize lesson and we agree together with them that everything is going to be good, telling me that they will follow my lesson promptly and coherently but I become very surprised to see that what they pledged me became opposite.

I identified the problem of learners, who are reluctant in my lesson, during teaching and learning activity. Step by step , I have found that this issue of reluctancy is increasing.

Evidence which showed me that some of my learners do not want to engage a lot in my lesson. When it is time for my lesson, the reluctant learners go outside. Secondly, some learners prefer to stand apart during presentations and while they are presenting, you only find one competent student among the whole group of ten students

Others are ignorant about the subject when I ask them different questions about the presentations.

They only want to watch their colleagues just saying stories, but they do not like to cooperate with the rest of their colleagues. They are low self esteem, and low confidence. When there are some organized short sketches to present in front of the class; some of the learners sit behind and they do not care about what is happening in class, they build their own conversation, When I give them work to perform, they are often off task or do not want to complete tasks.

Actually disengaged learners, it is one of the most difficult challenges in teaching profession. There is no easy answer to the issue of disengaged learners, and no instant fix and no single program or strategy that will be a definitive“ Fix” for every learner. So, as I met with this challenge of disengaged learners in my course, I just maintained positive attitude, and search for ways to instill confidence, active participation and hope in my learners.

So, I decided to write this article about classroom environment so as I can share my experience with different people facing the same problem with me and to show them different strategies that should be used to manage the classroom. Because when a teacher is able to manage almost all students he/she teaches, it is the sign show that you are a professional teacher .

I don’t want to say that teachers face challenges in classroom management always trying to work hard to set a good learning environment are not professional.

A good teacher is the one who always search different strategies to make his class the best one, a teacher with self-determination.

We can not ignore that they are some teachers apply “laisse-faire” strategy in the teaching process, where they let students do what they like with narrow authority toward them, what a teacher does is to make sure that he accomplished his program in time and then let them do what they want. This is very weird behavior because a teacher is a parent at the same time, it means that always Teacher seeks what might be good for the students, always wish them improve higher so that they will get high purpose in their lives like the slogan our brilliant school Walden University: “Higher degree, Higher purpose”

I wrote this article is not because I am a failure but I want to take my share with people we share the same task of teaching effectively.

I started above saying that I failed to manage students of level four, it means that there is other students I am able to manage well. As a teacher when you meet the issue like this : “ Why I am not able to manage these students from this level whereas I am able to manage other level?”

Actually I manage level six secondary, very well, students respect me and submit works on time. No indiscipline case I can find there, they attend lessons regularly and feel eager to learn my lesson. When I meet circumstance that can prevent me to come to school, for them it is a lost, they don’t want to lose any single time during my lesson, they are very motivated and very respectful. When there is a presentation, They all go in front with full preparation and then make good presentation. When I give them novel to read, they read it without any hindrance, when I ask them in the library to borrow different short stories books to read and then present , they feel eager to read them and finish early and start their presentation. When there is a debate ,they obey me and even accept to debate with students from level 1

Imagine students from level 6 versus level 1 in debate!(Nice behavior)

It is very frank behavior to accept discussion with young students without any superiority complex. So, as an Instructor I have to compare these behaviors from two different levels:( Level 4 and Level 6) and then analyze deep their attitudes and motivation that seem to be very different.

We have seen many challenges teaches may face in teaching and learning process.

Before going deep let’s first get the exact meaning of classroom environment?

,It the social climate, the emotional and the physical aspects of the classroom. It’s the idea that teachers influence student growth and behavior. The student’s behavior affects peer interaction—the responsibility of influencing these behaviors is placed with the Instructor. The way the instructor organizes the classroom should lead to a positive environment rather than a destructive and/or an environment that is not conducive to learning. So, teacher needs to be "invisible hand" in the classroom.

Strategies to have good classroom environment

So, teacher should establish good classroom environment

Teachers should learn to guide their students, not to alienate them. The safety of the student’s well-being is paramount in their development of social ties with peers and their instructor. As education becomes more inclusive, teachers need to become more aware of how to organize groups of students and how the students are arranged can lead to a favorable environment. Well-organized classrooms are an important component to classroom functions as it leads to more dialogue and formative assessment. Students with special education needs (SEN) tend to feel more excluded from the other students in the classroom. SEN students include those with behavioral problems and those with learning difficulties. Students who do not have disadvantages are more inclined to participate as they feel more like they belong and have a higher belief in their academic abilities. Education becomes less of a chore and more enjoyable when students grow as a group which can lead to the reduction of students acting out destructively. In order to affect students, a teacher needs to monitor and modify the influence students have on one another. Teachers are able to help students feel included by assigning groups and rearranging the seating chart so less cliques are formed in the classroom. Combating bad behavior is a teacher duty; they need to not only take into consideration how the classroom is arranged, but also observe students' background, family life, grade, and all other complex issues surrounding life.

Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation should be reinforced so that learners can feel eager to learn, schools should give rewards for students who show good performance (extrinsic motivation) and to bring people who can inspire them so that learners get fully engaged in learning without any other factor behind ( extrinsic motivation)

Parents should also get involved in education of their children so that they can be aware of their children because when parents are involved in academic concerns, their children can make learning as easy task. So, as teacher you should get close connection between you and students’ parents so as to inform them about their children’s behaviors, if there is something going wrong, it is better to contact their parents so as you can discuss together and find out tangible solutions to the problem. You don’t have to inform parents not only for the wrong thing a child has made but also for the best one. If a child has made a remarkable effort and get tangible progress, it might be better to call his/her parents to come and then provide rewards (extrinsic motivation) This can help a lot to set a good classroom environment because students can feel eager to learn without any impediment because they have realized that both teacher and parents are aware of his/her performance and are ready to provide whatever possible support.

Teacher should also create a strong good atmosphere between his/her students because can help to manage students. It is better to trust your students, showing them that they are able to achieve something big. Don’t show your students that they come to class with empty mind about new subject that you are teaching. Be the one to let them discuss with you and then get different points of view about the subject, you should act as a facilitator. These will help students to fully engage in your teaching and learning process and then build trust in you.

Next thing you should do as a teacher is to be active and be creative. What I have noticed in students is that they like active and creative teacher. So, you should create different new events in the school such as debates, drama, reading exhibition and so on. When you act like that, students can consider you as different teacher. They can see you as a teacher of new events very active and creative.

Teacher should try his/her best to show students that he appreciates their age and provide leisure activities relating to their age such as drama activities where students can play different roles( Role play) and present them in the public place. So, this can motivate a lot students to learn and it can be easy for a teacher to manage them.

So, performing arts is important in schools because help student to collaborate between them, easy communication and also improve confidence. Therefore I should advise schools to implement drama in their teaching, because drama helps students to learn lessons in easy way and feel eager to learn. So, the issue of school dropout can be decreased owing to performing arts in schools.

Article written by INGABIRE Thierry

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