Classroom Management Is Not Just For Teachers

Reprinted from Fast Forward, Newsletter of Forward in the Fifth, 433 Chestnut Street, Berea, KY

The techniques used in classroom management are not just for teachers. These are skills that will help you when working with any group. Boy Scout leader, Sunday school teacher, coach, parent or business person… anyone can use this approach to be an effective leader and have a well-managed group environment. You may not see how this relates to the framework of your life, but many of the ideas here are easily adaptable to any situation.

What is Classroom Management?

Classroom management refers to the practices and procedures used by a leader to ensure that instruction and learning will take place. Thus, it is the leader who makes the difference in the classroom, group, business, home, etc.

A well-managed group has the following characteristics:

Participants are genuinely involved in their work or activity;

Participants know what is expected of them;

There is very little wasted time or disruption;

There’s a task oriented but comfortable environment.

How Important is Classroom Management?

According to the January 1994 edition of the Educational Leadership Journal, classroom management is the single most important factor governing student learning. Three authors reviewed 50 years of research on student learning, encompassing 11,000 statistical findings. They discovered 28 factors that help students learn and classroom management was number one. The way that teachers, leaders, coaches and business people run their learning/working environment determines whether the individual will be successful or not.

How Do You Do It?

According to Harry Wong’s book, The First Days of School, an effective teacher manages a classroom while an ineffective teacher disciplines a classroom. To effectively manage your learning environment you must clearly define procedures. Procedures are significant in life so that people can function in an acceptable and organized manner. Our everyday life is filled with procedures. For example:

Stop Sign: There are procedures you must follow at a stop sign. At a stop sign you must come to a complete stop, make sure the way is clear and then proceed.

Check Writing: There is a procedure to writing checks. You must complete the date, fill in the “payable to” area, write the amount of the check in two places and place your signature at the bottom.

Effective teachers, leaders and coaches know that a good deal of time is spent introducing, teaching, modeling and practicing procedures until they become routine. If a coach wants a play to run smoothly and be successful, the team practices the play until all the players understand it and it becomes routine. We must also do this in our learning environments. The teacher should have a procedure for students to enter the classroom and what to do when they are absent or tardy. A business person should have a procedure for an employee on what to do when arriving for work or if they are sick.

The success of your students, group or employees is directly related to the degree to which the teacher, coach or business person establishes good control of the procedures in the very first week. This is not to say that you must teach all the procedures at once. Begin small by teaching a few procedures that are necessary to obtain a smooth running environment. Make sure to model and rehearse procedures daily. If you have someone who is not following the correct procedure then reinforce the procedure by explaining and rehearsing. This time spent will pay off in the end with a learning/working environment that is productive.

This all holds true for parents also. If you want your children to take their shoes off before entering your home, you practice and model this procedure. When entering your home, first remove your shoes. If your child should forget, gently remind him or her. After practicing this procedure it will become a routine and your child automatically remove his shoes without thinking about. Remember to fully explain your expectations and make sure that everyone understands the procedure.

Participants are Genuinely Involved in their Work or Activity

Students, children, employees or club members must be actively engaged in the work or activity. This means that the work needs to relate to real life. How does this fit in with what is going on in my life? Am I going to need these skills in the future? When am I going to use this again?

When working with children and youth we need to make sure the work is tied to skills or information that is useful to them and help them understand the connection. When Boy Scouts go on a camping trip, they not only learn about nature but they also learn survival skills, how to read a map, outdoor safety tips and responsibility. These are all skills that relate to our lives and future. Reading a map is a skill that is needed whether you’re taking a trip, trying to navigate through a large mall or deciphering the hospital directory to find your doctor’s office.

Participants Know What is Expected of Them

Clear expectations are important in any form of communication, but especially when trying to establish procedures. Modeling is very important in this step also. The adage “Do what I say, not what I do” does not apply here. You must first make sure everyone clearly understands the procedure and then model the behavior you request. If the desired outcome is that students or employees arrive and get immediately to work, then you must explain the objective, make sure it is understood and model the same behavior.

What do you do if someone is not following procedure? Ask the person, “Do you know what the procedure is when you arrive to work/classroom?” Tell them what the procedure is, ask them to repeat the procedure and make sure they understand. The next step is for them to model the procedure for themselves and for others.

There is Very Little Wasted Time or Disruption

Procedures need to be in place for this to happen. If someone knocks at the door or the phone rings, does your class know what you expect from them? When procedures are practiced they become routine. It is then second nature for the routine to just happen without any conscious effort.

For example, you have practiced the procedure that if you are needed by someone outside of the classroom during class time, your students are to take out their library books and begin silent reading until you are free. The next time you are called, your class already knows what is expected of them and what they are to be doing. This results in very little wasted time and your students are being effective learners.

There is a Task-Oriented but Comfortable Environment

You have a job to do whether it be to teach a set curriculum, make your business profitable or have a smooth running home. By creating a task-oriented environment you are helping your students, employees or children become responsible and accountable. However, the learning environment must be comfortable for the learner. Do this by decorating the classroom with the students’ work, projects and awards, listening to concerns of employees and implementing changes where necessary or by having a space that is their own and allowing them creative freedom with that space.

Wherever your classroom may be, these are skills that will help you be more productive and inspire others to be more productive and resourceful. Just remember to introduce, rehearse and reinforce those procedures and pretty soon they will become automatic, saving time in the long run.

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