In my role as a faculty associate, I have the privilege of supervising students who are entering their practicum experiences in anticipation of becoming certified teachers. No matter how this process works in your province, state, or country, classroom management is not something that students—or certified teachers—just know. It takes time to learn and practice. It takes planning, reflection, and effort. It needs to be enacted, applied, and even enforced at times. It is not an easy task! As a seasoned teacher, this is still something that challenges me. Humans can be unpredictable and behave in unexpected ways, even to themselves. But as leaders and community-builders in the classroom, we can create learning environments that are responsive to the core needs of the students who enter them.
As I said, I get to come alongside teacher candidates who are in classrooms to complete their practicums as they gain important teaching skills from the teachers they work with. In my experience, most teacher candidates go through a phase of being surprised and overwhelmed with the task of managing all the moving parts in the classroom, yet they eventually get to a phase of having the tools to do so. This happens only after a lot of observing, learning, and practicing.
In the process of watching the students work together and discuss the different rules in the classroom, this future teacher suddenly realized how many rules students actually had to be aware of.
One example of this learning occurred when a teacher candidate was able to witness an activity in an intermediate grade on the first day of school. Her supervising teacher directed the class to brainstorm a single word that could be used as their classroom rule. In the process of watching the students work together and discuss the different rules in the classroom, this future teacher suddenly realized how many rules students actually had to be aware of: How to act in groups and alone. How to act in the hallway, classrooms, and outdoors. What can be brought to school and what can’t. How to interact with others and how to keep to yourself. When to complete different tasks and when to refrain from activities. And that was just the start of her list. Especially if students come from a home environment with few rules or very different rules, how are they to learn so many “dos and don’ts”? And, how, as teachers, can we remember all the rules we made and hold students to them all?
Have a Plan
If your school has teachers who need support with classroom management, if you are mentoring teachers, or if you just need a refresher of your own, the IRIS Center provides brief and intentional courses on positive classroom behavior management that cover a wide range of topics related to building confidence and capacity to integrate foundational practices into your teaching context. Key ideas include creating a plan and your response before school begins; explicitly teaching and practicing expectations, procedures, and routines; and committing to being consistent. While these might seem like obvious points, when presented with misbehavior or challenges in the classroom, having a plan and knowing how to respond is imperative for remaining calm, positive, and professional.
[W]hen presented with misbehavior or challenges in the classroom, having a plan and knowing how to respond is imperative for remaining calm, positive, and professional.
Planning and establishing rules for the learning environments helps you and your students monitor the expectations you established and provides the safety needed to learn, explore, play, and grow together. It helps give students ownership and the boundaries that can guide them in their learning and interactions. The IRIS Center suggests limiting classroom rules to five or fewer so that they can be remembered and understood. The variety of rules students need to follow should fall under the broad rules set out by the teacher and adopted by the class. Like routines (lining up at the door) and procedures (how to collect supplies) in the classroom, classroom rules should be explained, modeled, and reviewed. This can be done through discussions, games, creating posters, and daily focus questions.
Linda Kardamis, who through her project Teach 4 the Heart provides helpful and biblical encouragement to teachers, points out that when educators are inconsistent, students sense a feeling of uncertainty. To avoid unpredictability and to gain confidence and control, she suggests having a written plan to follow. Similar to the training from the IRIS Center, Kardamis’s training video on “How to Reduce Disruptions So You Can Actually Teach” outlines the need for teachers to be proactive in setting clear expectations, outlining smart procedures, providing positive reinforcement, using logical consequences, and making sure responses to students are planned and responsive to their needs and the needs of the classroom community. I absolutely love her reasons for creating a plan to follow: not only will teachers experience more confidence in their responses, but teachers will regain valuable time that was previously spent on pushback, motivation techniques, and disruptions. What educator doesn’t want more time?
Pushback on Pushback!
Creating a sense of community through games, learning activities, and group challenges is a powerful way to build trust, safety, and the need for boundaries in the classroom.
When confronted with pushback, even teachers may need a reminder to stay calm in order to keep the situation from escalating. Having a plan in place and posted classroom rules can help with this, but so can your intentional work to create a learning environment that is positive and supportive (IRIS Center). This can be done through class discussions, morning check-ins, and class meetings. Creating a sense of community through games, learning activities, and group challenges is a powerful way to build trust, safety, and the need for boundaries in the classroom in a fun and exciting way. My favorites include creating class books, participating in team relay races, cheering on fellow classmates toward success, and engaging in STEM-building activities as a group. Suggesting ways for group members to contribute and celebrating jobs done well can set an example for your students on ways they can act and things they can do to build a sense of community. In addition, giving gentle reminders for expectations and guiding their choices is a way to support students in selecting alternative methods and appropriate behaviors, putting students in the position of being responsible for their behavior and responses (Klopfer et al. 2019).
Having clear expectations and a management plan communicates that you have created an organized, consistent, and safe environment that supports effective teaching and learning (IRIS Center 5). Teachers must understand that upholding a rule, practicing a routine, or ensuring procedures are followed correctly is not something teachers are doing to students—instead, it is done to support students. Students need to hear that you value them, appreciate their role as part of the classroom community, and want to see them succeed. The management strategies and behavior plans a teacher chooses to use to support students should provide encouragement, warning, help, and attention, all while showing patience, consideration, and care with the goal of students learning the skills necessary to regulate their own behavior and feelings and find success in the school environment (Curran 2–3, 20, 26; 1 Thess. 5:14).
The One-Word Rule
So, what was the one-word rule the teacher candidate discovered? This is an abridged version of this article. To read more, subscribe to the print or digital edition of Christian Educators Journal.
Works Cited
Curran, Christina M. “Encouraging Appropriate Behavior.” IRIS Center, 2021, iris.peabody.vanderbuilt.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdf_case_studies/ics_encappbeh.pdf.
Kardamis, Linda. “How to Reduce Disruptions So You Can Actually Teach.” Teach 4 the Heart, 2023, teach4theheart.com/.
Klopfer, Kristina M., et al. “Effect of Preservice Classroom Management Training on Attitudes and Skills for Teaching Children with Emotional and Behavioral Problems: A Randomized Control Trial.” Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, vol. 42, no. 1, Nov. 2017, pp. 49–66, doi.org/10.1177/0888406417735877.
The IRIS Center. “Classroom Behavior Management (Part 1): Key Concepts and Foundational Practices.” Vanderbilt University, 2012, 2021, iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/beh1/.
The IRIS Center. “Classroom Behavior Management (Part 2): Key Concepts and Foundational Practices.” Vanderbilt University, 2012, 2021, iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/beh2/.
Susan Dykshoorn is a faculty associate and course instructor at Trinity Western University in the Professional Year Program and a grade 1 teacher at Abbotsford Christian School in British Columbia. She encourages teacher candidates and fellow teachers in their calling as teachers. Her one-word rule is love.