Walk into a typical classroom and you’ll find the teacher in perpetual motion. In an effort to be the best teacher they can be, most teachers over teach. That is, they talk too much, help too much, and are seen too much. They become … Read more
So you’ve got this great lesson. You’re excited, worked up, really feeling it. Everything is groovy, near perfect. You’re telling this cool story and your students are rapt—leaning forward, eyeballs glued to your every move. It’s a special moment. And so much fun. This … Read more
There is a compulsion among teachers to react too quickly to misbehavior. As soon as it shows up on their radar, they’re on it in a flash, making judgments and decisions before fully understanding what it is. Teachers with this compulsion tend to take … Read more
I think you’re going to like this strategy. It’s fun and easy, takes very little planning, and can improve behavior in your classroom the first time you try it. It’s called the preview strategy. It works through a simple change in the way you … Read more
Ask a hundred teachers if it’s important to be consistent with classroom management and every last one of them will tell you that it is. But knowing that it’s important is one thing. Actually being consistent is another. Most teachers only kinda-sorta follow their … Read more
Five minutes. That’s all it takes to improve your relationship with your students. And why is that important? Because having rapport with students translates to powerful and behavior-influencing leverage—the kind of leverage that compels them to want to behave, to want to do well, … Read more
As the school year winds to a close, here at Smart Classroom Management we’ve been getting a burst of emails from teachers voicing their frustrations with their students’ inability or unwillingness to pay attention. Although a common struggle given the freedom of summer lurking … Read more
Whether starting over from scratch or opening a new school year, many teachers come on too strong when teaching classroom management. Demanding and forewarning, growling and glaring. Even the mildest-mannered teachers can become overbearing when it comes to laying down the law in the … Read more