Recall your elementary school days that you liked the most. Take a moment to recall your days with that teacher and the classroom atmosphere they fostered. Do you remember story time, science experiments, or football games.
Regardless of your memories, your favorite teacher likely created a calm and organized classroom environment that allowed you and your classmates to focus on learning. Your favorite teacher used classroom management skills to create this atmosphere.
Classroom Management Is Essential
Classroom management is essential in any classroom, anywhere in the world. This is the ability to maintain a functioning classroom where students exhibit appropriate learning behaviors
Classroom management is a skill that takes years of study and practice to master. If you’re about to embark on a teaching career abroad or have a classroom in your country, we know you need a refresher course on the fundamentals. Here is a quick overview of the basics so you can start implementing classroom management skills right away.
Understand Your Students
A well-run classroom relies on strong personal relationships with students. How motivated were you to follow the rules when you felt your teacher knew you on a personal level or when you felt like a number?
Spend time getting to know your students from day one. Remember their names and use them. If you are teaching abroad and the names are difficult to pronounce, memorize them. If you’re unsure how to pronounce one, ask the student and record a phonetic transliteration on your attendance sheet. Making an effort to correctly pronounce your students’ names is part of being culturally aware and respectful
Playing games is a great way to get to know your students and engage them in active learning early in your teaching abroad experience. At the start of the school year, name games can help students (and teachers!) get to know each other.
When speaking to children, get down on their level and look them in the eye. So you value your students as human beings and as active participants in maintaining a functional learning environment.
Plan Lessons Ahead
Teaching abroad is not something you can “wing it” at. While a student may perceive a classroom day as carefree, the best teachers spend a lot of time preparing for the school day well in advance (or at least have done so early on in their careers).
Lessons prepared in advance are essential for a smooth classroom. Lessons should be planned and students should be engaged. There are numerous online resources to assist with lesson planning. Your school’s veteran teachers are also a great source for lesson ideas — or to run through your lessons with an expert.
No shortcuts in lesson planning. How will you remember all the steps and details if you don’t plan ahead of time? The more time you spend planning ahead of time, the better your chances of classroom success.
Whether you’re new to teaching or unsure how to plan your lessons, switching classroom management software to the one you’re comfortable with can help.
This short guide should help you to start planning great, smooth running lessons for your students. Do you have any other tips that should be added? Please add them to the comments below.
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