Classroom Management 101

In this NJEA Review article, Tracey Garrett (Rider University) refutes three common myths about classroom management: (a) that it can’t be taught and must be learned by experience; (b) that it’s a bag of tricks; and (c) that it depends on giving students extrinsic rewards. In fact, says Garrett, one of the major success stories of educational research in the 20th century was establishing a set of principles and strategies that can be taught, observed, and emulated. Here’s her take, with a major focus on preventing discipline problems from happening in the first place: • Develop an organized physical layout for the classroom. Purge the classroom of all unwanted clutter. Personalize the classroom so it communicates information about the teacher and students. Plan pathways to avoid congestion. Plan adequate space for students to line up by the door. Make it clear where materials belong. Provide space for both academic and social tasks. Display students’ work. Involve students in the design of the classroom. Locate the teacher’s desk in an appropriate place. • Develop clear rules and routines. Create 4-6 classroom rules that clearly specify appropriate behavior. Consider involving the students in generating these rules. Write the rules using positive language. Post classroom rules and refer to them as necessary. Develop routines to provide direction about how different classroom tasks are accomplished. Teach and demonstrate classroom rules and routines as specifically as you do academic content. • Establish caring relationships with and among students. Get to know something personal about each student. Be aware of students’ accomplishments and comment on them. Send positive notes, phone calls, or e-mails home. Be sensitive to students’ moods and concerns. Praise more, criticize less. Hold high expectations. Be a “real person.” Maintain a sense of humor. • Plan and implement engaging instruction. Match the physical layout of the classroom to the teacher’s style. Have all materials organized and ready before the start of each lesson. Establish an attention-getting signal. Adapt content and activities to students’ interests. Ensure students work at the appropriate level of challenge or difficulty. Give students the chance to exercise autonomy and make choices. Give students the opportunity to finish and display their work products. Show enthusiasm for the curriculum • Address discipline issues when they arise. Use nonverbal interventions such as proximity, eye contact, hand signals, and facial expressions to redirect misbehavior. Ignore minor misbehavior, if possible. Use brief, concise, and specific verbal interventions to redirect misbehavior. Use positive teacher language to tell the student what to do rather than what not to do. Implement logical consequences to help students learn something about why that particular misbehavior was inappropriate.


 “Classroom Management: It’s More Than a Bag of Tricks” by Tracey Garrett in NJEA Review, Oct. 2012 (Vol. 86, p. 17-19), http://bit.ly/Qsy5CV (spotted in Education Digest, May 2012)

 Stephen Anderson