1. Classroom
Management
Dr. Jennifer Irwin
EDU 620: Module 8
Chapter 11

2. Why are they doing that??
 Take a look at these classroom management
scenarios and think about why the student is
doing what he/she is doing and what you can
do about it?
 Marla is always getting out of her seat at
inappropriate times.
 Karen rarely turns in her homework.
 Roy cheats on tests as often as he can.
 Wayne uses disrespectful language when talking
to his teacher.

3. Why are they doing that??
 Probably the most productive thing you can do with
behavior issues is to try getting to the root of the
problem (your first step being to talk to the student
one-on-one).
 Maybe …
 Marla is easily distracted or needs frequent breaks from
sitting in her seat.
 Karen is caring for her younger siblings all night.
 Roy’s after school job leaves him little time to study and he
takes drastic measures to ensure that he gets good
grades.
 Wayne is trying to get the attention of the other students.

4. What is classroom management?
 What exactly are you “managing”?
 The classroom environment
 Instruction
 Behavior
 Organization
 Time
 Other things?

5.  An important aspect of classroom management is
planning for instruction. We will discuss effective
instructional strategies more in-depth in module 10
 For now, let’s look at:
 Effective learning environments
 Time and learning
 Misbehavior

6. The effective classroom environment
 Creating a classroom environment that is
conducive to learning requires:
 Arranging the classroom
 How are students’ seats arranged?
 In rows, in small groups?
 What is most effective? Least effective?
 Keep in mind that you can/should change up the
seating arrangements depending on the day’s lesson.

7. The effective classroom environment
 Creating a welcoming classroom climate
 Probably the most important thing you do during the first
few weeks of school
 Do students feel like part of a learning community?
 Good ‘ol “get to know you” activities (like “Believe it or
Knot”) are great for helping to create this.

8. The effective classroom environment
 Setting limits
 Are students aware (from the first day of school) what
is acceptable and unacceptable in your classroom?
 Monitoring what students are doing
 Can you see what everyone is doing at all times?
(you know, the “eyes-in-the-back-of-your-head”
phenomenon). If not, make changes!

9. The effective classroom environment
 Planning activities that keep students on task
 The best way to manage problems is to avoid them!
 Be sure that you are an “intentional” teacher who
plans creative lessons that are engaging to students.
 Have plenty of tips and tricks in your Teacher’s
Toolbox.
 Be PROACTIVE!

10. The effective classroom environment
 Modify strategies when necessary
 Do you know the definition of insanity?
 Doing the same thing over and over again and
expecting a different result.
 If it is not working, change it!

11. Effective teachers use …
 “Withitness”  Effective transitions
 Overlapping between activities
 Smoothness  Awareness of what all
students are doing
 Group Alerting
 Keeping all students
involved
 Doing more than one
In order to be “constructivist”, try to thing at a time
match up these terms with the
definitions (instead of me just
telling you) 

12. Time & Learning
 Allocated time
 Time during which students have the opportunity to learn
(AKA the class period)
 Engaged time/Time on-task
 Time students spend actively engaged in learning the task
at hand (only about 60% of allocated time)
 Time off-task
 40% of the class period!
 20 min. of a 50 min. period OR 34 min. of an 85 min.
period!!
 Where does the time go???

13. Time & Learning
 Before you go on, think of some things that
are “time suckers”.

14. “Time Suckers”
 Did you think of things like:
 Taking attendance
 Collecting/distributing papers
 Correcting student misbehavior/talking
 Discussing homework
 Bathroom breaks
 School interruptions (announcements, fire drills)
 Malfunctioning equipment
 Student tardiness

15. Time & Learning
 The purpose of the Classroom Management
Evaluation assignment is to get you thinking
about issues like these and how you
effectively address them.
 Check out chapter 11
for more ideas!

16. Dealing with misbehavior …
 As stated before, the best plan to deal with
misbehavior is to be proactive and avoid it!
 Easier said than done, right?
 What are some things that you can do ahead of
time to cut down on behavior problems?
 Use ideas from the text, this PowerPoint thus far,
and your own experience!

17. The principle of “least intervention”
 Alright, I realize that being “proactive” is not
always going to cut it … your next step is to
do the least invasive things you can, like:
 Proximity (walking over to a student while you
continue to teach, AKA “overlapping”
 Praise another student (in a meaningful way)
 Pause (students will wonder why you’ve stopped
talking)
 “The Look” (you know the one … the evil eye!)

18. Non-compliance
 So, being proactive and using least intervention still
not doing the trick?
 You might have to “up the ante”.
 First step: Always discuss the situation with the
student in private.
 Second step: Remember that not all reinforcers
work the same way for every student.
 Have you ever had a student who viewed being sent out of
the room as a reward rather than a punishment?

19. Other helpful strategies:
 Point out which behavior is  Understand cause
not acceptable, state  Be consistent
consequence  Give cues
 Do not get into an argument  Check your expectations
or power struggle
 Give student time and space
 Seek parental support (contact
to calm down parents BEFORE problem)
 Stay objective and calm,
 Use peer mediation
listen to student’s point of  Pick your battles
view  Respect students
 Give student several options  DON’T TAKE THINGS
 Follow through on PERSONALLY! (this can be very
consequences hard to do, especially if the
student is verbally attacking you!)
 Involve student in making
behavior plan

20. In summary …
 Plan ahead
 Be proactive
 Change things that do not work
 Be reflective (hey, that’s why you have off all
summer!)
 Keep in mind that time spent on establishing
an effective classroom is time well-spent!