Effective

Classroom
Management
By: Prof.
Mohammad
Zubair Khan
 Classroom
Management

✓ method and strategies a

teacher
uses a classroom environment
that is conductive to student
success and learning.
✓ Involve the effective use of
your time in classroom to be a
productive possible.
Classroom
Management
Strategies
Lead
Lead your
class and your
Mantra is “I
am the
teacher; I am
the teacher; I
am the
teacher.”
Give tangible rewards

Reward specific
students at the
end of each
lesson, in front of
the class, as
another motivatio
nal and behavior-
reinforcement
technique.
Avoid punishing the class

Address isolated discipline problems individually

instead of punishing an entire class, as the latter can
hurt your relationships with students who are on-
task and thereby jeopardize other classroom
management efforts.
Make positive letters
and phone calls
Keep students happy in and out of
class by pleasantly surprising their
parents, making positive phone
calls and sending complimentary
letters home.
Build excitement for
content and lesson plans
This one works well no matter
the grade level: elementary
school, middle school or high
school. Start lessons by
previewing particularly-exciting
parts, hooking student interest
from the get-go.
Use non-verbal
communication

Complement words with

actions and visual aids
to improve content
delivery, helping students
focus and process lessons.
Offer different types of free study
time
Provide a range of activities
during free study time to appeal
to students who struggle to
process content in silence,
individually.
Help student group work run
smoothly and effectively by
writing contracts that contain
guidelines, having everyone
sign.
Assign open-ended projects
Encourage students to tackle
open-ended projects -- projects
that don’t demand a specific
product -- to allow them
to demonstrate knowledge in
ways that inherently suit
them.
This starts by giving the class a list of
broad project ideas, asking each
student to choose one. Be sure to
provide a rubric for each project that
clearly defines expectations
Use EdTech that adjusts to each student
Give students who struggle to
process your content
opportunities to try educational
technology that adapts to their
needs.
There are many games and
platforms that use adaptive
learning principles to detect a
given student’s skill deficits,
serving them content to help
overcome them
Consider peer teaching
Use peer teaching as a classroom
management strategy if you feel
your top performers can help
engage and educate disruptive and
struggling students.
Peer teaching activities, such as
pairing students together as
reading buddies, can be especially
beneficial for students who suffer
from low confidence and poor
interpersonal skills.
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the word we use to describe the study of teaching
as both an art and a science.
The First Day
Some elements you might include in your First Day of Class plan
Introductions
•Introduce yourself and say why you are excited to be teaching the course – A
positive relationship between students and their instructor can be a major motivator in
student learning. Let the students know something about you. Foreground why you think this
will be an interesting and useful course for them.
•Introduce the syllabus, course goals and important course policies – Hopefully
students will read the syllabus on their own, but it can be useful to walk them through it
anyway. Showing students how to read your syllabus can help them avoid confusion later. If
you’d rather not spend class time reading the syllabus, consider using Adaptive Release in
Blackboard to have students take a short quiz on the syllabus before they can see other
content in the Blackboard site.
•Introduce texts – Explain why you chose the texts or other course materials, where they
can be purchased, and if there are less expensive options (used, online, etc) which would be
acceptable. If you really want students to use a particular edition, and especially if the edition
is pricey, explain why it is important that they get that edition and why it’s worth the
investment.
•Allow students to introduce themselves to you and each other – There are many
ways you might have students do this:
Course Design
Course design is planning that instructors do before they enter the
classroom. During this process, instructors reflect on their goals for
student learning, activities and readings to engage students, and how to
know if students have achieved their goals.
Backward Course Design
It describes a course planning process that starts by asking what students
should know, be able to do, and think by the end of the course and then works
backwards to determine how students will get there.
Step 1: Determine your learning goals.
•What do I hope students will retain from this course a year (or more) from now? OR
•What do I want students to know, to do and to value at the end of the course?
These answers form the basis for your course learning goals.
Try to make your answers as specific as possible. The more specific your goals, the easier it
will be to see if they have been met.
For example, “Students will learn to think critically” is a common goal, but how will they
demonstrate this? How will they be able to show that they are thinking critically? A more
specific goal might be something like, “Students will write an argumentative paper using at
least five sources.” This goal would suggest that the instructor wants students to learn
argumentation skills.
Framing the goals as things that students will do will also help to keep the course student-
centered.
Step 2: Narrow your learning goals.
You may have several learning goals, but if you have more than five or six, it will
be difficult to accomplish them all. If you had to narrow your goals down to
two or three, what would they be? In your opinion as the instructor, what are
the most important things your course will teach?
Step 3: Determine how students will demonstrate their knowledge.
Will students demonstrate knowledge with exams?
How many?
Would formal or informal writing show knowledge more clearly?
Or would a presentation or product (like a poster session or web page) be a better way to
judge what students know?
Assignments can also be designed to incorporate more learning goals.
Step 4: Plan activities that will enable students to learn and practice what they
need to know.
What you teach and how you teach it should flow logically from and align with your
learning goals. In planning for teaching each topic or big idea, consider how you will:
•Hook students into the topic and help them engage with and care about the
content
•Support them to explore the ideas and practice the skills they need to master
•Give them opportunities to rehearse, revise, and refine their understandings and
abilities before being assessed on them
Some Obstacles to Motivation
Busy lives: Like many people, students often have busy lives. At the
very least, they have to split their attention between several classes.
They may also have a job or family obligations that are a further drain
on their attention.
Lack of interest: Sometimes students just aren’t very interested in
your subject. This occurs frequently in required courses.
Lack of confidence: Many students come to class with preconceived
ideas of their ability in your subject area (“I don’t understand math” or
“I’m just a bad writer”). If a student doesn’t believe he is capable of
doing well, it can be difficult for him to see why he should try.
A sense that they don’t have to work or come to class to do well: If a
student isn’t doing the work but still getting a good grade, there is
little reason for her to change her behavior.
Frequently Asked Questions about Student Motivation

How do I get students to come to class?

•Give some credit for attendance or participation. If you are willing to assign
credit for coming to class, students will understand that it is important in your
class.
•Use some information taught only in class on exams (but tell students you are
doing this).
•Keep class lively by using active learning. If students aren’t actually doing
anything in class, or if they can find all the necessary information in a book,
then the reason for coming to class may be unclear to them.
•Get to know students by name. Show up early to chat with them. Use a photo
roster to connect names with faces.
How do I get students to participate in class?

•Clarify for students what you mean by “participation.” Different instructors have different
expectations. Students are much more likely to perform up to your expectations if they know what
they are.
•Reward participation with specific praise. The specificity of the praise will indicate to students what
they are doing well and encourage them to continue. (“That was a very interesting connection you
made between these two texts.” “Excellent question! Why do you think the procedure was written
this way?” “Good thinking today, everyone!”)

How do I get students to do the homework (including reading)?

•Make sure the homework or readings are connected to class time in some way. If there doesn’t
seem to be any reason to complete the reading or homework, students often won’t bother.
• Have students write a short response to be discussed in class and then collected.
• Start class asking student to solve a difficult problem they were assigned as homework.
• Use earlier homework assignments as basis for a larger project.
Engaging Students with Active Learning
“Active learning” is a general description for teaching strategies or styles
that require students to participate in some way in class. While forms of
interaction—
such as discussion, dialogue, debate, and group work—are common in
small classes, they are less frequently employed in large lecture courses,
often simply for logistical reasons.
Effective Grading
Grading is one of the more fraught experiences of teaching and learning. Students
often find waiting for grades stressful, and sometimes they are so worried about
the effect of a grade that they will argue about fractions of points. Instructors not
only have to manage student stress about grading, but they also have to deal with
their own.
Why Do We Grade?
Tradition -The first grades were assigned by Yale in 1783, and letter grades were first introduced by
Harvard in 1883. Although our grading system is deeply ingrained for modern people, it is a relatively
recent development in the history of education.
Communication – Grades help instructors to communicate to students, the university and society at
large about a particular student’s levels of knowledge and skill.
Classroom Management
Techniques
In this section, we have gathered resources that define disruption, analyze
possible causes, and offer ideas on how to respond to students. We
shared these resources with faculty in a discussion-based program on
classroom management techniques. Below, we integrate the ideas that
emerged in our discussion with advice from the research on classroom
management.
Redirecting Disruptive Students
Research Suggests that …
•Disruptive and uncivil behavior incidents are numerous and increasing on college and university
campuses.
•Many professors avoid direct interventions because they hope ignoring the behavior will make it
disappear, worry about not being supported by administrators, worry that disruption reflects on their
teaching, and fear retaliation.
•Combining prevention and direct action are research-recommended strategies.
What Is Disruptive Student Behavior?
Disruptive behavior appears in today’s classrooms in many forms, including lower-level
or naive disruptions like packing up early, and more challenging behaviors
like disrespectful comments, incivility, and bullying.
•Naive disruptions include arriving late, leaving early, or using a cell phone or computer
for non-class activities.
•Intentional disruptions include being disrespectful to instructors, teaching
assistants, or classmates; wasting class time; or projecting negative attitudes about the
class or instructor.
•Incivility is rude behavior that interrupts learning.
•Bullying is physical and/or verbal aggressive behavior that causes harm.
Preventing Disruptions
Instructors can work to prevent classroom disruptions by building a classroom persona
that demands respectful behavior. Below are a few research-tested ideas to build into
your course planning:
•Balance your authority and approachability.
•Show students that you care.
•Establish ground rules.
•Reward civil behavior.
•Set an example.
•Keep students engaged with effective presentation strategies.
Best Practices for Redirecting Disruptive Behaviors
•Address disruptions immediately.
•Give students clear, concise instructions about how to correct
their behavior.
•Document even lower-level incidents in case a pattern
emerges.
•Clarify when to get help.