Thinking back to your own school days can often help you see the pitfalls of certain teaching techniques. Teachers who were very austere or who were strong disciplinarians did not create a classroom where students wanted to please them but, instead, were scared to fail. Learn by the mistakes of these teachers and try to be the kind of teacher you would have wanted to be taught by.
As middle or high school teachers, we all have good and bad days just like any other human on the planet. It can be hard at times not to bring our issues from outside of the classroom with us into our teaching. Your moods are quickly and easily transferred to others, including your students. If you enter the classroom in a bad mood, then expecting your class to be well behaved and attentive is unrealistic. Instead, make a conscious decision every time you teach, to leave all your baggage at home. The teacher should be happy, full of positive energy and enthusiasm, ready to educate the class in a fun and motivational way.
Equally, as a teacher, you need to remember that your students all have their own problems and emotions that can affect them in class.
Welcoming your Students
From the moment the students step into the classroom, they require you to use management skills. Just forging ahead with the lesson is not a well-planned strategy that will give you good results. The likelihood is that some students will be disinterested, distracted and disruptive and this can quickly spread through the class.
To achieve good classroom management and connect with your students in a way that makes them respect and like you, first, you need to engage with them.
Here is one way that works well with k-12 students. I wish I can apply it with my students at the University of Arizona, but it suits young students more. By greeting each class member by name at the door with a friendly smile and an individual “Hello” “Hi” “How are you doing?” along with a handshake or thumbs up, you are immediately connecting to each and every student verbally, physically and psychologically. By adding an instruction such as “Please sit down quietly” or “Please get into groups of five” and so on, they are helped to transition into a positive learning state of mind. This is especially helpful if students have come from a break such as lunch, as it can take them a while to transition and re-focus on learning. Here is YouTube video of exactly what I am talking about: https://bit.ly/2PMq9RA
Studies have shown that welcoming students to class can improve student-teacher relationships, increase student engagement and lessen disruptive behavior. It makes each individual feel appreciated and part of the group, which helps them become much more invested in learning.
By starting the class with the individual welcome technique, you immediately create a connection and a feeling of social belonging, which has been proven in research to make students more willing to engage and commit effort towards learning rather than being distracted and disruptive. You will quickly build trust and empathy with your class helping them to feel safe and comfortable in your class.
When welcoming students remember to:
● Make eye contact.
● Use the student's name in your welcome phrase “Hi Lamia, how’s your day going?” or “Hi Aly, how are you today?”
● Use an easy, friendly non-verbal thumbs up, handshake or high five.
● Encourage your students to do something constructive such as getting into groups or sit down quietly.
Double Benefit
Making students feel welcome doesn’t just benefit the students, it has been shown to lower teacher stress and anxiety and can be beneficial in reducing the incidence of teacher burnout. The reason for this is simple. If students are less disruptive during the class, then the teacher can focus on the real task at hand – teaching their class, rather than having to deal with students’ misbehavior. Overall, a healthy, creative, positive working environment should always be created.
Building the Classroom Community
When students are given ways of creating the feeling of community within their classroom, they function far better as a group. They will become invested in not only their own success but the success of their classmates, working together to reach goals and targets presented to them. Don’t forget that today’s students embrace the 4c’s – skills for the 21st century. Collaboration is one of them.
In high school and college, it is very common for students not to know the names of other members of their class, even those they sit next to regularly. To start your classroom community, it is first important that your students know each other. For the first few classes of the year, get your students to write their first names on a sticker and stick these labels onto their pullover or outfit. Arrange the students, not in rows facing forward, but instead in a semicircle or small groups so they can see each other and you. Ask your students to all stand-up and go around the room introducing themselves to each other, stating their name and any likes or interests they have. Allow them enough time so each student can introduce themselves to everyone in the room (this can include you). Then at random ask a few students what they learned about the other students.
This exercise removes the shyness that some students have when interacting with people they don’t know. It allows them to feel at ease working and communicating with each other, which is essential when you set group tasks or pairs work. Quickly they learn cooperation, collaboration and how shared investment can be beneficial, contributing to the success of the class as a whole.
Time invested in bringing your class together as a community will be very well spent and be rewarded by dividends very quickly.
You may have heard that it doesn’t matter if your students don’t like you. You aren’t being paid to be their friend, after all, as you are their teacher. However, getting your students to like you will make your job immeasurably easier. You don’t have to become their best buddy, but you do have to gain their respect. If your students like you, they will want to please you and will work all the harder to do just that.
What is essential is that your students truly believe you like them. Showing your students respect and giving the same level of attention to all will promote a harmonious working environment.
It is natural to warm to some students more than others, but it is critical that the students are not aware of this and are treated equally.
Ice Breaker
Once you have greeted your students, the next step is to engage with them and capture their attention. You do this by using an “Ice Breaker.” Icebreakers help to focus your class and bring their attention toward you rather than toward what their other classmates are doing.
There are several different techniques you can use, and it is best if you mix it up a bit rather than being a "one trick pony." You can:
● Ask students to tell you about something exciting they have been doing. I always begin with this question.
● Share some of your own experiences or funny stories about things that have happened to you or a friend (mentioning no names of course). Students love to hear interesting stories about their teacher. This is particularly beneficial if you can tie your story into your lesson theme in some way. Prepare it in advance but pretend that it is on the spot.
● Tell a joke but not on a daily basis.
● Perform a magic trick. There are hundreds that are simple to master on YouTube. Check this one: https://bit.ly/2Sbyzn7
Basically, you just need to engage with your students in some way that they find interesting.
Lesson Topic
Next, tell your students the topic of the lesson today. Try giving it a title that your students can relate to and will find interesting. Write the topic down on the side of the board. Next, instigate a student discussion by asking if they know anything about the topic and write down their responses. You can then expand on these if you like.
Objectives
Next, discuss the objectives or goals of the lesson with the students and write them down under the lesson topic. The more participation you can get from the students, the more engaged they will be with the topic. It also lets them see how well they are doing during the class if you check off the goals as you go along.
Review
Review what was covered in the previous lesson and any correlation it has with the topic of today's lesson. This helps to reinforce prior learning, stimulates the brain, aids recall - which is useful in tests - and creates enthusiasm. Ask students open-ended questions that will help them to remember finer details and test their knowledge and recall.
Next, ask your students to review the class rules. The details for this will be discussed in Chapter 6 Discipline and Regulate.
Class Discussion
Opening the discussion out to the class is a great way to get lots of different views from your students and helps you to measure how well they understand the topic.
Sometimes it can become a little out of control with students all shouting out at once. It’s fine to ask your students not to do this but to raise their hands and wait to be asked for their contribution.
When you write the students’ answers or opinions, review them with the class and see if they can be expanded upon. Offer feedback and finally add any additional information that was not provided.