Classroom Tips for Teachers

Short tips to help teachers manage behaviour in the classroom. 

Seating Plans

Seating plans serve a number of purposes:

• They subtly communicate that the teacher has control over and/or responsibility for managing the classroom environment.
• They assist the teacher in managing that environment and learning names - this is very useful in the early stages.
• They enable the most efficient and least disruptive grouping of pupils.

So, what do you do if the seating plan does not seem to be working?

• If the problem involves several pupils, reinforce the plan by displaying a copy.
• If the issue is with an individual's non-compliance, use a measured approach that includes assertive ‘I’ statements, ‘I need you to move to ... so that you can learn better.’
• Be consistent: no, no, no, no you can’t move. The broken record - they get bored of asking.
• Do not be deflected by promises to be good. If you need someone to move, you need someone to move. Giving in may restore immediate peace but will be a store for future problems. Pupils may come to view you as a teacher who doesn’t mean what she or he says and doesn’t provide secure structures.

How often to change them?
Review what is working and what isn’t. If it works don’t change it.

Managing Constant Comments

• We offer some tips on how you can manage constant comments between pupils, like when they make fun of one another's appearance or rubbish each other's work.• Revisit the class contract.
• Be assertive when challenging the comments being made.
• Remind students of what behaviours sabotage their chance of being a successful class.
• Use ‘I’ statements: ‘I need you to stop saying things like that, as I expect everyone to treat each other with respect in this class.’
• Have a quiet word with the individuals involved.
• Follow the school procedures for more overtly hostile, bullying or abusive comments.

Staying on Task

When pupils are supposed to be working independently or in groups, but use it as an opportunity to chat or mess around, it can be difficult to encourage them to return to and stay on the task. Here are some tips you could try to deal with this scenario.

• Provide a choice of two or three tasks - this may help if the reason for disengagement is boredom with the set task.
• Deliver gentle reminders to individuals/groups while in close proximity to them - standing by them and saying nothing may work without you having to use a lot of emotional energy.
• Pause the activity and select pupils to feedback what they have done so far - use these breaks to reinforce expectations.
• Use positive encouragement - ‘You’ve made a good start. Now what do you need to do next?’
• Set and stick to time limits for tasks.
• Make changes to your seating plan.
• Ask open questions, ‘What should you be doing now?’
• Make an ‘I’ statement, ‘I need you to get back to work, because I want you to get the best possible grade.’
• Review the task - was it interesting, relevant, appropriate? Did the pupils have the resources they needed to do the task well? Was it sufficiently differentiated and inclusive? Were there extension activities? Did the task include Assessment for Learning and include pupils in the review process?