Classroom Management
Quickies - Mistakes New Teachers Often Make, So Don''t
New teachers often -
Have not
figured out what exactly they want
and don''t want - a root cause of much of what follows.
Over praise
students for doing what is expected.
Don''t know the difference between praise and acknowledgement and when
each is appropriate.
Fail to do effective long-range and daily planning.
Spend too much time with one student or one group and not monitoring the
entire class.
Begin a new activity before gaining the students'' attention.
Talk too fast, and are sometimes shrill.
Use a voice level that is always either too loud or too soft.
Stand too long in one place (the feet of clay syndrome).
Sit too long while teaching (the posterior of clay syndrome).
Overemphasize the negative.
Do not require students to raise hands and be acknowledged before
responding.
Are way too serious and not much fun.
Are way too much fun and not serious.
Fall into a rut by using the same teaching strategy or combination of
strategies day after day.
Ineffectively use silence (wait time) after asking a content question.
Are ineffective when they use facial expressions and body language.
Tend to talk to and interact with only half the class (usually their
favorites, and usually on the right)..
Collect and return student papers before assigning students something to
do.
Interrupt students while they are on task.
Use "SHHHH" as a means of quieting students (one of the most
annoying and ineffective behaviors).
Overuse verbal efforts to stop inappropriate student behavior - talk
alone accomplishes little.
Settle for less rather than demand more.
Use threats to control the class (short term, produces results; long
term, backfires).
Use global praise inappropriately.
Use color meaninglessly, even to the point of distraction (I know you''ve
seen this happen).
Verbally reprimand students across the
classroom (get close and personal
if possible).
Interact with only a "chosen few" students rather than
spreading interactions around to all students.
Do not intervene quickly enough during inappropriate student behavior.
Do not learn and use student names in an effective way (kids pick
up quickly on this and respond in kind).
Read student papers only for correct answers and not for process and
student thinking.
Ask global questions that nobody likely will answer.
Fail to do appropriate comprehension checks to see if students
understand the content as it is taught.
Use poorly worded, ambiguous questions.
Try to talk over student noise (never, ever, do this, because when you
do, you lose and they win).
Are consistently inconsistent.
Will do anything to be liked by students.
Permit students to be inattentive to an educationally useful media
presentation (this happens a lot).
Introduce too many topics simultaneously (usually the result of poor
planning).
Sound egocentric (if you have to get your jollies from your students,
there might be a problem).
Take too much time to give verbal directions for an activity (an
inability to focus and explain effectively).
Take too much time for an activity (usually the result of poor
planning).
Are nervous, uptight, and anxious (if this is persistent, you need
help).
Overuse punishment for classroom misbehavior - going to an extreme when
other consequences work better.