Top 6 classroom management tips for first year pre- service teachers!
(Things you need to know that Uni won’t tell you!)
1. Expect the unexpected
This is probably the most important tip! I don’t think you can plan, prepare and organise yourself for everything that will happen on teaching rounds. Deakin lecturers will say things like “ this is only observation rounds, don’t except to be teaching” I’d say expect to teach, in the whole time we are at university we only have 80 days of teaching placements, if you spend 10 of those days, observing it truly is a waste of time. Observe for maybe two or three days but then get straight into it! The best learning doesn’t happen at Uni it happens on the ground in real life teaching situations. Expect to make mistakes and get things wrong just because you have read it in a text book doesn’t mean its right. This is the best time to make mistakes as you will have someone else to help and support you, when you’re a teacher YOU are it! Expect that lesson you plan will go wrong, be boring, go really quickly, and go really slowly. Lesson plan are important but they are just a guide, you will be the best judge of what do to next based on how the class is going.
2. Start out tough
This tip is really hard! When you first go into the classroom you naturally want the kids to love you and be happy for you to be in the classroom. You need to realise even though you are a pre service teacher you are a teacher none the less! Not a helper, volunteer or parent helper! A teacher and you deserve the same respect as their classroom teacher. Once whilst on rounds in a grade ½ class a grade 1 boy told me that “if you finish your work early, you were allowed to get a computer and play a maths game” now to me it sounded wrong and I thought I don’t think you’re telling me the truth but got caught up and wasn’t able to ask my mentor teacher if this was true or not. The boy then was questioned by the mentor teacher as to why he was on a computer? And his answer was “Mrs Foord said I had to go on it when I finished my work!” Hahaha I thought you little ratbag! Anyway my mentor teacher was terribly disappointed in this student for taking advantage of me, the student was made to apologise and all was right in the world. This story is an example of how clever students are, always try to give them the benefit of the doubt but also be aware they are CLEVER and need to know how far they can go with you, starting out tough shows the students you mean business.
Start out tough doesn’t mean be a big meanie and not having fun with he students, it means don’t compromise on inappropriate behaviours. Let the students know right from the beginning the boundaries of what’s acceptable and what’s not, they already know this but they will test you to see if you know and how far they can push your boundaries. In the same grade ½ class I mentioned earlier I had some feedback from my mentor teacher that I needed to stop the students from interrupting and talking over me, this often happened when we were having class discussion and students wanted to tell their own stories about the topic being discussed. I was aware of the students doing it, I thought ignoring them and continuing on with the discussion was the way to go, as they would usually ask me what we were talking about or what they had to do as they hadn’t been listening, this is then when I would say “ hrmm well if you were listening to me before you would have known, now you will have to ask someone who WAS listening” .My mentor teacher explained that the students need to be listening to me all the time, and if there story is so important they can put their hand up and share it to the whole class, ignoring this behaviour sometimes is ok but it’s better to address it straight away and it’s not fair on the students that are paying attention. I do find it hard as a pre-service teacher to discipline and be tough with the students as I do want them to love me and have fun with me, but I also want them to be respectful towards me, it’s about finding a balance your comfortable with and you will have to gage it on every classroom you do rounds in.
3. Be fair:
I only put this one is because sometimes it’s hard to bond and connect with students of the opposite sex. I typically can see that I have go on better with female students and probably let them get away with more than the boys just because I didn’t want to upset the girls. I really had to be aware especially with the younger year students as they watch you so closely and they notice everything! I made sure that I regularly asked the boys the share their work, or share what they did on the weekend etc I had to make an effort with the boys rather then it just happening naturally with the girls. Try not to have favourites! For me it was a male student with aspergers I thought he was just adorable and so intelligent I loved to probe him with questions, i loved to hear his answer it would give me great insight into what he was thinking. I think the reason I bonded with him was that he reminded me of my husband a very logical and straight down the line thinker. This is the complete opposite to me so it appeals and intrigues me and often makes me laugh! I had to make sure that I didn’t give this student all my attention, as he was aspergers he didn’t like the attention anyway ha-ha!
This is a HUGE tip!!!! So often you will be caught with a great lesson plan that you think will last the double lesson only to find your 30mins short of the bell going, all of a sudden you have 20 pairs of beady eyes looking at you like what’s next? Being able to think on your feet is a must teaching, if lessons aren’t going the way you want them to you have to be able to change them on the spot. Over planning prevents the shock and panic factor when you are speedy through what you have planned. It’s also important to remember that the students don’t know what’s on your lesson plan so if you have to make up an activity on the spot it doesn’t matter! Recently I had planned a double science lesson on the rain. I had planned what I thought was enough, only to realise about half way through that I still had 50 mins and only one activity left. I said to my mentor teacher” arhh the rest of this lesson isn’t on my lesson plan” she said “its fine, this is the reality of teaching this will happen more than once”. I took a deep breath; I replayed the video on the water cycle and then got the students to draw the water cycle in their science books! Crisis averted! This taught me that I can improvise and come up with an activity on the spot; however I much would have preferred to have over planned to prevent the panic. From now on I have at least one extension activity, even if it’s a colouring sheet or crossword, it gives me the time to figure out what to do next whilst keeping the students busy.
5. Have an “attention getting device” e.g. a bell or special clap.
This tip is the one that will save your VOICE! You don’t realise how much you talk as a teacher, your basically talking all day long. This is quite a workout for your voice box! Having a bell, special clap or whistle to get the students attention immediately so that you don’t have raised your voice or shout when it’s loud in the classroom. I only implemented this in my two lots of teaching rounds this year and I found it soooo helpful! At the beginning of rounds explain to the students when you hear my bell this means I want hands on heads and voices off and everyone looking at me. It may take the class a couple of go’s to get the hang of it but once they get it, it’s amazing! Your voice will thank you. I would also ask if your mentor teacher is ok with you using it.
6. HAVE FUN!
Teaching rounds are stressful and you will have moments that you think you’re not going to make it and fall apart but they are fleeting moments of pressure and stress! On a whole rounds are there to have fun and enjoy being in a classroom filled with amazing, unique and beautiful children! My husband loves it when I’m on teaching rounds as I also have so many funny stories for him at the dinner table. Don’t be afraid to let the students get to know you, tell them funny, embarrassing stories (appropriate of course) and tell them about your family they are so interested in that information, it’s like they don’t register your a person hahaha they think you are this teaching robot that lives at school.
Encouraging Quotes:
"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." -- Benjamin Franklin"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." -- Albert Einstein
Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire." --William Butler Yeats
