5 class management tips for fun and productive learning!

As teachers, it’s our job to make sure that our students (the next generation, no less!) can understand their lessons and feel safe and welcome in the classroom. It sounds simple on paper, but in practice? It might as well be one of the hardest, most important jobs on earth! 

So, what can we do to foster a positive atmosphere that facilitates fun and productive learning? Well, look no further! 

Today, we will share 5 class management tips to achieve exactly that! So, without further ado, let’s start!

1. Establish clear rules 

Think about it. You also don’t really want to follow rules that don’t really serve any clear purpose, right? Be it an actual law, your household rules, or whatever else – it’s hard to respect and obey rules that we don’t really know why they exist. 

The same goes for your students! They need to know why the rules were created and what purpose they serve. Of course, you can always go one step further and actually include your students in the decision-making process to create these rules. 

You can discuss and create classroom rules at the beginning of the semester. Invite your students to share their thoughts and ideas. You can then print a poster with the agreed on rules so the rules are always visible, such as in front of the class. 

Clear rules can help you as teachers to establish and maintain class routines and it also helps students by creating a behavioural framework so they can learn to self-manage themselves in the classroom. 

2. Interact with your students 

Think back to when you were a student yourself. 

Generally, the “fun” teachers are always more well-liked than the strict, rigid teachers, right?

And usually, when students genuinely like their teachers, they would make an effort to do well in his or her class. 

So, try to build rapport with your students. Learn the current trend, be it fashion, songs, actors and actresses, the current tiktok trend, whatever it is! You’d be surprised at how much being ‘relatable’ really helps building rapport with your students. 

Once rapport is established, your students will grow to trust you, which brings me to my previous point. A student who trusts you will try to do their best in your class. Also, don’t underestimate the power you have as a teacher! You never know what kinds of struggles they might be going through. Taking the time to get to know your students and be a positive influence in their lives can mean so much more than you’d imagine! 

3. Reward good behaviours 

Humans respond to positive reinforcement much better than negative reinforcement. Quoting positivepsychology.com, positive reinforcement refers to “the introduction of a desirable or pleasant stimulus after a behaviour”, or, put simply, “positive reinforcement means rewarding good behaviour. 

Rewards don’t necessarily have to be materialistic things. Of course you can reward your students, especially young learners, with things like stickers or stationeries but compliments and praise also work just as well!

You don’t have to wait for big things to happen to compliment your students either. For instance, you can compliment them for finishing their assignments faster than their peers. For young learners, you can praise them for being able to sit calmly throughout the duration of the class (believe me, for young learners, that’s no small feat!) 

You can also compliment them on “trivial” things like how good their outfit looks today or that their new haircut looks great. This will improve their mood and make them more likely to behave well in class. 

4. Think through and have an actual plan for behavioural problems 

Trust me, this is important, especially if you teach young children! Sometimes, a class just turns into chaos in a matter of seconds. 

For instance, a student might prank his classmates, who then started to cry or it might even start a fight! Before you know it, your calm and orderly class now turns into pure chaos. A crying child on one side, a tantrum throwing child on the other, and the rest of the class divide itself into two groups: the confused students and the students who seem to take a liking to this turn of event and just started… cheering? 

When this happens, always remember one thing: don’t lose your cool! 

Keep calm and stand confidently in front of the class. If you look confused or god forbid, scared, trust me, the chaos will just get worse and worse. So, take command of the class. To regain their attention, you can turn off the class light for a second or clap your hands. Of course, you can also just use a clear and authoritative voice to get your students to bring their attention to you. 

After you’ve captured their attention, another thing that you need to remember is no favorites! Refer to your class rules and give consequences accordingly. Don’t take sides and remind your students that no one is exempt from the rules! 

5. Notice the good things happening in your classroom 

As teachers, we must be aware of everything that happens in our class, be it good or bad. Noticing the negative things tends to be easier, but pay attention to the positive things too! The key is to draw everyone’s attention to these good things, no matter how small, and remark it with appreciation or praise. 

For example, you might notice that two students are working together to solve a problem. You can say, “Great teamwork, you two! Care to share why you decided to work together?” 

This way, you get the opportunity to listen to your students’ perspectives, the two students feel seen and appreciated, and their classmates feel encouraged to work with their friends to solve problems next time. 

Now that’s what I call a win win! 

Summary 

In today’s article, we’ve shared 5 things you can do as teachers to foster a more fun and welcoming learning environment. We wish you the best in your teaching endeavors! Remember, the influence of a good teacher can never be erased! 

Do you want to develop yourself as an educator?

At IELC, we give you the opportunity to join a great team, develop yourself, and make a difference to Indonesia’s future by teaching English the right way to the next generation of English learners. 

You will also get access to continuous training and professional development and get to meet fantastic, like-minded colleagues and team members. 

Take the first step to enjoy a supportive and fun working environment, develop yourself, and get a rewarding job with IELC.

Sincerely, 

Anthony McCormick 

IELC Managing Director