Classroom Management Support

  • 1.5 hours

This Module includes the following:

    • A short video of a teacher and mentor conferencing about classroom management.
    • Sample activites to use with your student teacher to support their classroom management.
    • Additional resources.

Classroom management is a broad concept that encompasses the behaviors and strategies that teachers use to guide student behavior in the classroom (Evertson & Emmer, 2017).

Classroom management is a critical component of being an effective teacher. We all know that the best planned lesson can be derailed if effective classroom management is not in place. How can you, the mentor teacher, support your candidate in improving his/her classroom management?

Watch this video from the Teaching Channel. This video shows a new teacher who is still struggling with some aspects of her classroom management.

This new teacher takes a video of her classroom to share with a 30-year veteran teacher for advice.

Both watch the video and discuss what they notice.

How can you use video with your student teacher to help them reflect on their use of classroom management?

Sample Activities

Identify your Candidate's Need

What aspect of classroom management is the student teacher struggling with? (If there is more than one area, focus on 1-2 at a time so the student teacher is able to develop these skills.)

Student teachers commonly struggle with:

-          Monitoring the entire class while speaking with one student
-          Consistently using positive reinforcement
-          Relying on negative reinforcement
-          Not waiting for 100% attention before speaking
-          Not using a signal to gain student attention
-          Planning a lesson that is not at their students’ level (too easy, too hard)
-          Setting clear expectations
-          Not following a routine or procedure
-          Time management (lesson is too long or too short)
-          Responding to a defiant student
-          Demonstrating authority “teacher presence” 
-          Etc.

Possible Courses of Action

Click on the links below for a detailed explanation.

Additional Resources

Rick Morris TV on YouTube: Videos of Rick Morris, retired teacher and classroom management expert, on different strategies to try.

Smart Classroom Management: a website with helpful ideas and suggestions to help with classroom management.

Looking into Learning Centered Classrooms: Implications for Classroom Management by Evertson & Neal, 2006: a working paper that describes shifts that have to take place in classroom management in order to match the shifts in instruction.

Dr. Bill Rogers : Video of Dr. Bill Rogers on Managing a Difficult Class

Jennifer Gonzales: Videos on the Cult of Pedagogy