"I have yet to see a school where the learning curves...of the adults were not steeped upward and those of the students were not. Teachers and students go hand and hand as learners...or they don't go at all."  Roland Barth

"Students will never trust us or open themselves up to hear what we have to say unless they sense that we value and respect them. " Zehm and Kottler

The following topics include skills that are needed for teachers to excel. 

Classroom Arrangement and Resources

Reflect on these questions. "How will students respond to the physical layout of the room? Does the physical layout of the room impede learning or appropriate behavior?" (Wink, 2017)

Reflect on these questions. "What resources are available? Your site leadership or your team will provide you with resources. Your site coach will teach you how to learn the resources. Which key components of the resource must be mastered first? How do I align the resource with learning standards? What plan will I create to empower students to take ownership of those resources?" (Wink, 2017)

Routines and Procedures

Classroom management consists of practice and procedures that a teacher used to maintain an environment in which instruction and learning can occur. Teachers need to have a procedure for everything from entering the room in the morning to asking to get a drink of water. The effective teacher has a minimum of student disruptions. 

Reflect on these questions. "What are the appropriate learning behaviors that we expect all students to exhibit? How do we know when students are successfully demonstrating those behaviors? How will we effectively respond when students fail to demonstrate appropriate behavior? How will we reinforce and praise students who successfully demonstrate appropriate behavior?" (Wink, 2017)

A video from Merri. Click the link to access the video.  Classroom Management/ Procedures

Discipline Plan and Consequences

Our district has a handbook with expected behaviors and consequences, and most likely, your site will have a discipline plan that you will be required to follow. 

Build Relationships

"In order to develop a culture that promotes active and engaged learning experiences, teachers must develop meaningful relationships with students. Those relationships should be based on trust and respect." (Wink, 2017) Teachers must give respect first- even when students seem least to deserve it. Teachers must also provide a safe environment to make mistakes. 

Reflect on these questions. "In what ways can we generate excitement about the learning we present to students? In what ways can we engage reluctant students? What actions should we take to be consistent in our expectations as well as in holding students accountable for meeting them? When students are struggling behaviorally, socially, emotionally, or academically, how can we respond with compassion and empathy?" (Wink, 2017)

Time Management

One of the things a mentor told me, early on in my career, was  "I should not be doing more work in the classroom than my students. It is the students' education, so they should be doing the work." That was the greatest tip I learned in 20 years of teaching. How did I go from taking home papers every night, talking so much my voice gave out, and wearing out my shoes and my body from being on my feet too long? First, I cut my content lessons down to 15 minutes. Many students cannot sit still and pay attention longer than that. Second, all of their content "practice" was done in cooperative groups using "high yield learning strategies". (Look for the high yield strategies on the Instruction page.) They did the learning and creating. I no longer had to spend all my plan time copying worksheets that my students hated. Third, I never took grades on practice work because students were just starting to learn the material. Would you like it if someone gave you a grade on what you learned during a PD session? The only grades that I took were a review page/activity (that the students graded themselves) and a test (that I would take home to grade or grade during my plan time. Remember, your plan time is for planning lessons, entering grades, copying papers, meeting with team members, etc. (With HS, this would be different. They are required to have three grades in a week so they might take a homework review page for a grade.)

See more time management tips below. 

Class Dojo- a classroom management tool and communication app

GroupMe- Free Group Messaging                                                               Remind - Another Communication app

PAX Good Behavior Program- John Glenn Elementary

Love and Logic- practical behavior management techniques for teachers

Success for All - Getting along Together

Classroom Library Management