University of the People

EDUC 5240: Creating Positive Classroom environments

Instructor: Dr. Amanda Nugent

AY2022 – T2

Written Assignment Unit 1

Crucial Elements for Effective Classroom Management

November 16, 2021

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 Crucial Elements of Effective Classroom Management

Educators use various procedures and teaching techniques to create an environment for students that

are inducive to learning, this is called classroom management. There are many classroom

management elements that are deemed as important, and controversy exists as to which of these are

the most crucial for new teachers to master. While all these classroom management elements have

an important role to play to creating a positive environment for students to learn, the three most

crucial are establishing and implementing rules, utilizing effective instructional techniques, and

communication. Rules ensure that students have clear expectation of their behavior. Instructional

techniques ensures that teachers convey the material effectively. Communication ensures that

collaboration exists among teachers, administrators, colleagues, students, and parents.

Classroom rules play a fundamentally important role, and the classroom rules should set a standard

of behavior for students both in and out of the classroom, setting a standard for how one should

behave towards peers and how one should expect to be treated. Robert Marzano (2011) emphasizes

that it is a teacher’s responsibility to provide behavioral direction for students and the teacher

should have well-designed rules and procedures that is continually reinforced during the year. If

students have clear rules to follow, they would know what is expected of them and what behavior is

appropriate for the classroom. Classroom rules can be set by the teacher self or in collaboration with

the students. If students provide input when rules are set, they are more likely to obey these rules.

Choe (n.d.) states that classroom rules should be kept to the minimum. Too many classroom rules

would create confusion. Choe recommended the following three rules which are clear and would be

easy for students to understand; students should be respectful to all, be on time, and to come

prepared. These rules are very basic but create enough understanding for students for set a standard

of behavior.

Having a set of unambiguous, easily understood rules provides clear expectations for students

regarding behavior and performance and helps them know what to expect every day: “Expectations

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that are clear and share are essential to help foster the cause and effect relationship between actions

and consequences” (Professional Learning Board, n.d.).

Sylvia Cini (n.d.) suggests in her article about classroom management, posting class rules in a

conspicuous location for continual reference and having students sign a contract that is shared with

parents, confirming their understanding of class rules.

Some challenges a new teacher might face with regards to the implementation of rules are perhaps

not being taken seriously as the authoritarian future in the class and getting push-back from their

students. Students will always test the boundaries; it is therefore a necessity to be consistent and

enforce rules with appropriate disciplinary actions.

Equally important is instructional technique. In connection with setting classroom rules, Deering

and Kingsbury (1981) elucidate that if proper attention is given to the lesson being presented, many

behavior problems may be controlled or even eliminated. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to

adapt any instructional technique to the grade level, subject area, and students (Cini, 2017). Deering

and Kingsbury (1981) presented Chamberlin’s points on how a teacher should prepare and present

lessons and include some of the following:

1. Individualizing the materials and assignments according to student’s academic ability.

2. Being specific in what needs to be accomplished in class.

3. Using actual concrete experiences as a basis for developing general understandings.

4. Using the interests of learners as motivating factors.

5. Being honest in saying if a teacher does not know something but would find out.

6. Showing empathy, kindness, and understanding in assisting the learners with concerns.

7. Encouraging each student to reach their full potential.

Sylvia Cini (n.d.) emphasizes that although the curricula are often prescribed, it is the educator that

is a liberty to convey the information in a way that is best suited to their students. In order to do

this, a teacher has to determine the learning style of his/her students and then teach the content that

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supports those learning styles. According to the VARK modalities theory, people tend to fall into

certain categories of learning: visual learners who might benefit with visual representation of

information, such as graphs and charts, readers and writers, who obtain a great deal of learning via

text; auditory learners do well in group discussions and lectures; and kinesthetic learners, who learn

best by doing and using a hands-on approach (Malvik, 2020). Many students benefit from a

combination of these learning styles. It is important to incorporate techniques that utilize all

learning styles when teaching a class of diverse learners.

The challenges a new teacher could experience with trying out different instructional techniques,

can be corrected with clear communication and observation of the class. If an instructional

technique is not working for a class, the behavior of the students is a vital clue to understanding

how to adapt one’s instructional technique. In crafting instructional techniques that will work for

the class it is therefore imperative to get to know the students, communicate with them, observe

them, and listen to their ideas and interests.

The most important element of all, is perhaps communication. The other elements of classroom

management will fail if one lacks the ability to communicate clearly. A clear and consistent line of

communication with all stakeholders of the teaching profession is essential. IBO has identified that

being a communicator, as one of its learner profile attributes, does mean to willingly and effectively

work in collaboration with others (International Baccalaureate, 2010). Teachers must be able to

convey information to students and give and receive feedback from colleagues and communicate

problems to parents. It is of utmost importance that one must be able to not only communicate

effectively but also adapt one’s communication style to the audience. Students would understand

the content being taught better if teachers adapt the way they speak according to their specific

audience.

Important aspects of communication that are often overlooked is, listening and observing. In the

article written by, Moi Ali (2018), he states that listening and observation is a vital component of

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effective communication. Students can feel infuriated and demoralized if they are not being listened

to. Effective listening skills involves the eyes as well as the ears, as body language must be

observed. Listening is not a passive activity and would take effort and genuine engagement from

teachers. By listening and observing your students, teachers get to know their students, understand

their learning styles, what motivates them, and what they love.

There are a number of challenges that can arise with communication. Misunderstanding takes place

all the time. A class could mistake what is intended to be a bright and energetic tone as brusque and

impatient, or a colleague could misinterpret a tone or facial expression. It could be helpful to get

feedback from the listening audience, if is seems as though misunderstandings might have occurred.

In conclusion, the issue of classroom management is very important for all teachers, irrespective of

whether one is a new teacher or have been teaching for many years. It is important to remember that

any challenge in relation to an part of these three critical components of classroom management can

be resolved as long as one is consistent, willing to communicate and even admit when something is

not working and try again.

References:

Ali, M. (2018). Communication skills 5: Effective listening and observation. Nursing Times; 114:

4, 56-57. Retrieved from https://www.nursingtimes.net/clinical-archive/assessment-

skills/communication-5-effective-listening-and-observation-skills-12-03-2018/

Choe, Y. (n.d.). Becoming a positive teacher. ASCD. Retrieved from

https://web.archive.org/web/20210413152016/https://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol4/405-

newvoices.aspx

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Cini, S. (n.d.). Seven key elements for effective classroom management. Retrieved

from https://classroom.synonym.com/seven-elements-effective-classroom-management-

6562940.html

Deering, T, & Kingsbury, R. (1981). Developing Classroom Management. American Secondary

Education, 11(3), 27-30. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/41063489

International Baccalaureate. (2010). The IB Learner Profile: A singular capacity for invigorating

campus life. Retrieved from

https://www.ibo.org/globalassets/publications/recognition/learnerprofile-en.pdf

Malvik, C. (2020, August 8). 4 Types of Learning Styles: How to Accommodate a Diverse Group

of Students. Rasmussen University. Retrieved from

https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/education/blog/types-of-learning-styles/

Marzano, R.J. (2011). Art and science of teaching/classroom management: Whose job is it?.

Coaching: The New Leadership skill, 69 (2), 85-86. Retrieved

from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-

leadership/oct11/vol69/num02/Classroom-Management@-Whose-Job-Is-

It%C2%A2.aspx

Professional Learning Board. (n.d.). Benefits of developing clear classroom rules and expectations.

k12 Teacher staff development. Retrieved from

https://k12teacherstaffdevelopment.com/tlb/benefits-of-developing-clear-classroom-rules-

and-expectations/