The following is a list of classroom management strategies that I have observed my SA using within my practicum classroom.

“Putting it back on them (the students)”

• Put the responsibility back on the students- when they are misbehaving let them know that they should be using these moments as opportunities to show us (the teachers) that they can handle the situations that they are in. If they are able to handle situations well and under control it will allow the teacher to do more fun and enactive lessons.

“Hands on your head”

• If you are working with novelty items (such as iPads) or the students have distracting items on their desks asking the students to place their hands on their heads will take away the temptation to touch/ continue working on what they have open on their desks. This also provides the teacher a visual for who is listening to directions and who is not.

“Counting down from 3”

• 3,2,1… This can be done from 3-0, 5-0, 10-0 depending on how long it will take students to stop what they are doing and get into active listening position (hands folded on desk, eyes open and facing forward). In my classroom specifically we always end the count down with “AL” standing for active listening. Often times the group who is in AL first will receive a checkmark (part of our classroom management point system).

“Put your hand up if…”

• When asking a question to the whole class (or group of students) use the phrasing “Put up your hand if…” this is a way of assessing knowledge while also giving the students a reminder to put up their hand rather than to call out.

“Calling attention to the individual”

• In situations that warrant a more intense intervention you could call attention to the bad behaviour by using the students name. For example if a student is consistently being disruptive (and simply giving him the look (“the stare”) or multiple reminders has not worked) you may choose to use the students name and ask them if it is okay that you continue now. I think it is also important for you to say “thank you” once you have noticed the desired change in behaviour.

“Using the point system”

• My practicum classroom has a classroom point system that seems to work quiet well for classroom management. The system is based on group actions, not individual, therefore if you call for attention the group who is all listening first will receive a point. If no group has all members responding you may choose to erase a checkmark from all groups. The students seem to react well to this system, simply walking near the checkmarks area will generally elicit a positive reaction.

“Wait Time”

• Waiting until all students are quiet before starting to talk is very important. If students are not listening simply wait quietly until everyone is silent, usually one or two students will catch on and tell the others to quiet down for you. If this does not work, you could try the “Stare” or “calling attention to” strategies that were mentioned above.