11 Classroom Management Tips from Experienced Educators
| by Hannah Sparling
You’re standing in front of 30 eager faces ready to launch into your carefully planned lesson. You know exactly how the day is going to go, and you can’t wait. But suddenly, one student is talking loudly to their neighbor, another is wandering around the room, a third is clearly texting under their desk, and a fourth is asleep.
If this sounds familiar, you’re in good company. Classroom management is one of the most common challenges for teachers. In a survey from the National Center for Education Statistics, teachers were asked if student misbehavior interfered with their teaching, and 32% said it did.
The good news is experienced teachers have walked this path before. They’ve struggled with classroom management, they’ve discovered solutions, and they are happy to share what they’ve learned. This blog post pulls together 11 classroom management tips from experienced educators.
Classroom Management Tips from Experienced Educators
#1 Set Clear, High Expectations
Ashley Lambert, a Moreland University instructor with 18 years of experience, suggests setting aside time at the beginning of the school year to set classroom norms and routines. Talk to your students about how your classroom will function, what you expect from them, and what they can expect from you.
State your expectations clearly; don’t assume students will read between the lines. And set your expectations high! Show your students that you believe in them and know they will succeed. They’ll rise to the challenge.
#2 Be Realistic
As much as your expectations are high, remember that you’re dealing with children and young adults, and you should expect them to test the rules and push the limits.
“That’s what they do,” said Linda Suarez, a Spanish teacher in Maryland. “They push back on the limits to see what happens. That’s how they learn. And so, for us to have these unrealistic expectations that we’re going to do everything right, and they’re going to do everything right? It doesn’t work like that.”
To Cole Cooper, an activities director and teacher in Iowa with more than 20 years of experience, that means that sometimes you have to let the little things go. If you’re reacting to every tiny infraction, you’ll soon be exhausted, and you and your students will be stressed out.
“I can’t remember the last time I gave a kid a detention,” Cooper said. “I mean, there are situations where the kid just has to be out of the room, and I understand those situations, but if we’re talking about interrupting the class because they’re making a fart noise or whatever? There’s things you can do to curb that behavior.”
#3 Consistency, Consistency, Consistency
This is Arizona STEM teacher Rhonda Villaverde’s No. 1 tip: “Stay consistent. Don’t give up. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Be a broken record.”
You have to treat every student the same (the rules can’t apply to some but not to others), and you have to stick to what you say. This creates a sense of safety and predictability that helps students thrive.
#4 Use Non-Verbal Communication
Kathy Schmidt, an international educator in Morocco, has had a lot of success with using non-verbal cues to manage disruptive behavior. Sometimes a simple look, a gentle gesture, or moving closer to a student is enough to redirect behavior.
This method has two advantages: One, the student doesn’t feel embarrassed or like you called them out. And two, you don’t have to interrupt the flow of your lesson to address the behavior.
#5 Build Authentic Relationships
Get to know your students. Learn their interests and hobbies and understand who they are as people.
“Connect with your kids,” said Miya Hourani, an international educator in Kuwait, “because once they believe that you genuinely care about them, and that you’re in that room for them, they will give.”
Of course, it’s easy to say “build relationships.” But how do you actually do it? A few ideas:
- From Hourani: Try a community circle. At the start of each class or maybe once a week, do a check-in activity with your students. It could be a game or a question you’re asking: Do they have feedback on a recent lesson? What are they excited about for the coming week? What are their plans for the weekend? The point is to check in with your students to better understand what they’re thinking and how they’re feeling.
- From Cici Chen, an experienced teacher in China: Try a regular class meeting where you talk about what’s going well and what could be improved. Ask students for their ideas to fix what’s not working and give their suggestions a chance. This gives students more ownership of the class, which makes them much more likely to follow the established norms and procedures.
- From Cooper: If you have a student who’s struggling, make a pact to do a regular check-in: How was that class for you? Is there anything you struggled with? What can I do to make it just a little bit easier? “It’s just me at the end of class, just seeing where they are,” Cooper said. “You don’t have to do a drawn-out conversation. It could just be little things, because a lot of kids just want to be noticed. You don’t have to be their best friend. They just want to know that you care.”
#6 Approach Every Student with Compassion
It’s easy to react with anger or take it personally when a student acts out. They’re trying to ruin my day, they don’t care about school, they’re doing this on purpose. But try instead to start from a place of compassion. Think of the behavior as a symptom and do your best to investigate and understand the root cause.
Suarez, the Maryland Spanish teacher, talks about a student who was regularly falling asleep in her class: “If I didn’t have any insight as to what students’ lives can be like, I would have been like, ‘Get out of my classroom right now. You’re being disrespectful, you’re falling asleep in my class.’”
Instead, Suarez had a private conversation with the student and asked him why he was falling asleep. He explained that he has a part-time job after school and doesn’t get home until 11 p.m. Then he’s exhausted but still has to do his homework, and he doesn’t get to bed until around 1 a.m.
“I’ve kind of learned over the years that just because you see a behavior, you don’t know what’s behind it,” Suarez said. “Treating students with compassion and kindness and getting to the root of the behavior creates a huge difference when it comes to building relationships.”
#7 Seek Out Experts
Keep open lines of communication not just with students but with their families, with your administrators, and with other teachers. Your school likely has counselors, psychologists, or other specialists. Use them!
Specialists can offer support and ideas for how to accommodate the different students in your class, Lambert said. You don’t have to handle everything on your own.
#8 Model the Behavior You Want to See
It’s not enough to tell students how you want them to behave. You have to show them through your own actions.
“Practice, on a daily basis, carrying yourself with a calm and assertive energy,” Suarez said. “No matter what happens in your classroom, no matter what behaviors you are seeing in front of you, if you carry yourself in a calm and assertive way, students will always react positively to that, and you’re going to be able to de-escalate a lot of situations within the classroom.”
Children and teenagers are still developing, Suarez said. They’re still learning how to regulate their emotions and control their behavior, and a lot of times they’re just running on instinct.
“We have to teach them how to be calm and assertive,” she said. “And no matter what happens, just stay calm, take a deep breath, and everything will be fine.”
#9 Focus on What You Can Control
You can’t solve every single problem for every single student.
“I always try to remind myself,” Lambert said, “and I’ve mentored other teachers about this: Focus on what you can control, and that is the time that you have them with you at school. How can you make your learning environment as positive of an experience as possible for them? Is it an issue of providing something they don’t have? Are those basic needs being met so that the student can thrive cognitively in the classroom? Can you provide snacks or a jacket for recess if they need it? What does that look like? So, focus on what you can control.”
#10 Communicate Proactively with Families
Don’t wait until there’s a problem. Proactively reach out to parents and guardians with a positive message at the beginning of the school year. This could be as simple as a quick email to let them know how much you enjoy having their student in class.
Later, if you do have to reach out for a negative reason, you already have a connection and you’re not starting from scratch with bad news.
“Sometimes parents are really appreciative of you filling them in,” Hourani said. “Not picking up the phone and saying, ‘Your kid acted up today, it was really disrespectful.’ But saying, ‘Hi, I need your support. I’m having a really hard time finding a way to get through to little Bobby. And I just want to know, how can you and I put our heads together and support Bobby?’”
#11 Stay Flexible
What works for one group of students may not work for another. What works in August may need adjustment by February.
“Sometimes your beautiful plan just does not work, and you need to find different strategies,” Hourani said. “It’s also extremely important to ask your kids for their input. Sometimes they’ll throw ideas at you that you didn’t think about that are really good and that will probably work in your classroom. And when they feel like they’re a part of that, part of setting up the classroom management, it affects them, and it affects them positively.”
Want more resources on classroom management?
- Infographic – 5 Strategies for Stronger Classroom Management
- Webinar – The Art (and Science) of Classroom Management
- Blog – 8 Classroom Management Techniques Every New Teacher Should Know
Then, visit the Teacher Resources section of our website for even more support.
