Student expectations for beginning teachers: Managing a well-behaved classroom can be challenging, and beginner teachers may be apprehensive about student behavior.
Student expectations for beginning teachers: Managing a well-behaved classroom can be challenging, and beginner teachers may be apprehensive about student behavior.
With well-established strategies, new teachers can ensure their students behave appropriately. Newly-qualified teachers often have idealistic goals and may expect a lot from their students.
While it’s admirable to set the bar high, students and teachers must have realistic and attainable goals to work towards.
Instead of worrying about losing control of a class, newly-qualified teachers can ensure they’re prepared for unexpected disturbances or sudden changes to lesson plans. By keeping some grade-appropriate tasks on standby, teachers can draw on them whenever necessary. If students are allowed to become bored or are left without anything to do, it can lead to poor behavior. Teachers are more likely to hold the students’ attention and maintain a well-behaved classroom environment by ensuring pupils always have a task to get on with.
Maintaining control of the classroom is key to successful teaching, and all beginner teachers are concerned about it. To show students who’s in charge, some new teachers start with a strict, authoritarian approach, but there are other ways to maintain a well-behaved classroom.
Although students should accept the teacher as an authority figure, this doesn’t mean they can’t be friendly and approachable. Involving students in classroom decisions can show you value your pupils, for example. It may mean students are more likely to cooperate with instructions when they have a role in decision-making.
Students should know what’s expected of them, and new teachers should feel confident telling pupils what appropriate behavior is. Even basic rules can be reinforced, and beginner teachers can clarify their expectations by setting out rules for the classroom, such as:
All teachers are eager to see their students succeed, but grades aren’t the only way to determine success. New teachers may get caught up in delivering the curriculum and working according to lesson plans, but getting to know students is important too.
Beginner teachers can identify their strengths, weaknesses, and interests by getting to know students. As well as creating a good working partnership helps teachers to provide the appropriate assistance and encouragement to pupils and will help them to manage their expectations of students too.
Students should be able to work independently, and teachers should be mindful to help pupils develop self-management skills throughout their education. Although students can benefit from working in pairs and participating in group activities, independent learning is the key to ongoing success and should be encouraged regularly.
School policies and schedules differ, so it can take time for teachers to become familiar with school-specific practices. Some schools have school-wide policies regarding breaks and lunchtimes, but others may stagger breaks so that different grades are free at different times.
Beginner teachers aren’t expected to remember numerous school policies immediately, so you should always ask a colleague if you’re unsure of lesson times or break times. While most students will know this, they may not always give you an accurate answer, so it’s best to rely on a fellow staff member!
As new teachers become familiar with school-specific routines, their time management skills will become even more pronounced. This can make classroom management far easier as students won’t have free time at the start or end of class and they won’t feel overwhelmed by too much work if you try to plan too much content for the lesson.
Having control over a classroom doesn’t mean implementing a long list of strict rules and regulations. If there are too many rules in a classroom, students are likely to forget them, leading to persistent rule-breaking. Even if pupils don’t intend to misbehave or breach regulations, the ongoing cycle of rule-breaking, discipline, and punishment will likely discourage teachers and students.
Instead, new teachers can manage a well-behaved classroom by setting out simple rules to govern behavior. By implementing basic routines and encouraging students to manage their work within these rules, new teachers can help students become independent learners while ensuring they behave appropriately in class.
New teachers may worry about keeping control of a classroom, but there are various ways teachers can keep students on track and maintain a well-behaved classroom. Working with students, implementing basic routines, and creating a supportive and nurturing classroom environment is an ideal way to approach classroom management and should ensure beginner teachers take control of the class from the outset.