How to manage out of control class

The task of managing a classroom is very difficult and, without a way to organize the different decisions and elements, it can be overwhelming. This is especially true when things begin to spiral out of control. Attempting to process the events of a very difficult day or put things in place to avoid those days, requires a structure that allows you to categorize and prioritize. The Three Phases of Management, provided by Di Giulio in his excellent book, are just the ticket for breaking the unwieldy challenge down into bite-sized pieces. Just like it sounds, the preventative phase is about avoiding management problems before they start.

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How to manage out of control class

Content:

• Classroom Management: How to Regain Control of a Classroom
• Top Tips For Maintaining Discipline In The Classroom
• 7 effective classroom management strategies for teens
• 7 Classroom Management Mistakes—and the Research on How to Fix Them
• 10 Strategies for Teachers on How to Deal With a Disruptive Class
• Strategies:

Classroom Management: How to Regain Control of a Classroom

Dealing with challenging behaviour in the classroom is one of the most difficult aspects of teaching and sadly the one that causes the most anxiety in teachers. This is for good reason.

If you fail to keep control of a class and enable the challenging behaviour from disruptive pupils to dictate, none of the other class members will be able to learn and you will be unable to teach in the way you were trained for. According to a recent report , three quarters of teachers report that they have to deal with disruptive behaviour on a regular basis and have considered quitting teaching as a result.

More than half say that disruptive behaviour is negatively impacting education and that their training has not prepared them for managing pupil behaviour. Shockingly, around 2 in 5 new teachers quit within the first five years and although this may not be fully attributed to challenging behaviour, it is one of the most cited reasons for leaving teaching.

So, with thousands of people leaving the profession every year, learning how to deal with challenging behaviour is of paramount importance. Challenging behaviour in the classroom can take many forms and although the physical threat increases when you are teaching older children and teenagers, even primary school age children can be hard to manage. Challenging behaviour can take many forms but essentially comes down to whether it causes low level disruption or high-level disruption.

Low level disruption can be characterised as unauthorised talking, moving around the classroom without permission or being obviously inattentive such as checking phones, putting on make-up, pulling faces, shouting out, or similar.

High level disruption is behaviour that is designed to undermine you as the teacher. Answering back, becoming confrontational, or physically threatening you or a pupil, or fighting in class are all examples. High level disruptive behaviour cannot be ignored and must be dealt with immediately. Challenging behaviour can take many forms and it is not always obviously aggressive.

These questions are not asked out of nosiness but as a way of bullying you in front of the classroom audience. If you fail to engage and you reprimand your questioner, he or she can act in an aggrieved way, claiming to be only asking a question — switching the blame onto you. If you do respond and answer the questions, expect to have this information thrown back at you constantly, shouted across the playground and posted on social media. Mind games like these are never easy to deal with especially when this is all one way.

Challenging behaviour in primary schools is also a major issue. Children may be aggressive, engaging in fighting or biting the other pupils. Sometimes, but not always, this can be classified as attention seeking, but whatever the underlying cause it will need to be managed in the classroom environment. How long have you got?! There can be numerous causes for challenging behaviour in the classroom, and with the policy of inclusivity in schools of special needs, and the chaotic issues that many children face on a daily basis at home, this is only increased.

However, here are some of the major reasons why a child may engage in challenging behaviour at school. But you can establish a safe learning environment that will help difficult children flourish and the non-challenging members of your class learn in peace and safety. According to Unison there are 10 key tips to managing behaviour —.

We all know people who speak in a way that commands respect and others who sound apologetic or wheedling. Try recording yourself to see how you come across to the children in your charge. This can be horrific of course, but it is certainly worth doing because it will help you become the teacher you need to be.

You should aim at keeping your communication calm, authoritative and neutral. If you speak calmly without resorting to sarcasm, shouting or demonstrating a loss of control, your pupils are more likely to listen and to do what you ask.

If you always keep your word regarding any type of sanctions for bad behaviour, your pupils will know where they stand. If word gets round that you are willing to engage in trading sarcastic retorts, it sets out a challenge that you are unlikely to win in the long run and it just wastes time as well. Diversity and cultural differences can cause behavioural differences that can be misunderstood by the teaching staff.

To ensure you are up to speed on diversity training, it is crucial that you understand the background and cultures of your students. If you fail to understand your students, an already difficult situation is likely to escalate and cause offence. You can improve behaviour in the classroom so that challenging incidents are less likely to arise and any misbehaviour or naughtiness is easy to manage.

It is important to lead by example and by being a positive role model that your class can emulate. For example, showing good time management and arriving on time for class will make your class see that they should do likewise. Always endeavour to remain calm and polite with your students. There are positive ways and there are negative ways of keeping control. For example, telling someone to stop talking is more likely to be remembered if the instruction is delivered in a positive way.

Poor Freddie probably gets this first response at home so is highly unlikely to listen to you. If a child is struggling with behaving in class, talking to them and proposing a strategy together may help. Many children engage in negative behaviour to gain attention, so being taken seriously may help you get to the reason why they do it.

Perhaps giving the attention-seeking child an outlet for showing off and gaining attention can be achieved by establishing a turn taking system where everyone gets a chance to speak. Creating a framework of boundaries is extremely helpful for children because it helps everyone remember what is acceptable behaviour and what is not. Calling on your class to help devise this themselves with your help will help create a good atmosphere. That way if any student crosses the line, it not only goes against your rules, it goes against the ethos of the whole class — and is less likely to be favourably received by classmates.

Most people thrive on praise and many of your children may not be accustomed to being praised for anything! Always praise for hard work, effort or a good piece of work. Tell the child you are proud of them and give them some positive attention.

If you do this, the other pupils are likely to copy good behaviour so that they can get your positive attention too. If you need to call someone out for bad behaviour, try not to make it worse. Once you have got to know your class, a warning look or a gesture may be enough to make a troublemaker stop.

If the pupils fully understand your instructions, they are more likely to follow them. They become angry or frustrated or upset, so to avoid disrupting the whole classroom it is a good idea to establish a quiet area. This should be a comforting space where the child can take some time out to recover and reflect. It is not a punishment but an acknowledgement that sometimes life can be difficult and we all need a moment to ourselves. Getting the class involved with creating the quiet area with peaceful drawings or no longer used soft toys will help create a restful ambience.

Many teachers ignore parents, only calling on them to complain about bad behaviour. This is a mistake.

With some tactful handling and a non-judgemental attitude that demonstrates concern, you often find that parents can become allies rather than adding to the problem.

Getting to understand the home situation will help you understand the difficult pupil so that you can find ways to manage their behaviour. Teaching is a very rewarding and vital job. It can help children transform their future lives and realise their talents. It can be enjoyable and very satisfying to work with young people and no day is ever truly the same, so it is never boring.

Many of us remember certain teachers with affection and gratitude because these wonderful people have such a positive effect upon their lives. However, it is not all a bed of roses, and challenging behaviour in the classroom can be extremely difficult to deal with when you are new to the profession. There are no easy answers but if you manage to keep control over your sometimes difficult students with firmness, consistency, kindness and calm, you will be able to provide the education they need.

Outside work Jane enjoys playing music, learning foreign languages and swimming in the sea even when it is far too cold for comfort! Knowledge Base » Health and Safety » How to deal with challenging behaviour in the classroom. In this article. What is behaviour that challenges? Both low level and high-level disruption can quickly escalate if left unchecked.

What are some examples of challenging behaviour? What are the possible causes of challenging behaviour? Home environment — Children learn behaviour at home and if their home environment is chaotic with lots of shouting and arguments, the child may see this type of behaviour as normal so will carry it on at school.

Lack of routine and basic care — Again, this comes down to the home environment but if there is no routine such as regular mealtimes or bedtimes, the child may be struggling with tiredness and even hunger throughout the school day. Learned behaviour — In a busy chaotic household a child may have learned that confrontation and aggression is normal behaviour.

If everyone acts like this at home, this learned behaviour may be hard to break. Changes at home — A child going through disruption and changes at home may show this by their behaviour at school. Common causes include bereavement, divorce or relationship break-up of parents or caregivers, moving home or school, or coming to a new country. Behavioural issues — Schools are inclusive so pupils with special needs or issues such as ADHD or autism may be part of your class.

These pupils may not be able to express themselves without using challenging behaviour. You may find that they are excluded by the other pupils too which only adds to their problems. And to yours! Boredom — Some pupils misbehave and challenge teaching staff out of boredom. They may be intelligent and are just not engaged by the lessons. Alternatively, they may be struggling to understand so just give up as the easier option, switching their efforts to disrupting the class for entertainment.

Health — Is there an underlying health issue? Can the child hear or is he or she suffering from pain or discomfort that is going undetected? Strategies for dealing with challenging behaviour in the classroom. First up, remember you are not alone.

Your school should have a clear behavioural policy and be able to offer you support if you need it. It can be hard to ask for help especially if you are new to the profession, but understanding the structure for managing behaviour and working together with colleagues will give you the confidence you need. Speak to the pupils calmly and explain what you require them to do. Keep it polite, non-aggressive and in a neutral tone — sometimes this will be enough to manage their behaviour.

If they fail to respond, repeat the instruction, keeping the tone calm and neutral.

Top Tips For Maintaining Discipline In The Classroom

Teaching controversial subjects is an inherent part of some courses and disciplines. How we manage those discussions, however, can greatly impact how useful the conversations are to our instructional goals, and what sort of impact they have on the dynamics of the class. Many of the suggestions below focus on pre-planned discussions, but many of the techniques can also be applied to discussions that pop up unexpectedly. In situations where you know you will be addressing a controversial topic, you can prepare for the discussion in ways that set the stage for success.

7 effective classroom management strategies for teens

A disciplined classroom is essential for learners and teachers to succeed. Any teacher will tell you that having a loud, unruly class with a lack of discipline is not conducive to successful learning. Developing your classroom management skills is the key to maintaining a respectful and learning-positive environment. A bit of skill and planning, as well as getting pupils on board with your expectations and the consequences of their own actions, will pay dividends in the attention span and overall engagement in your lessons. A well-disciplined classroom means a more positive learning environment. Children, especially younger children, are naturally active creatures for whom sitting at a desk for 5 hours a day will not come naturally. Removing distractions of unruly behaviours will enable all of your learners to concentrate on the lesson being delivered.

7 Classroom Management Mistakes—and the Research on How to Fix Them

Classroom management can be a struggle for new and seasoned teachers alike. Even with the best lesson plan, keeping kids engaged isn't easy. When designing an approach for your classroom, it's important to consider where your students are developmentally. Here, we've tapped into brain science to get your classroom management for middle school on point.

10 Strategies for Teachers on How to Deal With a Disruptive Class

Susan has been a high school teacher for 26 years. A part of lesson planning involves being prepared to deal with disruptions. This article will provide some insight into regaining control of your classroom. Nikhita S via Unsplashed Public Domain. Classroom management involves the number of techniques that teachers use to ensure that their lesson plans are executed in a smooth and productive fashion with as little distracting behavior from students as possible.

Strategies:

Classroom management refers to the wide variety of skills and techniques that teachers use to keep students organized, orderly, focused, attentive, on task, and academically productive during a class. When classroom-management strategies are executed effectively, teachers minimize the behaviors that impede learning for both individual students and groups of students, while maximizing the behaviors that facilitate or enhance learning. Generally speaking, effective teachers tend to display strong classroom-management skills, while the hallmark of the inexperienced or less effective teacher is a disorderly classroom filled with students who are not working or paying attention. Given that poorly designed lessons, uninteresting learning materials, or unclear expectations, for example, could contribute to greater student disinterest, increased behavioral problems, or unruly and disorganized classes, classroom management cannot be easily separated from all the other decisions that teachers make. In this more encompassing view of classroom management, good teaching and good classroom management become, to some degree, indistinguishable. In practice, classroom-management techniques may appear deceptively simple, but successfully and seamlessly integrating them into the instruction of students typically requires a variety of sophisticated techniques and a significant amount of skill and experience. Classroom management is the term educators use to describe methods of preventing misbehavior and dealing with it if it arises.

The following strategies may prove helpful in minimizing off task behavior in the physical education classroom. For more information about reducing off task behavior please get a copy of the book entitled Teaching Children's Physical Education: Becoming a Master Teacher 3rd Ed. George Graham. A wonderful resource that every elementary PE teacher should have!

Student misbehaviour is consistently regarded as one of the biggest concerns and challenges for PE teachers, especially trainees and NQTs. Fortunately we are not alone, as schools and educators from around the world have shared their struggles and noted how poor behaviour significantly impairs class progress. Pupil misbehaviour distracts both teachers and pupils from a learning focus, which has resulted in teachers having to spend more time on behaviour management rather than student learning. As a result, it has been suggested that many heads of schools tend to employ teachers predominantly on their ability to manage behavioural problems. Therefore, it is invaluable for physical educators to clarify the different classifications of misbehaviour and to have a repertoire of behaviour management tools [ ]. In schools, teachers have been expected to encounter a wide range of misbehaviours, which are largely similar for both classroom and physical education lessons.

When you watch a teacher with great classroom management techniques, it can feel like magic. The reality is, classroom management can be learned. Reading about classroom management, asking other teachers what they do, and even talking with your principal about what they have observed can help. Here are seven things to consider in your quest for classroom management excellence. And these hold true no matter how you are teaching: in person, online, or in a hybrid model. This is hands down the most effective classroom management technique.

Classroom management… it is always the big elephant in the room. Building relationships with your students, creating expectations, and maintaining routines and procedures are all very important when creating your classroom management system. So, whether you are a new teacher getting ready to put your system into place, or a veteran teacher who is ready to change things up a bit, we have some great classroom management system ideas for you!