Teach English in Dahe Zhen - Bazhong Shi

Class management and student motivation I have chosen to join class management and student motivation together as I feel like they are linked in the classroom. Having good class management is one of the keys to conducting successful lessons where the students are engaged and motivated to learn. Without good management students will not gain all the benefits of the teaching and also in turn they start to lack motivation to learn and participate in the lesson. The first part of establishing good management and motivation in the class it to get the class to help establish some class guidelines and routines that are important to follow. Routines can range from how the students: • enter the class especially at primary and secondary school • listen to the teacher and other class members • how answers are given e.g. raising hand, or calling out answers. • putting their books away • ask to go to the bathroom • participate in a groups Routines and guidelines can include using manners and how we treat other students during the lesson. Many classes if there has been no set guidelines do not know the boundaries, so they can tend to talk while the teacher is talking or lack motivation to engage as no one is listening or showing respect. After routines and guidelines are set and the students are aware of what they are, they can either be put up on the wall to remind the students or in a hall way next to the classroom. The next step is for the students especially younger learners to know the positive and negative consequences for over stepping the routines or guidelines they could be: Star charts that help the teacher focus on the good behaviour Warning and taken aside to discuss the behaviour. Rewards for good behaviour Stamps or stickers Set goals for those that are mis behaving or lack motivation. Encouragement and praise Class trip as a reward. At times getting the students attention can be a problem so having strategies that help with this is really important so that your voice is saved. Some strategies that work can be: Talk in a quieter voice Raise hand until all the students are quiet. Wait silently until all people are listening or you have their attention. Clap hands or have an object that can make a sound e.g. a bell. When behaviour in a class gets out of hand then motivation drops from those who are wanting to learn as they are waiting for the behaviour of the others to improve or for them to listen to the teacher. Also motivation can drop for those who are misbehaving as they are in trouble to much so they give up. Constructive praise is important to keep motivation going as too much negative feedback will cause motivation to drop. It is better to try and find those that misbehave doing the right thing and focusing on that. Class management and motivation can be difficult when lessons are not well planned or are not very engaging. Too much teacher talk, the 20/80 rule is handy to remember when teachers are planning lessons to ensure they are giving lots of opportunities for students to discuss, work in groups and participate in creative and fun activities. When grouping students it is also important to ensure that the group is compatible with each other as this can lead to management being difficult, especially if you have students who do not get along or who encourage each other to misbehave or get distracted. This can lead also to a lack of motivation as other students can get bored when the task is not being completed due to other students not being involved. Motivation and class management can also be difficult when the work is too easy or too hard for the students. It is important that lessons have enough scaffolding to ensure that students can complete the work with some challenge but also making sure that it is not boring as it does not have enough challenge. For everyone to learn and for the teacher to enjoy teaching having good class management is vital, motivation will also be higher if engagement is high.