Teach English in West Kelowna - TEFL Courses

Classroom management is integral for effective learning to take place and a teacher is the most significant component who can establish this link. The experienced ones usually understand its importance, but the novice teachers often do not rate it too highly at the beginning of their careers. It is with trial and error that they realize that it is all the more important to manage students, at times even more important than the content of what is being taught in class. At the administrative level, it can be viewed as a measure of determining the efficiency of a teacher and in some cases may even result in a teacher losing a job due to poor class room management. So it may not be wrong to cite it as one of the biggest threat to a teacher's career. So what exactly is class room management? According to www.britishcouncil.org/5_teaching_skills_-_final_version.doc?, it is the ability to plan, control and facilitate interaction in the classroom that is appropriate to the activity and promotes learning and takes into account different needs and abilities of learners and demonstrates an awareness of equal opportunities and diversity issues. In other words, the term implies that it includes all those organizational and behavioral skills and strategies that are required for a teacher to meet the goals of her lesson plan and end result manifests in the from of students getting knowledge. The peace of mind of students and their comfort is essential to develop an atmosphere in class where students are motivated towards learning. A teacher must be mindful of certain factors and until and unless they are followed, would it ensure a better managed classroom. Have a plan: A teacher must have a written plan for the class, highlighting the purpose for holding the class. This implies that the goals must be clearly stated in a document in order to carry out all activities without any interference. Students' awareness: It is equally important for the students to be aware of what is being expected from them by the teacher in order to meet those goals. Rules matter: At the beginning of the initial class, it is important for a teacher to tell students the rules of acceptable behaviour. Equally important is that the teacher also shows commitment about enforcing the rules. Structure of class: It is essential that the students are seated in a way that they are well in view of the teacher. Students are very smart, if they are able to sense that the teacher is not conscious of their activities, chances are that they will lose focus too. Welcoming feel: A smiling teacher at the door who greets the students warmly is most likely to motivate them towards learning than a frowning teacher who is not friendly towards them. Positive feedback: A teacher must encourage students instead of acting as a correcting device, which points out all mistakes in the work and offers no encouragement to them. Beyond the lesson: It is acceptable to cross over the boundaries of your lesson plan once in a while and share a personal incident, reflect a lesson in life, it keeps the students motivated and makes a teacher appear as humane and not as a robot! Practice fairness: It is important not to show any kind of a bias towards students regarding their gender, family background, origin, behaviour even work quality. A teacher who is fair is most likely to command respect from students which in turn would develop their interest in the subject. Classroom safety: Make sure the furniture in class is comfortable. Apprise the students that there should not be any bullying, fighting or teasing amongst them at any point in time. When students feel safe, they can focus better at the lesson being taught. Testing mechanism: A system of assessment will aid the teacher in judging students' understanding but it should not plant fear in the students' minds. Frequent rewards: Student must be given rewards like no homework, free talk time etc to keep them interested.