Case Studies of Effective Classroom Management

An analysis on effective classroom management

The following are some examples of effective classroom management:

Love your students with care

The love and care for your students should always be verbalized and emphasized. There were times some short-tempered students grumbling about their teachers. However, when the teachers told them about the love for them, the students were astonished and gave up to argue. Students are concerned about the amount of care they receive from teachers. Their firsthand experience in class will shape their impression of their teachers. Do nurture your students with real love and care.

Encouraging dyslexic students to write

I used to teach a dyslexic student who didn’t know how to express himself and had difficulty in writing Chinese characters. The student seemed to have given up himself and had relatively low self-esteem which hindered him from trying. In the first writing task, he did not know where to begin, let alone finishing the composition with all the requirements met. In view of this, I did not restrict him to write with 200 words but only required him to complete the writing by the end of the lesson. As long as the students were indulging in the process of writing, I wouldn’t mind about the number of words they had. For some students who were struggling with the task, I wouldn’t mind discussing the topics and brainstorming the contents with them. Indeed, the dyslexic student benefited from our personal discussion and began to expand the ideas in his essay, which was exhibited for appreciation. Without teacher’s support, the dyslexic student developed independent writing skills for composing a well-structured opening for his second writing. Still, he needed some confirmation from his teacher in terms of word choice and grammar. To everyone’s surprise, two of his works were shared on a public online writing platform for appreciation. If you look closely at his works, you may see that he didn’t use any flowery language or ornate terms to impress his readers. If you are judgmental enough, you may spot some flaws in his language which may affect the readability. Despite the imperfection, teachers ought to identify and explain the problems to him and give him sufficient language support to remove the habitual language mistakes. As professional teachers, we are prone to judge students on their grammar correctness and the logic in their presentation, leading us to overlook the importance of creativity and originality. Writing is meant to be an exercise for students to unleash their creative ideas. Based on this belief, I nominated the student with dyslexia to join a writing competition. Although he didn’t win any title, his remarkable improvement and creativity were highly recognized by the teachers and the school.

Case: Late submission of homework

There was once a student failing to submit any of the assignments in the whole academic year. This situation left her teachers no choice but to make a call to the parents so as to let them know more about the naked truth. In the telephone conversation, the student’s mother remained unsurprised and revealed her intention to give up on her daughter. Soon after the conversation, the teacher passed the message to the student and they both found it unacceptable to give up on anyone. The teacher seized the chance to persuade the student to work together to prove her mother wrong. Now the student has transformed into a new person who is a high flyer with positive attitude in learning. Again, the teacher reported the changes to the student’s mother proving her plan to stop supporting her daughter was wrong. The success of this case lies in not only the effort of the student, but also the communication between the teacher and parents behind the scene. The biggest takeaway for this incidence is that every student needs support and encouragement from parents and teachers. Parents and teachers, it is high time we spread some love and support.

Extra recess time as a reward

If it is a double lesson, teachers may consider giving students a 2-minute break as a reward for their good performances in class. During this break, students are allowed to talk to others and go to bathroom. Despite the shortness of the break, this free time is significant for teachers to manage and motivate the class. If teachers are not happy with the students, the teachers can cut short the break, making some students so concerned about the overall performances in the assignment submission. As long as the students do not disturb others, they can relax themselves in whatever forms they like. Sooner or later, this habit will become a norm in a double lesson. For the sake of earning the free time, students will try their best to focus in the lessons and respond to teachers’ questions actively.

Collective punishment

It remains unsurprising to see that new students are not active in giving responses. To pump them up, you may try collective punishment. What is it? Basically, you invite all students to stand up. The ones who give any responses are allowed to sit down as a positive reinforcement of their active participation. Teachers should reaffirm that correctness is not the major concern but students’ participation. As long as the students have tried their best to answer questions, they can sit down. This game can be done in small groups to promote peer support and team spirit. 

Managing an injury caused by an autistic student

This student with autism tends to lose temper very easily. He needs to release his emotion by pushing desks and his classmates in the class. Sometime, he may even cut others’ hair and school uniforms with scissors. Whenever his emotion bursts, his teachers will immediately talk to him and tell him how much the teachers believe in his power to control himself. They will also lead him to take a deep breath and sit still in the seat. Normally, he will listen to his teachers, but sometimes teachers have to resort to power to make him relax. Once the student has calmed down, teachers will let him join in the class again. In order to lead the student to reflect and make apologies to his classmates, a deep conversation will be carried out after class.