APPLIED LINGUISTICS for BA Students in English
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
Discipline problems
The teacher’s role in maintaining discipline
How to prevent disruptive behaviour
- by careful planning of the lesson – when a lesson is clearly planned and organized students’ attention will be kept on the task and the formation of a vacuum will not be allowed which may be filled by distracting activities; particularly for the classes that might cause trouble the teacher has to appear to be well-prepared and knowledgeable about the subject.
- creating a code of conduct – have a clear code of conduct established through discussion – at the beginning of a course reach an agreement on e.g. arriving on time or not bringing food to the classroom, doing homework etc.; through examples – if you expect your students to be punctual, you should arrive on time too.
- consistency – do not ban students something one week and allow it the next week because it can lead to the loss of respect.
- fairness – teachers should always try to avoid having favorites or picking on particular individuals. Most teachers have students that they like or dislike more than others, but a major part of their job is not to show these preferences or prejudices in the classroom.
- attitude – do not have a negative attitude to learning, a teacher, who does not really care about his job who is insensitive to students’ reactions to what is happening in the classroom will lose the respect of the students and it is the first step to problems of disruptive behavior.
- interpersonal relationships – if students respect you ad each other, they are more likely to cooperate. Fostering a feeling of respect and of good will is an important factor.
- methodology – do not give boring classes; students who are interested and enthusiastic do not generally exhibit problem behavior. The greatest simple cause of indiscipline is boredom. You should vary your teaching techniques and you should time activities very carefully.
– instructions – problems sometimes arise due to students’ uncertainty about what they are supposed to be doing.
- professionalism – students respect teachers who show that they know what they are doing, it can be demonstrated not only by our knowledge of our subject but also by evidence that we have invested time in thinking about and planning our lessons; professionalism also means practicing what we preach.
