Principles in Teaching and Learning: Classroom Management

3 days more to go before the LET. I really hope that I get to hitch these principles because these will really help a lot in answering situational questions. I will just go away with the LET tips as of this moment to pave way for essential concepts needed for the exam. Below are the principles behind classroom management. Please reflect on these okay?

1. Be consistent and proactive with your classroom management. This means that classroom discipline should be preventive and consistent. Preventive in a sense that we must, as much as possible, settle potential problems before they will destruct the classroom. Being consistent on the other hand means we must mandate rules and routines fairly and not only on case to case basis.

2. Routines will really save a lot of time for it maintains the orderly transition and sequence of classroom instruction, not to mention that it avoids disruptions and breakdowns among the students.

3. Have a smooth transition and continuity of momentum throughout the day. This means that every second of our teaching instruction should be as much as possible moving, engaging and active. This avoids "dead air" or the sense of restlessness that will surely result to disciplinary problems.

4. Novelty and Competence among the activities given in the class should be balanced. Novelty in a sense that activities must be new to the students and not too repetitive and "used". When we say competence, this means that we must provide activities that are challenging enough, not too easy or too difficult, and will enhance learners' competence and motivation. This also includes a balanced among different multiple intelligences and learning styles.

5. "With-it-ness" is important. This means that we must be aware of what is happening all around the classroom. As teachers, we must have "eyes at the back of our heads".

6. Settle minor problems promptly before they become major disruptions. Let's not wait until our class is out of control before we move. This is similar with principle number one, let's be preventive with our approach in classroom management.

7. Give positive feedback among students if they have shown positive behavior. This way, students will appreciate the values of good behavior and conduct if they are recognized and reinforced. Take note however that praise should be sincere and appropriate.

8. Don't make a big deal out of minor problems or disturbances. If a frown, a stern look, a gesture that will relay the message to the students to behave, so be it. Don't consume your precious instructional time just to resolve it. In short, don't make a mountain out of a mole hill, okay? Okay! Hehehe...

9. Arrange the classroom that caters interactive teaching and learning. The classroom must be flexible enough, can be arranged-rearrange, depending on the activity in order to enhance interaction among the students.

10. The last and final principle, and the most important: Make every instructional moment a meaningful one. The major major principle behind classroom management is to minimize discipline time to maximize instructional time. We want to do the preceding principles because we only have one aim, that is, to spend that precious time for teaching and learning.


(These principles are "adapted" from Stronge, 2002, in Corpuz and Salandanan, 2007)