Classroom Management Strategies that Work

As teachers in [the junior grades] and high school we know that having a strong knowledge of our subject matter is only one key to success. Another key to success, and perhaps one that might dominate all others, is having effective classroom management strategies.

No matter how much we know our subject or have invested in planning an amazing and engaging lesson, if the classroom is out of sorts then our efforts elsewhere won’t translate. 

As we approach a new school year or semester, it’s always a good time to reflect on what tools we have to help us “in the room”! And this doesn’t just apply to the new year, since revisiting these 10 classroom management strategies can help whether it’s a new year or just a new day!

Having a set of strategies for classroom management is great because sometimes one strategy doesn’t work and you need to go into that teacher toolbox to find another option. Plus, not all strategies will work the same with different students or classroom dynamics. What is ideal is checking your toolbox to find a blend of classroom management strategies that work for you and your students!

Check out this website: 

https://teachspectacularscience.com/10-tried-and-true-classroom-management-strategies-for-secondary-teachers/

Also, click the various images above for other worthy websites

Courtesy of Dr. Roku@NUO

Classroom Management

           In our class today, the presentation discussed classroom management strategies and the learning environment. This topic was interesting to me because I think classroom management is a primary concern for many teacher candidates, and I know I want to learn as much about it as I can before I begin teaching. Classroom management is extremely important because without it, even teachers with immense content and pedagogical knowledge will not be able to deliver the content efficiently. 

A key concept the presenters identified was the difference between reactive and preventative measures. A reactive measure is a direct response to classroom misbehaviour such as a punishment, while a preventative measure is a prior step taken to reduce misbehaviour, such as the promotion of community in the classroom. Preventative measures are much more effective because they reduce the need to take reactive measures, which can negatively impact class morale and your relationships with the students. 

I believe my experience as Resident Life Don at Laurier for four years will assist me with my classroom management techniques. During my time in the role, we were taught various preventative strategies for reducing behaviour that violated the resident code of conduct. These included fostering community through active involvement and inclusion, building one on one relationships, establishing rapport, and role modeling positive behaviour. At residence, this meant hosting community events, encouraging participation, doing one on one meeting with each resident to discuss their adjustment to university, having appropriate responses to conduct breaches, and maintaining policy in my own actions. 

Although implementing these strategies in a classroom will look much different, the core idea is the same. Getting students to feel included means actively encouraging all students to participate and finding way to incorporate their interests/lived experiences, therefore fostering a sense of community. Building individual relationships with students still involves finding common interests and ways to build mutual trust. Establishing rapport still means acting professionally and role modeling the respect and integrity that is needed for successful classroom management. 

Overall, I think applying these lived experiences is the best way to achieve the preventative measures discussed in this week’s presentation.

Colby A@OTU

What Motivates Teachers to Teach?

Think about the people who’ve had the greatest impact in your life. The ones who inspired you, supported you or encouraged you. Chances are, at least a few of them are teachers. From kindergarten to the collegiate level, teachers and educators play an essential role in our society. They don’t just impart information, they offer guidance and mentorship when it’s needed most.

As a certified teacher, you have an incredible opportunity not just to excel within your profession and find fulfillment, but to truly make a difference in the lives of others. This is true across all of the major reasons why teachers love what they do.

Daniel@OISE

Read the full article:

https://www.marshall.edu/blog/why-do-teachers-teach/

Student Motivation

In our previous lecture, we discussed student motivation and the vital role it plays in the classroom. The most significant point for me was that student motivation in the classroom partly reflects how teachers affect student morale. In that week's assigned reading, the author notes that teachers cannot take "students’ motivation for granted, and they have a responsibility to ensure students’ motivation to learn" (Seiffert et al., 2009, p.100). Some way or another, "teachers must persuade students to want to do what students have to do anyway" (p.100). 

I am reminded of my own educational experiences, particularly my time as an elementary school student, as I was not an overly engaged or motivated student. If a subject did not pertain to my interests, I often did the bare minimum, and that was sufficient up until I was in the seventh grade. In hindsight, that year of schooling was perhaps the most gruelling of my elementary and secondary school career. I struggled immensely in mathematics that year. I had a grasp on the content from previous school years, but seemingly no matter how hard I tried, I could not make sense of the newly introduced concepts and, therefore, meet the curriculum expectations. Evidently, mathematics was not a subject I could be successful in. Although my seventh grade teacher never said anything outright cruel to me, she was not approachable nor offered me much feedback besides the fact I needed to improve significantly. My frustration at myself and the subject combined with a lack of a tangible route to improvement led to my mathematics grade worsening. It took intervention from my parents and working one on one with a tutor the following summer for me to get back on track. 

As educators, we have a responsibility to our students, to keep them motivated and engaged with the content. Of the strategies discussed in the assigned reading, as a future educator, I hope to incorporate assessments focused on student choice and autonomy, pertaining specifically to student interest. Autonomy is a key component of the TARGET acronym and promotes “self-efficacy” and “self-determination” among students (p.122). Students should have the opportunity to be active participants in their own learning as it increases their overall engagement in the classroom. 

References:

Seifert, Kelvin & Sutton, Rosemary (2009). Educational Psychology (Second Edition), OER.

KatherineM@ONTech

Making Room for Every Student

[The topic of] student diversity [resonates] with me on a personal level. As someone who wears a headscarf, I think about how a visible part of our identity can influence how others see us before they get to know us. It also made me reflect on the kind of teacher I want to become and how I can help students feel welcomed, understood, and comfortable being themselves in my classroom.

One idea that stood out in the reading was the distinction between individual and group differences. Seifert and Sutton (n.d.) explain that even within a shared community, there is considerable diversity. Students who share a religion, language, or cultural background will still have different personalities, interests, and needs. I connect with this because my headscarf is an important part of my identity, but it does not tell someone everything about me. I want to remember this when getting to know my students and give them room to show me who they are.

The week 4 seminar presentation also pushed me to think about diversity beyond what is immediately visible. Students bring different abilities, prior knowledge, levels of confidence, and ways of approaching learning into the classroom. Two students might struggle with the same task for completely different reasons. One might need the instructions explained differently, while another understands the task but has difficulty expressing their ideas in writing.

Another thing we, as future educators should be aware of is including differences between gifted students and students who have not been identified as gifted. Students may need different levels of challenge, support, or time to work through the same topic. It reminded me that being gifted does not mean a student will find everything easy, just as struggling with something does not mean a student is less capable. As a future teacher, I want to understand each student’s strengths and needs rather than let a label shape what I expect of them.

For me, I think this is also where diversity connects with accessibility. Basically, if I recognize that students have different needs, I also need to think about whether my lessons give them meaningful opportunities to participate. For example, In a science lesson, I could combine a verbal explanation with a clear diagram, provide written steps for an investigation, and use captions when showing a video. When the learning goal allows it, students could explain their understanding through writing, a conversation, or a labelled drawing.

The reading also cautions against assigning students fixed “learning styles” (Seifert & Sutton, n.d.). I found this helpful because offering different ways to learn should give students more opportunities to engage and develop, rather than place them into categories that limit what we expect of them.

I am also realizing that having support available does not necessarily mean students will feel comfortable asking for it. I would like to build useful options into everyday lessons so that accessing them feels ordinary. That will take planning, conversations with students, and a willingness to change something when it is not working.

As a future teacher, I know my own identity gives me one perspective on inclusion, and I still have much to learn from others. The topic on diversity reminded me that creating a welcoming classroom involves both recognizing who students are and considering how they can access learning. I hope my students will feel that they can be themselves, ask for support, and contribute something valuable to our classroom.

KashafZ@OTU

Reference

Seifert, K., & Sutton, R. (n.d.). Student diversity. In Educational psychology (Chapter 4).

 

The Importance of Building Student Confidence in the Classroom

Throughout Teachers College, I have been thinking about how important a student's confidence can be in learning. We often focus on what students are learning, whether they are meeting curriculum expectations, and how well they are doing on assignments. However, I think we sometimes forget how much a student's confidence can affect their willingness to learn in the first place. If a student is afraid of getting something wrong or feels like they are not good at a particular subject, they might be less likely to participate, ask questions, or even try. This is something I think teachers need to be more aware of when creating their classroom environments.

I think one of the biggest things teachers can do is make students feel comfortable trying, even when they are unsure of themselves. Growing up, I remember how easy it was to compare myself to other students, especially in subjects I found more challenging. Sometimes, seeing other students understand something quickly made me feel like I was falling behind. Looking back, I realize how important it is for teachers to remind students that everyone learns differently and that understanding something takes time. I want my future students to know that they do not have to get everything right the first time to be successful.

I also think the way teachers respond to students makes a big difference. Instead of only praising students when they get the correct answer, we should recognize the effort and thinking that went into getting there. For example, if a student is struggling with a math problem but is trying different strategies, that effort should be acknowledged. Comments like "I like how you approached that differently" or "You kept working through that even when it was challenging" can help students feel more confident in their abilities. I think these small moments can have a bigger impact than we sometimes realize.

Another thing I want to focus on in my future classroom is giving students opportunities to figure things out for themselves. As teachers, it can be tempting to step in right away when we see a student struggling because we want to help them. However, I think there is also value in giving students time to think, make decisions, and work through challenges independently. Of course, support is still important, but students should also have the opportunity to realize that they are capable of doing things on their own. I think that feeling of accomplishment can help build confidence and encourage them to take on new challenges in the future.

Ultimately, I want my classroom to be a place where students feel comfortable being themselves and are not afraid to try something new. I know that every student will come into the classroom with different strengths, challenges, and experiences, so building confidence will look different for everyone. Some students might feel comfortable sharing their answers with the entire class, while others might need more encouragement or time to feel ready. I think it is our responsibility as teachers to get to know our students and find ways to make everyone feel included and supported.

AbbyP@OTU

Making Room for Mistakes

Something that caught my attention in our presentations in Learning and Development was the discussion of failure: failure as a first step, “the great teacher,” and a fundamental part of developing resilience in learning. I agree with these ideas, but they also made me think about how difficult it can be to accept failure when you have come to see success as part of who you are. 

Growing up, I worked hard, enjoyed school, and often found that concepts came easily to me. Somewhere between middle school and high school, however, my relationship with learning began to change. Being seen as “smart” felt less like encouragement and more like an expectation I had to maintain. Familial and cultural expectations surrounding academic achievement added to that pressure. I wanted to do well, but I also wanted to keep being the person others believed I was. Eventually, the possibility of failure became almost paralyzing. Trying something difficult meant risking an outcome that might challenge how others saw me, and how I saw myself. 

In doing some research I came across Richard G. Beery’s (1975) article, Special Feature: Fear of Failure in the Student Experience, which offers a useful connection to this experience. His discussion includes anxious procrastination, inadequate preparation, and apparent indifference among the ways fear of failure can appear in students’ behaviour. This makes me question how readily we interpret avoidance as a lack of motivation. A student who appears unwilling to try may be struggling with what an unsuccessful attempt could mean to them.

For me, this distinction matters. I cared about doing well, yet that concern sometimes made it harder to begin. Avoidance gave me an explanation for a disappointing outcome that felt less threatening than questioning my ability. Looking back, I can see how protecting my identity as a capable student sometimes interfered with actually learning.

This experience also does not necessarily end with adolescence. Beery (1975) describes fear of failure among undergraduate and graduate students across ability levels. His discussion reminds me that academic capability does not automatically make someone comfortable with uncertainty or setbacks. I can imagine these same fears following students beyond school, affecting whether they pursue an opportunity, ask a question, or attempt something unfamiliar.

Our class discussions about developmental stages and self-efficacy helped me think more deeply about this cycle. I wanted to protect my belief in my abilities, but avoiding challenges meant missing opportunities to build that belief through experience. 

As future teachers, we need to look beyond whether a student completes the work or earns a strong grade and consider how they experience learning and what they believe a mistake says about them. These considerations should shape how we create our classroom environments. We can model uncertainty, acknowledge our own mistakes, and show students how to ask for help and try again. 

Teachers cannot remove every familial, cultural, or social pressure students carry. However, we can influence how students experience difficulty in our classrooms.

MiliS@OTU

References:

Beery, R. G. (1975). Special feature: Fear of failure in the student experience. The Personnel and Guidance Journal, 54(4), 190–203. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2164-4918.1975.tb04220.x

Week 4 learning key presentation [Class presentation]. (n.d.). Learning and Development, Ontario Tech University.

Facing the Music

As a child, music was always playing in my house. Music was on in the kitchen, on in the car, and playing at family gatherings. Music was all around me, so when I got the opportunity to learn how to play the piano, I was really passionate about it. I was motivated to learn and motivated to play music that I had grown up listening to. This experience with intrinsic motivation made it easy to get to the piano bench and learn scales, chords, and all the basic “how-tos.”

However, as time went on, I wasn’t learning the type of music that I liked. I was playing things that I didn’t think were up my alley, or maybe they were not challenging enough. This led me to skip days of practice and lose motivation over time. I lost interest in playing and learning the piano, and therefore lost motivation too. I would play just enough to get down the basics for my next piano lesson, and only really kick it into gear when I had a competition coming up, getting that little extrinsic motivational push. I wanted to avoid failure, not really caring about performance or mastery like I did when I first began.

At first, I really wanted to master the keys and do the best I could. But when I realized it maybe wasn’t what I signed up for, or that I was playing things I didn’t really like, that motivation to do well or even master a piece of music went totally out the window. My motivation at the onset was personal, feeling persistent and excited to get the opportunity to play and learn. However, as time went on and that competition was approaching, that's when my motivation became situational, triggered in the moment and fading quickly after.

Looking back, I wish I had taken it more seriously, as I still have a passion for music. However, I have lost any skill that I once may have had at the piano all these years later. I can learn from this as a future educator. I see the impact of not providing students with challenges or opportunities for growth, or not providing students with work they are passionate about, because I was once one of those students.

Gabriel P @ OTU

Maintaining Motivation

Over the course of this semester, we have seen a lot of great ideas in our Learning and Development class. There have been many ideas with great real-world applications. One of those ideas that caught my attention was “Motivation”.

Motivation is one of the most important factors in a student’s participation in their own education. It’s the driving force behind their efforts to succeed. Because of that, I feel that it is very important for teachers to be aware of student motivation, and how to use it effectively. In my own experience teaching English in Japan, I had firsthand experience of the importance of motivation. 

I taught in a vocational school. The students were training to enter the workforce as machinists, electricians, and roboticists. They saw little value in learning English because it would not be very useful in their careers. In other words, they were not particularly motivated to study English. This made it challenging for me to find an effective way for my students to participate in class. I figured that if I could make my lessons more fun, then my students would be more motivated to get involved. So I began adapting board games to teach English vocab and grammar points. Those lessons were a big hit for my students. Instead of dreading a boring English class, they looked forward to playing games with their friends. I gained a reputation as a “fun teacher”, and the class would light up when I came in for a lesson. It was a great feeling. I was glad to find an effective way to motivate my students to learn a rather unpopular subject.

That is why I was so interested in the seminar on motivation in my Learning and Development class. After watching the seminar, I learned that I had used the TARGET method without knowing it. The games were group activities meant to challenge students and give them a degree of control over their learning. In my English classes, I saw firsthand how student motivation can affect the class, and the mood of the students. I believe it’s a very important factor that all teachers should be keenly aware of.

JustinR@OTU

For the Pressure of It All…

While growing up, I always struggled with staying motivated. Whether I was supposed to study for a test, practice the piano, or get extra shots up in the gym, I was more concerned about the consequences than about completing the task. I was always worried about my teacher being upset or failing to perform on the basketball court. I was motivated by failure avoidance. 

This is why I related to the Deep Dive presentation on student motivation. When they explained the motives that students have to be successful, I was able to see myself in the failure avoidance tactic. However, in recent years, as my self-efficacy grew and I got to choose the tasks I was a part of, I then found motivation through wanting to learn the most I could and be the best I could be.

I believe that having the experience of being motivated for the wrong and right reasons will have a great impact on how I teach my future students. As a future teacher, I believe that I must understand strategies that can be used to increase student motivation. Student motivation goes hand in hand with self-efficacy, meaning that a classroom environment that puts the students in the position to succeed is imperative.  For example, if a student is writing a story but has trouble writing, providing them with the opportunity to complete the story using technology or drawing is a great way to improve the student's self-efficacy. 

We are very lucky as future teachers to have many resources to help students succeed. When I was in school, lessons were taught the same way, and assessments were completed the same. Using the technology and resources that are available to us, we have the opportunity to change the lesson to interest the students, create an environment where they can succeed, and encourage the students with different strategies if they are struggling. This will overall increase their self-efficacy and their motivation. 

ElliotC@OTU

My Motivation, My Mission

This week’s deep dive debrief made me think back to my personal experience with motivation. More specifically, the reason I quit my full-time health and safety job was to go back to school and become a teacher. I originally got into the career of occupational health and safety because I was struggling to figure out what I wanted to do in grade 12 and sought guidance in my career choices. My parents, with my best interests in mind, recommended that I get into health and safety, same as my cousins have done, since it was very abundant in job opportunities, high-paying salaries, and in high demand within the job market. 

So I took this path, and I honestly went through school with no challenges, and the first years of my career were easy as well (or so I thought). Thinking back to all those years past, I did well in terms of managing expectations, workload, and achieving what my intention was. However, I was never motivated throughout this journey and in the end, I was not doing something I had a genuine interest in. I felt like those years of my life came and went, and I was a bystander. I did not strive for a promotion or a next step in my career, and I became a bit unsatisfied with my life. For the next year, I began to spiral and evaluate my life and what career I would have. 

I knew deep down that I enjoyed working with adolescents and teenagers. I loved educating, guiding, mentoring, and serving people. However, I was too worried to make a big change in my life and go back to school to follow my dream of becoming a teacher. What changed it for me was reaching out to my old High school Chemistry teacher and asking for advice. I wanted to hear it from her: what is the job like, why do you do this, what motivates you? 

All her answers resonated with me deeply, I felt seen, engaged, and eager to take this next step no matter what it took. Since I have made the decision to go back to school, I have never felt more passionate and motivated at any point in my life. A complete contrast from my previous post-secondary experience, I look forward to learning, improving, trying new things, and hearing new perspectives. I feel engaged and eager to become the best version of myself. 

The difference now is I am motivated; I am motivated to help other kids one day to find their motivation, to find their passion, and empower them to chase it. I believe students require motivation to truly learn at their best, and our job as educators is to help them find their motivation. Also, we must try to motivate and inspire them constantly, similar to how a coach gives their team a pep talk before a game. Motivation looks different for different students, and our job as educators is to help each student find what motivates them and what they are passionate about. It can be as simple as giving them autonomy over certain tasks, encouraging effort, or trying something new. 

Our role is to keep students reminded of “why” they do what they do. This is what will create valuable and powerful learning experiences. 

PaulM@OTU

Bringing AI Literacy to Early Grades: Practical Resources and Guidance for Teachers

 Here is an article/post from FaceBook:

There is a lot of debate around using AI with children. From what I have seen in the Canadian context, the general approach is to avoid giving children in the early grades direct access to generative AI.

That caution is understandable. Children are still developing their cognitive, emotional, and social skills. We need to think carefully about where AI might support that development and where it might take over activities children need to practise themselves.

For more information, visit: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1048019523623103/posts/1341315360960183/

Courtesy of JasonM@OISE

When the right answer mattered more than the learning

Growing up and going to school in Macedonia almost 20 years ago, my experience with education was quite different from what I see in Canadian classrooms today. Looking back, I often wonder how much of what we were taught we actually understood and how much we simply memorized to get a good grade or avoid getting into trouble.

Most of our classes back then were teacher-led, with the teacher usually standing at the front explaining the lesson while we, the students, listened, took notes, and were expected to remember the information. There was very little room for discussion, questioning, or exploring different ways of learning, and one thing I remember particularly well was the oral questioning, which often felt more like an interrogation than an opportunity to demonstrate what we had learned. We were expected to stand up and answer questions in front of everyone, and not knowing the answer felt quite intimidating, as we often did not have the right answer because we simply did not understand the lesson or what we were supposed to learn from it. Instead of feeling supported when we struggled, we often felt embarrassed or afraid of making mistakes.

Thinking about our recent class discussion on motivation, I can now see how much of my learning was driven by the fear of failure rather than by genuine interest. We genuinely did not understand what was taught; therefore, we lacked motivation and willingness to participate. Getting a good grade or avoiding a bad one became more important than the learning itself. When we discussed the difference between mastery and performance motivation,  it made me think about how different my experience might have been if teachers had encouraged us to ask questions, make mistakes, and learn from them.

Another thing that stood out to me from our class was the importance of cooperation. I don't remember having many opportunities to work with classmates, share ideas, or learn from one another. Most of the learning was individual, and success was measured by how well we could remember and repeat information, how well we did on tests, and the score we got. Now, working as an ECE in a kindergarten classroom, I see how much children can learn through conversations, play, exploration, and working together. Sometimes a child can explain something to another child in a way that makes more sense to them than when an adult explains it, as we often forget how children think, and what makes sense in our brains does not necessarily make sense in theirs. 

I also think about the importance of teachers being supportive and approachable. A teacher should be someone students feel comfortable approaching when they don't understand something, rather than someone they fear disappointing. I find that many students are more willing to participate in classroom activities, ask questions, and challenge themselves when they know that making mistakes is an accepted and welcome part of learning. 

As I continue my journey toward becoming a teacher, I find myself reflecting more on my past experiences. Although I cannot change how I was taught, I can use those experiences to shape the kind of teacher I want to become. I want my students to feel that their ideas matter, that they can ask questions without being judged, and that learning is about much more than getting the right answer.

And perhaps the biggest question I am left with is this: How many students are capable of so much more than they show us, simply because they are afraid of making a mistake? Looking back at my own experience, I know for sure I was one of them!

HristinaM@OTU

Group work isn’t always teamwork – how can teachers make cooperation meaningful?

We’ve all experienced group work at some point or another where a few people ended up doing most of the work, or even you yourself did all the work. Personally, I’ve experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to group work, which has made me realize that putting people into groups doesn’t automatically mean they are cooperating. 

This challenge was touched on during this week’s learning key presentation. While working with others can help students learn new perspectives, share ideas, and build their communication skills, it can also leave some people feeling unheard or excluded, while others take on the whole workload. I think this is especially important to consider when teaching in elementary classrooms, as students are still developing their social skills and learning how to work with others. 

As a future teacher, I want to create opportunities for students to learn from one another while ensuring everyone feels that their contributions matter. Some strategies discussed in today’s presentation, such as assigning clear roles, setting expectations for participation, and checking individual understanding, can help make group work much more effective. For example, during a science group project, I could assign roles to students, including researcher, recorder, materials manager, or presenter. This ensures that everyone has a responsibility and therefore should be contributing equally. 

Ultimately, I believe cooperation is a skill that needs to be taught and practiced, rather than something we assume students already know how to do coming into class. When we do not teach students how to cooperate effectively, that is when we see unequal distributions in workloads, opinions and thoughts being excluded, and clashing personalities and working styles. So as future teachers, I believe it is vital that we teach students at a young age what effective cooperation means and looks like.

Courtesy of: ZaraK@OTU

Beyond the Lesson Plan: Balancing Tech, Nature, and the Whole Student.

One of the things that stood most out to me throughout this course is how teachers can use different methods to improve their teaching styles and support their students. Teachers achieve this by implementing the latest technology that they have access to in their day to day life which can make their lesson planning and teaching easier and more efficient. This allows teachers to spend more time focusing on what matters most in the class, the topics they teach, how they teach it, and how they support their students. 

Using up to date tech can help reduce some of the time-consuming work that leads to the teachers having to work overtime and can lead to burnout. It also helps teachers stay organized, learn new things, and be more prepared for teaching everyday. Rather than seeing technology as a shortcut or cheating, I see it as a way for teachers to work more efficiently and make more time for the important parts of teaching. 

My group’s tech tool workshop on Google Classroom helped me understand this better. Tools such as Gemini can help teachers create diagrams, translate or change texts, and develop different resources to explain difficult topics. Google Classroom also helps teachers stay organized and create an online classroom where students can access and engage with learning materials. These tools have shown me how technology can support teachers when it is used in the right way.

I also think teachers should try and understand the importance of the natural environments in students’ learning and development. Spending time outdoors while studying allows students to explore, ask questions, and develop their curiosity and sense of wonder. Our Wonder Walk at Kinsmen Valleyview Gardens Park helped me see how my future students could benefit from learning through observation and having a chance to explore their surroundings and question things that they would usually overlook. As future teachers, I believe that we should give students opportunities to connect with nature and learn from experiences both inside and outside of the classroom. 

Another one of the concepts that stood out to me through this course was how teachers see their own students and how their personal opinions can affect their learning experiences. The seminar on learning styles and gender made me realize that the way teachers understand and treat their students also drastically affects their students' learning. For example, when a boy is loud, energetic, or acts out, people may say he is “just being a boy.” When a girl behaves the same way, she may be seen as troublesome, difficult, or disruptive. This made me think about how easily teachers can make assumptions about students based on gender without even realizing it.

As a future teacher, I want to be more aware of this. It is easy to make assumptions about students, especially when we grow up seeing certain behaviours as normal for boys or girls. Students are much more complex than the  labels given to them such as “visual learner” or “kinesthetic learner.” Getting to know students as individuals is just as important as understanding how they learn, as everyone learns in their own way. Teachers should create a classroom where students feel supported and can learn in different ways.

Ultimately, I believe good teaching is about finding a balance in a teacher's teaching style between using technology, connecting students to their environments, and understanding each student as their own individual. Technology can help teachers work more efficiently, nature can encourage curiosity and wonder, and getting to know students can help teachers understand how to support them. These ideas remind me that teaching is not just about delivering lessons.

Brought to you by: SandeepR@OTU

What I Learned About Classroom Management

After reading over the presentation on classroom management, I realized how important it is for teachers to create a positive and supportive learning environment. Before becoming a teacher, it can be easy to think that classroom management is mainly about making sure students follow the rules and stay on task. However, I learned that it is about so much more than that. It also involves building relationships with students, communicating clearly, setting expectations, and making sure students feel safe and respected in the classroom.

One thing that stood out to me was the importance of handling conflict in a positive way. Students are still learning how to communicate their feelings, solve problems, and work through disagreements with others. Instead of immediately punishing students, teachers can encourage them to talk through their problems, listen to each other, and find a solution. I think this is important because students can learn from these situations and develop skills that they can use outside of the classroom as well.

I also found it interesting how something as simple as the classroom seating arrangement can make a difference in how students learn. For example, having students sit in clusters can make it easier for them to work together and share ideas, while sitting in rows can help students focus on the teacher during certain lessons. This reminded me that teachers need to think carefully about how they organize their classrooms depending on the activity and the needs of their students.

Another important takeaway was the role of communication between teachers and parents. Using emails, phone calls, and classroom letters helps keep parents informed about their child's progress, learning, and behaviour. I think having a good relationship with parents is important because students benefit when the adults in their lives communicate and work together to support them.

Overall, reading through this presentation helped me realize that effective classroom management is not just about controlling behaviour. It is about creating an environment where students feel comfortable, supported, and ready to learn. As a future teacher, I want my classroom to be a place where students understand expectations but also feel like they can make mistakes, ask questions, and learn from their experiences. I know that every classroom will have different challenges, but I think being patient, consistent, and understanding will help me build a positive learning environment for my students.

NelehW@OTU