Classroom Management Strategies

I had an opportunity to conduct an interview with Mrs. M, an experienced teacher who has been teaching Kindergarten for 8 years. She mentioned and discussed with me a lot of effective classroom management strategies, and here are three that I choose to share with you.

The Management of Learning Centres:

In Mrs. M’s Kindergarten classroom, students have an allotted time to choose which learning centre they want to go to. Centre cards are attached on the filing cabinet’s side with Velcro, and they can be changed according to what centres are decided to be opened on each day. Each card shows the picture of the activity, and visually shows the number of children that are allowed to be at that centre (e.g. 2 circles = 2 children allowed). When a child chooses to go to a specific centre, he’d place his magnetic name card beside a circle on the centre card. There is no time limit of being at a centre, but if a child has been at a centre for too long and other children ask to go there, then Mrs. M would give a time limit (e.g. “Look at the clock. When the big hand gets to the 5, you need to leave your centre.”). At the end of centre time, if a child wishes to keep their “projects” (e.g. a lego tower) and continue working on it on the next day, they can leave them on the shelf, but they must make some sort of sign to keep their “project” up.

I really like the idea of letting children keep their “projects”, because it gives them a sense of continuity if they need more than the given time to complete what they’re doing. Daily routines provide stability, comfort and balance for children. It is especially true for children with special needs. For example, if a child with special needs is in the process of building a tower, has a plan of how to build it and what to do next, and is suddenly expected to break all that work because centre time is over, he might feel very frustrated and think that it’s unfair. The momentum is discontinued, and the hard work is lost. Knowing that their work is recognized and respected, and having the opportunity to work on it at their own pace give them ownership of their work and learning.

I also like how Mrs. M asks the children to make a sign to keep their “project” up, because it gives children a chance to write, and to understand the importance and meaning of writing in our everyday life, and how it helps us to communicate and share a common understanding with others.


Promoting Student Accountability:

Mrs. M expects her students to get themselves ready for outdoor play and home time independently and on time. She believes that children’s capability is closely related to our expectations for them. If we set our expectations high, they would strive to achieve more. She also mentioned that student accountability should be based on their success criteria. For example, if she knows that Peter is able to dress up on his own, and he comes over and asks for help, she would encourage him to do it on his own. However, if Chloe usually stands at her cubby and waits for someone to help her because she is developmentally delayed, it would be a great progress if she decides to ask for help, and it should be acknowledged.

I really like how she acknowledges the differences of the individual student’s abilities. I believe that when we set expectations for our students’ behaviours and what they are responsible for, we need to remember that they have varying abilities, just like how their abilities vary in reading or writing. We need to accommodate and modify our expectations and ways of promoting their accountability to suit the different needs of our students.


Managing Students’ Work:

Mrs. M is very organized in managing her students’ work. She keeps student made books in their book boxes, along with storytelling props. Their letter and number books are coil bound and stored on a shelf. Their portfolios house all of their other work. Students’ work are also displayed on walls and out in the hall. On top of work that are kept in the classroom, Mrs. M also posts them on her website, which is shared with the parents, along with newsletters, calendars, homework, curriculum, and other useful information.

I think that it’s effective to put students’ work on a website (and keep it updated) so parents have a clear idea of what their child is doing in class, and to know that their child’s effort are acknowledged and appreciated. I think that doing so shows that the teacher is committed to communicating with the parents, and to form an allied front to promote our children’s learning. Students would also feel a greater sense of ownership for their work, because their parents can show them on the website and talk with them about it. It’s like the classroom wall and hall displays brought home!

I believe that the classroom strategies that Mrs. M discussed with me are developmentally appropriate for Kindergarten children, and that they support the learning of social skills and personal skills. When the classroom is managed based on good organization, consistent routines and reasonable expectations, children would feel comfortable and safe, as a result minimizing stress and promoting motivation and positive attitudes about school!