How To Quiet A Noisy Class - Classroom Management Strategies

Summary

In this video, Eldrich from AhaSlides shares effective strategies for new teachers to manage classroom behavior. He advises against shouting and sending disruptive students away, as these methods can undermine authority and create a negative atmosphere. Instead, he suggests using non-confrontational language to reinforce good behavior, employing silent treatment to quell noise, and establishing call-and-response patterns for immediate attention. Additionally, he introduces the 'Secret Agent' technique to foster participation and camaraderie, where a randomly selected student's good behavior can reward the entire class, promoting teamwork without singling out individuals for poor performance.

Takeaways

• 📣 Avoid shouting at students as it can lead to losing your voice and authority.
• 🚫 Sending 'bad' students away can signal a lack of control and diminish your credibility.
• 🗣️ Use non-confrontational statements to reinforce positive behaviors instead of focusing on negative ones.
• 🤐 Implement a 'silent treatment' to get a noisy class to quiet down.
• 😞 Use facial expressions to convey your feelings and encourage students to adjust their behavior.
• 📌 Establish a call-and-response pattern to regain students' attention and maintain classroom order.
• 🕵️‍♂️ Introduce the 'Secret Agent' technique to promote participation, good behavior, and teamwork.
• 🎉 Offer rewards to the entire class if the Secret Agent performs well, fostering a sense of collective responsibility.
• 🤔 Train students from the first day on the call-and-response technique to ensure it's effective when needed.
• 📝 Assign students a card upon entry to create curiosity and encourage immediate engagement.
• 👍 Encourage students to share their own classroom management tips for a collaborative learning environment.

Q & A

What is the main issue discussed in the video script?

The main issue discussed is how to effectively manage classroom behavior and control students, especially during the early weeks of a teaching career.

What is the first mistake mentioned in the script that teachers often make?

The first mistake mentioned is shouting at the students, which can lead to losing one's voice and establishing a battle of loudness rather than effective classroom management.

What is the second common mistake that teachers commit according to the script?

The second mistake is sending 'bad' students out of the classroom, which conveys a message of inability to control the class and undermines the teacher's credibility.

What is the first tip provided in the script to improve classroom management?

The first tip is to avoid confrontational statements that blame or accuse students, and instead, focus on reinforcing positive behaviors and encouraging students to follow suit.

How can a teacher use the 'silent treatment' as a classroom management technique?

When students are loud, the teacher should remain quiet, maintain a calm demeanor, and wait patiently for the class to quiet down, which can prompt students to follow suit and settle down.

What is the 'call and respond' technique mentioned in the script?

The 'call and respond' technique involves the teacher calling out a phrase or action, and the students responding with a specific reply or action, which helps to refocus the class's attention.

What is the 'Secret Agent' strategy and how does it work?

The 'Secret Agent' strategy involves giving each student a card upon entry, selecting one student randomly to be the Secret Agent, and informing the class that if this student has a good lesson, the entire class will receive a reward. This promotes good behavior, participation, and teamwork.

Why is it important for students not to know the identity of the Secret Agent?

Keeping the identity of the Secret Agent secret ensures that all students try hard to achieve the stated target, as they are motivated by the potential reward for the whole class.

How can the 'Secret Agent' strategy help with classroom management?

The strategy not only encourages good behavior and participation but also fosters a sense of camaraderie and teamwork among students, as they collectively work towards a common goal.

What is the final message of the video script?

The final message is that classroom management is crucial and the video provides various tips to help teachers maintain control while keeping the learning environment fun.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Classroom Management Mistakes and Tips

The video script discusses common challenges faced by new teachers, such as controlling class noise and managing disruptive students. It highlights two major mistakes: shouting at students and sending 'bad' students out of the classroom. The script then offers practical tips for effective classroom management, including using confrontational statements positively, employing the silent treatment, and utilizing call-and-response techniques. The video aims to help teachers establish authority and maintain a positive classroom environment without resorting to negative reinforcement.

05:01

🤝 Building Class Camaraderie and Participation

This part of the script introduces innovative techniques for fostering participation and camaraderie among students. The 'Secret Agent' game is presented as a tool to encourage good behavior and teamwork. Each student receives a card upon entering the classroom, and one is randomly selected to be the Secret Agent, unknown to the rest of the class. The idea is that all students strive for a good lesson, as the entire class will be rewarded if the Secret Agent performs well. This approach not only promotes positive behavior but also strengthens group cohesion without placing undue pressure on individual students.

Keywords

💡Classroom Management

Classroom management refers to the strategies and techniques teachers use to create a conducive learning environment. In the video, it is the central theme, as the speaker discusses common mistakes and provides tips to effectively control and engage students in the classroom. The video emphasizes the importance of avoiding shouting and sending students away, and instead suggests positive reinforcement and interactive techniques.

💡Confrontational Statements

Confrontational statements are accusatory remarks directed at students, often focusing on negative behaviors. The video advises against using such statements as they can reinforce undesired behaviors and create a negative classroom atmosphere. Instead, the speaker recommends acknowledging and praising positive behaviors to encourage students to follow suit.

💡Silent Treatment

The silent treatment is a non-verbal discipline technique where the teacher remains quiet to draw attention to the students' noise. In the context of the video, this technique is suggested as a way to regain control when students are loud, by patiently waiting for them to quiet down and realize the teacher's disapproval.

💡Call and Respond

Call and respond is a technique where the teacher initiates a phrase or action to which students must reply or respond. This method is used to refocus students' attention and establish a pattern of interaction. The video provides examples like 'one two three eyes on me' and 'aye-aye captain' to illustrate how this technique can be ingrained in students' behavior for immediate response.

💡Secret Agent

The Secret Agent is a classroom activity described in the video as a tool for encouraging participation and building camaraderie. Students are given cards and one is randomly selected to be the 'Secret Agent.' The class's collective behavior determines a reward, fostering teamwork and a sense of shared responsibility. This concept is used to motivate students to perform well without singling out individuals for poor behavior.

💡Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement involves rewarding or praising desired behaviors to increase their occurrence. The video emphasizes the use of positive reinforcement over negative confrontation, suggesting that acknowledging and rewarding good behavior can be more effective in managing the classroom and fostering a positive learning environment.

💡Teacher Credibility

Teacher credibility refers to the respect and trust students have in their teacher's authority and ability to manage the classroom. The video suggests that sending students away or shouting can undermine a teacher's credibility, while using effective classroom management techniques can enhance it.

💡Class Participation

Class participation is the active involvement of students in classroom activities. The video discusses the importance of student engagement and offers strategies like the 'Secret Agent' game to increase participation and make lessons more interactive and enjoyable.

💡Group Cohesion

Group cohesion refers to the unity and teamwork within a class. The 'Secret Agent' technique mentioned in the video is an example of how to promote group cohesion by making all students collectively work towards a common goal, thereby enhancing the overall classroom atmosphere.

💡Discipline Techniques

Discipline techniques are methods used by teachers to maintain order and encourage appropriate behavior. The video critiques traditional techniques like shouting and sending students away, and instead offers alternative strategies that are more constructive and less likely to damage the teacher-student relationship.

💡Classroom Behavior

Classroom behavior encompasses the actions and conduct of students during class. The video addresses how to manage and improve classroom behavior through various techniques, emphasizing the importance of creating a positive and engaging learning environment.

Highlights

Managing class noise is a common struggle for teachers.

Shouting at students can lead to losing your voice and authority.

Sending 'bad' students away can convey a message of inability to control the class.

Confrontational statements can reinforce negative behaviors.

Instead of confrontation, focus on reinforcing positive behaviors.

Using the silent treatment can encourage students to quiet down.

Expressing emotions like sadness can influence students' behavior.

Call and response techniques can help regain students' attention.

Training students on call-and-response patterns can be effective for classroom management.

The Secret Agent technique encourages participation and builds class camaraderie.

Students are motivated by the idea of a Secret Agent receiving a reward for good behavior.

The Secret Agent technique promotes teamwork and group cohesion.

Classroom management is crucial for a teacher's success.

The video aims to help teachers keep their classes under control while maintaining a fun environment.

The presenter, Eldrich, offers additional tips and invites viewers to share their own classroom management tips.

Transcripts

First weeks of your teaching career

and found yourself in situations

where you don't know how to control the kids?

Here are some effective tips to win your classes!

Hi, it's Eldrich with AhaSlides

helping YOU win your crowd over, easier.

So, class noise.

The BANE of every teacher since the beginning of time.

or a class, at least.

It's that struggle that every teacher has definitely encountered

at least once in their teaching lives.

So how do we manage this common classroom problem?

In this video,

we'll talk about some common mistakes

we teachers commit

and then some tips we can use in our own classes.

Let's jump right in to mistake number 1:

SHOUTING AT THE KIDS!

You see, when I first started teaching,

I was dealing with a tough group of students.

At first, when they didn't do as I asked,

I shouted at them.

And if they still didn't do as I asked,

I shouted even louder

until eventually,

I was shouting at the top of my voice.

Jimmy, be quiet!

Johnny, please settle down!

Everybody quiet!

It did work sometimes,

but at what cost?

I lost my voice for a week,

and you know how hard it is

being a teacher without a voice, right?

And so, yelling or shouting at them

not only hurts you

but also gives them an idea

that it’s more of a battle of the loudest voices

rather than the teacher trying to manage the class.

And thus, they still ignore us.

Mistake number 2:

Sending "bad" students away

We all have done this:

sending the “bad” kids out to the perfect.

Alex, get out of my room!

Although this may seem a successful strategy on the surface,

the message we actually convey to the kids instead is

"I can't control you so I'm going to send you to somebody who can.”

This only shows that we've lost the battle

and lost all credibility as a classroom manager.

So, the question now is this:

How can we then control our classes?

if these two common "solutions" don't work?

Don't despair

because here are some tips to improve our classroom management!

Tips #1: confrontational statements

Confrontational statements mean

you're talking about the things that are going wrong.

"Carl, why are you always late?"

"Paul, why are you always making so much noise?"

You're accusing students of doing things wrong

you're blaming them for it.

You're talking about the behaviors that you don't want to see.

Don't reinforce that behavior

and set a very negative tone toward them.

What you want to do,

is remind students about the things

that they are doing right and

encouraging others to do it right as well.

"Paul, thanks very much for being on time

I can see you got a pen as well, brilliant"

"Everyone! Lined up properly, please!

That's great! brilliant"

Those sorts of statements are going to reinforce

those behaviors that we do want to see.

Tips #2: Do the opposite of what they're doing!

When students are loud,

you stay quiet,

do the silent treatment,

stand there with a big smile on your face,

shoulders back

and you patiently wait for the class to quiet down.

They will look up at you and say

"Are the teachers going to say something?

Everybody let's quiet down!"

If they're not gonna stop because they're having fun,

if they're laughing,

then you make a sad face and ask them:

"Class, do you see is teacher happy?

No, right? I'm not happy!"

If when you walk into the class

and seems like they are a bit down and tired,

you do the opposite,

let's cheer them up and give them a big bright hello!

Tips #3: Call and respond

You need a pattern interrupt them

to snap them back to reality.

So this technique is basically the teacher calling out something

and the students have to say something back

or they have to do some kind of action as a response.

Teachers train students from the very first day

on using this call-and-response technique

and they practice it a hundred times

until it is ingrained in the students

so that when you say the keyword

they automatically snap back

and do the response.

The teacher says

"one two three eyes on me"

and the students reply

"one-two eyes on you"

Or the "aye-aye captain" technique

"class class class" - "yes yes yes"

teacher says class class class

and the students have to repeat it

in the same way,

either high or low

or you can say it in different ways

and the students have to repeat after you.

Tips #4: Secret agent

This is a GREAT tool

for encouraging participation in lessons

and for building class camaraderie.

Here’s how it works...

Each student is given one card

on entry to the classroom.

This will immediately stimulate curiosity

and gives the teacher an effective way

to get students settled

and listening once they are in the room...

The teacher starts with:

“I’ll tell you what this card is for

as soon as you are all quiet.”

The students write their names on their cards

and that one student will be selected at random

to be the Secret Agent.

The teacher can then put the cards

in a hat for dramatic effect

and pull out one card.

Important note though:

None of the students must know

the identity of the Secret Agent.

Tell the class that as long as this student

has a good lesson

the ENTIRE class will receive a reward.

The beauty of this idea

is that because none of the students

knows the identity of the Secret Agent

it usually results in all students

trying hard to achieve the stated target.

Also,

if the student in question does NOT have a good lesson

or reach the target for some reason,

they aren’t held responsible by the rest of the group.

So, this little gem

not only encourages good behavior

and participation

but also promotes teamwork

and group cohesion.

Classroom management is no joke,

and we need every help we can

to be successful at it.

I hope this video was helpful

in keeping your classes under control,

yet fun!

Click the like button if you enjoyed this video,

and if you have other classroom management tips

share it with us

and write it in the comments below.

Once again I'm Eldrich with AhaSlides,

helping YOU win your crowd over, easier.

See you all next time!"