5 Secrets to “Classroom Management": Part 1

Photo by Cole Keister on Unsplash

​One of the most common struggles I’ve heard talked about by and for new teachers is “classroom management.” I struggle with the phrase “classroom management,” and prefer to see my role as a teacher as cultivating a positive classroom culture.

To me, this simple switch in language interrogates the idea that I am there to “keep students in line” or punish them when they break a rule. I don’t think that should be a central part of my job description. I do think ensuring a positive classroom culture is an extremely important part of my job description, if not the most important part. 
 
For more on this idea, check out Afrika Afeni Mills’s article “Classroom Management Reconsidered” and Teaching Tolerance’s “Reframing Classroom Management: A Toolkit for Educators”. 
 
If you’re still with me, I’ll share some ideas about my approach to cultivating a positive classroom culture. Here are my top 5: 

1. Co-create class norms with students
2. Foster relationships 
3. Allow for student choice and autonomy and explicitly teach self-regulation 
4. Restorative practices in place of punitive discipline
5. Shared leadership, specifically involving students in the creation of school policies 

 
There is a lot here. So, I’m breaking the details into 2 blog posts. In this one, we’ll focus on what you can do in your own classroom to cultivate a positive classroom culture. In “Part 2,” we’ll focus more on what school structures and initiatives could facilitate thriving classroom and school-wide cultures. Let’s get started with what classroom teachers can do in their own rooms...
 
Co-create class norms. This works best at the start of the school year, but it can be done at any time of the year—better late than never! It will help with student investment in maintaining a positive classroom culture. 
 
How do I do this? 

• Elicit student-generated norms. You can approach this in different ways. It could be a whole class discussion in which you are writing norm ideas on a poster as you go. You can make sure you get all students’ input by collecting one written norm from each student and then eliminate repeating norms and clarifying vague norms. 
• Use an agreement protocol (like fist to five) ensuring all students can agree to the norms before they are finalized. 
• Discuss with students how we should remind one another of the norms when they are not being followed, and what happens when a student does not follow a more serious norm. 
• Have a norms tune-up conversation as needed when the class is struggling to follow norms.

 
Foster relationships. I love this because it is proactive instead of reactive, and it works! 

How do I do this?

• Schedule class circles regularly. I had one, 60-minute circle a week. 
• Design circles to explicitly foster relationships. At the start of the year, I would use circles to have each of us (the students and myself!) share something about ourselves. I liked to use the “Story of My Name” as an open-ended prompt for students to share how they got their name, how other people used it, nicknames, whether they liked it, what it means...anything! Midway through the year, I would do an appreciation circle where each student had to write or verbally share one thing they appreciated about the other students in the class. I loved this activity, and so did students. Everyone loves getting some love! 
• Design circles to have students talk about content. Having weekly circles did not mean I gave up teaching content for an hour each week. The vast majority of the time, it meant I had students engage with the content in discussion-based format in which we could all listen to one another’s ideas. You can build relationships and content knowledge at the same time! I liked asking opinion questions related to the content and asking students to draw connections from the content to other classes/contexts, current events, or their life experiences. 
• Design circles to discuss social-emotional skills and work habits. Building skills like collaboration, assertiveness, and perseverance help students be more successful in school and in their lives. We used circles to share stories about when we exemplified certain values and to practice these values as a class. (Check out the Values in Action site, which when you click on each strength, gives definitions, prompts for reflection/discussion and ways to practice each value!) 

 
Allow for student choice and autonomy and explicitly teach self-regulation.  This one is a balance. Choice and autonomy are motivating and promote ownership of learning, but we need to help students learn how to self-regulate and problem solve on their own without constant teacher intervention.
 
How do I do this?

• Set up independent work time so students can work on what they need. This requires students to know what they need to work on, so a prerequisite to this might be helping students identify the different skills or content knowledge they need to master to be successful in class, and then helping them determine which areas they have not yet mastered. It also requires having different activities for students to work on during this time. Technology can be a big help, with instructional videos on Khan Academy or YouTube supporting students when you can’t be at each table. If you aren’t a fan of this idea, you could also make your own videos for students to watch using Screencastify or Edpuzzle! 
• Insert choice in other ways. You can set up your delivery of content or students’ demonstration of learning as choice boards. You can support different learning styles through the types of content on the choice boards or even the spaces in the room in which students choose to work (i.e., sitting on the floor or at a table, solitary spaces with headphones to cancel outside noise or near other students who want to be able to ask each other clarifying questions or verbally process what they learned). 
• Teach self-regulation to the class and then, and this is key, don’t rush to help everytime they say they need help. I generated a list of about 10 steps students can and should take before asking me a question. (Examples include: Not sure about the directions? Look at what the rest of the class is doing and ask a classmate if you’re still confused. Can Google answer your question? Google it!) I posted the 10 steps chart and walked students through how to use it. We laughed together because many of the steps were obvious, but I had established a culture up until that point in which they could wave their hands and say “Miss,” and I would immediately run over. With that system in place, why would they take the time to Google a definition of a tough word? We need to teach them self-regulation, and then let them put it into practice. 

 
Restorative practices in place of discipline. Traditional discipline policies disproportionately negatively affect students of color and students with IEPs. Being suspended decreases the likelihood of graduation, and contributes to the school-to-prison-pipeline. Restorative practices have been shown to reduce disruptive and violent behavior in schools, increase attendance, and improve school culture and problem-solving skills (WestEd, 2016). 
 
How do I do this? 

• In your classroom, build community with circles, and when harm is done, provide the option for a restorative conference in lieu of punitive disciplinary action. This site has great resources on the history of the practice as well as steps to facilitate such conferences. The gist is: participants share the impact of an incident on them (speaking from the I), and by the end participants share how they can act to repair the harm, relationship, or community.  
• Use circles from this book for use with your class as needed. For example, there is a re-entry circle to be used when someone is returning to the class after being out for disciplinary reasons. You can also use circles from Morningside Center. They create class circles to help communities process and respond to difficult current events as well as more general circles on building community and SEL. 

Shared leadership, specifically involving students in the creation of norms and learning activities. Students and teachers will buy in to norms and engage in class activities more if they helped co-create them. 
 
How do I do this?

• In your classroom, co-create the norms as we said earlier and have tune-up discussions as needed. 
• Gather information about lesson activities from students via surveys or exit tickets. Ask them how it went and what changes would help them be more engaged and learn better in the future?  
• Be flexible with your own ideas. Be willing to break with “the way things have always been done,” and keep the goal of student learning at the heart of the discussion. That’s why we’re all here, after all!  

 
If this is new for you, I admit, this is hard work, but I will also share that it has the power to transform the culture of your classroom. If you’re already doing this, invite other teachers to see your class in action! Share your brilliance and show other teachers that it is possible. 
 
Whether you’ve been doing this type of culture building for years, or you’re brand new to this approach, I’d love to hear what your biggest challenges have been. Add a comment below or reach out to tell me via email. Let's start brainstorming next steps! 
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Click here for My circle planning template!

​Just taking the time to read this blog until the end shows your dedication to professional growth. You are a rockstar. Sending you strength and resilience to keep that teachership in motion.

​​Think big, act brave, and be your best self.
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