Poster

1)                  Be interactive

“Alfred(1930), Rudolf(1968), Thomas(1974) and Maurice (1992) exemplify theorists who emphasised the role of the school in preparing students to live in a democratic society through the sharing of power between teachers and students.” Teachers will be able to understand their students more and the teaching materials can be adjusted to fit the student’s needs.

2)                  Positive classroom environment

Alfie Kohn’s emphasis on “developing caring, supportive classrooms in which students are able to pursue topics of interest in depth” (Charles, 2005) is very important as it will affect students’ engagement in the classroom as well as their motivation in learning.

3)                  Rules

Outline the rules and regulations during the early days of class and demand certain expectations to be met such as punctuality, respect for each other, teamwork, assignment deadline etc. As Andrea (2006) stated, “clarify rules so that students fully understand your expectations from the beginning.”

4)                  Reinforcing point 3!

Andrea (2006) stated, “By enforcing rules consistently will allow students to feel comfortable knowing that your behaviour and responses are predictable.” Once students understand our behaviour and are able to predict our responses as a consequence of their behaviours, they will be more aware and the class will be much easier to be managed.

5)                  Lesson plans

Tyler’s objective model comprises of four steps in lesson planning: 1) statement of the objectives; 2) selection of the experiences that will develop the objectives; 3) determination of how the experiences will best be enacted to meet the objectives; 4) evaluation of the students’ achievement of the objectives. (Churchill, 2011) Lesson plans are able to provide clear guidance of the process of teaching and also expectations of student’s learning progress.

6)                  Draw boundaries

Set clear boundaries so that students are certain about acceptable classroom behaviours. As a teacher, I am there primarily to teach, be their role model and secondarily, their friend. (Andrea, 2006) If students are unclear of such boundaries, it will lead them to misbehave and end up uncontrollable.

7)                  Set goals

Setting goals will motivate students in learning as they will understand what and why they are given the appointed tasks. (Churchill, 2011) If the goals are achievable and deemed challenging, this will not only promote students’ engagement in their studies, but also promote continuous self-learning/improvement. When students complete a task, they will become more confident and gain interest in that particular subject, seemingly a positive feedback loop.

8)                  Circle time

Andrew and Pamela (2000) quoted, “circle time can help young people develop skills such as listening and empathising; it can promote respect for others and self-esteem; it is a forum within which the nature and effects of bullying can be considered; and it can be used to develop an anti-bullying code to which all members of the school community have contributed.”

9)                  Be a role model

Bandura (1977) stated “people learn to behave in moral or immoral ways primarily by observing others – particularly parents, caregivers and significant others such as teachers and peers.” (Krause, 2010) Naturally as a teacher, we have to be well-behaved in front of the students and try to guide them in building self-esteem and self-efficacy.

10)            To teach in routines

Andrea (2006) stated, “Use routines for all classroom activities so students know what to do at all time.” Using routines in the classroom will undeniably increase students’ comfort level in the class, making the classroom environment their ‘comfort zone’.