4 Secrets of Successful Classroom Management

[00:00:00] Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the School for School Counselors Podcast. This is episode six, "Secrets of Successful Classroom Management." And I'm so excited to be talking about this today because it seems like there are usually two camps in the school counseling world. Camp one are the folks that came from the classroom, are practiced in providing lessons every single day, and they just love teaching lessons to classrooms of students. It's just their jam. 

[00:00:36] Then we have camp two. Camp two are folks that don't really love classroom lessons or working in classrooms, and truth be told, a lot of folks are slightly terrified by it. Which- no shame in that game, y'all- 20, 25 people looking at you, testing your limits and your boundaries. That's enough to throw anybody off their A- game! So if you have any concerns about classroom management strategies: how you're going to handle that when you get in the classroom, or you're just looking for some tips to up your game... here we go, y'all! I've got four tips for you for successful classroom management. 

[00:01:23] Tip number one. Have a clear plan and have that plan ready to go. This is a disconnect we see often with people in classroom. That they have a plan prepared. They know what they want to do. They know the kind of information they want to teach or what activities they want to provide. But they don't completely have the plan READY TO GO. They've written down, maybe what they want to do, but they haven't written down HOW to get there. What comes between the activities? How do we set up the activities so that everyone can be successful? Those kinds of things need to be looked at. 

[00:02:08] So as you have your plan and you develop your plan for your lesson or your activity, be thinking about- how are you going to introduce it? Are you simply just going to stand up and announce what's going to happen? Or are you going to provide a way to grab students' attention? Some great ways to do this are through story, through some sort of a game, through an element of surprise, a movie clip, or maybe a song clip- something to peak their interest. Then as you go through your lesson or activity, if you have some transition points: perhaps you are moving from, you know, having you talk to doing an activity or to playing a game; how are you going to manage those transitions? Be thinking about that. What are those going to look like? Who's moving where, and how's that going to happen? 

[00:03:05] Those are the details that often get forgotten until we're in the moment. And then the counselor says, oh my gosh, I didn't even think about that. So just eliminate that possibility and have a plan ready to go for all the components of your presentation. All right. So that was tip one. 

[00:03:27] Tip two: explicitly teach your expectations, even if you're working with older students. Often, when we think about teaching explicit expectations, we think about younger students- kindergarten, first, second grade- where we assume they don't really know how things are supposed to go yet, and we need to teach them. But often we find that older students need that structure just as much as the little ones. 

[00:04:03] When you walk into someone else's classroom, it is typical to feel as though they should have their classroom management set. And many people don't want to overstep, right? We don't want to walk in and seem like we're trying to completely change the way they run things in their classroom. Perhaps we're worried about offending them. Perhaps we're worried about overstepping or even doing the wrong thing . 

[00:04:30] Don't be afraid of that. Your expectations during your time are your expectations, and you have that right in that classroom. Managing those activities in the moment- that is your right. So explicitly teach what you expect to happen, not only to facilitate the lesson and ensure it goes smoothly, students know what to do, there's no confusion- but also it's a great opportunity to model for teachers who perhaps need a little bit of help themselves. Watching you do these kinds of things could really empower them and set a precedent for their classroom management.

[00:05:14] Often, when we are extremely clear about our expectations with students, it creates a feeling of safety in the classroom. It is very soothing to students to know exactly what's going to happen, what's coming up next, and what's expected of them to get from point A to point B. That can be very, very powerful. And it's something we often overlook. So keep that in mind. 

[00:05:45] So let's recap:

[00:05:47] Tip one, have a clear plan and have that plan ready to go. 

[00:05:52] Tip two: explicitly teach your expectations. 

[00:05:59] I want to take a little side trip for a minute and talk about expectations versus discipline. I think this is often a place that some school counselors get into a bit of trouble because they equate having expectations during their time in the classroom as a form of discipline. Those are not the same thing. You have to think of your expectations as your opportunity to teach and model tools for students to self-regulate. Keep it in the perspective that, as you are teaching and expecting students to do certain things, you are giving them the tools that they need to be successful- not only in the classroom for that year or the next year, but really for their adulthood learning how to accept responsibility and manage themselves in the job ,setting for instance. 

[00:07:08] If students choose not to pursue your expectations or choose not to meet them, that does not necessarily mean that it's time for you to become a disciplinarian. What it means is it's time for a very honest, forthright conversation- perhaps sort of a pseudo restorative conversation, for lack of a better term- but something that really seeks to lead the student to understand the impact of their choices. And if you've tried that: you've tried being open-minded, talking through it with them, and they're still not responding, then that would be the time to perhaps look toward discipline. But that comes from the classroom teacher. 

[00:08:00] That brings to mind a second point about teaching your expectations. You've also need to touch base with your staff about what your expectations are during your teaching time in their classroom, as far as their behavior and their presence. There are many folks who have reported they've gone in to teach a classroom lesson, they look up, and all of a sudden the classroom teacher is out the door and they're dismayed, perhaps they're nervous, sometimes grateful... it just depends. But if you expect your teachers to remain present during your lesson, Which I advise, because then they get to hear what you're speaking about students with/ they get to reinforce those ideas and words in their own classroom, be very specific and explicit with them about what that looks like. 

[00:09:02] Could be something like, "Hey, you know, when I come in to do your lessons, I would really appreciate it if you were in the classroom with me. I don't expect you to help or to co-teach, but I would like you to hear what we're talking about." Or perhaps you say something like, " When I'm in the classroom for our next lesson, I would like for you to be in the classroom with us. And if possible, it would be great for you to come help out: come help me get to some counseling centers or come help me facilitate the game..." or whatever it is you're doing. Be very, very concrete and specific. 

[00:09:40] We often walk in with expectations in mind, but we forget to communicate those. And then we feel frustrated, and that poor teacher had no idea what we wanted them to do in the first place! So make it easy on everyone: make it very, very clear so that there's no room for doubt.

[00:09:59] All right. So we have our clear plan ready to go. We've given our expectations not only to our students, but also to our teachers. 

[00:10:09] The third tip I have for successful classroom management is creating an awesome attention signal. Guys, this is worth its weight in gold. Take it from me. I can remember in my classroom days, When I did not have a good attention signal it was very apparent. And when I had some strong signals ready to go. it just really helped my class move so much more efficiently and effectively. And I will be honest, I did get tired of giving that same signal probably 40 to 50 times a day, but in the long run, it made my life much, much easier. 

[00:10:53] So one thing that has been super popular as of late, are these very cute attention signals, where the teacher calls out one portion of a phrase and the students are expected to complete it. Some of those are not super effective. My favorite is the example of the classroom that I walked into and the teacher says, "Waterfall waterfall," and the students are supposed to say, " shh..." and then it's supposed to get quiet. 

[00:11:28] I don't have to tell you if you've ever been in a classroom with students young or old, what happens when you ask them all to say, "shh," at the same time? There are a myriad of things that start to happen and hardly any of them are good. And this poor teacher just keeps calling out, "Waterfall, waterfall... waterfall waterfall..." and the students are just going crazy with all kinds of noises and other things. And it was a mess.

[00:12:00] Another one that I've seen here very lately, are teachers that purchase the wireless doorbells and want to hit the button for the doorbell, and when the doorbell rings, everyone's supposed to freeze. 

[00:12:14] And listen. The problem with these signals are they're not abrupt enough, they are not efficient enough, to grab students' attention fast enough. They provide too much opportunity for misbehavior, for ignoring the signal, things like that. So, My suggestion is, create an awesome attention signal that instantly gets students' attention. Something that cannot be ignored. Many of you know the classic handclap: that's always a favorite. It is very loud. It is very clear. No one can ignore that. Now, obviously, if you have some sensory issues present in the classroom, things like that, you're going to be mindful of that. But balance that with the need to get students' attention quickly and effectively. It allows you to gain control of the classroom when you need to. And it also provides a bit of your authority because when you're able to regain control quickly, that provides the authority you need to get the things done that you came to do. 

[00:13:34] So, create an awesome attention signal with your explicitly taught expectations and your clear plan. 

[00:13:43] And then the last secret of successful classroom management, which is possibly the most important idea in classroom management ever in the history of mankind, and... here it is. I'm going to divulge it to you. It is: engage. Engage, engage, engage. When students see the school counselor, it should be an event. They should look forward to seeing you every time that you walk in the classroom. 

[00:14:19] They should be on pins and needles waiting to see what you're going to tell them, show them, lead them to do. It should be exciting each and every time you visit, because engagement eliminates the majority of misbehavior. If students want to hear what you have to say, if they want to see what you've brought, if they want to participate in your activities, they are going to pay attention. And as long as you remain true to your expectations, you're not afraid to be clear with those after you've explicitly taught them, you're not afraid to use your attention signal if and when you need it, and you're following that clear plan- my goodness! Kids are going to be so jazzed to see you! 

[00:15:15] And that, my friends, is nine tenths of the battle: just having kids that want to be there with you, that would fight to come to the classroom when you're there. 

[00:15:26] I hope those are helpful. I'm sure they're not anything that you haven't heard before, but they bear repeating, especially as we're preparing to start a new school year, we want to make sure we kind of have everything lined out. As I plan my classroom lessons for the upcoming year, I would actually, intentionally, write these things down. 

[00:15:50] I would write down my plan. 

[00:15:53] I would write down the expectations that I want to make sure to reinforce with students. 

[00:16:00] I would write down what attention signal we are using and where we're going to practice it before we start. 

[00:16:08] And I would list the things I'm going to do to try to engage students. I would write those down. Because when you get into the classroom environment and you get going, sometimes we get busy and we just forget. Other things start happening and we lose our train of thought. So have it all written down y'all there's no shame in that game. Walking in prepared is better any day of the week than trying to work off the cuff, I promise you. 

[00:16:37] Also be sure as you have created this attention signal, and as you have taught your expectations to students, that you are revisiting them all the time. At the beginning of each lesson, you are reminding students what those are and how they work, and perhaps periodically through your time together if needed. 

[00:17:04] It feels very redundant. It feels like you're going overboard, but I promise you- if you're not feeling like you've gone overboard in teaching expectations, then you have not taught them enough. If you do not feel like you've gone overboard in emphasizing the procedure for your attention signal, you have not done it enough. 

[00:17:28] Not to the point that the students are rolling their eyes at you, but just almost there. And if you can get to that point, I promise you- it is going to make the whole lesson feel so much easier, so much easier. 

[00:17:43] All right. And so those are my four best secrets for successful classroom management. It is all plan expectation and reiteration. Every day. All day long. 

[00:17:58] Sometimes it helps, if you haven't worked a lot in a classroom, to be able to bounce ideas off of other people. to be able to consider the kind of lesson or activity you want to present and bounce it off some people who have perhaps done that before. We've created a fantastic community for collaboration like that: it's called our school for school counselors, mastermind. Guys, this community is straight fire. You have never been part of anything like this, and I promise you, it is unlike any other opportunity in the school counseling world. 

[00:18:33] There are other memberships and experiences available and they are great, but what makes ours different is the high level of collaboration among colleagues. It is completely unprecedented. It is a weekly endeavor: it's not just once a month, because who can remember their questions for a month, right? Who can think, "Oh, well, I'm planning this lesson, but let me just wait till next month to bounce that off somebody..." Y'all, we don't have that kind of time. 

[00:19:04] We're busy. We need to be fast and efficient and we need to be able to access our people when we need to access them. So our Mastermind is built to accommodate all those needs. We meet once each week and sometimes twice, depending on what our needs are. We have a full library of the skills your grad school did not teach you. And it is just super fun. 

[00:19:27] So if you're looking for a school counseling community where you can bounce ideas off of people, other than, those nameless, faceless folks in the mega social media groups, you need to go check out our School for School Counselors Mastermind. You can find more information on our website, schoolforschoolcounselors.com/mastermind ,and you'll get all the deets there. Check it out and see if it might be something that you're interested in as you get started in this brand new school year. 

[00:19:56] And also, as this podcast episode is published, we'll be right on the edge of our Best Year Ever celebration. Oh, my gosh. Y'all you are going to love this. If you've never been a part of Best Year Ever, it is one of our best events ever of the whole entire school year. It's a really cool time to get together with colleagues in real time. We're going to prep for the beginning of the school year. We are going to provide resources for you. We're going to make sure that everything is squared away and that you are organized, but motivated, for the start of the 22-23 school year. 

[00:20:38] It is going to be an event unlike any other, and- it's free, you guys! It is absolutely no cost. So go on over to our website and get signed up for it. schoolforschoolcounselors.com/bestyearever. We would love to see you there and get you all fired up and amped up for the start of a new school year. It is going to be fantastic. 

[00:21:03] All right. Well, I have so enjoyed my time with you this week, and I hope that you've enjoyed it, too. Hopefully, as we go through this podcast we're getting better and better with some things, and we would love your feedback. If you would take a moment to rate or review this podcast, just to let us know what kind of things you're enjoying, and if it's beneficial to you. And when you rate or review, it helps send a message out to the rest of the school counseling world. That this might be worth checking out. So, if you would do that for us, man, it would mean the world to us. 

[00:21:37] I so appreciate you being a part of our School for School Counselors community 

[00:21:42] And let's recap: 

[00:21:44] My four best secrets for successful classroom management...

[00:21:49] Have a clear plan .

[00:21:52] Explicitly teach your expectations.

[00:21:56] Create an awesome attention signal.

[00:21:58] And engage, engage, engage.

[00:22:02] 

[00:22:03] I hope you have a fantastic week, and I will see you next time. Have the BEST day!