Brittany's Classroom Management Kit

Former Graduate Teaching Fellow at Vanderbilt University, Adam Wilsman said, “that first class period represents an opportunity to lay the groundwork for a successful class, and that can be done in a multitude of ways.” This summarizes the importance of planning the first day of class thoroughly, because as Wilsman said, the first day of school is the basis for all that follows it.The main benefit of thoroughly planning the first day is that a teacher can lay out the expectations or rules of the classroom. This enables students to know what is expected of them in terms of things ranging from grading procedures to technology usage during class. Incorporating the aforementioned topics and things such as what the workload in the class shall be, what is ones availability outside of class, what is the teacher’s absent student policies and the like into ones syllabus serves to ease student’s anxiety right off the bat. I know that a common worry amongst college students is the teacher not being clear in what is due and when that singular task is due. Therefore to avoid any confusion, the first day is the right time to introduce some of this information to your students.

 

Moreover, in many ways letting the students know the rules one has created or one has collaborated with students in creating can work, “as a preemptive and preventive measure to many of the difficulties that teachers face in reference to behavioral and academic expectations.” as Spring 2013 Practicum students Devin Boilard and Cole Phillips wrote in their classroom management chapter. Instead of correcting misbehavior as it comes, students know that, for example, speaking out turn is not allowed. This way it is easier to enforce rules when a student misbehaves because the teacher has something “physical” to point back to when these events occur.

 

In order to set the stage for stating those expectations, teachers must be organized and prepared for the first day. Moreover teachers must know what sort of classroom environment they envision and how that works within their school. Therefore it is a good place to start is in scoping out your teaching assignment by familiarizing yourself with the school building and its procedures for any given event. A good tip from Education Writer Linda Starr was, if one is confused about or disagree with certain rules then they can inquire about the history or reasoning behind them from one’s colleagues. Another tip by Linda Starr is to prepare one’s self for the little bumps that might arise in the classroom by having a “survival kit” of sorts. This kit could have things ranging such a sewing kit, bandages, tissues, etc. In fact this very website is a survival kit of sorts, in that it offers tips and tricks in particular aspects of teaching so that I am ready for particular events that could happen.

 

The second things to consider in preparing for one’s first day is to consider the expectations that you wish your student to know. Do you want assigned seats to learn student’s names or achieve a given end? Do you want signals for a given action such as raising one’s hand to ask a question? Do you know how are students going to line up at the end of the day-is a free for all or getting up in small group?

 

Thirdly, teachers should consider the set up their classroom itself to prepare it for the student’s arrival. Teachers must consider the lay of the land, so to speak, of their classroom in ways such as how the desks are arranged or if there are any desks, maybe the teacher feels the class would benefit from tables instead. A personal favorite choice of setup for me is the U-shaped formation of desk, so that students can all see each other and I can see all the students –which aids a discussion-based class such as Social Studies. A critical aspect of preparing the classroom is having all the supplies that one needs for both student and teacher – which all depends on the type of classroom that you desire. For example, my classroom will use technology, but also I shall ensure I have print copies of the readings incase student’s forgot or lose access to their laptops/ipads. These aspects and more are things to consider in preparing for the first, which can be aided by the teacher making a list of supplies and again planning their classroom within their own desires for the first day.

 

A fourth aspect of preparing for that first day is preparing the parents of one’s students. Especially if a teacher is new to the game, parents are going to need reassurance that you can teach their kids effectively and engagingly. A way to do this is to establish a dialogue with the parents of one’s student by means of a newsletter and welcome letter, which gives an overview of the syllabus and schedule for any event of importance.