Classroom routines are important for effective classroom management for many reasons. For reasons, keeping your sanity would be right at the top of the list. 🙂
You already know this, but let’s discuss it more.
Teachers with well-established and clearly defined classroom management strategies can positively affect their student’s behavior.
You may be wondering, how do you successfully implement classroom routines? Incorporating effective routines into your classroom will take time, consistency, follow-up, and effort.
The alternative of not taking the necessary steps would be escalating stress and frustration. You will be continuously telling the students over and over again what to do.
How Classroom Routines are Important for Effective Classroom Management
Depending on the class, teaching habits take time, possibly a couple of weeks for each teaching routine. You will also need to revisit, practice, and reinforce them continually. A little two-minute reminder on three or four different routines is all required at the start of a lesson, but it still must be done to keep your routines fresh in your students’ minds.
So, think of all the transitions and activities that cause you trouble throughout the day, like distributing materials, transition time between activities and tasks, what to do when a student has finished a task, handing in work, etc. Think about how much easier your day would be if you had routines for all these stressful situations. How much smoother would the lesson be if students knew exactly what to do in each of these situations?
Ideas for Learning Effective Classroom Management Techniques
Educators find great value in self-reflection to grow as teaching professionals. You can review an article titled How Teachers Use Self-Reflection and Evaluation in Education. Think about how much easier your day would be if you had effective classroom routines for all these stressful situations. How much smoother would the lesson be if students knew exactly what to do in each of these situations?
Another way to prepare students for the classroom and the rest of their life is by incorporating a growth mindset into the learning environment. If this topic interests you, as it does me, you can read this in-depth post called 28 Ways to Incorporate a Growth Mindset Concept in the Classroom.
The key is to make as many classroom routines as needed. Teach them, practice them, make them habitual and post them on the walls as reminders. One of the benefits of this is that the next time a student isn’t doing what he should be, you can calmly ask him: “What should you be doing?” and point at the classroom routine board. There will be no excuse they can give you because when routines in the classroom are in place, they know what they should be doing.
Create, implement and then practice, practice, practice the classroom routines. If you follow these guidelines, you should have a better-performing classroom before you know it.
Classroom Management Accomplishments Are Important for Career Advancement
Communicating your classroom management strength will be critical to writing a teacher application letter to generate the reader’s interest enough to read your teacher’s resume. Be prepared to discuss your success with implementing classroom routines to provide an optimal learning experience for all students in your teaching job interview.
Do you agree that classroom and teaching routines are essential for effective classroom management? Please leave comments below to let us know what works for you in the classroom and what doesn’t.
Check out our eBook 101 A+ Classroom Management Tips for more classroom management tips, or visit our education eBook store.
