Classroom Management for Teaching Mastery ( Pro Level Teacher Training , Teaching Tips and Tools )

1. Course Introduction: Thank you for stopping by, and welcome to our classroom management course. If you are a teacher, an educator, someone working in the educational setting, this course is definitely for you. It will prepare you and equip with skills which are crucial for any teacher to have. In order for you to be able to teach properly, you should manage your class properly. In order to do so, you need skills, tools, tactics, strategies, best practices to allow you to manage any classroom. This course will provide you with those based on extensive experience, practical knowledge on things that do work. As a teacher and as an educator with extensive number of years in the field, I'm going to share this knowledge with you. Make sure that you join us enroll in the course right now, and let's see how the course goes in terms of helping you develop and grow as a teacher. 2. Your Project: Project for the current course revolves around creating a personal action plan for you as an educator and as a teacher in terms of your efforts for developing the skills to be able to manage classrooms effectively. We're going to start off by writing three to five areas of strength. Just simply pick a piece of paper or just simply write them down as a note. Then, you're going to write down three to five areas that need improvement, just simply reflect on your own professional context. What are the key areas that you think that you need to be working on whether communication, engagement with the students, dealing in a better fashion with your colleagues with the administration, skis them in. Then, what are the actions and the steps that you need to be taking in order for you to transfer those areas that need improvement into areas of strength. Write down three to five steps, three to five actions and steps that you need to be taking in order to help you support you to transition from needing improvement to being strong in that facet and in that area? And feel free to use our AI tools. I'm going to leave the link for you, which will help you use the power of artificial intelligence to brainstorm, create lesson plans, come up with project ideas, and just simply engage with those tools to further support your development and growth as an educator. 3. Introduction to Module 1: First module, we do have the introduction to classroom management in which we're going to introduce this concept. What is classroom management? What is the importance of classroom management, and as an educator as a teacher? Why is this considered one of the best practices that every single teacher across the globe should be equipped with, whether you are a new teacher or someone with a lot of experience, you should be able to control the class to manage that class, and it's just just simply having the students behave within the class. There are multiple facets, multiple dimensions for classroom management. And in the first module, we're going to introduce the concept of classroom management. 4. Defining effective classroom management as part of Teaching Practices: Welcome back. So by definition, classroom management refers to the set of strategies, techniques and practices employed by teachers to create and maintain an organized productive, conductive learning environment in the classroom. There are multiple aspects as a teacher and as an educator you need to be focusing on, and these are some of the key highlights that I apply within my classes as well. It involves the effective management of student behavior. This is very crucial. You should be able to properly deal with various types of students? Various characters, various behavior schemes. Some students, they are very bubbly, some of them they're quite shy. Some of them they are all over the place. You should be able to adapt and adjust your instruction. You should be able to set some sort of mechanism as we're going to see we're going to see within the course. So how can you absorb these various types of behaviors? Structural time, everything should be planned out, in order to be able to successfully manage a classroom, your sessions should be clearly planned out from the Get go, have clear lesson plans, all the resources and check, because let me tell you something. Whenever you step into the class, the moment you walk into the class, the students are assessing you. They know exactly about you as a person, your behavior, the way, the same way you know about them. So in order for you to properly manage the class, you should be prepared because as soon as the students pick up on the fact, you're not prepared for the class, and it shows Good luck controlling the class, because automatically, the first thing that they're going to register, it's a free period because there's no planning. There's nothing to be done within the class. Then you're going to be planning your resources, which is part of the classroom management, and what do you mean by resources, your educational resources, and the resources within the classroom setting and the school as a whole, the access to the recess, the arrangement of the desks. The way you move within the class so have clear pathways. So classroom management, it's not just simply about dealing with the behavior of students one to one, just telling one student, you have to be quiet, the other one you should behave on the contrary. It's a set of skills, techniques that allow you as an educator to have a perfect instruction time, a perfect session which revolves around education, such that within the premises of the class, everything is going as planned. The behavior of the students, the time for the lecture or the instructural time is perfectly allocated based on your lesson plan. No surprises. But sometimes surprises do happen, total understand as educators will understand that no matter how much you plan, things they do happen. But The act of planning minimizes the chances of random occasions, random acts to happen within the class. So if you properly plan from the get go, the instructural time, your lesson plans, you try to take into account various elements within your class setting, the seating arrangement, the location of the tables, the chairs, your own desk. All of these are factors which are going to be adding to your skill set in terms of classroom management. So the whole purpose is, you're going to be promoting by this act, which is classroom management. Student engagement, students are going to be with you within the class. Take a look at this image, which is a great representation of proper classroom management. Everything seems sleek, organized. Students are engaged. The teacher is comfortable conducting a lesson in an effective manner with minimal disruption. Whenever you walk into the class, let's say you're a principal. The first impression that you have, this is a great class. Everything is organized. Students are engaged, which is one of the most important factors within the educational setting. The teacher is in control. They are not overwhelmed. They are going according to their own lesson plan in a systematic way. This overall promotes learning and well being. You will be happy, you will be comfortable, and the students are going to make your life easier as a teacher. Because, believe it or not, the moment you walk into the class, they develop a first impression of you as a teacher, especially if you're a new teacher, and you're just simply going for this profession. This is the starting point in your career as a teacher. I've been doing this for over five, six, seven years up to this current point. And let me tell you something. Whenever you walk into the class, the moment you step in, You will find out that the students are developing an impression of you as a teacher. And this impression will dictate to a certain point the way they carry themselves within the class and how they engage with you. So it's very crucial to develop classroom management skills, not just simply dictate the dos and the don'ts within the class. Often teachers they do this. Whenever they walk into the class, they try to enforce themselves on the students. This always backfires. There are strategies that you need to follow in order for you to develop the ability to manage a class. Once you're in control and you're able to manage a class properly, everything else is downhill from there. 5. Importance of effective classroom management for behavior control and education: What makes classroom management a very important cornerstone within the teacher's professionalism? As a professional teacher, whenever you're interviewing for a job as a teacher and an educator, you do have a demo class where the administration, they invite you to host a session, a teaching session, and they try to pick up on your teaching style, various aspects that they check off a list to make up the decision whether or not to hire you as a teacher? And one of the key cornerstones that I've seen over the years, over my extensive number of years teaching and educating within the class setting, online, offline, let me tell you something. If you are not able to manage the class, no matter how good you are as a teacher, no matter how much information you possess, how skilled you are, you will not be getting that job. Classroom management is considered to be one of the essential skills that every single teacher should possess. And these are the main following reasons, the importance of classroom management. First of all, effective learning environment. If you're not able to control the class to control the behavior, have a clear set of rules and instructions, and your class members, the students are acting with you as if they're members of the team. The quality of education plummets significantly. You'll not be able to teach, you'll not be able to finish your plan. You'll not be able to stick to your lesson plan, you'll not be able to stick to your weekly plan, yearly plan, you get the picture. You'll be delayed. There'll be a gap in the progress. At the end of the day, you'll be the one to be blamed because you're not able to finish what's required from you as a teacher within the curriculum. Effective learning is directly related to the ability to manage a class. Safety and comfort, you as a teacher and M as a teacher as well. Whenever you walk into the class, you should feel a certain level of comfort in order to be able to teach properly in order to be able to educate properly. If you walk into the class and you're not comfortable, too much sound, the students yelling, the running all over the place, lack of control, good luck teaching. So you understand this, safety and comfort, they are directly related as well to classroom management. In order to feel safe and the students to feel safe, the class should be man be in control. It should have a focal point of authority within it. The rule setter, let's say, the captain of the ship, which is you, the teacher. Improved efficiency. When you're able to manage the class properly, Most probably you have experienced this in one of those class settings where the students are quite calm, they're engaged. They're trying to learn. They are with you, keeping up with you as a teacher. You're able to finish the lesson quicker. You're able to go into deeper concepts of the lesson. You're able to differentiate your instruction. You're able to actually teach and cater for the needs of students, ones with special educational needs, different learning styles. You have the ability to focus on your students, hence improving your efficiency as a teacher. And all of this stems from the ability to manage a class, classroom management. So effective learning, safety and comfort, improved efficiency. These are three cornerstones that you will be able. Well, let's call them fruits. These are three fruits, you'll be able to reap. If you're able to properly manage your class. On the other side, if you're not able to manage your class, let me tell you something. Your life, day to day life, as a teacher will become problematic. Like, I've seen this hands on. I've seen fellow teachers, fellow educators. They are smart. They are educated, they are professional. But because they lack the classroom management skills, their day to day life becomes problematic. They're not able to carry on with the class, they're not able to teach properly, they're not able to stick to the plan, they're not able to develop proper relationships with the administration and the students as well and the parents. So they are losing on multiple ends. All of this is due to the fact of the lack of classroom management skills. So you understand the importance of classroom management. At this introductory part with the first module, we are developing your understanding and awareness of what is classroom management? And why is it important to you and your career as a teacher and as an educator? Often teachers the oblivious of the term classroom management. I just simply it looks to them as if it's managing behavior, and that's only one part of classroom management. So at this current point, your awareness should be getting broader. You should be able to understand the significance of classroom management as we are going to get into the details in terms of how can you develop those skills? What are those skills? And how can you have this checklist at the back of your mind to make sure that your class is in check? 6. Challenges faced by educators as part of teaching and education: Come back. So let's say you ignore classroom management, and you decide that, well, it's just simply a matter of dealing with behavior, and that's mainly it. Taking from an experienced educator, and experienced teacher to another teacher. Let me give you this advice. The things which are going to be compromised, if you do not take into account class management skills, You are going to be the one paying for them on multiple facets. First of all, stress levels. You will be stressed out most of the time. Whenever you walk into the class and you're not able to manage the class properly, you will be stressed. Your stress levels will go sky high all the time. And it's a matter of time before your productivity levels plummet, your well being plummets. You are not able to enjoy the teaching profession. You're going to hate the teaching profession. And every single day is dreadful. Due to the fact of being stressed out. And anxiety. Often teachers if they're not able to manage the class properly. It's a matter of time before they become anxious and develop an anxiety within the class. The moment the clock ticks, and it's the time for that class, you can find out that you can just tell that their adrenaline levels, cortisol levels. All of these stress related hormones are sky high. They're having palpitations, they're sweating, they're panicking, why? Because they are not able to manage that class. Which in turn makes them lose control, and that's very inconvenient for you to live with on a day to day basis. One of the challenges as well, that Educators tend to face is the lack of confidence, which directly affects the ability to manage a class. If you are not able to develop confidence in terms of your ability to control the class, your students mark my words on this. They will pick up on this the moment you step into the class, especially if you're a new teacher, that this teacher is not confident, it's time for fun within the class. The same way, you're able to read the students. They are able to read you with the moment you step into the class, and you have one chance to make a good impression. Usually, this applies truly within the class setting. Lack of structure and preparation. This is one of the difficulties that teachers tend to face as well, which impacts their ability to to manage a class. They're not prepared to the class. They're just simply walking into the class and trying to teach without any preparation, which in turn makes them more stressed, more anxious, which reflects as lack of confidence, and in turn deteriorates their ability to manage the class, and the students will pick up on that as well that this teacher is not preparing. He is simply walking into the class, he's simply walking in the class, or she's simply walking into the class and trying to just simply teach us something without any preparation, and you lose the interest of the students on the spot. So these are some of the challenges faced by educators. When you are not properly managing your class, you'll get stress, you'll get anxious, which is going to develop over time and ruin your productivity. And two factors which get into the way of you developing those skills of classroom management. Lack of confidence, you don't believe in yourself as an educator. You don't believe that you have the ability to control the class, and your students will pick up on that. You're not prepared. You plan there's no structure for it. You don't have a clear trajectory, the moment you step into the class, till the moment that you leave, you've got your objective in check, essential question in check. The activities are broken down, the lesson plans, the PowerPoints, all of these things should be cohesive. Such that whenever you walk into the class, you're relaxed. You have a clear idea how the next 40, 45, 50, 55 minutes, no matter what is the schedule that your school follows, is in check. Everything is quite clear. Everything is quite planned out, which makes your efforts within that class. Focused towards classroom management and conducting the class. So these are some of the challenges that educators tend to face when it comes to dealing with the students within the class and managing the class. So these get into the way, whether in terms of a consequential aspect, if you don't manage your class properly, you'll develop stress and anxiety, or you're trying to manage the class, but you lack the confidence and the structure and the planning. So these are the obstacles often educators they tend to clash with if they do not have classroom management skills. 7. Impact of Classroom management on effective learning and Behavior: Welcome back. Now, let's look at the other end of the spectrum. You are a very, very authoritative teacher. You classroom is in check. You got next level classroom management abilities. And the moment you walk into the class, you're able to carry on the class just like that, everything goes perfectly. What is the impact? Well, first of all, you'll be relaxed, less tress. Better class performance, grade wise, and relationships wise. Your students will be engaged, your students will be active. You students will be connected to you as an educator, and their grades are going to be impacted as well. In addition to them becoming well rounded well beings, which will reflect in terms of the parents communication and the administration communication. More joy, you'll have fun as a teacher in the class. Being a teacher is a very joyful career. If you know how to do it properly, if you know how to teach properly and how to carry yourself properly within the class, you would love teaching. Often the image or the perception is, it's a very stressful career. Well, if you're not able to control various aspects of that career, definitely be stressed out. But if you're able to get everything in check, including classroom management, it becomes more joyful. And once you're able to set the pace for the class that you have, it simplifies the year ahead. Often, based on my experience, the first week of the academic year is the week where you set the pace for the entire year. The moment you walk into a new class, let's assume you're a new teacher. You've never taught before? You've never been in a classroom before. I've been in classrooms of various age groups, middle age groups, middle school, high school levels, lecturing university level students, working professionals. So I've seen various ends of the students pool, let's say. But let's assume you have no exposure whatsoever to teaching, and you are given the task of teaching a classroom. And you step into the class. The first week is the week, which is the most crucial to the trajectory for the entire year. Within that week, students are assessing you. Are you qualified to teach them? They are taking a look at you as a person and your character, and they're going to be testing you out as a person as well. In terms of your reflexes, how good are you in terms of communication, how strict are you, how lenient are you? The same way you're assessing the students, they are assessing you. And once they make that impression within the first week about you as a teacher, it's very difficult to change it later on. So in order to have a clear trajectory, a very comfortable year, just simply for the first week, try to set the pace. Use the classroom management skills we're going to be teaching you to help you set the pace and enjoy and simplify the year ahead. 8. Introduction to Module 2: Welcome back. Now in this second module, we're going to take a look at, how can you create a positive environment within the class? How can you develop this learning atmosphere which will help you manage the class in an effective manner? 9. Setting up the expectations for effective classroom management: Come back to the second module and which we're going to take a look at the creating a positive learning environment. In order for you to develop this atmosphere within the class, there are certain key checkpoints you need to keep in mind, in order to reach one of the important cornerstones of classroom management, which is a positive learning environment. Starting off with establishing classroom rules and expectations, this is very, very important. You as a teacher, you are the captain of the ship. You are going to be setting the rules for the entire class. Consider it as your own kingdom, for example, and you are the king. And within that kingdom, you should be setting the rules, the instructions for how the kingdom operates. So make it clear from the beginning. Whenever you walk into the class, what are your rules? Take a look at the image. Before you start teaching, sit down by yourself and just list down a couple of rules that you would like your students to follow. For example, if they need to ask a question, raise your hand, if you need to use the facilities in terms of the washroom, raise your hand. You're you're not allowed to talk to your peers within the class setting without permission. In case of any emergency, raise your hand. Walking within the class during the session is not acceptable. Eating within the class is not acceptable and just make it clear about the consequences. If you do this, we'll not be able to continue the class, and then I'll have to make you move to the principal's office, for example, and contact your parents for class disruption. So set the rules clearly from the beginning. Do not be offensive, not be aggressive. On the contrary, simply walk into the class, introduce yourself as a teacher, and just simply walk them through the lane of rules that the school has rules. Every single class has rules, and since it's your class, it's your rules. Establish your class rules the way you want it to be. Do not be afraid. Like I've said, you should be confident. Whenever you walk into the class, make your rules clear, and have the students repeat them with you, engage them in the process. You can just simply follow this. This is what I do within my classes. Have your students repeat the rules with you. Rule number one. No talking without permission. Rule number two, you need something, raise your hand. Rule number three, avoid eating in the class without permission. Rule number four, make sure that you have your notebooks and your school accessories and your bags and your iPads, whatever it is with you at all times, or you'll be losing points. Clearly, list them out for them and have them remember them. What is rule number one? What is rule number two? They'll be engaged with you. They'll be participating with you. And this is very important. The final part, which is, stick to the rules. I couldn't emphasize this enough. If you make the rules, stick to the rules no matter what, and don't ever compromise those rules and negotiate those rules, because later on, your students will not take you seriously because you haven't taken yourself seriously in terms of your rules. Let me give you an example. Let's say, As part of your instructions, you make it very clear if someone eats in the class without permission, you're going to send them to the principal's office, as is. And one of the students decides to test you and test how much are you sticking to those rules? They start to nibble within the class. You notice them. The first thing that you do, you stop the class, and you ask the student to go to the principal's office. On the spot. Why? Because the rule has been broken, and there should be consequences to that. At that point in time, most probably if you're an experienced teacher, you've noticed. Students will start to negotiate. I'll tell you this is the last time. You can give them a warning once. But if they keep repeating the same thing over and over again, stick to your rules. Do not compromise your rules. Students are going to try to push back and forth hoping that you'll cave, and that's it. You can give them a warning. That's perfectly fine. But if it gets repeated, stick the rules, apply the rules. This will reinforce your presence in the class to your students, making them depend on you more, trust you more, and support you in terms of the implementation of the class rules. They'll think twice before trying to testing your rules, hence makes your class easy to manage. So Establishing classroom rules and expectations from your class is very important. Once you're done with the rules, tell them that this is what I expect from the students in my class to have respect, to support each other, to cooperate with each other, to be engaged. We're going to have fun as long as we're learning. So set these expectations for the students such that they know what are your rules, not to break them. They know the expectations that you have from them. And this usually happens within the first couple of periods as your students get used to you as a teacher. So try to have a good impression, B friendly, be welcoming, but at the same time, they should be able to understand. There's a fine line between being welcoming and being strict. So these things are very important to keep in mind when it comes to learning how to manage a class, kicking things off with the creation of a positive learning environment. And one of the crucial components of a positive learning environment is establishing classroom rules and expectations. 10. creating a visually engaging environment for effective classroom management: So when it comes to creating a positive learning environment. Often teachers they tend to overlook their actual environment. They focus on the class, the focus on the board, the teaching material, but the physical environment, the board, the tables that share the pathways, the arrangement, the hygiene, the cleanliness of the class, the symmetrical distribution of the tables. All of these aspects are very important to classroom management. So you need to set up a visually engaging and organized classroom space. How can you achieve this? First of all, engage the students in the process? You win them over. You can tell the students, it's time to change the style of the class, give me ideas. How shall we arrange the tables? How shall we place the tables, two students next to each other, one by themselves, three students next to each other, brainstorm. They're going to be engaged with you. Make it easier to move around. At the back of your mind, you should make sure that the arrangement makes it easier for you as a teacher, as you're explaining to move from one student to the other, to navigate your way without any obstacles, stripping on bags, feeling confined in the movement. Make sure it's clear? It's welcoming, and the pathway is spacious, and there's proper arrangement of the chairs. It makes it visually less stressful for you as a teacher. Demonstrate leadership. This is a great opportunity for you to express confidence and dictate, literally dictate how the class should go, even visually in terms of the arrangement, how it should look like. Add your style to the class. On the board, for example, you could have, for example, a certain signature or you could have your students add sticky notes in a certain part, or you could have a certain segment for quick game that you play with the students. Add your style to it. Also, you got boards within the class on the walls. Use those boards every single class usually has a designated board cardboard, for every single subject. And for every single teacher, it's your space to put whatever you want to or to have your students place the project, their contribution to the class. This is an opportunity for you as an educator to add your style to it and engage your student. This way, you're developing the physical aspects of your classroom, which will add up to your ability to properly manage the class. 11. Developing a culture within the Class as part of Classroom management techniques: As you try to develop a positive learning environment as a cornerstone within your classroom management, tool kits, and skills, you should promote a culture of respect and inclusivity and make sure that you include the students in the process. First of all, you need to enforce respect as an essential part of your class instructions. We call the lecture that we had on setting up your rules. One of the rules should be Be respectful. You give respect, you get respect, and the cycle goes on. Respect your peers, respect your teachers, respect your own work, respect yourself. Make it clear to the students that you have a zero tolerance policy regarding disrespect between classmates. If you find students trying to bully each other, throw comments, push each other. Stick to your rules. Literally, take a look at this, stick to your rules. Express that policy, Express that zero tolerance, verbally that this is not acceptable. And there would be serious consequences to students who actually breach those rules, and they disrespect each other, whether you're going to contact their parents, you're going to give them warning letters, send them to the principal's office. All of these are part of the school's policies. Make sure that you check them as a teacher in terms of the instructions followed within your school and district, just to make sure that whenever those things happen, and there's a breach of your instructions, you're able to match it with a certain consequence. Because these are very crucial. I if you want to set up a proper classroom environment, you need to make sure there's an element of respect between you and the students and between the students and each other because this is very important. If you have a toxic environment, it will always, always, always jeopardize your efforts to properly manage the class. So in order for you to create a positive learning environment, you need to promote a culture of respect and inclusivity. If you find someone who needs attention, give them that attention. Ask the students to help you along the way. Let me give you an example. You are conducting a class and within the class, you have a group activity allocated. One of the students is a high performer. And the other student is not a high performer, actually just simply a medium achiever, let's say, in terms of grade wise. Ask the high achiever to support the other student and cater to his needs and help him along the way and ask the medium achiever to learn from the high achiever, such that they're sharing information, they're inclusive in terms of the process, and they are respecting their differences and their gaps in terms of learning. Compared to having students throw comments at each other and try to bully each other due to their differences. So you need to promote a culture of respect and inclusivity. And in order to enforce this, stick to your rules in case any of the students tries to test your rules or breaks those rules, there should be a clear set of consequences in terms of the expected mechanism that you're going to be dealing with this. Like I've said, send the principal's office, contact the parents, warning letter, detention, all of these things are dependent on the school practices. Should we have a clear idea about the tools that you can use to help you to enforce your class instruction. So as we create a positive learning environment, following the physical arrangement, following to setting the rules, we need to promote a culture of respect and inclusivity. These are considered building blocks to help us create a positive learning environment which will in turn affect our ability to manage a classroom. 12. Introduction to Module 3: To module number three. In order for you as an educator and teacher to apply proper classroom management skills, one of the essential tools within your toolkit is behavior management strategies. How can you deal with various behaviors, whether positive or negative? Let's get it started. 13. Reinforcement techniques for effective classroom management: So one of the key components for classroom management is behavior. If you are a teacher, if you recall, from the first time you've started teaching, whenever you stepped into the class. The first thing that came to your mind is, how am I going to control the behavior of students? And this is often faced by new teachers. Behavior is a cornerstone in terms of classroom management. And in order for you to develop those skills of classroom management, you should be able to manage behavior. Now, let's take a look at some of the techniques and strategies. You can apply to help you manage behavior. So starting off with the behavior management strategies, we got utilizing positive reinforcement techniques. Often, we're fixated on the negative behavior. But students, they work well. When you focus on the positive things that they're doing, they are more receptive. At the same time, they are surprised that the teacher is actually focusing on whatever they're doing right rather than they're doing grant. In Japan, actually, there's a theory or action practice, which is the green pen theory, in which the teacher uses the green pen to actually correct and mark the things the students have done right. Compared to the red pen. If you recall on old the times when you were a student yourself, obviously when the teacher opened the book or the copybook and they left the remarks with the red pen, that give you some negative emotions, right? Because you've made a mistake and you're looking for that red mark to just simply validate that mistake. But the practice, the green pen practice or the green pen theory, you're going to be using a green pen, which is the complete opposite of the red color to actually mark the good stuff the student have done in the class or has done in the class. This is a form of enforcing a positive behavior, where you give credit to positive actions. It could be anything. A small act, which is correct. Try to amplify it and give it the extra push. Give the student credit in front of the class that they have done something right and that you would like other members of the class to follow his own footsteps. When you acknowledge positive behavior, and when you reinforce positive behavior, especially if you have a reward system, which could be either a gift, a toy, some free time, a head start to the recess, or just simply a trip, or you study outside of the class, all of these things they add up to your ability to manage the class. So if you do have the ability to enforce positive actions, combined with establishing a reward system for positive actions, your students are going to weigh the advantages and disadvantages. Shall I go for the negative behavior? This will get me into detention, we'll get me into problems, problems with the parents, probably with the school, probably with the grades. On the other hand, if they do something right, they'll be getting a reward. They'll be getting acknowledgement, they'll be getting good grades, they'll be getting the push from the teacher, the parents, and the school. So obviously, it makes it easier for you as a teacher to manage the classroom if you are able to reinforce positive behaviors. And one of the key tactics that I do follow in my classes as well, which is surprising the class when things go well. Often students when they do something great, let's say the entire class, the AC and exam, or they have a great remarkable behavior within one of the class settings, do not let this s line. It's an opportunity for you to showcase that you are aware. You're keeping up with their movements, their behaviors, and their actions as students, and you are acknowledging the effort that they have put it. Often, teachers they focus on controlling the negative behavior, and once that's done, s it, students tend to relapse in this case, in which they feel that they haven't been given the credit or the attention that they deserve for the effort they have invested in controlling their behavior. Often, we teachers think it's a must. They should follow the behavior requirements. It's something that they should do, regardless whether they like it or not. But once they pick up on that vibe, it has not negative consequences in terms of trust and the way they engage with you. So to recap the lecture, first of all, in order to manage the classroom, you need to be able to manage the behavior. So in order to manage the behavior, you need to utilize positive reinforcement techniques. Keep in mind the green pen theory. Keep in mind the green pen approach. Focus on what works. Focus on the goods that the students are actually providing for you, the good behavior, the results that they are delivering. If they are good, make sure that you pinpoint it, whether on a copybook or verbally, give them that feedback. Establish a reward system following the positive actions credit. You give them credit and you tell them, you know what, you deserve a reward, not just to you for the entire class. Let's have the last 5 minutes of the class as free time. They will definitely love this initiative from you, and they will be looking forward to your next class. Keeping in mind, these things that I'm teaching you as a certified licensed educator with extensive number of years within the classroom and outside of the classroom, teaching online, teaching offline, these things are applicable to whatever age group. Whether primary, secondary, high school, university level, adults, all of these mechanisms and terms of classroom management, they are alike. If you're able to control positive behavior, control negative behavior, but highlight the positive behavior, establish a reward system, and give credit for the positive behavior, you're going to win the students. They'll be looking forward to your next class because you are that teacher that looks at their positives, gives them credit for it, rewards them for it and appreciates that. You will be the best teacher in the school in no time. 14. Dealing with disruptive behavior and maintaining discipline: But sometimes we do have to face the fact. There will be negative behavior, whether we like it or we don't. One of the classroom strategies was giving credit to positive behavior and acknowledging positive behavior. But let's say you do your best. You try to acknowledge the positive behavior, you have a reward system. You're doing your best as a teacher to push your students to behave properly, yet you witness negative behavior. This is where it gets a bit sensitive because you have to balance between the fun and the discipline. You don't want to be fixating on one of the ends of the spectrum. Often, when teachers they go for the reinforcing the positive behavior, they fall into the being too fun trap, where the students don't take you seriously anymore. On the other hand, if you are just simply holding them accountable to every single thing, you fall into the dictatorship end, which is the discipline all the time. You should be in the middle. You should be able to jump to the fun side and then leap to the discipline side. This will surprise your students because you have two sides. You got a fun side, and you get a si which exercises discipline, and they don't want to be on that side. So they would appreciate the fact that you are good when they are doing good, and you need to discipline them when they are not being disciplined. They should receive the survive from you. So how do you do this? First of all, you need to address destructive behavior and maintain discipline. That's your goal. First of all, pay attention to the smallest acts. Do not let any negative act slide by. Students will test you out. You'll try to do something negative, whether it's a whisper, whether it's a comment here and there. Sometimes if you give it the other ear, that will work. But It depends from one situation to the other. Sometimes if something is quite negative, and it reflects a bad behavior. You need to reinforce your rules and instructions without hesitation. Always stick to your rules. This is very crucial. You've clearly laid out the rules for the students at the beginning of the class, correct? Now, at those moments, you are going to be tested as a teacher in terms of compliance. Are you going to stick with the rules and reinforce your rules such that the students will respect you and they will respect your rules. Do not negotiate the rules. This is very important. Whenever a negative behavior takes place, and you have clearly laid out your instructions, the consequences, Do not negotiate with the students. You could warn them and carry on with the class, but do not negotiate the instructions and the consequences. Take action when needed and make it count. What does the word make it count? You don't want to go overboard. You find some teachers, surprisingly, they tend to shout, to yell, they go overboard. That's not the goal. That's not the purpose. You need to be collected. You need to collect your nerves, be cool, be relaxed, but be strict at the same time and reinforce your rules. Let me give you a simple example. You're teaching, and all of a sudden, you've got one of the students, keeps interrupting the class by talking to his friend over and over and over again. You give them a warning. And you carry on with your lesson. You give them a second warning. You carry on with your lesson. Now, for the third time, apparently, they haven't received the message. They are breaching the class rules, which you have clearly mentioned, which is, do not interrupt the class when I'm teaching if you need something graze your hand. Now, at this point in time, there should be consequences, and it's up to you as a teacher to dictate those consequences within the framework of your school, either you could deduct grades, call their parents, detention, no recess, or ask them to go to the supervisor or the principal's office for a discussion after the classroom in the presence of a phone call with the parents, for example. Once you reinforce this and the student receives your answer or your feedback, that there's the following consequence and they try to negotiate, do not go for the negotiation. Stick to your rules, stick to the consequences and take action. Because at that point, it's very critical. Why? Because other students are going to be witnessing the process, the communication. If you are quite on the fun end all the time, you will not be able to reinforce your rules and demand the respect that the students should be giving you as transparent as that sounds. So once an act demands a certain consequence, apply it, stick to the class rules, stick to the schools rules and follow the procedure as efficiently and as disciplined as possible. That way, you'll be in the middle. Students will appreciate your fun side, students will appreciate the discipline at, the disciplinary side. And they will choose willingly to stick to the reward mechanism that we have established, which is reinforcing positive behavior. So if you have a system of a positive behavior, reinforcing them, incurring them. And then one of the students, they breach that system with negative behavior, and you're able to contain the negative behavior with a clear set of rules, clear set of consequences, you're being professional, you're collected, and you just simply execute those rules and make sure that every single action is correlated to a certain consequence in terms of the school's policy, the supervisors policy, and follow that mechanism. Students will appreciate this. They'll be able to see both of your sides, the fund side and the disciplinary side. That way, you will again, reinforce the students to stay on the positive side that you have clearly laid out for them. So at this point in time, we have learned two different strategies regarding how to deal with positive behavior, and how to deal with negative behavior. So these are two essential tools that you should be adding to your skill set as a teacher in order to properly manage a classroom. 15. Consequences within the Classroom setting for effective behavior management: Now, often teachers fall into the dilemma. How should they act when something goes wrong within the class? A student is not behaving well. You are tested as a teacher, as a professional in terms of how to deal with the negative behavior that we have established in the previous lecture. Well, let me help you out. In order for you to be able to manage the behavior properly, you should implement the consequences and strategies effectively and fairly. The same way of discussing the previous lecture. Make sure that for every action, there are consequences allied for it. To make your job easier because you don't want to create consequences and pass them on to students, and they are not applicable. You'll be in trouble as a teacher. So how do we deal with this problem? First of all, set a clear expectations in terms of the consequences for certain actions. You talk without permission, you lose one point. You push your friend around, you lose ten points. These are clear expectations in terms of actions and consequences. But how far can you go? You need to refer to the administration for the set of school rules and various disciplinary actions that could be applied based on various actions by the students. So, you go to the school, tell them, what are the list? What is the list, or what are the actions within those lists? That I should keep an eye on. In case one of the students, they committed a certain act, for example, they cheated in the exam, or they hit the friend, or they are eating inside the class with that permission or disrupting the class. For all of these cases, present them to the administration and ask them to provide you with the school's policy, the schools disciplinary measures. This will serve as your own backup system to help you craft your class instructions. That way, you are creating the instructions to prevent negative behavior, which are in line with your school's policy. That way, your class setting, your class instructions, they are ful proof, because you don't want to create a consequence for an action, which does not align with the school's policy. You'll be in trouble, and that will not reflect well on you as a teacher as a professional. Which will lead you again to create award system and a disciplinary system. So if you have a reward system for the positive behavior, sky is the limit. But for the disciplinary system to deal with the negative behavior, you need to consult with the schools administration, take a look at the rules. What do they apply? What have they applied in the in the previous years? Have a chat with the teachers in terms of the disciplinary actions that the schools follow. Is it suspension after let's say two fles or is it contacting the parents? Or deduction of the grades. Every single school follows a certain mechanism to deal with negative behavior. So take a look at that, in order for you to be able to craft your instructions within the class in an effective fashion, to minimize negative behavior, and to be able to contain it as soon as possible, at the same time to pave the way for your own reward system. Once the disciplinary side is clear, for every action, there's a consequence for that, clearly laid out, the students know it, you reinforce it, you clearly pass it on to them and you stick to it in case of any breach. At the same time, remind them of the reward system, which is way better. Way more lucrative for them in terms of the grades, behavior, cooperation, and fun within the class. And by default, students will control their behavior in order to stay on the reward side of the system rather than the disciplinary side. So these are some of the psychological toolkits or skills that you need to be learning as a teacher whenever you're dealing within the class. As humans, we have two systems in mind, whether reward, discipline. So these systems should be reinforced within the class setting in compliance with the schools rules, the district rules, and what works and what does not work in terms of disciplining the students based on certain behavior. That way, whenever you step into the class and you lay out your instructions, it's full proof. You have a reward system, and you have a disciplinary system, and all of them they comply with the school's policy, and now it's up for the student to pick which side does he want to be on. 16. Introduction to Module 4: Module four of this current course and which we're going to be learning about building positive teacher student relationships, which is a very crucial component in your classroom management tool kit. 17. The power of rapport and trust for teachers as part of classroom management: Come back, one of the major components for the success of a teacher in terms of classroom management is the ability for them to build relationships with the students, fruitful positive relationships. In order for you to control a class, to manage a class, it extends beyond enforcing a reward system and a disciplinary system. That will serve you to a certain point. But as the year progresses, things get dull, because you will be separated from your students with the gap in between, and that gap is due to establishing a connection. You need to establish a connection with the students at an individual level, such that. You're going to develop report, and trust with the students. Talk to you students. Explore the shared interests of the class. What is the latest video game that all of the students are playing? Have you played that video game? Let them know. That will show them that you actually connect with their experiences. You like the things that they like, and they're able to trust you more. Create a sense of comfort that your students can pick up on. Whenever you walk into the class, the students by default should be able to sit down, just listen to whatever you have to say. And that comes with practice and with time. If they're able to trust you, they will respect you, if they respect you, they will listen to you. Have a laugh with your students. Don't be too uptight. That reflects negatively on you as a teacher because it shows lack of confidence. You should be able to exercise discipline once required. And whenever there's a joke, crack a joke every now and then, and make sure it's funny and laugh with them. When you laugh, when you're laughing, both of you you're bonding. The students are bonding with the teacher, and the teachers bonding with the students, establishing a mutual comforting ambience within the class. Ask them for their opinion about various lessons, situations, activities. For example, let's say, you would like to have lunch today. But you have no idea what you should be having for lunch as a teacher, or you might have an idea. But you would like to see the input from your students, pause the lesson and tell them A ideas for lunch today. Watch them engage with you beyond the classroom setting. They will chip in. They'll tell you about their favorite meals. They will feel heard. If the students are able to feel heard that you are on their side, you're listening to them, you are not just simply walking into the class to teach them, but you would like to learn about them their interest to help them develop beyond the academics. They would appreciate this. They'll be looking forward to your class. They will be sharing stories with you about their personal experiences, whether with food, with friends, situations. They'll ask you for advice. And if you're able to build that report and trust with the students, you as a teacher, you are unstoppable because every single class is going to be spectacular. Students are waiting for you to walk into the class because they trust you, they respect you, they want to hear everything that you have to say. 18. Communication and listening skills as part of teacher training & teaching skills: It comes to classroom management, one of the most important tools in your KT communication. You should be able to create an effective communication, an active listening channel for your students, where you are talking to your students, be able to communicate effectively and listen properly. Often teachers we tend to talk, talk, talk, leaving no room for the students to actually share their own insights, share their own ideas and thoughts, that will disconnect the line of communication between you and your students. So effective communication and active listening skills in terms of, giving space for the students to reach out to you, whether within your office hours or after the class, L et them share their thoughts, their own opinions about a project, a task, actively listen to their comments and discussions inside and outside the class, and lim emphasize outside of the class, within the recess, within the playground, having a discussion with the friends, simply lend them an ear. What are they talking about? What are their interests? You might pick up on things which are quite let's say jeopardizing their academics or to their behavior, and you're able to deal with that on the spot. You're able to listen more to your students in terms of their interest and any obstacles that they are facing beyond the classroom, which is impacting their performance inside the classroom. Now, let me tell you a story. I've often seen this hands on. You do have a straight A student. Spectacular students, academic wise, is very, very, very powerful. And all of a sudden, He's starting to get D grades, failing the exams without any idea why. Now, some teachers they don't really care. Just grade the exams, and that's it. But there are teachers actually pay attention to that change, and they're concerned. What is happening to a student who is actually having a transition, and negative shift from being a straight A student to getting Fs and Ds and his assignments. So some of those teachers will actually ask the student for a discussion one to one, open discussion about what's happening with them. Beyond the classroom or within the school, which is impacting their performance. And from their perspective, it could be a very huge problem. But you as an adult, it's something very small and minor that could be tweaked and dealt with. Simply by you as a teacher, an educator, giving them that advice, you will change their academic trajectory for the entire year. It's a huge responsibility. It shouldn't be taken lightly. But this is very powerful in terms of why you should create effective communication and active listening skills, more of develop. Actively listen to their comments and discussions inside and outside of the class, make them feel they are hard and their opinions matter. If you have let's say for one of those classes, you would like to come up with ideas for projects. Ask your students to share their insights, what would you like to be working on in terms of your research for the upcoming topic, you will be surprised how willing are they to chip in and support your teaching goals, give them the responsibility, give them the trust, communicate with them, listen to them, and they will be your biggest supporters. Often, there's a gap between teachers and students in terms of communication. Teachers assume they are on one end and the students are on the far end. If you are able to bridge that gap, and communicate as a teacher and see things from the perspective of students. You are a very powerful teacher, and you will be able to manage any classroom that you come across. 19. Conflict management for effective classroom management and behavior control: Comes to classroom management. You do your best as a teacher to reinforce the positive behavior, minimize the negative behavior. You try to actively listen to the students, you get their opinions and their feedback, and you make sure that they're heard. But often within the students themselves, there is conflict, not seeing eye to eye, they are debating, arguing, and things are getting out of hand. And it's your responsibility as the figure of authority within the class to be able to manage conflict and resolve issues constructively. If students are arguing or they're having a hard time coming to us to a mutual point of understanding, you should step in, take a look at the image and try to diffuse this conflict and try to manage it. And these are the steps that you need to follow. First of all, be fair and clear. Don't pick sides. Listen to both ends and try to be the judge. Listen to your students and understand the main issue before jumping to conclusions. Often, many teachers, they have a bias. If a student has a trend of being negative or has negative behavioral issues all the time. And a straight A student is in conflict with them, they automatically take the side of the straight A student that is unfair. Sometimes the straight A student could have negative behavioral issues, but the other student is actually trying to do his best and he's being misunderstood. So be objective. Listen to both sides. B unbiased. And be a fair judge in that case. Take action when needed. Recap your school's policy, your own set of rules, your instructions. If there's a breach for one of the sides or both of them, take action when needed. Establish a sense of authority and become a figure of authority for the students. When there's conflict between both of the students, instead of resolving it between each other, they should resort to you. To end this conflict between them, you'll be the figure of authority because you've proven yourself as a teacher that you listen, you understand and that you're fair, and most importantly stick to your rules. Most probably, you have seen this over and over again. We keep emphasizing this. If you break your own rules, good luck, managing your own class, when you create a set of rules, make sure they are applicable because they will constitute the framework for your operation within the class. Once you break that framework, good luck reconstructing it because your students will no longer take you seriously. Think about it. If you didn't take your own rule seriously, how can you expect a classroom full with kids, for example, to take you seriously? It's very important to stick to your rules all the time. In this current lecture, we've emphasized the importance of managing conflicts and resolving issues constructively in order to be able to manage a classroom properly. 20. Introduction to Module 5: To the fifth module of the current course in which we are going to learn. How can you engage the students and motivate them to participate and be present in your class? It's a very essential skill that you need to possess and to develop in order to be able to effectively manage a classroom. As an essential part of classroom management skills, the ability to motivate and engage students is a very important cornerstone that you should be depending on to help you and support you in your efforts in terms of classroom. Management. So on this current module, we are going to build up on those skills, which will allow you to engage and motivate your students to be present with you in the class and support your efforts in terms of classroom management. 21. Using various teaching methods , training , teaching tactics within the class: So in order for you to be able to manage your classroom effectively, you need to develop skills which foster engaging and motivating students. So one of the keys things that you need to be depending on in order to engage and motivate students is basically incorporating interactive and student center teaching methods. You need to avoid a bit the lecturing style, which is often found in universities. And when you're teaching adults, when you have a teacher, actually just simply stand and talk and talk and talk for the entire duration. You lose the interest of the students. They are going to become disengaged, and they are going to be more prone and susceptible to behaviors which are quite distracting within the classroom. So how can you fix this issue? First of all, you need to engage your students through various teaching approaches. Make things interesting, make things dynamic. In one class, you have group work, another class, you have peer to peer activities, and the other class, you have a discussion. So continuously change your teaching style and methodology in order to engage your students and make sure that they're paying attention. Surprise them every now and then. If you're following a certain style, you can just simply have 5 minutes in terms of an activity, an open ended discussion, a high order thinking question, in order to further engage them within your class setting. Integrate games and technology. Gamification is a very powerful tool that works for adults the same way it works for children. If you're able to gamify the lesson, turn it into a game, your students are going to be on board. Over 90% of your students are going to be engaged simply by the fact of transforming a boring lecture into a gamified lecture. So some of the examples you can use to help you gamify any lesson. Have some pop up quizzes. Use technology, for example, you got the wheel of fortune where you spin the wheel in front of the students, and there's a random selection for the name of the student. It's more of a gm like a TV show kind of approach. So these are a couple aspects that you can use in terms of gimification. Also, you could have a competition, where you could have your students if they answer a question properly, they'll be getting a reward, for example. So all of these are basic gamification approaches. Sky is the limit. Feel free to experiment, to come up with your own gification approach with a new class setting. But the key point is, if you're able to gamify a lesson, turn it into a game, a fun game, students are going to be engaged. If they're engaged, they're listening, and if they're listening, they're not distracted, which makes your effort to manage the classroom way easier. Use the school setting in your favor. L earning extends beyond the classroom. I've personally used this myself. For example, if I'm teaching a science lesson or physics lesson, I would stop the lesson in the middle of it, and just simply ask the students to go into the recess playground, and we take a look at the application of such a lesson, whether we're taking a look at plants, the tree leaves, xylem, flam, explain it hands on. Physics, projectile motion, kick a ball and show them how the projectile motion happens. Use the setting of the school in your favor. For example, in countries like Sweden, they do use the outdoor environment in their favor. Finland, for example, Indonesia, Singapore. They have these various teaching styles. And that's why they're considered to be the best educational systems across the globe up to the current point. Why? Because their ability to teach and use the class setting, and the school setting is quite versatile. Use different components beyond your classroom. You could use your labs, for example, have a lab session, go to the library, have them read a couple of books, watch a couple videos related to the lesson and engage them, watch a documentary, for example. So all of these things are considered to be elements which will foster engagement and further motivate your students. So if you're able to utilize your environment within the school, whether the classroom, the recess, the playground, the gym hall, all of these things are considered to be tools that you can use to help you further engage your students and connect them to the lesson. And it's up to you as a teacher to be creative in terms of how to use the environment in your own favor. Create fun project based assignments, whether it's for the steam fare, whether it's a research project. Make it fun, make it interesting, ask them to create a model, to create a prototype, to use their own design skills, create a video based on whatever that they have done, and present it to the class. Make it fun, make it interesting and extend the dynamics of the project beyond the typical PowerPoint and submission of a research paper. Make it fun for the students to become creative, to try to add their own sense of creativity to the project by adopting the lessons from your lecture, by using Some videos, for example, by using models, using clay, using whatever it is that they can use to help them develop and deliver their idea to the classroom in whatever way possible. Do not confine the students with the deliverables of the project, guide them. Give them the option to be creative, give them the option to develop a project based on their own learning style. Are they visual learners? Are they more of a listeners? Are they readers? So all of these things, they tend to influence how they deliver a project. So if you pass on a project idea to your students. For example, they look at the image, you walk them through it. What is the key requirement for such a project? Now, take a look at the students how engaged are they. Every single one of them is actually focusing on their requirement from the teacher, but they preserve their own identity and their influence as a student. They're going to be working on their project, whether as peers as groups or individual setting, and deliver the project based on their teach based on the learning style, and they're going to deliver it to the class in accordance with your teaching style. So if you're able to communicate, you're able to engage and motivate your students, they will be part of your class. They're going to be supporting your teaching efforts. At the same time, you will be able to manage the classroom successfully with minimal, minimal, minimal distractions within the classroom setting, where you will be able to foster positive behavior, minimize negative behavior, at the same time, achieve the learning outcomes from your lesson in an effective manner in line with the best teaching methods. 22. Differentiation for further engagement and classroom behavior management: Order for you to engage and motivate your students as part of your classroom efforts, you should be able to differentiate your instruction to meet the diverse student needs. Everyone learns differently. In dent times, the teacher would walk into the class and start lecturing, and it's up for the students to pick up the information in whatever way is necessary. But as education has developed, teaching styles, pedagogy, psychological education, all of these things. We tend to influence the teaching style and the learning style. Some students they are visual learners. Some of them they're sensory. Some of them, they are audible learners. So all of these different learning styles, should be taken into account by you as a teacher within your lesson planning in order to further engage your students. Why? Think about it this way? If you're able to speak the language, the learning language for that student, your chances of engaging that student are way higher compared to following a certain style, which does not resonate with that student's mental capabilities. So provide variation in your teaching style and lesson planning. Cater for various learning styles. Engage the senses. Sometimes you're going to be using visuals. Sometimes you're going to be using audio. Some of them are going to be using sensory, where they tend to do things with their hands. So when you're engaging the senses, it has a psychological effect. You're igniting different parts of the brain for the student, which will help in the retention of information. If they're able to learn visually with senses, with audio, Even if they're able to smell a certain scent for a flower, for example, as part of a structure of a lesson, it will st, strongly increase their retention of the information. And this is the main purpose of teaching in the first place. You need to teach them something and retain that information over the long run. Unfortunately, Nowadays, when you're teaching something, give your students one to two weeks and they'll forget everything they have learned. Why? Because they haven't been engaged, there's shallow learning compared to in depth learning. So in order for you to foster that environment, that teaching environment, that learning environment, where your students are actually motivated, engaged, they're absorbing the information, you need to engage them in multiple ways. You differentiate your instruction based on the learning style. One class you depend on PowerPoints. The other class, you depend on Audio, for example, where you talk, or you just listen to a podcast, for example, you relate to a certain topic. The other class you have hands on sensory application where they get to build a project, where they get to actually design something with their own hands. So if you're touching bases with all of these learning styles, you are going to increase the chances of engaging your students in a remarkable fashion. That way, if the students are engaged, you're properly managing your classroom. You have the set up of no one left behind. Every single student is engaged, every single student is working. Every single student is learning effectively in line with their own preferred learning style, which is considered a very high level of teaching. In addition, you need to address learning difficulties with care and attention. You do have students with learning difficulties such as dyslexia, for example, autism, you should be able to keep this in mind. They have certain limitations in terms of learning abilities, and you should cater for them. For example, if someone with dyslexia, you're not going to actually have him read or have he read a full on article in order to answer a question. You're going to lead more forward towards a discussion, a verbal communication. Why? Because they're not able to concentrate on a full article. It's not because of them, they have that learning difficulty. On the other hand, if you have a student with autism, for example, students with autism, they deal better with visuals. If you're able to communicate your lesson goals with visuals, pictures, images, videos, they are more receptive to the information compared to having an article being read or a piece of paper with words on it. It's not because they don't prefer to. You have to understand this as a teacher, because their brains are wired differently. Like Leary, I've conducted research on the matter and created and submitted an article, a research paper on the learning difficulties for autistic students and the blueprint and how to go about actually teaching autistic students. You'll be surprised that their brains for autistic students, they're actually structured differently. The right and the left hemisphere of the brain, they communicate differently compared to a traditional student. So you have to appreciate those differences because it's not a matter of a preference in terms of learning, it's an actual physical structural limitation to learning that they're dealing with. So as a teacher, it's your role, your responsibility to be able to deal with that difficulty, to be able to deal with that a learning struggle that they might be facing and provide them with solutions and cater for their needs. If you are able to deliver this as a teacher, you are a very powerful educator. Why? Because you'll be able to manage any classroom, you'll be able to motivate various students. You'll be able to engage students from various learning styles and various learning difficulties. Who wouldn't be in such a class with such a powerful teacher who is able to deliver and reach students across various levels. 23. Introduction to Module 6: Come back to modal number six, time management and transitions. Now, you've developed further skill sets to help you manage a classroom, but lesson planning is crucial. Managing your time is crucial. How you transition from one activity to the other from one aspect of your lesson to the other. Because guess what, if you're not properly planned, you're not organized, your students are going to pick up on that. And once they do, what's going to happen? The teacher is not organized, which means they are not going to take the lesson seriously, and if they don't take the lesson seriously, good luck, managing that class. So on this current module, we're going to focus on time management and transitions and how to equip you better as an educator and teacher to be able to have a smooth, solid lesson plan, structure, which supports your classroom management efforts. 24. Lesson Planning goes a long way within Teaching and education (Teacher Training): In order for you to properly manage a classroom, you should manage your time properly first. You should be able to transition between the activities, the slides, the mechanism should be quite intact, such that you will be able to focus within the class rather than being distracted with what you should be doing next, and that's achieved by having a proper plan. So plan your lessons effectively and properly. Take a look at this image, which is a very basic lesson plan. If you're an experienced teacher, you understand the importance of lesson plans to help you structure your entire lesson. But if you're a new teacher to the educational setting, lesson plans are basically a document which lay out from a macro point of view, what would you be doing? And then you zoom in for a micro point of view. What would you be doing within the entire class? Every single minute, every single segment should be accounted for, your introduction, you wrapping up, your exit pass, your activities, the learning outcomes, essential questions, resources going to be used, any worksheets. All of these, they are essential parts of your lesson plan. And without a lesson plan, you'll not be able to prepare for the lesson, not to mention to finish the entire unit. Right? So lesson plans are very important to help you create a structure. Now, if you're a new teacher and experienced teacher, I'm going to be leaving within this resources segment of the course, the AI tools that we have established on our academy, which are designed exclusively for teachers to help you create lesson plans with a couple clicks, in addition to projects, ideas generator, AI power up. All of these are powerful tools that will make your life as a teacher easier. So towards the end of the course, if you need help preparing lesson plans, feel free to explore that resource which will surely supplement your development and professional development as a teacher and make your life easier. As a teacher. Lesson plans, they can zoom a lot of time. And if you'm able to do this with a couple of clicks, that's a great win for teachers, where you'll be able to focus on what matters the most, which are your students. So as a side note, just make sure that towards the end of the course and within the resources section of the course, take a look at the AI tools which are delivered by our academy exclusively for teachers. So if you are going to be planning your lessons effectively and properly, you should follow the following key points, structuring effective lesson plans and activities. Are the worksheets you're going to be using? What are the activities? Is a group work, peer work, whatever it is, it should be clearly laid out in your lesson plan. There should be a smooth transition between different activities. For example, if you're explaining for five to 10 minutes verbally, you'll be able to tran transition smoothly to a worksheet activity, then to wrap it up with an exit pass. You're simply transitioning from one activity to the other in a smooth fashion compared to having a teacher just simply jump back and forth between lecture, then activities, then passes, then lecturing again, then turn on the slides, then turn off the slides. This random act of chaotic teaching, the way I'd like to say, has a negative impact on the student's experience. You lose their trust, the engagement, the motivation, and then this will escalate negative behavior, and will give you a hard time managing your classroom. And you need to maximize the instructural time and reducing downtime. Downtime is the time you would allocate as a free time. Five to 10 minutes, it should be part of your reward system as a teacher. But if the students are being taught within a period which is 45 minutes, for example, you teach them for 20, and then for the other 25 minutes, they got nothing to do. That's a recipe for a chaotic class. Because think about it this way. You have a child sitting inside within a classroom and you give them nothing to do. What do you expect? They're going to be tempted and prone to negative behavior, playing along with the friends, chit chatting, eating, running here and there, just simply to waste time and to get active. It's their nature. Don't blame them. But you should be able to increase the engagement time, increase the time of the teaching, use it properly, utilize your entire period, such that towards the end of the lesson, you get 5 minutes either for wrapping up exit pass, closing discussion, having questions from your students and answering any doubts. And when those last 5 minutes elapse, the bell rings and the class is over, and then you transition to the other class. That's the power of a lesson plan. You are able to actually create a trajectory for the entire class, for the entire week, for the entire unit, from the get go, minimizing your work, minimizing the distractions, minimizing the confusion for you and the students. And like I've said, if you're having a hard time, creating lesson plans, you're wasting a lot of time, explore our AI tools designed exclusively for teachers to help you create unit plans, lesson plans, project ideas, worksheets, quizzes with the couple clicks. It's found in the resources section in the current course, and as part of the additional resources provided for teachers to help them supplement their professional growth. So that being said, in order for you to be able to manage a classroom, you need to be able to manage your time, manage your transitions between the activities, which is done through proper planning of your lessons, solid lesson plan, which includes structure, smooth transition between activities, maximizing in structural time and reducing downtime. That way, you as a teacher, you have the tools, the character to actually control the class, and you have the sound knowledge and the plan to manage the class at an educational level, because you don't want to control behavior all the time. And there's no input in terms of academics. What's the point of teaching then? What's the point of you being in the class? You're there to teach? So classroom management skills are going to be acting as an umbrella for you to control behavior, minimize negative behavior, enforce positive behavior, and increase the engagement inside the class, and promote strong academic execution and standards. And this is done through the lesson plan that you have. 25. Introduction to Module 7: Welcome to Module number seven collaboration with parents and guardians. As a teacher, you should foster proper relationships with the parents and the guardians of the students and think about them as the most powerful tool in your classroom management toolbox. The relationships that you have with the parents are great support for you as a teacher in terms of managing your classroom and further developing your students. Now, let's explore this module together. 26. Relationships with parents as part of effective classroom management strategies: Back to the section of the course in which we're going to explore the collaboration between the parents and the guardians as part of the efforts you're going to be using to help you manage your classrooms. First of all, you need to connect with the parents. Whenever you're dealing with the class, often teachers just simply they teach the lesson, disengage from the class, and that's it. But what you should be doing is the following. You need to connect with the students and try to connect with the parents. It could be either for recommending a certain student in terms of a certain project and make sure that the parents are involved, or if there's a negative behavior in the class, you're going to be addressing it from the beginning by having a call with the parents. And discussing such a negative behavior with them. Or as part of your reward system and your positive behavior enforcement, you are going to acknowledge the positive behavior of the student, pick up the phone, call the parents, and tell them, your child has done a great job on the following one, two, three aspects of the lesson. Often, whenever parents they receive a call, if you are a parent, most probably, you're familiar with this, whenever you get a call from school, it's always a negative vibe. It's always a negative feeling that something went wrong. Well, it doesn't have to be the case. You should be the change. As a teacher, make sure that whenever the parents are receiving a call from a school, they're looking forward to the call. Because something positive is going to be coming out of it. So which leads you to building partnerships with parents to support student learning. Then professional communication with the parents is key. When you're talking to the parents, you don't want to become too friendly, such that. Parents are going to be demanding that you take specific care of their child or pay specific attention for their child, just because you are being too friendly. And you're going to be put in a position as an educator and teacher where you have to simply say no to the parents, and that will come off as something negative, which will impact that relationship that you have for the parents. So make sure that you are still on the spectrum between fun and discipline. Halfway through, you're going to communicate professionally with the parents, passing on the message, whether positive or negative in aes professional manner. Often parents, they request from teachers to give specific attention for their child, and they have specific questions for the teacher related to the child or the student, which extends beyond the professional setting, whether the exam grades, their projects, performance, and all of these things. So, you should prepare yourself as a professional educator and as a professional teacher, when you're communicating with the parents, be as professional as possible. Stick to the rules, stick to the conduct dictated by your administration, by your policy, by the district, just to make sure that everything is quite aligned. That way you are fostering proper professional relationships with the parents or the guardians which will nourish the relationship with the students and help you manage your class properly. And often you need to handle challenging communication with the parents in a strategic fashion. Sometimes whenever the child or the student, they have a certain clash with the teacher or with their fellow classmates, they definitely they're going to be reporting it to their parents. And some students, they don't tend to pass on the complete picture in terms of what really happened within the class or the issue that they had with their friends or why they lost a grade on the homework or they lost a grade on the quiz, and they tend to pass on that information in an overly exaggerated fashion. And parents once they pick up that information, you're automatically going to communicate with the school, communicate with the teacher to address the issue, assumingly that whatever they have heard from the student is actually correct. And you as a professional teacher, you should appreciate this and initiate professional communication from your side, which is focused on resolving the issue. Trying to get things properly. Organized in a way, which should portray the action, the cause, the consequences, and the outcome. Simple as that, B objective. When you are engaging with the parents in terms of the communication, and especially when it's a challenging communication. Often when teachers are being called by the parents, they're being blamed for the performance of their child, for example, they're not performing well, and the teachers being blamed for that hypothetical situation, you should appreciate this as an educator and be strategic in terms of your response and be professional. Listen to their side, listen to the students and, and pass on your own point of view, your own set of information and facts to further clarify the entire situation and reach a mutual end goal, which is the benefit of the student at the end of the day. So you don't take those communications or conversations personally. You don't engage negatively with the parents based on such communication. You should maintain professional conduct, because if you're able to do so, you will foster positive relationships with the parents. And once you're able to foster positive relationships with the parents and the guardians, they are going to support you as a teacher because they appreciate the fact you are looking forward to helping their child, you're looking for the best interest for the child, you're not there to actually waste the student's time or actually have a negative impact on the students. On the contrary, you are more supportive for the student. You are looking forward to support the student and act on the parents behalf. You care about the student, you want them to develop to grow and become very well rounded professionals. And once the parents they're able to see you as a teacher, your objective, your goal, in terms of your teaching, your approach to teaching, they are on your side, because they trust you and they believe what you're doing is in their favor of their child. So this is very crucial because this will help you manage your classroom by managing the relationship that you have with the parents, which in turn will impact the relationship that you have with the students. So in order for you as a teacher to be able to manage a classroom, should focus on the elements within the class and try to focus on the elements which extend beyond the class, the relationships that you have with your school, your supervisors, the district, the parents, the guardians. These relationships from an educational setting. These are considered to be the stakeholders. These are the individuals who are paying attention, looking after the quality of education within the educational setting. So as a teacher, it's your responsibility to have professional, sound, positive relationships in which the student is the center of those relationships where you're trying to find the best interest, what works to help the student develop academically. At a personal level as well, and reach new heights, such that by the end of the educational journey, they are well rounded professionals contributing positively to society. So in order to reach those goals as an educator, you need the support of the parents and the guardians to assist you in delivering that outcome. 27. Introduction to Module 8: Welcome to Module eight of the current course, in which we're going to be diving into managing special circumstances. As an educator up to this current point, as a teacher, you've learned various tools, strategies, and skill sets, which will help you manage a classroom. But things do happen. Certain consequences, actions, situations, they pop out of the blue. And then the test you as a teacher in terms of, how are you going to be dealing with those situations? In this current module, we are going to explore how you as a professional teacher, we should be dealing with unforeseen situations and circumstances and still maintain proper classroom management. 28. Leadership in action / Make an impact as a teacher and you will win your class !: As an educator, you could be as prepared as possible. But things they do happen, which is the normal life cycle of a teacher. You should be able to manage a classroom by managing various circumstances. And in order for you to be able to manage unseen or unforeseen circumstances, you need to be a leader in action. If you are a leader, take a look at the image over here, which best describes the juice of the current lecture, you are able to direct the flow of your teammates, your students, the administration, whoever is part of that circle within that situation, If they depend on you as a leader in action, showing them the way, you will be able to minimize the impact of the unseen circumstances and maintain classroom management. You should be addressing the needs of students with learning disabilities or behavioral challenges. You're doing your best, but some students, they are not on board, either they're still having a negative behavior or they're having a certain learning disability. Don't just simply sit aside and let things be, take action. You are a leader. If someone is facing a learning disability, contact the administration, the special educational needs department, and tell them this student is having difficulties. He should be given special attention. Let's develop a plan. Or one of the students is conducting negative behavior over and over again. You cannot just simply turn your ear and just simply assume it didn't happen. You should take action because this negative behavior will provoke other students and escalating to further negative behaviors. Contact the parents. Contact the school administration, tell them about the situation, how it should be resolved, take action, be a leader. Implement individual behavior behavior plans. So if you have if you're going to follow implementing individualized behavior plans, you need to follow the approach in addition to the support of professionals within the education setting. For example, the counselor, or if you have a psychologist on the school, or you have a social worker. These individuals, they will help you create and implement individual behavior plans. Someone who has an issue, for example, a negative behavior, and you as a teacher able to support a certain point, and you someone who is more specialized in dealing with those situations, get their help. Every single school should have those individuals create a plan for that specific student and monitor their progress, their achievement, their change in terms of their behavior, because if you don't take that step, you are not going to resolve the problem, and over time, it will become worse. So once again, you are a leader in action. Things do happen, Unexpected, use your skill sets. Use the specialists around you to cater and solve those issues. Handle emergencies and crisis in the classroom. If something goes wrong, let's say, for example, a student falls or slips, some teachers, the open door are. Well, that shouldn't be the case. You're going to be calling the emergency, calling the school nurse, making sure the class is organized, no one is panicking, no one is running around. No one is actually doing something which could be determinal for the well being of the entire class. So you are, again, a leader in action. If students are playing soccer in the playground, for example, one of them slips hurts his knee. So what do you do in this case? You cannot just simply walk away, just simply stand idle. No, you're going to maintain order, you're going to manage the setting. You're going to make sure everything is quite within control, call the concerned individuals, the nurse, the administration, make sure that the students are organized, they are not overreacting, and everything is in check and contain that situation, which again, takes us back to a leader in action. So in order for you to be able to manage classrooms, first of all, start by managing yourself, how you react to various situations. And then make sure that you step into the shoes of becoming a leader. You are the authority figure within the class. Like I've mentioned in the previous lectures, students should look up to you in terms of knowledge, behavior, you should be a role model, you should be a reference for the students. In order for them to be able to absorb the information from you, to trust you, to be motivated by you, you should be able to lead those students. And if you're not going to be a leader, there's no way for you to be able to lead anyone, regardless of the students or any class setting in general. So in order for you to be able to manage a classroom, you should step up and become a leader. 29. Introduction to Module 9: To this section of the course, which is module number nine. Now, this is one of my favorite modules, and often in any other course, in any educational setting, there's a gap in terms of how much attention is given to the teacher. And in this course, as a professional, who is in the same shoes as you are, I'm going to share with you some tips, some habits, some key points to keep in mind to take care of yourself and the well being and your well being. If you're not able to take care of yourself and you're not able to take care of your well being as a teacher, good luck, managing a classroom. If you're tired, exhausted, without proper nutrition, without proper sleep, stressed out all the time. You could be the best teacher in the world, and still, you will fail to manage a classroom. Why? Because you haven't taken care of yourself? In this module, Audio number nine, this is teacher centric. It's all about you as a teacher and how to take care of you. 30. Teacher Well-being & Classroom management: Back to the section of the course, which revolves around self care and teacher well being? You should be able to understand the importance of teachers well being in classroom management. If you need to manage a classroom, if you need to manage anything, you just simply need to manage your own life. You need to be your best. How does that sound? Often, whenever you go into a classroom, I've seen it hands on teachers are stressed, they're exhausted, they're overweight. They are lacking sleep. They're not taking care of themselves. Why? Because of the workload. But if you think about it, if you don't take care of yourself, you will not be able to manage a classroom. Why? Because you need to be your best in order to do your best. Do not expect something out of nothing. Well being is directly related to performance. It's a fact whatever profession you're at. In order for you to perform, you need to be your best, physically, mentally, emotionally. All of these elements, facets of fitness, are going to be supporting your growth. Now, if you need help in terms of developing these blocks in terms of well being, awareness, how to take care of yourself, I'm going to leave the link for our blog as well. Articles which are created by teachers for teachers in favor of teachers to help you take care of your professional setting and your well being, as well. So take a look at that link, which is part of our academy. Those blogposts, feel free to actually keep up with those updates because these blog posts, free articles are there to support you and help you develop and grow. You can't manage a class if you can't manage yourself. And in order for you to manage yourself, you need to take care of what you eat, how you sleep, what you do, your exercise. If you're able to manage yourself properly, you are ready to actually put some effort to manage a class. There are facets to well being, you need to keep in mind. These are some of the dimensions of well being. There are multiples of them, but these are the main ones. Let's go through them. Physical well being. If you're sick, you're malnutrition, you're not getting enough sleep. This will affect your physical capabilities. You get tired easily, you'd not be able to cater for the class properly. And I have experienced this personally hands on. I was so invested in terms of teaching and working. And I got to a point my energy levels were plummeting. And it took me a couple months up to a year to actually do some blood tests and to find out that I was over consuming caffeine, which prevented the absorption of vitamins and minerals, which led to deficiency in terms of iron, borderline anemia. So all of these things and vitamin D deficiency as well, and vitamin B because of the caffeine. So all of these things together, they limit your performance. You might not think it's something critical, but believe me when I tell you, it will impact your performance. You need to be your best to do your best. Emotional, if you're stressed, you're having hard time, you get issues which extend beyond the work setting, it will be determined to your efforts to manage a classroom. So make sure that you get those resolved. Financial. If you're not able to pay for your commute, your food, whatever it is. Financial stress, it's a thing. It's a fact. It will definitely hinder your performance. Social. You're not having proper relationships with your teachers, with your siblings, with your students. These are considered to be a source of stress, occupational, you hate your work environment. You don't like the school that you're at. You hate your job. These things, they tend to impact your performance. Spiritual, you feel hollow, you feel empty, you've got no purpose. So make sure that you work on that. To help you develop in terms of your overall well being. Intellectual, you're not being challenged. You're not developing, you're not reading anything. You're not learning anything. Now, you're taking this course right now as part of our academy, which is a great step to help you further leverage your intellectual skills. Environmental. You are in a place which is filled with pollution, for example. You are working in a school where there's minimal hygiene. You don't have a proper desk. You are not able to use the washroom whenever you please, for example. All of these basic stuff, in terms of your environment, they have a great impact on your overall well being. Let me share with you a fact, You engagement in terms of the class is highly determined by the environment that you're at. And this applies to life in general. Whenever you walk into the place and the environment is not suitable, eventually, this will pick up. You are going to witness some challenges because you as a person, you're not comfortable in that environment. If you're not comfortable that environment, how can you perform? So you as a teacher, in my own personal opinion, take care of yourself, your overall well being, your health, you, your fitness levels, your mental abilities, your mental wellness, all of these facets and dimensions, they are there to help you develop and grow, whether within the teaching setting, whether in life in general. Like I've mentioned, take a look at our blog, which includes really valuable tools and articles designed for teachers and for students as well to help you leverage your a game and become better professionally as an individual, as well in terms of your well being and your health. Now, that being said, you as a teacher, you should be able to develop your awareness in terms of the importance of your overall well being, how to be effective, how to be efficient, how to be in your best condition, such that, to be able to deliver your best and manage a classroom. Like I've mentioned, you need to be your best to do your best. Write that somewhere and make sure that you give us some reference on that. You need to be your best to do your best. And this is a very, very important phrase because if you are not able to reach your desired level professionally, there's something missing. And if there's something missing, whether physical fitness, mental fitness, financial fitness, it's going to impact your performance regardless of your occupation. So keep that in mind, take care of yourself, take care of your own well being in order to become a successful professional and be able to manage a classroom better. 31. Well-being & Self-Care Strategies for better teaching and Class experience: The section of the course. Of course, you didn't assume that we're going to tell you to take care of yourself without actually giving you some key pointers to keep in mind to actually help you take care of yourself. Now, these are some strategies actually for managing stress and preventing burnout, which is the next level of stress. These are targeted for mental wellness, mental fitness, which is a crucial part in the teachers journey. Often teachers are overly stressed out. It's considered to be one of those professions where stress plays a big role in terms of the day to day activities. So in order for you to take care of your health and your well being, you should be able to tackle stress. And these are couple strategies. Have a proper diet plan. Avoid binge eating, junk food, starchy food filled with saturated fats, oily food, fries, even though after a long day, trust me understand. You crave those foods to help you feel better, feel relaxed, but they have a toll on your body. You might feel temporarily relaxed. You feel temporarily that okay, and then pounds pylon energy level plummets, and it's a negative vicious cycle. Eat nutritious foods, salads, lean proteins, quality carbohydrates to actually supplement your overall well being. T 30 minutes of exercise a day, aim to have this five to six times a week. At least 30 minutes. And once you become stronger, think about weightlifting, incorporating various programs. We can help you with that as well. Now, 30 minutes is the bare minimum for you to actually get active. Helps the blood to keep on flowing. It helps you to actually maintain energy levels and stay motivated and feeling fresh. So you should be able to have at least 30 minutes of exercise. And if you really don't want to do anything, just simply go for a walk, 30 minutes will serve you a long way. Breathing exercises they are magical. Your brain loves oxygen. So in order for you to minimize stress, you should flood your brain with oxygen, and you should have a proper breathing mechanism where you actually try to inhale through your nose, pick up your rib cage and just simply exhale and make sure that you extend your diaphragum and have your lungs expand fully to actually have a more intake of air and release air this will increase the volume of your lungs over time. Have this for three to 5 minutes. Every single day, where you actually inhale as much air as you can, and you exhale as strongly as possible. This will flood your nervous system with your blood with oxygen. It will help your nervous system feel relax, and it will help slow down your mind because of stress, because stress actually weaks havoc in terms of your mental wellness. So breathing is very crucial. Whenever you find yourself that you're stressed out, you're tired, you're not focused, disengaged from anything, you simply sit for a bit and try to breathe as deeply and as slowly as possible. Take a break when you need to. You're tired, you're sick, take a sick leave. You need a break. Take a vacation two to three days. Get yourself in check, rest, take care of your health. I always advise this to professionals wherever their background is in terms of the professional background, whether teachers, engineers, C, as wherever it is. Take care of your health. Health is your biggest asset. Say no. This is very important. This applies especially to teachers. If something extends beyond your scope of work. You have a lot on your plate. You're teaching multiple classes. You're doing a lot of lesson planning here and their project activities, so and so on this goes on. If you keep saying yes to every single activity that pops up and you try to just simply have a good impression, well, this works for a certain period of time, and before you realize it, you're overloaded with activities which extend beyond your job description. Simply saying no, will preserve your mental health and your well being. If you have the ability, you have the energy, you have the time to actually support and help, by all means do so. But do not extend yourself because at the end of the day, you are going to be the person paying the price. So make sure that you have a proper diet, 30 minute exercise, try to control your breath and breathe properly, take a break whenever you need to and say no. Whenever you try to apply these basic basic tools to manage stress, you will find out that you're going to be feeling way better in no time. 32. Finding the Balance ( A Must for Teachers part of Teacher Training ): B. Like I've mentioned, this entire module revolves around you and serves to help you as a teacher and as an educator. We got you covered. We are helping you develop both at a professional level and at a personal level as well to become a better, well rounded individual, someone who's vibrant, someone who is healthy, who enjoys that teaching profession, rather than being stressed out by it. So in order to set that caliber correct, you need to find the work life balance as an educator. Often I've seen this a lot. Whenever teachers finish their work at school, they take it on as a homework. Usually, students have to deal with the homework, not the teachers. But unfortunately, this is the case where teachers they finish up their classwork, their school work, and they take on homework to prepare for the next class, where they are working for an extensive number of hours week in and week out. At the expense of their own personal time, at their own time with their family, at their own time for their own well being, and exercise, and recreational activities, that's your own time. You need to establish work life balance. And how do you do so? Don't worry, we got you covered. Learn to say no. Like I've said, when you're a school and you're working, if something pops up, which is beyond your control, beyond your job description, beyond your own responsibility, and really you are not able to support. You don't have the time, you don't have the energy, simply say no. Finish your work at work. Often teachers they tend to minimize their input at school, and they take work with them home to work home because they feel it's better to work that way. On the contrary. It's like working double hours. Whenever you're school, use the time to finish the school work. Finish up your work at work, and this applies to any profession as well. You have a certain number of hours, do your best. If you're taking care of your health, you should be as productive as possible. Finish your work at work, and when you do so, that's it. You've done your part. Do not replate to work related communication past your working hours. Whenever you clock out, communication related to work should end. In some countries, this communication with employees beyond the working hours is considered illegal. Why? It's a form of work, which breaches your contract in one form or another. At the same time, even though if you willingly open up communication, e mails related to work without even realizing you're elevating your stress levels, Why? Because you realize there's something that needs to be done, and it's related to work, and work is related to stress. So automatically by default, your stress levels spike. So what you need to do in this case. Engage with communication at work. Any work related communication which extends beyond the working hours, you're not there. It could wait. If you received an e mail by 10:00 P.M. Well, it could wait for the next day, eightM for you to deal with it if you think about it. You are working to live, not living to work. Pause, write this down, re read it over and over again, rewrite it over and over again. Make sure that if you're going to be using this statement, give us some credit for the reference. You are working to live, not living to work. You are going to work to provide for your family, for yourself, or your loved ones, to have a quality life. But if you're living for the sole purpose of work, let me tell you something before you know what time passes by, and all of us are going to die at one point in time. No one gets out alive, work will never end, but your life surely will, and your biggest valuable tool, and asset is your time. So if you're not able to value your time and simply dump in on work all the time, working extensively, beyond limits, beyond what's acceptable, that's not healthy. And it's a waste, frankly speaking, so you are working to live and you're not living to work, keep that in mind. Set clear boundaries. Even though you could have managers, you could have hierarchy, you have a clear job description. You have clear demands from you within the work setting. Set boundaries, in terms of the relationships that you have with your colleagues, in terms of what's accepted in terms of behavior, what is accepted in terms of the responsibility that you have as an employee, if it falls within your job description, or if you're able to support willingly and you have the ability to do so, by all means, do it. But if it extends beyond your abilities, beyond your responsibility, it feels, literally as if this responsibility is being dumped on you, set clear boundaries. This will serve you a lot down the road in terms of preserving your own well being, especially your mental well being. If you are dumped with a certain workload, whatever side dumps a certain workload on you, which is not within your responsibility. Now within your job description. You have no ability to do it. You're not willing to contribute, and you just simply forced to do it. First of all, you will not do it properly. Second of all, you are going to be fatigued in no time. You're going to be stressed. You're going to be drained and you're going to be agitated. And all of these aspects are determinal to overall well being. So take a look at this picture, have a clear balance between your work and your life. Replay the statement, you're working to live, you're not living to work. So whenever you walk into the school, do your best to be the best teacher within the educational setting. Do your best be the most productive individual, but you do have clear boundaries that this is the time for work, and the other number of hours is yours to keep. 33. Introduction to Module 10: Two module number ten of the classroom management course, which revolves around reflection and professional growth. As a teacher as an educator, no one is perfect. There's always room for improvement, room for further development and growth, whether at a personal level, professional level, academic level, there's always room to develop and grow. And in this current module, we're going to explore these steps which will further enhance your ability to manage classrooms. 34. Classroom management is a teaching skill that needs growth: Order for you to further develop your skill sets to become a better professional teacher and to be able to manage classrooms, these skills require practice and practice makes perfect. You should be able to assess the effectiveness of the classroom strategies taught in this current course in addition to any other strategies that you're experimenting with. Some things they do work, some of them that they don't work requires reflection and practice. As a professional, apply these steps. See what works, stick to it. What doesn't work, replace it by something else and experiment and see what works in your favor as a teacher to help you manage classrooms. Continuous improvement and adaptation is key. There are always new strategies and new skills, a new technology that you can use. A new teaching methodology they can experiment with and apply within your class. Avoid stagnation. Do not just simply confine yourself to certain teaching methodology, and avoid growth. Other professionals will be growing, and you will be left behind. And you don't want to be that teacher who is actually archaic and who possesses old school knowledge, which does not apply to the today's world in terms of the pace and the development. Make sure that you keep on brushing up with your information, enhance your knowledge, taking courses, taking workshops, reading articles to help you further enhance and grow as a professional. I create a personal action plan for ongoing development. If you're not able to plant and track it, you have no idea where you're going to be landing in the upcoming future, whether one year from now, two years from now, you need to create a development plan. Set some goals. What are you trying to achieve as part of your professional growth and development? What are the key goals that you're trying to achieve and how long you should be working on those goals? And how are you going to be measuring your outcome? Whether you're going to be focusing on managing your classroom, trying a new strategy, trying a new technology, getting a new credential or certification to further enhance your value in the teacher's job market, for example. All of these are considered to be goals, and you should put them in form of a personal growth action plan to be able to monitor your progress as time passes by and to see where are you on your map? Have you achieved those goals? What's needed to achieve those goals, what are you currently working on and what you should be working on, and focus on practice, practice, practice, practice makes perfect. The more you practice classroom management strategies, the better you will become at it. And the better you'll become at it, you'll have more room and awareness to acquire more strategies to further test test new technologies, a new approach to teaching, new approach to classroom management, a new methodology in general as an educator. So in order for you, to keep on going and to keep on growing, you should reflect on your professional growth, have a personal action plan and practice, practice, practice till you become better over and over again. 35. Wrapping up: And well done on the successful completion of the current course. I was a pleasure having you as part of the current course. I'm looking forward to having your feedback. So make sure that you stay tuned with our latest update and further development in this current course, and feel free to explore our blog, our channels, our academy to further help supplement your development as an educator and as a teacher within the professional setting.