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If there is one thing likely to frustrate hard working, dedicated teachers its students talking out of turn.  You’ve worked hard preparing a lesson, but you just can’t develop a flow as students interrupt your lesson with inappropriate comment after comment.

Being able to prevent students talking out of turn is a fundamental classroom management strategy. So how exactly do you stop students interrupting the flow of your lessons to the detriment of teaching and learning in your classroom?

One effective classroom management  strategy which I use to prevent students talking out of turn is to proactively manage the behavior that I expect.  For example, before I ask a whole class question, I will briefly explain my expectations during this phase of the lesson. I will explain that I am about to ask a question, and that I want to hear their answers, BUT they must raise their hand and wait to be called.

This might just be a small, subtle change to your teaching, but by explaining your expectations in advance there is an increased prospect of improved student behavior.  I do this daily and rarely have problems with students speaking out of line.  Follow this simple tip and you could do the same. 

In the majority of cases, students want to behave well.  Sure, it might not seem that way sometimes, but it is the case for the majority of the students that most people teach.  Proactively explaining what is good behavior in advance is just common sense.  If you explain what you expect of the class, before you begin a task, you really will reduce the frequency of students talking out of turn.

Positive behavior in the classroom can make all the difference between an enjoyable teaching experience, and a teacher suffering from work related stress.  Having effective classroom management strategies really is that important.

So how exactly do you promote positive behavior in the classroom?  Below are three effective classroom management strategies that will reduce negative student behavior fast.

1. Be positive.

If you’re negative, then the students that you teach will also be negative.  And negative 
students are not well behaved students.  If you remain positive in the classroom, no matter how tired and stressed you feel, then you will have a better chance of promoting positive behavior in the pupils that you teach.

I don’t agree with the whole don’t smile until Christmas mantra.  Yes, you want to establish firm boundaries with the students you teach, but teaching with bubbly enthusiasm can do wonders for your classroom management skills.  Set clear limits, but remain positive while doing so, and your students will reward you with improved students behavior.

2. Highlight good behavior

How can students demonstrate positive behavior in the classroom, if they don’t know what it  is?  Find excellent examples of student behavior and then highlight it to the class. 

Highlight this good behavior, and explain why its good.  This can be as simple as praising a  group doing excellent quiet work, or a student who demonstrates constructive behavior with his peers.  Highlight good behavior and the behavior of the students you teach will 
increase.

3. Model good behavior

Like it or not, but in the classroom you are a role model.  And you’re a pretty influential 
one too.  So if you want to promote positive behavior in the classroom, then you better 
demonstrate as well. 

If students see you as moody, temperamental aggressive or worse, then you are not demonstrating the correct ways to behave in a classroom environment.  Show the  students how to behave well through your own actions, and your classroom will become a more peaceful place.

If you wan to promote positive behavior in the classroom then try these three top tips 
today.  Classroom management problems can be like a cycle.  When you experience poor student behavior you become negative, and the behavior gets worse.  Break the cycle today by being  positive and the students that you teach will reward you with improved behavior.

If you’re stuck in a rut, with your pupils running wild, then you need to give your classroom management skills a top up.  Apply these three effective classroom management tips and notice an improvement in the student behavior  in your classes.

Number 1. Always Stay Positive – You’re stuck in a rut in the middle of January and what happens?  Yep, you become downbeat and negative.

But here’s the thing. If you’re negative, then your students will be negative too. And that will make classroom management even more difficult.

You become negative, and so do your pupils.  Before you know it you are in a terrible cycle that leads to poor pupil behavior and ineffective classroom management.

Take yourself out of the bubble and try and remember why you became a teacher in the first place.

If you can walk into your classroom with a smile on your face you will get a much more positive reaction from your students.

Stay positive and effective classroom management will be so much easier to achieve.

Number 2. Praise your students until you can’t praise anymore – Praise your pupils at every possible opportunity if you want to experience a positive learning environment. You need to train your students exactly how you want them to behave, and the use of praise is an excellent way to do this.

Okay, I know what you’re thinking.  Finding good pupil behavior is hard when you’re dealing with the worst kids in school.  But what you need to do is actively seek out good student beavior.  And then heap a ton of praise upon it.

And remember this.  Even the worst students behave for brief moments! Praise that good behavior and you are training the students you teach to behave like that again in the future.

Number 3. Use the language of choice –  Instead of telling children to do something, explain to them that you would like them to chose to do something. This subtle change in language is incredibly powerful and is sure to produce positive results.

An example of this would be explaining to Mike “I would like you to choose to sit down quietly”, as opposed to saying “sit down quietly”.

Classroom management is an incredibly subtle art, and small changes can have a huge impact on the relationship you have with your pupils.

Don’t believe me? Try it out tomorrow in your classroom. 

Use the language of choice and you will notice a huge improvement in your classroom management skills.  If you do it right that is.