Guidelines for Class Management

As you provide for practice and feedback to your students, you may wish to use some of the guidelines for classroom management that have been revealed by recent research to be effective in improving student learning.

The Nine Guidelines Are:

1. Set Realistic Expectations
2. Structure Instruction
3. Establish an orderly environment
4. Group your Students
5. Maximize on-task time
6. Maximize the success rate
7. Monitor Progress
8. Ask Questions
9. Promote a Sense of Self-Control

Set Realistic Expectations

The expectations that instructors communicate to their students can create a positive climate for learning.  Clear but attainable objectives for success and effort for all your students will facilitate achievement.

As the teacher, you must expect that you will significantly improve the performance of every student.

Secondly, set realistic achievement tasks for your students.  Make a commitment to help each player achieve these tasks, and expect improvement.

Structure Instruction

Achievement has been strongly linked to clear communication of the intended outcomes of instruction (objectives), why the goals and objectives are important (essential or prerequisite skills), and what to do to achieve outcomes (instructional directions).  Effective instruction is based upon the systematic organization of the content to be taught.  The critical steps to take are:

– Select the essential skills, fitness, knowledge of the rules and strategies

– Clearly identify the elements of acceptable performance for each objective

– Organize and conduct your practices to maximize the opportunity your students have to acquire the objectives.

Establish an Orderly Environment

– Maintain orderly and disciplined practices

– Maintain clear and reasonable rules that are fairly and consistently enforced.

Group Your Students

Typically, in groups of mixed ability, the student with average ability suffers a loss in achievement, while the student with low ability does slightly better.  The critical condition for grouping to be effective is to have students practice at the skill levels needed to advance their ability.  This involves groups of similar ability being appropriately challenged.

– When a skill, rule or strategy is being taught, use a single group for instruction

– Divide the group and place students of similar ability in small groups

– Establish learning stations that focus on specific outcomes to meet the group’s needs.

Maximize On-Task Time

To maximize the use of available time, one should:

– Reduce the number of students waiting in line.

– Clearly outline and diagram each portion of the practice

– Reduce the transition time between drills by planning your practices

– Order is established and maintained

– Tasks that are to be mastered must be clearly understood

– Many opportunities must be provided for practice

– A means for giving immediate, specific and positive feedback.

Maximize The Success Rate

Research has shown the relationship among successful experiences, achievement and motivation to learn is very strong.

As a teacher, you should expose students to new learning situations that will yield 70 to 90 percent successful experiences.

The level of success will motivate them to want to continue to achieve.  Suggestions to improve success ratio.

– Reduce each skill, rule or strategy into achievable sub-skills and focus instruction on those sub-skills

– Provide feedback to the students. Positive feedback

Monitor Progress

When students are left to work on their own, they often spend less time engaged in the activities for which they are responsible.

When teachers are actively moving about, monitoring progress, and providing individual and small group instructional feedback, students will make greater gains.

Ask Questions

Asking questions of students also may enhance their achievement.

Questions must promote participation or establish, reinforce and reveal factual data associated with physical skills, rules or strategies.

When using this teaching technique, pause of three or more seconds before you ask for a response.  This gives the student time to think about their answer.

Promote a Sense of Self-Control

Students capable of answering questions will feel good about themselves, even if they don’t have ability to perform the skill.  The sense of control can be developed by;

– Organize your instruction to result in many successful experiences.

– Teach your student that everyone learns at different rates and to use effort and their own continuous progress as their primary guide for success.

– Encourage students to put forth their best effort.  Reward efforts with a positive comment, pat on the back, thumbs up sign or other means that will communicate your approval.