Using classroom management to set up your class is of extreme importance. The physical layout of your class – where your desk sits, the shape of the seating arrangement, even the way students will move through the class – must be considered when you devise your class plan. These arrangements can affect student behavior, which in turn can positively or negatively alter grades and the overall learning process.
Today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributing writer Janelle Cox, who is also a veteran educator based on the East Coast, takes a look at the ways classroom management and your class’ physical structure can lead to an effective learning environment.
Janelle’s article outlines:
- Benefits of a Well-Designed Classroom
- Arranging Your Classroom
Janelle also spells out the essential areas of any classroom (which also includes details), including:
- Home Base
- Group Instruction
- Transition Area
- And More!
Janelle sums up her article thusly: “In short, specific classroom features are relevant to what students are learning. Research shows that students benefit from a well-designed, well-structured classroom. Most importantly, if you find that your students are struggling with the design of your classroom then you must consider rearranging it.”
How do you structure your classroom? Do you have tips that work well for you and your students? Please share your thoughts.
Classroom Management: How to Go Paperless
The paperless classroom is always a hot topic du jour around Earth Day, when environmental preservation is at the forefront of everyone’s minds. But when the excitement of Earth Day fizzles out, so does talk about the paperless classroom, frequently.
So today on TeachHUB.com, frequent contributing writer Jacqui Murray examines the many benefits of the paperless classroom and offers up many tips and reasons for doing so. Here’s a look at her reasons why paperless is better than paper:
• It's easy to collaborate when everything's online.
• Nothing gets soda dripped on it or eaten by the dog.
• Students can collaborate without requiring parent time and gas fumes.
Jacqui also mentions why digital note-taking is superior to traditional pen-and-paper methods:
• I can lose my paper and pencil; I usually don't lose my iPad or Chromebook.
• Pencils break, points get dull.
• Handwriting can only get so fast, but keyboarding gets faster every year.
• Erasers disappear.
She also takes brief looks at digital calendars, digital textbooks, digital newsletters, and screencasting.
Jacqui sums up her article like this: “The next time your school decides to investigate paperless classrooms, offer to take charge. And then charge. The traditional classroom vs. paperless is like a cell phone vs. an iPhone. Would you trade your smartphone for a 1983 Nokia mobile phone? Don't ask your children to make that trade either.”
What are your classroom management tips on going paperless? Please share!
