Positive Classroom Management Strategy: Scanning

Teachers can maintain a positive classroom environment by monitoring group behavior and intervening as quickly as possible. The instructor might scan the classroom for early signs of potential behavior issues (eg. a student looking out of the window during a lecture; a talkative off-topic student, one who has left his seat and is disrupting others; a group that has begun to chat among themselves rather than work collaboratively on their project).

The teacher’s response in these situations is crucial for positive classroom management and keeping students focused on learning outcomes. The teacher might gently and proactively take action to correct behavior before it escalates into a problem. For example, an instructor teaching a group lesson may use eye contact and tone of voice to recapture the attention of an off-task student.

In another situation, the teacher might quietly direct a student back to on-task work with a gesture or quiet word. The instructor may also use teacher proximity to focus a chatty, off-task group by approaching them and checking in with one of the group’s members about the progress being made.

What are some positive classroom management strategies that you use?

From Professional Learning Board’s online continuing education courses for teachers.