We know that the single most important factor governing student learning is.  In a study reviewing 11,000 pieces of reseach that spanned 50 years, three researchers determined that there are 28 factors that influence student learning and these have been rank ordered.  The most important factor governing student learning is CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT.

How you manage the classroom is the primary determinant of how well your students will learn.  Based on research findings:

1. The three characteristics of effective teachers :  they have classroom management skills, teach for lesson mastery and practice positive expectations.
2. Classroom management skills are of primary importance in determining teaching success.
3. The number one factor governing student learning is classroom management.
4. The first day of school is the most important day of the school year.  Effective classroom management practices must begin on the first day of school.

How to have a well-managed classroom ?

The first thing you need to know,  Effective teachers MANAGE their classrooms and ineffective teachers DISCIPLINE their classrooms.  The fact that you know how to cook a steak does not make you a successful restaurateur.  For that, you need to know about accounting procedures, state, and local regulations, sanitation, union agreements and worker & customer relationship.  How to cook a steak is the last thing you need to know.  The first thing you need to know is how to manage the restaurant.

The fact that you have a college degree in English does not make you a teacher, much less an English teacher.  You need to know about academic learning time, formative and sumative testing, criterion-referenced testing, discipline plans, procedures and routines, learning style, motivation theory, record-keeping procedures, identification of learning disabilities, higher-order thingking skills, due process, privacy right, grouping, community services, learning of mastery, remediation and correction, prescriptive learning, credibility and a whole host of other things.

Teacher almost never think about managing a classroom.  They only think about presenting lessons-lectures, worksheet, activities-never management.  Most classroom a nonmanaged.  And any situation  that is nonmanaged can easily turn chaotic.

What is classroom management?

Classroom management refers to all of things that a teacher does to organize students, space, time and materials so that instruction in content and student learning can take place.

The research indicates that the amount of time that students spend actively engaged in learning activities is directly linked to their academic achievement.  It also shows that teachers who are good classroom managers are able to maximaze student engaged time or academic learning time.

Classroom management includes all of the things a teacher must do toward two ends:

1. To foster student involvement and cooperation in all classroom activities.
2. To establish a productive working environment.

To foster student involvement and cooperation in all classroom activities, the effective teacher plans a variety of activities that are appropriate for learning.  These activities may include reading, taking notes, participating in group work, taking part in class discussion, participating in games, and producing materials.  An effective teacher has every student involved and cooperating in all of these activities,

For all students to work on their activities, the environment must be condusive to learning.  Students must pay attention, be cooperative and respectful of each other, exhibit  self-discipline and remain on task.  In addition, the room  must have a positive climate, all amterials must be ready and organized, and the furniture must be arranged for productive work.

Characteristics of well-managed classroom:

1. Students are deeply involved with their work, especially with academic, teacher-led instruction.
2. Students know what is expected of them and are generally successful.
3. There is relatively little wasted time, confusion aor disruption.
4. The climate of the classroom is work-oriented, but relaxed and pleasant

Well, if you ran a school or a classroom, which is what you do, how would you run the place ? That is called CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT, and the characteristics of a well-managed classroom are well known.

References

Wong, H.K & Wong, R.T.  1998.  How to be effective teacher the first days of school.  KHW Publ.

Bos, C.S & Vaughn.S. 1991.  Strategies for teaching students with learning and behavior problems.  2nd ed. Ally and Bacon Inc.