Classroom Management in Primary School: Critical Reflective Essay

Without a doubt, classroom management is the key to success in any classroom because learning is compromised without it. It plays a part in all of the Teachers’ Standards. Classroom management is a major concern for teachers and is a challenge across all school phases. Training is very important. It involves reflecting on your own approach, trying a new approach and reviewing progress over time. In this essay, I am going to discuss various approaches to classroom management, based on what I have read and what I have observed, and discuss what I think is good practice and what is ineffective.

Classroom management ensures everything within the classroom is working as well as it can be. This includes the physical environment, interactions, relationships and pedagogy. Teachers must have high expectations so they inspire, motivate and challenge pupils and establish a framework for discipline with a range of strategies, using praise, sanctions and rewards consistently and fairly.

Many strategies are effective at managing behaviour. One main strategy is having clear rules and routines. It’s important to stick to basic routines that you can enforce. They remove uncertainty about school expectations, which reduces anxiety, creates a framework of social norms, and reduces the need for reflection and reinvention of what is and is not acceptable conduct.

Many scholars believe it is essential to teach learning behaviours alongside managing misbehaviour as this will reduce the need to manage misbehaviour. Teachers can support learning behaviours by ensuring pupils can access the curriculum, engage with lesson content and participate in their learning. Teachers should encourage pupils to be aware of their own behaviours because pupils who are self-aware are less likely to misbehave.

Learning behaviour is influenced by emotional, social and cognitive factors. Extrinsic motivation is useful to address some minor misbehaviours or to encourage positive behaviour. Rewards and sanctions, or strategies such as praise and criticism, can improve motivation, behaviour and learning to a certain extent. However, intrinsic motivation is crucial to improving resilience, achieving goals, and ultimately is the key determiner to success. Intrinsically motivated children perform better and are less likely to misbehave.

Carol Dweck has carried out research on the ‘growth mindset’. It suggests that intelligence is not a fixed characteristic and can be increased through effort. To encourage a growth mindset in children, teachers must praise a child’s effort, not the person, and avoid fixed mindset labelling that praises intelligence or talent.

The use of sanctions and rewards in schools is a much-debated topic. Paul Blum says that difficult schools are “inundated with punishments and sanctions, yet, there are always some pupils that need punishing”. The number of both temporary and permanent exclusions is high, along with bullying and fighting. This shows that punishment has not worked and is not an efficient method of improving difficult schools. He suggests that for every detention, bad letter home, etc., there should be at least five rewards on average. It’s important to think long and hard about the type and amount of punishments you give.

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However, he also says that some sanctions are essential, but they must be practically workable. In his opinion, the more difficult the behaviour of the pupils in school, the more futile the system of constant punishments. He believes only certain types of sanctions work. They must be 'symbolic', make the point about who is in charge, and be easy to carry out. He also thinks they should involve regular coordination, as it is important to let pupils see teachers working as part of a team. Finally, they should be fair and not punish the whole class.

With regard to rewards, a clear system can improve pupil behaviour when used as part of a broader teacher-classroom management strategy. It can be an effective way to improve pupils’ learning behaviours. Smiley face stamps are brilliant for quick, flexible, low-level use. Reward currency such as certificates and good letters home should be part of the system. Blum concludes that prevention is more effective than cure. Reward is an effective prevention; punishment is not an effective cure.

The school I am currently assigned to reinforces positive behaviours for learning and developing relationships in schools. The staff use 'explicit praise', meaning they are specific about the behaviours they are acknowledging. They have various ways to reward students, such as Star of the Week (the teacher nominates a child and they receive a special certificate and are invited to the star party where they can choose a selection of rewards), or Going for Gold (this is to reward children that always try their best; pupils begin the day in the purple zone, if they consistently try their best, they are moved to the silver zone, and then they’re moved to the gold zone if this continues; each week the teacher may then choose a ‘gold zone’ child to receive a ‘Going for Gold’ sticker in a celebration assembly).

The school supports Paul Blum’s belief that good behaviour is achieved when all staff work consistently to praise and reward good behaviour and that praise is much more effective than criticism. It places huge importance on being supportive and developing a sense of community through teamwork. Their focus is on the success of children, for example, displays of work and certificates.

Scholars claim that working with parents is another promising approach to managing behaviour. This includes parents and teachers setting goals for the child, agreeing and implementing specific strategies that can be implemented at home and school to help the child’s behaviour, responding consistently to the child’s behaviour and gathering information to assess progress. This ideology is evident in the school. Expectations are communicated regularly, and all families sign a home-school agreement. The behaviour policy is easily accessible, and the school informs parents of problems related to behaviour. It also signposts places where extra help can be obtained for difficult behaviour. They also use Marvellous Me, an online behaviour system where an individual child or whole class can be awarded for their positive behaviour. The teacher sends a message directly to a child’s parents or carers so that the home/school link is built upon.

During Phase 1, I realised that a range of approaches are necessary to manage behaviour. The zoning system is effective because it encourages pupils to think about their actions during breaktime and lunchtime and why they have been removed from certain lessons. I also believe the teaching methods you use are crucial, particularly with younger children. I have found that songs and the Phonics Play website are effective methods for teaching phonics. It ensures that all children are involved and engaged. Another great way to engage younger children is by taking them outside and putting their knowledge into practice. For example, during a Year 1 Maths lesson I observed, pupils had a number between 1 and 20 written on their whiteboards. They then had to run around the playground and look for someone who had a bigger number than them and then someone who had a smaller number. Reinforcing learning is also very important. For example, when Year 1 was practising counting in twos, they said the numbers in a loud voice and a whisper, and as they were saying the numbers, they had to either jump, spin or stamp their feet. These methods kept them interested and helped them to remember the numbers.

Without a doubt, motivating every learner is important. According to Alan McLean, motivation is a new discipline. He says we need to move beyond behavioural models that control pupils through rewards and punishments to models that see pupils’ needs, goals, beliefs and feelings as the important sources of motivational power. Pupils need to feel enthused to learn when they walk into a classroom, but all pupils are motivated in different ways. Therefore, we must recognize their learning stances. As McLean says, “A motivating teacher gains influence by demonstrating an ability to adjust to the needs of pupils”. I agree with this statement. During Phase 1, I noticed differentiation was particularly important for Key Stage 2 children. During an observation of a Year 6 Read to Write lesson, the children had plans adapted to their abilities. The plans made the lesson run much more smoothly because, in the previous week, they did not have them. This led to restlessness and disinterest as the diary entry was too challenging. This leads to my next point of evaluating the impact you had on children’s learning. You do this by walking around the room and observing what the children are doing and when you mark their work at the end of the day. Whilst marking their work, you can spot where misconceptions are and adapt your next lesson accordingly.

To conclude, I agree with the statement that the classroom environment and the teacher have a tremendous impact on behaviour management and pupil progress. Throughout Phase 1, I have realised it is necessary to use a variety of approaches. Some students will also need a more tailored approach which may require reflection and adapting to the situation. Another important point is to realise that what works for one teacher might not work for another with the same pupil: it may take a while to find the right strategy, and it may help to ask a range of colleagues about their approaches. During Phase 2a, I will ensure that I will observe and seek advice from teachers in all key stages to further my repertoire of teaching styles and behaviour management approaches. When I plan my lessons, I will look at a range of resources and differentiate accordingly. I endeavour to make my lessons as enriching and interesting as possible. My work experience in school has been invaluable. As stated in the Ofsted report, my school is a “delightful place to learn, where pupils behave well and take pride in their learning”. In my opinion, for a school to succeed, it must have a vibrant and purposeful learning environment, offer extra-curricular activities, and be committed to the children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.