Rethinking Classroom Management in the 21st Century

The American Psychological Association created a learning module about classroom management that defined it as “the process by which teachers and schools create and maintain appropriate behavior of students in classroom settings.” Through some combination of school policy, student behavior, and our own preferences within the learning environment, the classroom has become less about learning and more about management. 

It’s no mystery how we got here. After all, there are still school administrators who see a classroom of quiet students sitting in rows and immediately think an educator is good at what they do because of it. Teachers are guilty of it, too - grades are often just as much a reflection of behavior and effort as content mastery. And not without reason - one study from 2018 found that a single disruptive peer in a classroom of 25 students can hurt the entire class, reducing students’ earning potential by 3-4%, even from elementary school. 

At the Modern Classrooms Project, we believe there is great power in rethinking our traditionally-held notions around education. Perhaps teaching shouldn’t mean delivering whole-class instruction at the front of the room. Maybe learning should be about mastery over behavior. And what if our classroom management was less reactive to the behavior of students and more proactive in building relationships with our students and the skills they need to be successful? What if it’s time to rethink our approach to classroom management entirely?

Rethinking Bad Behavior

You’ve probably heard the saying: “They aren’t giving you a hard time, they are having a hard time.” When we approach behavioral issues in the classroom with empathy and a willingness to remove unnecessary expectations, we can discover the underlying cause of the disruption, instead of only addressing the symptom. But this takes time - precious time most educators don’t have in traditional classroom setups. 

However, when you remove the lecture component, suddenly a world of time opens up in front of you. You have time to speak with students one-on-one, to learn more about what they bring to the table. And when you’ve invested in that relationship, students are often more willing to invest their time and energy into your class.

Rethinking the Meaning of Off-Task

When students are off-task, they are engaged in other tasks we have deemed less important than the classroom activities we have planned. Students might be bored, unsure of what to do next, or have priorities that compete with our classes in terms of importance. Many educators worry about this when they begin to dive into the Modern Classrooms Project. If students are self-pacing, they wonder, what’s to keep them from stalling on making progress at all?

When we consider the student experience – and the lack of control most students have over their schedules and their lives – it’s no wonder that they might take an extra five minutes to do what they want or need to do, instead of immediately getting to what they are supposed to do. But in a Modern Classroom, students ultimately determine how they spend their time – a crucial skill that will support them well beyond the classroom. With the right support, reminders, and cues within the classroom, they can learn to manage their own time.

Rethinking Classroom Chatter

As a student, my report card regularly provided my parents and I with the feedback that I was “too talkative.” I only remember wondering why my teachers felt their conversations were more important than mine. As a teacher, my initial sense was that I should shut these conversations down, just like the teachers before me. 

Until I stopped to listen. The conversations I was shutting down? Sure, some of them were off-topic classroom gossip. But others were important questions about our work, whispered amongst peers, too nervous to ask in front of the entire class. Some were peer-to-peer teaching moments, where one student re-explained a concept to another. In deciding that all classroom chatter was a distraction, how many valuable learning experiences are being lost? After all, when students are actively involved and talking about what they are learning, they are more prone to actually remember it. And isn’t that the point?

When we reduce classroom management to simply managing student behavior, we also reduce the role of educator to that of glorified hall monitor or babysitter. No educator has ever joined the profession because they enjoy scolding children. No - we joined this profession because we enjoy working with kids, we love when content really clicks for a learner, and we love making a positive impact in their lives. If these are the most important components of the classroom, then our classroom management should facilitate a learning environment that builds relationships, puts learning at the forefront, and respects our students as individuals and human beings. And sometimes that means permitting a little bit of classroom chatter or off-task behavior. These also represent learning opportunities - for the whole child.