How to Revamp Your Classroom Management Over the Summer

Did classroom management not go the way you wanted it to last year and now you’re looking for a way to revamp your classroom management over the summer?

Here's a breakdown of not only how I like to revamp my classroom management every summer, but also some strong and actionable steps you can take to make this year your best year ever. I share my secret to figuring out what went well, and what areas you could improve for next year. I also share some classroom management strategies you can use to minimize disruptive behavior once and for all.

These classroom management strategies will help you confidently minimize disruptive behavior, save time in the classroom, and be confident in your classroom management skills.  

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I’m Helena, a coach for new and first-year teachers sharing knowledge on how to have a thriving career and personal life.

The Present Teacher Podcast is a resource for classroom management, classroom organization, time management, and teacher wellness. Follow along and learn how to thrive in the classroom and in life.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Revamping Classroom Management Strategies
• 7:11 Reflecting on Classroom Management Strategies

Transcript

Helena: 0:00

So you've started your summer and you're starting to wonder how can you go about working on your classroom management over the summer. Well, in the years past, I've struggled with the exact same thing. I had my first year of teaching where I honestly knew I really wanted to focus on classroom management over the summer so that I could start the new year off strong and ready to go. That's why I did this exercise, which I'm going to share with you now. That helped me revamp my classroom management and get clear on exactly what I wanted to work on over the summer. So if you are wondering how to revamp your classroom management over the summer, make sure to stick around, because you won't want to miss this. Hey, teacher Bestie, my name is Helena and I'm the creator of the Present Teacher Podcast. I'm a first-year teacher coach and in this podcast, you are going to learn everything from simple, actionable classroom management, social learning and teacher wellness strategies. You know that impact you want to make in the classroom. We're going to make it happen here.

Helena: 1:09

In order to revamp your classroom management, you first want to get clear on what your values are. Your values are the kind of teacher you want to be and they help you make sure that you are choosing strategies that are aligned with you. A good example of this is when I first started teaching. A lot of teachers in my environment were using clip charts. Clip charts were where everyone was starting on a color with a clothespin and they'd clip up or down based on their behavior throughout the day. Now, what I didn't like about these and please don't take this wrong if you love them and they're aligned with you I didn't like them because it felt like I was publicly shaming my kids for their decisions, and I often noticed that when a student had to clip down, that they would become dysregulated and it was really hard to get them back up. So, with all that being said, I was using classroom management strategies that weren't necessarily aligned with me. At the same time, I was using a lot of other classroom management strategies that I found online, because it seemed like quote unquote. Nothing was working. I went and I looked for things like the Blurt Beans, class parties, tally marks, etc. And I couldn't quite find anything that worked for me.

Helena: 2:26

It was then, over the summer, that I started to ask myself what do I value as a teacher? And that's where I came up with my values. You see, the values that you have are the kind of teachers you want you are and the kind of teacher you want to be. They're kind of like your golden light or your compass that shows you the right direction to go. Now, when I did this activity and I thought, what kind of teacher do I want to be, I came up with a couple of words, including positivity authentic, compassionate and inclusive. Now, what I quickly realized were some of the strategies I was using weren't actually aligned with my positivity value that I valued as a teacher, and it was actually doing the opposite.

Helena: 3:08

When you do this strategy first, you're setting yourself up for success for the rest of this strategy or framework to really revamp your classroom management, because you can refer back to your values throughout this process. So, with that being said, what do you value as a teacher? Take some time to reflect on that now before moving on to the next set of areas. So we talked about how to revamp your classroom management over the summer, and the first step we talked about so far was that you really needed to get clear on what your values are as a teacher. That way, moving forward, whenever you see a strategy online, whether I share it or someone else or in the school environment, you know whether or not that's going to work for you. You see, when you choose strategies that are naturally aligned to your values, they're more likely to work, as opposed to trying a bunch of strategies that just aren't aligned with you from the get-go. It's really going to save you a lot of time.

Helena: 4:10

The second step you want to do over the summer is you really want to reflect on what went well and what didn't. The reason you want to do this is because you know your classroom best, meaning you're going to know what's going to work well for your classroom and what isn't, and the only difference between you and someone who's more experienced is experienced teachers have had more experience trying things that work for them. So, with that being said, one way to get really clear on what's working well for you is to take time to reflect. So take some time to reflect on what went well this school year when it came to classroom management. Maybe you did a really good job on building relationships. Maybe you ate lunch with your kids. Maybe you tried a specific strategy that felt really good to you and worked really well. Take note of anything in your classroom management that went really well, so you can continue using it in the future. Thomas Edison tried so many times before he figured out a light bulb and when someone asked him, he said I didn't fail, I just found a hundred different ways not to make a light bulb. What you're doing is you're doing process of elimination and you're figuring out what works for you when it comes to your classroom management. So make sure to take note of any strategies you really loved and you want to use in the upcoming school year. The next step you want to do is you want to figure out what didn't go well, what are some areas in your classroom management that you want to tweak and things that you want to maybe just get rid of entirely. Make sure to take note of these different areas so that you know there are specific areas you want to work on or maybe tweak for the upcoming school year.

Helena: 5:51

So far, we talked about how to revamp your classroom management over the summer. The first step we talked about was your values. Getting super clear on what your values are as a teacher is going to help you pivot your classroom management strategy in the right direction. The second thing you're going to want to do is you is going to help you pivot your classroom management strategy in the right direction. The second thing you're going to want to do is you're going to want to reflect. Reflect on how the school year has gone so far, how things have gone, things that went well as far as classroom management goes and things that didn't go well, so you can replicate your, your end results and make it better for next year After that. These are the different areas I highly recommend that you specifically reflect on moving forward.

Helena: 6:33

The first area I highly recommend that you reflect on moving forward are procedures. Now, I've talked about procedures before, but procedures are how you want your students to interact with each other and throughout the room throughout the school day. They are your expectations, so to speak. Some different procedures could be how your students transition from one center to another, how they get in line, how they pack up, how they come in, how they raise their hand, how they class call, how they do talk, turn or, you know, think, pair share. All of these are different procedures you're going to have in the classroom.

Helena: 7:11

So take some time to think to yourself what went well in regards to your procedures. Does it feel like your students were super clear and they knew exactly what was expected of them and they were consistent with it. What didn't go well? Maybe your students had a really hard time with being consistent on what your expectations were. Maybe you realize now, like I did many years ago, that maybe you weren't as clear at modeling the expectations as you thought, and this is really an area you want to focus on coming into the new school year, after you've taken some time to reflect on what went well and what didn't go well, take some time to make a goal. Maybe this is a specific area you really want to focus on. Or maybe, like I said, you did a great job on introducing the procedure, but you didn't have a good job or a great time or an easy time reviewing the procedure throughout the school year. Make a goal, then, of how you want to review the procedure throughout the school year. Make a goal, then, of how you want to review the procedures throughout the school year. Maybe it's I want to review the procedures that need it every month, or I want to review two procedures a month, or one procedure a month. This is going to help you keep accountable and it's going to make getting better at classroom management more attainable. So take some time to reflect what went well in your procedures, what didn't go well, and then go ahead and make a goal in regards to how you want to handle procedures moving forward.

Helena: 8:40

The next area I highly recommend you reflect on are relationships. Now, when I say relationships, it is really important to have strong relationships with your students, but what a lot of teachers miss myself included when I first started was having strong relationships with your families. You see, when you have strong relationships with your families, you have that extra support from home when students need that extra support, that extra structure, that team effort, whereas if you don't have as strong of relationships with families, you may have students who don't necessarily follow or care about school and it's really hard to work as a team if you don't have everybody working together. So, with that being said, as we talk about relationships, think about your relationships not only with your students, but also think about your relationships with your families as well. What went well when it came to building relationships with your families and students? Maybe you did a great job at building relationships with your students, but you really want to work on building relationships with families. That way, you can celebrate the wins but also get more support when it's needed in the classroom from home. What didn't go well? The second question is what didn't go well? What are some areas that you want to work on? I just went over that. Maybe it's maybe you had a great time building relationships at the beginning, but you didn't really sustain building relationships at the end.

Helena: 10:18

Once you get clear on which areas in building relationships went well and maintaining relationships went well for you and didn't go well for you, make a goal on how you want to consistently have strong relationships with your families and students throughout the school year. Maybe you're gonna do one positive note home, positive call home, positive dojo message home, something like that every month for every student. That way, your families feel like you have an open communication with them and you're not just communicating with them when something goes awry at school. Or maybe you want to be more consistent with building relationships, not only with your students but with each other. So maybe you have one day or one activity a month that helps build classroom community. All of these are great goals to have and they're simple and they're attainable. So make sure, when you're creating a goal, that you're making a SMART goal. Make sure it's specific, measurable, actionable, relevant and time sensitive. Make sure you know how frequently. That way, you are being consistent with this goal.

Helena: 11:29

So far, the different areas I talked about that I highly recommend that you reflect on, are procedures, relationships, and now let's go to the third area, which are your rules. Now, I've tried a lot of rules over in my career of teaching. I've tried everything from I am statements like positive affirmations, and I've tried everything from whole brain teaching rules and I've made my own. But the point is take some time to think to yourself how often were you reviewing the rules? Did the rules serve you and how do you feel about the rules that you used last year? What went well with these and what didn't go so well? For example, maybe you used whole brain teaching rules and you really loved it, but maybe what didn't go well is you didn't review to them often, so your students didn't really follow the rules simply because they forgot them. Or maybe you had a great time being consistent with your rules, but you didn't necessarily like them and you want to tweak them this year.

Helena: 12:30

Make sure that, whatever you do, you take note of what went well so you can replicate it next year and what didn't go well and then go ahead and make a rule or a goal for the upcoming school year in regards to your rules. So, for example, this could be I will review the rules once a week or once a day, or whatever. Make sure you are you know. Whatever you are doing, make sure it's a smart goal and you're being specific, and make it simple and not something that's going to cause more stuff onto your plate, because that's the last thing I recommend you do. But if you find this is an area you want to work on, make sure to make a goal if that feels right to you.

Helena: 13:14

The last area I highly recommend you reflect on is what I like to call proactive management. So I like to say proactive instead of reactive management, meaning, if a student is being disruptive or partakes in disruptive behavior, you're not being reactive by raising your voice at them or shunning them or, you know, snapping to get their attention. Instead, you're being proactive to actively, you know redirect their attention so that you can fix the behavior at another time or have a silent conversation and do so, and you have a step-by-step process. So, in general, I always like to have the first time that my students are partaking in disruptive behavior. I'll use proximity, I'll go, stand by them and then hopefully they redirect their behavior to fix the behavior.

Helena: 14:07

The second time, maybe I point out some positive people that are following expectations and maybe they'll fix the behavior. Then Maybe, the third time they're still being disruptive or partaking in disruptive behavior. That's to the point where then I'm going to pull them for a sideline conversation to talk about the rules and expectations that I set in the classroom, what I'm noticing, what I notice they're feeling, and then one approaching this with a curiosity, wondering why that is, and having an open dialect with them, because oftentimes behavior is just communication. Students aren't fully developed enough to articulate their one's needs and emotions. Therefore, they'll lash out with their behavior or they'll act out what their needs or lack of needs are. With behavior you'll have a lot easier time on that. And then, if this is repetitive, maybe we need to practice the procedure expectation, and then maybe at some point I need family communication to come help support me, possibly administration, depending the severity, and then a behavior plan.

Helena: 15:19

So coming up with proactive management is really important. So take some time to think about what went well this year. Maybe you had a great time setting up, you know, getting more families involved with student behavior. But one thing you want to work on is you want to be more consistent. Maybe this year you gave your students a lot of warnings but you weren't very consistent with the step one, step two, step three, and you really want to focus that on this year, and that's a goal you want to set. Either way, it takes some time to think about how are you proactivelyactively instead of reactively, but proactively managing the classroom when it comes to preventing and managing disruptive behavior? So that wraps up the different steps I recommend when it comes to revamping your classroom management over the summer.

Helena: 16:13

The first step was to get clear on your values. When you're clear on your values, you have a clear path moving forward on what's aligned with you and is going to work well in the classroom and what isn't. The second step is to reflect Reflect on what went well and things that didn't go well and, in general, I gave you some different areas that I highly recommend you reflect on. The first one was procedures how do you want your students to interact with each other and throughout the classroom? The second one were relationships Not only relationships with your students, but strong relationships with their families as well. The third one were your rules. Did you have strong classroom rules that were the foundation of your classroom, or did your rules kind of go to the wayside? And the fourth area was proactive management. How are you proactively either preventing or managing disruptive behavior as it comes throughout your day and are you being consistent with that? That wraps up the different areas that I recommend and how I like to revamp my classroom management over the summer. Which area are you going to be focusing on? Let me know in the comments below or send me a DM so I can help keep you accountable.

Helena: 17:24

And if you liked resources and content like this, let me know by either liking it or sending me a DM and a screenshot, or leaving a review. I would really appreciate it, as all these things help this kind of content reach more teachers. If you want to dive deeper into classroom management, I highly recommend you check out the free classroom management guide. This is a free guide I created that compiles the top 10 questions I get in regards to managing disruptive behavior questions I get in regards to managing disruptive behavior, and I also went ahead and I linked to different podcasts and YouTube videos that dive further into classroom management all in one spot so you don't have to sift through and it'll save you time. So make sure to download that free guide. I'll put a link in the description.

Helena: 18:12

And the second thing I want to invite you to, if you want to take this a step further, I'm doing something a little fun this summer. I'm doing a 15-day classroom management challenge. How this challenge will work is every day you'll get a different prompt that will work together and create a classroom management plan. That way, the first week of school, you are showing up confident in your management skills and that you can confidently manage a classroom. So each day I'm going over 15 days, I'm gonna share a different prompt and then I'm going to include three bonus videos trainings on different aspects of classroom management. So if that's something you're interested in, make sure to join in the link or get on the waitlist in the description down below. As always, remember we're stronger together and I'll see you in the next one.

Helena: 19:11

Teacher Bestie Bye. Thank you so much for joining me on today's episode. I hope that you were able to take away some value that will help you thrive inside and out of the classroom. It would mean the world to me if you could take five seconds right now and leave a review on this podcast, and if you found this podcast especially helpful, make sure to take a screenshot of this episode right now and tag me on your socials to let me know you're listening. As always, remember that we are stronger together with all the love in the world. Helena, aka the Present Teacher. See you next time, teacher Bestie.