Opinion Blog

Classroom Q&A

With Larry Ferlazzo

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to lferlazzo@epe.org. Read more from this blog.

Teaching Opinion

Q&A Collections: Classroom-Management Advice

By Larry Ferlazzo — July 14, 2021 7 min read
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During the summer, I will be sharing thematic posts bringing together responses on similar topics from the past 10 years. You can see all those collections from the first nine years here.

Here are the ones I’ve published so far:

The 11 Most Popular Classroom Q&A Posts of the Year

Race & Racism in Schools

School Closures & the Coronavirus Crisis

Today’s theme is on classroom-management advice. You can see the list following this excerpt from one of them:

positivebeatsnegative

*Nine Strategies for Promoting Student Engagement

Five educators discuss how to maximize engagement, including the importance of understanding student motivation in and out of the classroom.

* Increasing Engagement With Student Choice

Four educators discuss ways to increase student engagement, including providing choice and building a sense of classroom community.

* Student ‘Compliance Does Not Equal Engagement’

Four educators share suggestions for how schools can maintain student engagement, especially during the teenage years.

*What It Takes to Apply Restorative Practices in Schools

Seven educators provide practical recommendations on how to apply restorative practices in the school setting. One tip: “Results won’t be immediate,” but “they will be long lasting.”

*Ways to Implement Restorative Practices in the Classroom

Educators share their practical experience implementing restorative practices in their schools, such as holding goal-setting conferences with students and teaching them “the power of an apology.”

* ‘It’s Vital to Focus on Student Engagement’

Heather Wolpert-Gawron, Rita Platt, Gabriella Corales, Leticia Skae-Jackson, and Madeline Whitaker Good offer their best classroom-management “tips.”

*‘Students Respect Teachers Who They Feel Respect Them’

Sheldon L. Eakins, Ph.D., Jenny Edwards, April Croy, Lori Jackson, Shauna Tominey, Megan McClelland, and Keisha Rembert share their ideas on classroom management.

*Classroom Management ‘Is All About Relationships’

Debbie Silver, PJ Caposey, Serena Pariser, Timothy Hilton, Beth Gotcher, Paula Mellom, Rebecca Hixon, and Jodi Weber offer their commentaries on how best to handle classroom management.

*'Classroom Management Is About Being Proactive’

Cindy Garcia, Gianna Cassetta, Amanda Koonlaba, Ed.S., Chelonnda Seroyer, Dennis Griffin Jr., Janice Wyatt-Ross, Barry Saide, and Vance Austin contribute their classroom-management suggestions.

* Classroom Management - Mistakes and Solutions

Debbie Silver, Amanda Koonlaba, Katie Biggs, Jennifer Lasater, Tina H. Boogren, and Diane Mora contribute their remembrances of classroom-management mistakes.

* The Biggest Classroom-Management Mistakes

Theresa Staley, Judy Reinhartz, Lindsey Palmieri, and Louise Goldberg share their experiences with making classroom-management mistakes.

* ‘Start Classroom Management From a Place of Love, Not a Place of Power’

Anne Jenks, Peg Grafwallner, Kevin Parr, Rita Platt, Sarah Thomas, Thomas Kerman, and Paula Kondratko share their biggest classroom-management mistakes and what they should have done, instead.

* Ways to Handle a Class That Has Gotten Out of Control

Responses from Bobson Wong, Rita Platt, Kevin Parr, Theresa Staley, Valerie Ruckes, and Sarah Thomas kick off a three-part series on classroom management.

* Sometimes, Teachers and Students Need a ‘Start Over Day’

Mary Beth Nicklaus, Jeryl-Ann Asaro, Cindi Rigsbee, Lori Jackson, Steve Peck, Becky Corr, and Otis Kriegel share their responses to the question: How do you turn around a class that you’ve let get out of control?

* ‘Add More Positives’ When Your Classroom Goes South

This three-part series on classroom management is wrapped up by Julia Thompson, Rebecca Alber, Madeline Whitaker Good, Stuart Ablon, Alisha Pollastri, Allen Mendler, and Kelly Wickham Hurst. I’ve also included many responses from readers.

* Response: Ways to ‘Navigate Conflicts & Restore Relationships’ Between Students

Signe Whitson, Donna Wilson, Marcus Conyers, Janice Case, Kristin Pierce, and Ralf de la Mare share their suggestions about intervening in student conflicts.

* Response: The Best Ways to Resolve Conflicts Between Students

Vickie Gomez, Danny Woo, Kevin Parr, Jessica Torres, Rosalind Wiseman, and Bryan Harris contribute their ideas on how to manage conflicts between students.

* ‘Learning Self-Regulation’ Is Needed on Path to Academic Success

In this post, Donna Wilson, Thomas Armstrong, Joe Hendershott, Jeffrey Benson, Mark Katz, and Jonathan Cassie contribute their thoughts on teaching students self-control.

* ‘Self-Control Doesn’t Just Happen, It Needs to Be Taught’

Robert Ward, Sue Defreyne, Allen Mendler, Daniel Rechtschaffen, Carla Tantillo Philibert, and Christine Brandt provide answers on how to help our students develop self-control.

* ‘Student Autonomy Is a Prerequisite of Self-Control’

Thomas R. Hoerr, Libby Woodfin, Jenny Edwards, Dave Stuart Jr., Maurice J. Elias, and Matt Renwick share their suggestions on how we can help our students develop self-control.

* ‘Self-Control Can Be Learned’

This post considers how teachers can best help students strengthen self-control skills with suggestions from Bryan Harris, Jennifer Davis Bowman, Amanda Koonlaba, Nancy Steineke, Mike Anderson, and Jen Schwanke.

* Classroom Rules—Ways to Create, Introduce, & Enforce Them

Lou Denti, Gini Cunningham, Cindi Rigsbee, PJ Caposey, and readers share ideas about classroom rules—what they should be, how they should be developed, and how to enforce them.

* ‘Don’t Fear’ Students Who Challenge Class Chemistry

Kevin Parr, Gianna Cassetta, Allen Mendler, and Signe Whitson contribute their suggestions on how to respond to “difficult” or “challenging” students.

* Working With ‘Difficult’ Students—Part Two

Annette Breaux, Cheryl Mizerny, Jeryl-Ann Asaro, and Stan Croft share their responses on working with “difficult” students.

* How to Practice Restorative Justice in Schools

Shane Safir, Jen Adkins, Timothy Hilton, Crystal T. Laura, and Mark Katz share their commentaries on applying restorative practices in schools.

* Manage Classrooms Through ‘Positive Relationships’

Karen Baptiste, Gianna Cassetta, Harry Wong, Rosemary Wong, and Julia Thompson share their classroom-management recommendations.

* Detour ‘Around the Danger Zones’ of Classroom Management

Marcia Tate, Jenny Edwards, Patty O’Grady, and Ric Murry share their thoughts on classroom management.

* Positive Classroom-Management Strategies—Part One

Educators Bryan Harris, Marcia Imbeau, Pernille Ripp, Gianna Cassetta, Brook Sawyer, and Julia Thompson share their advice in this post.

* Managing Classrooms by ‘Teaching Students, Not Subjects’

Kelly Bergman, Patty O’Grady, ReLeah Lent, Barry Gilmore, and Bethany Bernasconi share their thoughts here.

* Response: Goal of Classroom Management Is to Have Power ‘With,’ Not ‘Over,’ Kids

Educators Debbie Silver, Richard L. Curwin, and Marcia L. Tate provide guest responses.

* Response: Keeping ‘The Big Picture in Mind’ While Managing Classrooms

This post features two special contributions: one from well-known educator (and regular contributor to this column) Suzie Boss, who talks about the tricky subject of classroom management specifically during project-based-learning lessons, and the other from ASCD author Jane Bluestein. In addition, I include multiple comments from readers.

* Several Ways to Connect With Disengaged Students

Assistant Principal Jim Peterson and author Jim Anderson share their suggestions. Jim’s downloadable instructions for conducting “walk-and-talks” with students seemed to particularly strike a chord with readers.

* Several Ways to Respond to ‘Unpredictable’ Student Behavior

Marvin Marshall and I share practical positive—not punitive—classroom-management strategies.

* Classroom-Management Suggestions—Part Three

My colleague and co-author (The ESL/ELL Teacher’s Survival Guide) Katie Hull-Sypnieski and I share even more positive classroom-management ideas.

* Classroom-Management Advice From Readers of Ed Week Teacher

Nine experienced educators, including Nancy Gardner from the Teacher Leaders Network and David B. Cohen from Accomplished California Teachers, discuss the role of relationships and respect in the classroom.

* Several Classroom-Management Ideas for Younger Students

Teachers Jane Ching Fung, Mathew Needleman, and Tom Hobson write about the particular classroom-management issues of very young students and how best to respond to them.

* Several Classroom-Management Suggestions—Part One

Author/educators Annette Breaux, Roxanna Elden, Harry Wong, and Gary Rubinstein contribute their thoughts in this column.

* Several Ways to Help Students Develop Self-Control

Professor and author Roy F. Baumeister discusses his research on self-contol as a resource that can be depleted—and then needs to be replenished. I share my experiences applying his research findings in the classroom.

* Classroom-Management Suggestions From My Colleagues

Several of my friends and colleagues, including a California Teacher of the Year and an administrator who I consider my mentor in classroom management, contribute what they’ve learned through their experiences.

The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

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