How to Be Confident Your First Time and Year Teaching in a Classroom

Your first time heading into a classroom to teach can very daunting and nerve wrecking to say the least.

Unless you have experience standing in front of 30 kids, whether they are primary of secondary school level, you will probably be bricking it. Trying to come up with the confidence to walk in and teach a bunch of students is hard. here are five tips I hope will help you within your classroom.

Address The Students as Soon as You or The Students Enter The Classroom.

Do not enter the classroom or allow the students to enter the classroom without saying hello, good morning, how are you? to the students rather than setting up your resources or waiting until they are settled.

Speaking first sets the tone for the class as well as establishing teacher-student dynamic to the classroom. This shows the students that you have the confidence to speak first and are not passive in the classroom.

Additionally, asking how they are allows for the development of a positive relationship with your students which will really stand to you in the long run in terms of classroom management and overall moral in the classroom.

Do Not Allow Them All The Time They Want To Settle Down Upon Entering The Classroom.

When students enter the class in the morning or the start of a lesson, they have probably been talking since they left their previous class or lunch time. They will try to continue their conversation for as long as they possibly can by not settling straight away. This can include not taking their seat, wondering around the classroom to find their books on shelves (while talking at the shelves), prolonging taking their books and copies out, and even trying to drag out a conversation with the teacher!

You want to encourage the students to set themselves up as quick as possible. This shows confidence that you are not messing around, are not passive, are not nervous, or allowing the students to control the classroom.

A good method to encourage students to settle quickly is by giving them a task and making start of class tasks a routine they can fall into. For example, for my geography classes students are to learn their notes for homework and will then be tested the next day in class before learning new material begins, At the start of class, students have only five minutes to look over their notes and give their memory a quick refresh before being orally tested.

Establish a Set of Classroom Guidelines Immediately.

Establishing a set of classroom guidelines in the first class is paramount. This shows confidence by creating a set of expectations from the students from the get go. Again, the students can see you mean business, will not take any misbehaviour, and are not passive.

You can create a set of guidelines with the help of the students, for example a Classroom Contract. Including the students’ opinions and ideas in their own classroom guidelines they have to follow aids the development of a positive relationship as students will be given the impression that they are heard in the classroom.

Stick Rigidly to The Classroom Guidelines.

Sticking to your guidelines is so incredibly important in your classroom. It is so easy to let one student off here and there however, this quickly turns into something out of control as all the students in the classroom will pick up on it and test you. So, stick to your guns! This shows that you cannot be railroaded, easily overwhelmed, or guilt tripped.

Now, this does not mean do not cut a student some slack here and there. This is something that will have to be discussed between the student and the teacher to see if there is a viable reason homework is not completed or they are acting out in class, etc, and is a judgement call. However, do not let other students catch onto this because they will try take advantage of it.

Do Not Let Students Try Overwhelm You.

Students can easily overwhelm the teacher and are quite good at it too. This is something every teacher has experienced and many times, students attempt to overwhelm you on purpose.

No matter how much you plan your lesson, things can easily go very wrong. From the photocopier not working, to the computer acting up, to many of the things busy school life throws at you, and some students will get a rise out of adding to that stress, for example, by asking 101 silly questions.

However, there are tricks to help stop students from doing this!

Plan for things to go wrong within the classroom. Have worksheets, starter activities, fill the gap activities always at the ready for students to occupy themselves and focus on so they do not become bored while you sort out any problems you may be having. This shows confidence as students cannot easily add to the stress you are under and you are extremely prepared, so students know you are serious.

Elise-Teaches.com