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How to get your students to listen

“Sometimes I feel like I’m talking to myself” if you find yourself saying this over and over again, it’s time to consider some of these tips by Michael Linsin the author of a series of classroom management books.

• Talk less: try to cut the amount of your talking by at least a third. When students feel that you micromanage every move, they lose interest.

• Lower your voice: loud voices are too easy to hear which encourages your students to move and rustle while you are talking. But if you lower your voice, you force them to lean in and listen more intently.

• Stop repeating: When you repeat the same directions over and over, you train your students not to listen to you the first time. When you say it once, you teach them to take an active part in their education and motivate them to pay attention.

• Don’t give up: it takes some time to unlearn bad habits and your students might resist the change to get to the old ways. The more it takes, the more you know how far learned helplessness has taken root in your classroom. But once they feel your persistence, they’ll begin to change.

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Should you stand or move around while giving directions

    You’ve been taught that moving around will keep your students alert and engaged, but the truth is that they will become more attentive if you stand in one place while giving directions and here are the reasons why:

Association: You want your student to associate one place with attentiveness and listening. The moment you step into that spot they’ll know that you’re going to give information they should pay attention to.

Focus Movement and hand gestures are distracting. Your students only need your calm and clear voice to concentrate which put a lot of importance on being prepared for the lesson beforehand.  

No Obstacles Your students won’t have to track your movement in addition to trying to follow up with their books or notes. The more work you students have to do to focus, the less their concentration will be.

Feedback It’s hard to assess your students’ comprehension while moving around. It would be better to get the right feedback while standing in one place.

In contact Standing in the most visible spot in your classroom will give you a better access to all of your students at once. You will establish contact through your eyes and facial expressions.  

Modeling Modeling calls for students to focus on what you do, while giving direction calls for focus on what you say. Keeping these two critically important areas separate and completely different in execution makes both more effective and impactful.

Source: Michael Linsin Smart Classroom Management