Table of Contents

Introduction...........................................................................................................................................1
Discussion..............................................................................................................................................3
Relationships between teachers and students..................................................................................4
Classroom Discipline..........................................................................................................................5
Teaching and Learning approach.......................................................................................................7
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................8
Reference..............................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
“Classroom management refers to all the things that a teacher undertakes to organize
students, space, time, and materials so that student learning may take place,” according to
Wong, Wont, Rogers, and Brooks (2012). (p. 61). Effective teachers will have more time to
dedicate to student learning if they build an effective management system from the
beginning of the school year.

What qualities must a teacher possess in order to be effective? While aspiring instructors
can expand their knowledge and skills, their interpersonal and intrapersonal characteristics,
as well as their spiritual views, are likely to remain constant (Cantor, 1990). “Having is not
the same as doing,” as Cantor puts it. So, while teachers can gain information and abilities
through experience and training, very little will happen unless they have the capacity and
willingness to put them to use. As a result, he concluded that identifying these effective
teaching attributes is challenging since personal traits are rooted in feelings and beliefs,
which we cannot immediately observe or analyse using simple questionnaires (Ostorga,
2003). Due to these setbacks, identifying the traits is challenging.

Effective classroom management is necessary for all teachers and facilitators. Classroom
management encompasses all aspects of what occurs in the classroom during the delivery
of a lesson. Classroom management encompasses not just how the teacher or facilitator
presents the content, but also how students interact with the teacher and other students in
the classroom, as well as the learning environment in which they learn. Students cannot
learn in a chaotic environment. Classroom management incorporates parts of classroom
discipline but focuses more on providing a calm learning atmosphere that is comfortable,
structured, engaging, and respectful of both the students and the teachers (Harry K &
Rosemary T Wong, 1998).

While we are guests in the classroom and it is the role of the teacher to provide the
necessary discipline, our classroom management strategies can help set the tone for
positive interactions, cooperative learning, and provide a plan to ensure the lesson runs
smoothly regardless of any disruptive student behaviour. Everyone should strive for good
classroom management practices. It almost goes without saying, but it's crucial to remember
that kids will always be kids. If we are not taking the steps and putting in the effort to actively
engage students in the lessons, we are facilitating, they will actively engage in something
else…and that’s what we all want to avoid (Ashley, O.S., & Chilcoat, D. 2014).

Teaching is not controlling, but rather working with the students to learn, grow, and succeed
together. By having strong student-teacher relationships with students, the classroom will be

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a place for each member to express their feelings and work together. Academic success
depends on these close relationships and guidance that teachers and students have with
one another. Proper Classroom management leads to class control and conducive teaching
learning environment, according to Evertson and Weinstein (2006). Classroom management
has two distinct purposes: It not only seeks to establish and sustain an orderly environment
so students can engage in meaningful academic learning, it also aims to enhance student
social and moral growth.

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Discussion
Your seating arrangement in the classroom is just as significant as your syllabus. You've put
in many hours to create the ideal curriculum. You've looked in the most obscure corners of
the internet for innovative lesson plans. You've stayed after school on more than one
occasion to provide extra assistance to children. Don't waste all your hard work by failing to
use a good classroom seating arrangement. The benefits of having a classroom setting that
is in sync with your teaching style, your pupils, and the space and furniture you must deal
with can be limitless. When it isn't, though, it might be harmful. The most successful
classroom seating arrangement is determined by several factors. Because some of these
characteristics change on a daily (or even hourly) basis, it's critical to have a flexible setup
that can accommodate classroom variability.

If a teacher can split down the class into smaller components, managing a classroom can be
a breeze. Hue Ming-Tak and Li Wai-Shing (2008) suggested four major components of
classroom management. One of those is “Management of the Physical Environment” (pg-
47). It involves the management of floor space, wall space, countertop space, shelf,
cupboard and closet space and general ambience. According to them, to ensure students’
comfort and provide them with a pleasant atmosphere for learning, 4 teachers need to create
the best possible physical environment. Seating arrangement is one of the most important
parts of floor space. There are some common seating arrangements which include
horizontal rows, vertical rows, circles and long tables which serve different purposes (Hue
Ming-Tak and Li Wai-Shing, 2008: pg.- 49). Ming-Tak and Li Wai-Shing believes “a good
seating arrangement is one which facilitates specific learning tasks and activities and
communicates a teacher’s beliefs about learning and teaching” (pg.- 48, 49)

Changing the seating arrangement is also important for getting the students more involved in
the class. “Changing seating arrangements can help students interact with different people”
stated Jim Scrivener (1994: pg.- 87). He suggested “circles, squares and horseshoes rather
than parallel rows” (Scrivener, 1994: pg.- 86) to increase student interaction. He backed up
his point by saying, “in a circle or horseshoe, learners can make eye contact with everyone
else in the group and thus interact much more naturally” (Scrivener, 1994: pg-88). Moreover,
students who are weaker have less chance of hiding themselves and students who are
stronger have less chance to dominate in the class in this seating arrangement, which shows
‘a much greater sense of equality’ (Scrivener, 1994: pg.- 88)

Another key aspect of classroom management that is linked to seating arrangement is the
teacher's position in the classroom. Teachers must occasionally walk from one location to
another in order to speak with all the pupils in the class, which necessitates some open

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space in the classroom. Jones (2000) (Sited: Ming-Tak and Wai-Shing, 2008: pg.- 49)
affirmed that leaving enough space in the classroom is very important to give teachers easy
and efficient access to different groups of students. He adds that the daily routine movement
areas of the classroom should be free from congestion to avoid disruptive behaviours.

Jeremy Harmer (1998: pg.- 31, 32) proposed three types of seating arrangements. These
are: • Orderly rows: In orderly rows seating arrangement, both teacher and students can see
each other clearly and can have eye contacts. Maintaining discipline is easier in this seating
arrangement. Teacher can also walk up and down if there is an aisle and can have personal
interaction with the students.

• Circles and horseshoes: This type of seating is preferable in smaller classrooms. There is a
slight difference between circles and horseshoes, that is, in horseshoe; teachers’ position is
at the open end of the arrangement where the blackboard is situated, whereas in circle,
teachers’ position is between the circles. In circle seating arrangement, there is a feeling of
equity among the students since the teacher’s position is among them.

Separate tables: Separate table is more informal than other seating arrangements where
students are seated in small groups in separate tables. In this arrangement, teacher work as
a facilitator who moves around and monitors the learners’ activity. The atmosphere of the
class is less hierarchical in this arrangement compared to the others.

Relationships between teachers and students

Personal competences, a subset of teacher skills, have been shown to have a significant
impact on teacher effectiveness in studies. The teacher-student interaction is the most
important of these skills. According to research, instructors who foster excellent relationships
with their students have a significant impact on student progress and have less discipline
issues. Being consistent, providing structure, having an assertive presence, showing
empathy, exhibiting warmth, encouraging learning, setting high standards, being adaptable,
displaying awareness of high-needs students, being culturally sensitive, and showing
respect for students are all qualities of a teacher's personal competencies that have the
greatest impact. It is critical to recognize that simply caring about pupils is insufficient.

A teacher who is warm but lacks the other characteristics will fail. A balance of these skills is
required to establish an effective teacher-student relationship. These abilities do not often
come naturally to novice teachers, who must be taught how to use them. Many pre-service
and in-service programs fail to emphasize the importance of these soft skills, operationalize
them, and provide teachers with resources to help them use them in the classroom. Sound
teacher-student relationships are an important component of student success (Hattie, 2009;
Klem & Connell, 2004).

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This overview examines the available research on the topic of soft skills (personal
competencies) commonly linked to effective teacher-student relationships. Successful
teacher-student bonds are frequently characterized as ones in which the teacher earns the
student’s trust and in which the student feels emotionally safe, feels supported by the
teacher, and is challenged to excel academically (Cornelius-White, 2007; Gregory & Ripski,
2008). It is a relationship that emphasizes constructive guidance sustained by praise rather
than persistent criticism (Marzano, Marzano, & Pickering, 2003). Effective teacher-student
relationships minimize disruptive conduct that interferes with instruction, consequently
creating a climate favourable to learning for all students in the classroom (Alderman &
Green, 2011; Parsonson, 2012). Such positive relationships reduce student anxieties that
can lead to a desire to escape an environment perceived as aversive and to higher rates of
absenteeism and academic failure (Miller, 2000; Moos, & Moos, 1978). Positive teacher-
student relationships are associated with increases in student achievement and quality of life
outcomes.

Classroom Discipline.
There are two aspects of the classroom that can be taken into consideration when it comes
to effective classroom management. It is Physical and Social aspect. Physical aspect
characteristics is to provide a safe classroom environment, ensure space is uncluttered,
allow areas for group work and hands-on learning centres, push in chairs and clean up after
yourself, watch for noise, crowding and unnecessary visual distractions and align pedagogy
with new classroom designs. Physical aspects of the classroom play an important role in
either promoting or hindering learning, with elements such as crowding and noise
representing the main factors contributing to chaotic learning environments (Maxwell, 2008).
Coupled with small classrooms and large numbers of students, activities designed to
facilitate the construction of knowledge through hands-on inquiry has the propensity for
chaos, leading to disruptive behaviours and students straying off tasks (Evans, 2006). Group
work is fundamental to learning; however due to COVID restrictions, no group work was
formed and that resulted to less overcrowding during a lesson because the class is easily
manageable.

Noise: Active participation will impact upon noise levels in the classroom, as will learners
transitioning between activities, multimedia and teacher presentations. Rather than shying
away from hands-on inquiry, teachers need to ensure generated noise is constructive and
not interfering with learning. Apart from hindering on-task behaviour, unproductive noise can
interfere with attention, memory, speech perception and auditory discrimination (Maxwell,
2010). Explicitly pre-teaching requirements and expectations, providing quite zones for
reflection and utilising redirection prompts are some of the methods educators can employ to

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control noise. Students need to work respectfully, transition between tasks with minimal fuss
and pay attention to teacher expectations.

Visual Complexity: Uncontrolled visual sources, such as posters, displays and student work
samples can impact on overstimulating the senses and contributing to classroom chaos
especially for those Design and Technical curriculum (Maxwell, 2006; Roskos and Neuman
(2011) suggest limiting the amount of wall decorations and focusing on providing meaningful,
uncluttered visual displays that capture attention and facilitate the earning of key concepts. It
is advisable to have group rules and expectations in order to have a silent communication
during a lesson.

Classroom Design: The call for an ‘education revolution’ (Imms & Byers, 2017) has resulted
in massive spending on technology integration in our classrooms, with classroom design the
new frontier. Open-Space learning, with flexible furniture integrated into visual and digital
technologies encompassing multi-centric learning spaces, offers opportunities to enhance
student learning experiences, engagement and performance (Imms & Byers, 2017).
However, such designs challenge the traditional learning space that placed the teacher in-
front and centre of the classroom and sent a clear message to students of where to focus
their attention and who was in-charge (Donnelly & Berry, 2019). Therefore, teachers need to
be aware of the messages these new environments sent to their students and how they may
impact on behaviour. Clear guidelines establishing rules and routines need to be addressed
to ensure the new designs do not detrimentally impinge on learning. Further, educators need
to re-skill to ensure they are able to maximise the teaching and learning opportunities in
these new spaces (Imms& Byers, 2017). When learning extends outside the traditional
physical classroom into the digital arena, students are responsible for working within the
boundaries of acceptable and safe behaviour.

Social Aspects is to develop authentic teacher/student relationships, celebrate & incorporate

differences to safeguard against negative stereotypes, be aware/vigilant against racism,
bullying and anti-social behaviour, foster positive student relationships, promote social
competence through inclusive classroom practices and build student self-determination and
motivation by sharing control of the learning environment.

Teachers are required to create safe learning environments that are respectful and inclusive
for the learning benefit of their students. Being kind, empathetic and understanding are only
some of the character traits that create this safe learning space. While promoting learning, it
also allows teachers the opportunity to connect with students individually. Effective
instruction requires teachers to have a solid understanding of their students, to know how
they learn and to know what they are interested in. By acknowledging that all students

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approach learning differently with a variety of preferences for instruction (Vialle, Lysaght &
Verenikna, 2005), teachers are able to plan lessons to maximise engagement and promote
autonomy and ownership of learning, where students choose excellence and mastery as
their educational outcome (Ladson-Billings, 1995).

To safeguard against harassment, bullying, racism, negative stereotypes and abuse, it is a

teacher’s responsibility to critically examine their own stereotypes and prejudicial attitudes,
and to be aware of any underlying adverse attitudes existing within the classroom (Krause,
Boucher, Duchesne & McMaugh, 2010). Teachers and students alike need to work
collaboratively and cooperatively in a shared environment that values differences and
rewards interest in others. Teachers‟ professionalism in thought, action and communication
are not negotiable expectations and requirements in their role as educators. On a daily
basis, teachers model ideal and appropriate responses to their peers, parents and students,
as their reactions and inactions, responses and negotiations, are all witnessed and relay
messages. Teacher actions reinforce and set the expectation of student behaviour: if
teachers are disorganised, late to class, and ill-prepared, they cannot expect the opposite
from their students if this is their modelled behaviour.

Teaching and Learning approach

It is important to understand individual learning styles and provide opportunities for all
learners to feel successful. Provide scaffold support and fade when appropriate. Provide
opportunities for hands-on learning and learners constructing own understanding. Learners
participate in cooperative learning activities and classroom discussion. Cooperative learning
allows for the celebration of classroom diversity. Learners are aware that they have
something unique and valuable to add to their group and whilst equal participation does not
necessarily mean equal amount, learners are required to contribute their personal best.
Having learners share their ideas and ways of thinking helps to scaffold learning through
discovery, processing, applying new knowledge and creating something they would not have
been unable to achieve by working alone.

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Conclusion
To summarize, classroom management encompasses not only the control of learners'
disruptive actions and the maintenance of discipline, but also the other variables that
contribute to a constructive working environment in a classroom. One of the most significant
components of classroom management is seating arrangement, which is linked to the other
factors. In order to establish a favourable learning environment in a classroom, the seating
arrangement is critical. There are several seating arrangements for various sorts of
classrooms. Every sitting configuration has advantages and disadvantages. They are not all
appropriate for all classes. Some are appropriate for certain classroom settings, while others
are not. As a result, it must be assessed before to establishing any form of sitting
arrangement. My teaching practise experience has shown me that if the seating
arrangement is not properly set up, it is quite difficult to manage learners in the class. As a
result, the teachers must take it very seriously.

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Reference
 Ashley, O.S., & Chilcoat, D. (2014). Classroom management. Washington, DC:
Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau.

 Harry K & Rosemary T Wong (1998) The First Days of School Harry K Wong

Publications, CA p.84

 kean.edu. 2007. THE WHY AND HOW OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT.

[ONLINE] Available at: https://www.kean.edu/~tpc/Classroom%20Management/THE
%20WHY%20AND%20HOW%20OF%20CLASSROOM%20MANAGEMENT.htm.
[Accessed 18 May 2021].

 Evans, G. W. (2006). Child development and the physical environment. Annual Rev.
Psychol., 57, 423-451. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.57.102904.190057

 Maxwell, L. (2010). Chaos outside the home: The school environment. In Evans, G.,
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 Imms, W., & Byers, L. (2017). impact of classroom design on teacher pedagogy and
student engagement and performance in mathematics. Learning Research, 20(1),
139-152. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-016-9210-0

 Vialle, W., Lysaght, P., & Verenikina, I. (2005). Psychology for educators. South
Melbourne, Victoria, Cengage Learning.

 Harmer, Jeremy. How to Teach English. England: Addison Wesley Longman Limited.
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 Jones, Vernon F, and Louise S Jones. Comprehensive classroom management:

creative positive learning environments. Boston: Allyn and Bacon Inc, 1981.

 Laslett, Robert, and Colin Smith. Effective Classroom Management: A Teacher’s

Guide. New York: NichoPs Publishing Company, 1984

 Ming-Tak, Hue, and Li Wai-Shing. Classroom Management: Creating a Positive

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 Ramsden, Alexandra. “Seating Arrangements.” 16 Dec 1999. 15 Oct 2009.

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 Scrivener, Jim. 2nd ed. Learning Teaching: A guidebook for English Language
Teachers. MACMILLAN. 199

 States, J., Detrich, R. & Keyworth, R. (2018). Teacher-student Relationships

Oakland, CA: The Wing Institute. Retrieved from https://www.winginstitute.org/soft-
skills-teacher-student-relationships

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