4 Subtle Shifts for Better Classroom Management

Managing a class full of students every day requires a tool kit of effective strategies—veteran teachers are happy to share a wide range of skills they’ve developed over the years to keep the disruptions at bay and make more space for learning. But not all those strategies are sweeping changes. Some classroom management shifts are very nuanced, with small adjustments to things like tone of voice, glances from across the room, or choice of words during interactions. 

For situations that don’t require acute intervention, a serious look or even a change of position within the room may do the trick. Most teachers will tell you “the look” is honed over years of practice—and each teacher has their own variation. Other nonverbal cues like hand signals can also be highly useful in a classroom setting.    

While cold calling has been much maligned for its potential to cause distress in students, especially shy or introverted ones, a simple change to the words teachers choose as they invite students to participate has been shown to make a difference in engagement. Offering an encouraging “I’d like to hear some ideas,” instead of something more confrontational, can change the tenor of an interaction completely.

As distractions from ubiquitous tech tools like smartphones grow increasingly difficult to keep at bay, having a clear policy on how to deal with them is the first step toward keeping them from becoming a problem in the classroom. It’s most effective to have students put devices in a central location at the start of class, but if that’s not an option, setting firm boundaries is key. 

Even the simplest tweak in how teachers use their voice can make a huge difference in classroom culture. If a teacher’s tone is too strict and demanding, older students in particular may rebel. Research has shown that calm and supportive yet assertive tones work best, an approach some call the “warm demander.”    

To learn more about the research referenced in the video, check out these links:

• Elise J. Dallimore, Julie H. Hertenstein, and Marjorie B. Platt’s study on how cold-calling impacts voluntary student participation (2012)

• Amanda C.G. Hall, Tara T. Lineweaver, Eileen E. Hogan, and Sean W. O’Brien’s research on whether the task being done on a student’s laptop changes the influence on nearby students’ learning (2020)

• Silke Paulmann and Netta Weinstein’s experimental test of how children react to a teacher’s tone of voice (2022)

To find additional research-backed tips for managing a classroom, read Youki Terada’s article for Edutopia, “8 Small But Impactful Classroom Management Shifts.”