Calling your students’ attention

Calling attention to students is not as easy as it seems. Yes, my dear teachers, there is both a science and art to it. You have to be concise since extended signals may only make the students’ reaction time slow.

Be clear with your instructions. Confusion will only produce more chaos. Short and direct are the key words here. And be definite, if you say “stop and listen,” then do not be lenient. Make sure that everyone does stop exactly what they are doing.

Try calling their attention without appearing to be too sharp. After all, one never likes to be called, “pssst” by anyone, right? We don’t want our students to feel degraded, as they are after all, human beings too. If you want to be respected, you need to be respectful too.

Do not be too boisterous. Be calm and reassuring. An excitable call would only raise the  exuberance, and therefore the noise level, of the class.

Make sure that when you do call your students attention, make sure that is absolutely necessary. Constant interruption can only lead to students ignoring your calls for attention in the future.

The constancy of pulling a class back to attention can be exhausting and at times, discouraging. A consistent and firm approach to this aspect of classroom management will reap benefits in the classroom environment, enhancing teaching and learning effectiveness.