Posted on September 17th, 2025 in Blog, Education

7 Classroom Management Strategies for Teachers

A teacher talks to a classroom of seated students.At the beginning of each school year, teachers have the opportunity to refine their classroom management strategies to maximize the impact of their instruction. This is particularly important given the challenges teachers currently face. For example:

Effective classroom management techniques are critical to the success of our educational system. Teachers can benefit from learning about specific approaches to classroom management that can help them make the classroom experience a satisfying one for both their students and themselves.

Defining Classroom Management

Before considering examples of classroom management strategies, it can be helpful to explore the role classroom management plays in education.

Classroom management practices encompass all the tools and skills teachers use to establish a positive and harmonious classroom environment that is conducive to learning. This type of environment helps teachers ensure that students feel safe, feel respected, and can be motivated to learn.

A 2024 study on the connection between classroom management and students’ achievement defined some specific goals of classroom management that include:

  • Managing both negative and positive student behavior
  • Establishing good communication between teachers and students
  • Ensuring that teachers remain flexible in meeting students’ needs
  • Developing positive relationships between teachers and students

Creating a classroom community is a significant component of effective classroom management. This can involve practices such as establishing clear classroom procedures and routines, encouraging students to be kind, and weaving concepts that are of interest to students into instruction.

In short, classroom management comes down to intentionally creating an atmosphere that offers the best opportunity for learning and that encourages students to participate in the educational process in a respectful manner. 

7 Classroom Management Strategies for Teachers

Teachers can choose from a number of specific classroom management strategies to promote learning. The resources below offer examples of these strategies and demonstrate the range of techniques at teachers’ disposal.

  • Set Clear Expectations

Specifying clear expectations is crucial to letting students know what teachers expect from them and creating a stable environment for learning. Knowing their teacher’s expectations can help students regulate their behavior and take responsibility for their role in the learning process. 

The following resources offer suggestions for creating clear expectations:

  • Educator organization We Are Teachers has created a set of 10 classroom expectations that teachers can use in any classroom. These expectations cover behaviors such as arriving to class ready to learn, actively taking part in lessons, and learning from their mistakes.
  • Prodigy, an educational game maker, offers a list of basic classroom rules that set expectations by outlining how students can ask questions, when students need to remain in their seats, and how students can contribute to discussions.
  • Educational software firm PowerSchool suggests that teachers let students know the rewards and consequences of meeting or failing to meet established expectations.
  • Early childhood education organization Good2Know Network encourages teachers to consider allowing students to be involved in creating the expectations for their classroom. This can help students feel included and therefore invested in how the classroom is run.
  • Educator preparation organization TExEStest.org suggests that instructors take the time to teach students how to comply with expectations. For example, teaching students how to meet expectations regarding behavior can give them a clear understanding of what good behavior looks like.
  • Education professional development provider Novak Education recommends that teachers create presentations regarding their expectations that show students discussing their thoughts regarding specific classroom expectations.

  • Use Instructional Approaches That Promote Students’ Engagement

Another important classroom management strategy is to employ instructional techniques that foster engagement. For example:

  • Education firm Schools That Lead offers descriptions of 25 useful instructional strategies that can help teachers cultivate engaging classrooms. 
  • SchoolAI, an artificial intelligence firm focused on schools and learning experiences, suggests that teachers vary their instructional approaches to keep students engaged in learning. For instance, teachers can consider using a mix of hands-on activities, visual aids, and classroom discussions.
  • Conflict resolution and training firm Defuse recommends that teachers actively involve students in classroom instruction, using techniques such as role playing, simulation activities, and group projects.
  • Accelerate Learning, a firm that concentrates on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning services, encourages science teachers to keep students engaged through student-centered instruction that emphasizes students’ collaboration, inquiry, and real-world applications of science concepts.
  • Continuing education firm Teaching Channel emphasizes the importance of making connections to the real world when teaching lessons. Showing students how what they are learning affects them, the things that interest them, and their goals can be a good way to keep students engaged in learning.

  • Employ Effective Disciplinary Techniques

Particularly effective classroom management strategies regarding discipline are those that help students learn how to improve their behavior and become responsible for their actions. For example:

  • Helpful Professor, a study guide website, offers 25 discipline strategies for teachers to consider that include practicing proximity control (moving physically closer to misbehaving students), assigning classroom jobs to students to keep them accountable, and modeling behaviors that teachers want their students to exhibit.
  • Educational training firm Responsive Classroom suggests that teachers use logical consequences rather than punishment to address students’ behavior issues. Logical consequences can include loss of privileges or placing students in a calming space until they can establish self-control.
  • Education reference website ThoughtCo. offers a guide for when teachers should send students to the principal’s office for disciplinary reasons. The guide discusses the distinctions between minor disciplinary issues, which teachers can typically handle in the classroom, and major disciplinary infractions, which require a principal’s intervention.
  • Teachers Institute, a teacher resource website, offers insight into the concept of discipline through guidance. This can entail implementing restorative practices that enable students to repair the damage that their behavior has caused or showing students how to manage their emotions to reduce their outbursts or conflicts in the classroom.
  • The U.S. Department of Education’s advice for creating classrooms that are safe, inclusive, supportive, and fair stresses the use of disciplinary techniques that treat students with respect and dignity. 

  • Use Classroom Layouts That Facilitate Successful Classroom Management

A classroom’s physical arrangement can play a role in managing students’ behavior. The right layout can motivate students to participate in learning, engage with instructional material, and achieve greater academic success. For example:

  • Educator resources website TeachHUB describes the benefits of classroom designs that use flexible seating, paired layouts in which two desks are grouped together, or circle layouts.
  • TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers), a website offering resources to educators, discusses the pros and cons of eight classroom seating arrangements and how they can influence students’ engagement.
  • Open Educational Resources (OER) offers an online classroom arrangement project that includes videos on the merits of alternative classroom layouts.
  • Teacher resource website Chalk & Apples provides tips on classroom setup, noting the importance of creating zones for various activities, making classrooms welcoming, and displaying goals for students’ learning.
  • School furniture and equipment firm Demco offers tips on making classrooms flexible in ways that can improve students’ ability to engage and learn.

  • Consider Using Classroom Management Technology

Incorporating certain types of technology into lessons can also be a good classroom management strategy. Today’s students are immersed in technology, and it is helpful for teachers to acknowledge that and blend technology into their instruction. For example:

  • EducationCorner.com, a site for educator resources, created a list of the 35 best educational apps for teachers, including a variety of apps geared toward classroom management.
  • Nonprofit organization Common Sense Media offers advice to teachers on incorporating technology into the classroom, teaching students how to be good digital citizens, and using technology to promote students’ engagement.
  • Educational technology firm Lightspeed Systems explains how classroom management software can reduce the time that teachers spend on administrative tasks and give them more time to focus on instruction.
  • Footsteps2Brilliance, which focuses on educational technology, offers information on classroom technology such as apps to track students’ behavior and software that enables teachers to communicate about students’ behavior with the students’ families or caregivers.
  • Managed Methods, a technology firm that creates cybersecurity and student safety technology for schools, offers classroom management advice for teachers who instruct in online environments. For example, teachers can use specialized software to monitor students’ activities and verify whether they are staying focused on their studies. Teachers in online classrooms can also use software to block students’ access to distracting or inappropriate websites.

  • Collaborate With Other Teachers, and Find a Mentor

Learning from each other is a great way for teachers to discover classroom management tips. Done formally or informally, collaborating with other teachers or finding an experienced teacher to serve as a mentor can be a useful way for teachers to gain and share classroom management strategies. For example:

  • IRIS Connect, a professional development firm, offers a variety of strategies for teachers to share their ideas. Teachers who have developed solid leadership skills, for instance, can take the lead on collaboration and mentoring activities that allow teachers to share their ideas on addressing challenges in classroom management.
  • Professional development provider FirstDay Learning offers suggestions for encouraging teacher collaboration in early childhood education. For example, teachers can reflect together on the success of their approaches to teaching and learn about improving their instructional strategies. Schools can also offer social events or team-building exercises that encourage teachers to develop relationships of trust and collaborate on effective classroom management strategies.
  • Challenger Center, a nonprofit organization focused on STEM education, offers advice for teachers who are seeking mentors. For instance, it can be helpful for teachers to give serious consideration to why they want to work with a mentor and to explore their professional network to find a mentor who can support them in their area of interest.
  • The National Association of Elementary School Principals offers information on how to strengthen the mentorship of early career teachers. For example, new teachers often need mentoring to get advice on teaching strategies and creating learning activities that keep students engaged.
  • The Alabama Department of Education’s handbook for its Teacher Mentor Program offers a mentor-mentee dialogue tool that can guide teacher mentor relationships and help to ensure that those relationships focus on discussing important classroom management strategies in areas such as keeping students engaged and ensuring that teachers communicate their expectations for students’ behavior.

  • Keep Up to Date on Research Regarding Classroom Management

Whether they are pursuing an advanced degree like a Master of Arts in Teaching or a Master of Education degree or they simply want to improve their students’ experience, teachers can benefit from monitoring emerging research on classroom management strategies. Examples of recent research studies include:

Effective Classroom Management Can Improve the Educational Process for Both Students and Teachers

When educators employ effective classroom management strategies, they can help students get the most out of their education and make teaching more satisfying. 

From establishing expectations to experimenting with classroom layouts and using a variety of instructional techniques, teachers can implement a range of possible approaches to classroom management to address the challenges they commonly face. Intentionally applying meaningful classroom management strategies can be the key to a successful school year.