120 hr. TEFL Course Module 9-Classroom Management (Pt.2 Setting Expectations)

Module 9: Classroom management

9.1 Setting expectations

Students need structure to be successful in school, but that does not mean you have to be a disciplinarian who spends most of your time punishing students for small misbehaviors. It just means that you need to be clear about your expectations for the class right from the beginning and carry out those expectations throughout the rest of the year. We will start by discussing some of the strategies you can use to set expectations for your class, and then we will review some common expectations that teachers have found success with in their class.

9.1.1 How to set expectations

More than anything make sure that you address classroom expectations on the first day to set the tone for the rest of the year. First impressions are important, and if you begin the year allowing behavior that you do not want to allow for the rest of the year, you are going to make things more difficult for yourself.


One method for setting successful classroom expectations is to use the first day of class to have the students work together to create those expectations. Have your students get into small groups and discuss what they expect to get out of this class, what they expect from you, and what they expect from themselves and the other students. After five to ten minutes, bring the class together and create a list that you all narrow down into the final set of classroom expectations. Bringing your students in on the process gives them the opportunity to see the importance of these expectations, stresses them, and gives students the feeling that they are in control. Now, when they break a class rule, they are breaking the very rules they helped to develop.



You can also draw students into the activity by having them work together on a class pledge or class promise. This would work very much the same way except the pledge or promise is more personal and less quantifiable. If you would like, you can then take the class pledge and synthesize it into a list of classroom expectations so that you have both.

You can also take a more traditional route and create the list of expectations on your own. If you do this, just make sure they are already posted when the students walk into the classroom and take some time to review them with the class. Students will notice them if they are posted on your wall, but they won’t really remember them unless they are explicitly reviewed.