Listening- The Classroom Management Strategy that Time Forgot

As teachers, we are doing 15 different things at any given moment.  Every minute of the school day is occupied with students, meetings, prepping, and data collection and analysis. We continually have students talking to us.  We half listen to their stories as we scan the class to be sure everyone is on-task.  We find ourselves wishing our long-winded students would finish their story before we lose the rest of the class. We try to listen.  We really do.  But there is just so much we need to get done in a day.

Years ago, when education wasn’t moving at rollercoaster speed, teachers had time to sit down and listen to students.  They also had less behavioral issues.  Coincidence?  We don’t think so.

When teachers listen to students, really listen, it shows students that their teacher has a vested interest in them.  It relays the message that what the student has to say is important enough that an adult will stop what they are doing and listen.

Listening can also help us to better understand a student’s perspective.  When a student has a behavioral issue in your class, you may think you know what happened. Asking a student, “What just happened there?” allows you to hear their perspective on the situation.  Taking it even further, by sitting and actively listening to their reply, shows the student you care about their perspective.

Listening will help you to more fully understand your students’ needs and motivations.  Attentive listening can help you proactively understand what is happening in a student’s mind to prevent further behavioral issues.

In today’s fast paced world of education, with standards and pacing hovering right over our heads, it can be nearly impossible to take time to listen to each student each day. However, if listening for a student talk with you for 2 minutes can decrease 5 minutes of behavioral issues with that student later in the day, isn’t it worth it?

We offer the following advice for listening to students in a way that will decrease later behavioral issues:

• Resist all urges to “fix” the situation the student is sharing with you– It is our urge, as caring individuals in a helping profession, to jump in right away and offer solutions to a student’s problem. However, this can leave a student feeling like we didn’t honor their situation.  It can also leave them feeling belittled because the teacher solved the problem so quickly when it was not that easy for the student.  Finally, jumping in and offering advice before a student finishes their story does not show them you honor their experience. Instead of offering solutions, ask questions that lead the student to find their own solutions or value in their experience.

• Use your roster as a way of keeping track of who you have listened to each day– Try and listen to your students as much as possible. Students who are attention seeking will not seek your attention in negative ways if they can have your ear in a positive way. To make sure all students get your attention, use your roster as a checklist of who you have listened to. Each time you have the opportunity to listen to a story that a student tells, place a checklist next to their name on a printed copy of your roster. Be sure that each student gets a checklist by their name on a rotating basis.

• Make every free moment count- Take advantage of every opportunity to talk with students. There may be a free moment to talk to a student in the hall, before working with a student individually, or in between classes. You will be surprised how many opportunities arise to talk with a student each day when you are intentionally looking for them.

• Listening can also occur in reading a student’s written thoughts– Listening does not always have to be an auditory experience. You can assign informal and ungraded writing assignments in which students share their thoughts and stories with you in writing. Be sure that the prompts will help you to learn about the students and that there is no evaluation associated with the assignments.  Provide prompts that will help you learn about the student in a way that could prevent future behavioral issues or increase your rapport with them.

• Create classroom sharing opportunities– Share some of your own stories to help students see differing perspectives. Model appropriate ways to share your feelings and experiences.  By creating an environment that allows participants to express their feelings, opinions, and experiences, you are creating a space in which students will feel safe to tell their own stories and share their own perspectives when behavioral issues occur.

• Wait for a student to de-escalate from an issue before asking them to explain their actions- When adrenaline is high, communication skills decrease. Wait for a student’s adrenaline to work its way out of their system before asking them to explain their perspective on a behavioral issue that occurred.  You both will be more open to the sharing if you have a few minutes to calm yourselves before talking and listening.

We realize that all of these suggestions cannot be implemented overnight, nor are they all-inclusive. However, like we suggested in another recent article about addressing behavioral issues, good relationships with students will almost always improve student behaviors.  Even if allowing students to share their stories does not help you to better see their perspectives, listening to them will most definitely help to build better relationships.

Happy Listening,

P.S. Do you want more information about preventing problematic student behaviors?  Enter your name and e-mail below and we will send you our free guide to motivation and management!