Why Classroom Routines Are Important Essay Example

Teachers who have the best-managed classrooms spend the first two weeks teaching and practicing their procedures and routines (Marzano, Marzano, & Pickering, 2003). This suggests how important routines are in classrooms, But, what are routines? Routines are used in classrooms for a variety of reasons; linking each of them to the Teaching Standards (Department for Education, 2011) which will be discussed in this essay. Teachers use routines to organise their classrooms and manage the behaviour of their learners. This is so that they can adapt to ensure they meet the needs of the whole class. Many aspects of teaching approaches are linked together to make classroom routines beneficial. In this essay each paragraph will explore the impact of routines in the classroom, while linking each to different types of routines and examples of how they have been used in other schools.

Routines that are linked to setting high expectations for the pupils are beneficial to be learnt at the start of the school year. This gives the teacher time to motivate learners whilst building positive relationships. The theorist Rita Pierson states I am the best teacher; you are the best students, that is why we are together (TED, 2013). This suggests how she uses this to motivate her learners to strive to do better while in her class as she makes them feel they are the best students in the school. It could be argued that a negative to this citation is that learners could obtain a negative attitude towards school; However, she must use this to challenge her learners to only focus on bettering their subject knowledge and behaviour. Whole school routines are used from the Foundation Phase to ensure consistency in all schools around Wales. The entire school routine, such as walking to assembly and lining up outside on the playground, is used for every year group. The whole school routines are used to understand the expectations that the teachers expect the children to remember throughout their whole primary school experience. Many schools have had to adapt their routines, especially for the past 18 months due to COVID-19; they have had to introduce new routines such as one-way systems and hand sanitizer to ensure a safe environment is kept in the classroom even during the prominent peak of the pandemic. In a school in England, a routine in place to motivate the children is the teacher does not use any negative words whenever a learner gets a question wrong; instead, she uses phrases such as you are on the right lines have another go (University Worcester, 2018) This implies this is done to get all the children to interact in the lesson as they will not worry about getting the question wrong creating an environment for Growth mindset. Another point of view indicates that giving learners all of these new routines at one time could cause an increase in disruptions in the classroom due to the children getting confused by all the routines they have been told to follow. This is why the teacher must take time to practice routines before introducing new ones, or they explain before each lesson the routines the teacher expects them to follow and inspire to achieve.  Subject specific routines can also motivate and inspire the learners (TS1) (Department for Education, 2011). There are a few examples of these routines used in schools in Wales, and they are all used in different subjects. Popcorn reading is used in English as it is a fun method to improve all learners' confidence at reading as this method ensures that everyone will have a turn at reading at random intervals chosen by their classmates, so they must be following the book to ensure they read the correct page. Counting down in Welsh is used in many Welsh schools as it enables the teacher to promote bilingualism to engage with the whole class. This is a routine used to get the learners' attention when the teacher wishes. Based on all the examples and citations used above, it seems sensible to assume that introducing routines early on in the year benefits the class and ensures a safe and stimulating environment is kept for the whole school year.

Kids do not learn from people they do not like (Ted,2013). This proves how essential it is to ensure routines linked to behaviour are practiced from the beginning of the school year. A negative of having no routines in place is some children like to test the boundaries within the classroom some children may begin to be disruptive to fill in free time, this is why it is fundamental that behaviour routines are put in place from the beginning of the school year. In a School in Wales, the teacher uses a written Home School Agreement at the start of the year to show the learners what they are to do; this is done to ensure they know what they must do to not only keep the classroom a safe environment but also to build positive relationships with their fellow learners and the teacher. According to theorist Lacourse (2011), it is necessary to develop routines to establish a successful working classroom, thus creating a positive well-established classroom environment. This citation links directly to what a class in Wales uses for one of their students who have Autism; the teacher uses visuals such as pictures and posters with all the Routines scattered around the classroom to ensure the child can get into a routine of knowing where to look for each routine. It is also imperative that the teacher keeps the routine for the whole year, as this will cause the learner to struggle to adapt to new routines so far into the school year. Habits are formed when routines are taught effectively. By constantly teaching the routine considering the class level, re-teaching, and reinforcing the desired behaviour, it could take up to a few weeks. After rehearsing many times with the students, a short reminder of the routines may be all that is called for to keep them current (Murry, 2002). This highlights the links directly to various routines schools across the UK to ensure a safe learning environment is kept in the class. Greeting children at the door is a perfect way to show the learners that the classroom is a second home and is always open for them; another routine often taught at the start of the school year is entering and leaving the classroom, and this is usually turned into a competition by the teacher to see which table can tidy up the fastest not only does this build on the relationship between learners and the teacher it also ensures the room is tidy and prevents any health and safety hazards. Subject specific routines can also be linked to managing behaviour (Department for Education, 2011). Expectations for behaviour can also be related to outside-of-school learning, such as going on School Trips. They must make sure they are prepared, especially if they are not returning home for a few days.

Every child deserves a champion who won't give up on them (Ted,2013). This illustrates that along with managing the behaviour in the classroom, another critical factor is promoting good progress made by pupils. A school in England uses stamps and certificates to promote positive work and improvements made in each subject. This also allows the children to go home and be proud to show their parents what they have achieved. A school in Wales uses a classroom display to celebrate positive work done by the children; instead of the teacher picking what is displayed, he gives the children the responsibility to choose their best piece of work and why they choose that piece of work. A school in America uses a routine where they never mention the negatives if they have a terrible test. Instead, they look at the positives and use them as a starting block to progress.  Another routine a teacher uses to promote progress over the school year is introducing a settling task. A settling tank is a short task that pupils can complete at the beginning of each lesson without direct instruction from the teacher. This type of task ensures pupils are focused on learning from the moment they enter the classroom, helping to create an effective learning environment. By providing a settling task, it reduces the opportunities for disruptions. It also benefits the teacher by using this routine. They have time to greet the pupils at the door, knowing everyone has a task to get on with while the teacher is occupied. This routine is crucial as it allows the children to come into the classroom and get into a routine of always having something prepared for them before they begin their main lesson. This is also important; for example, at the start of the new year or after a half-term, it slowly helps the learners adjust to learning by giving them small tasks to help the brain prepare.

To conclude, from all the variety of routines expressed above, there is an essential need for routines in the classroom to manage behaviour. This has been essential in the schools I have talked about above and in my own experiences linked to teaching. My own experience with Maths Tutoring was necessary to TS2 (Department for Education, 2011). Using this routine was vital as I could link the learner's progress from the first to the most recent tutorial. TS4 (Department for Education, 2011) is also a fundamental routine I use while tutoring as each learner struggles with different topics. Teaching a wide range of ages is essential to plan every lesson to ensure every minute counts. Finally, when used within the classroom, whole-school routines and subject-specific routines are beneficial as it allows the teacher to motivate and inspire learners while managing behaviour in the class to ensure a safe learning environment for the whole school year.