Better classroom management begins with your attitude about your students. If you respect them, they’ll respect you.

As simple as that sounds, it works.

Having a clear sense of your purpose and how you plan to go about it helps, too.

Getting students to reach their inner greatness begins with a focus on what’s important in your classroom: your students. Anything that gets in the way of them being as great as they can be isn’t compatible with what you’re doing in class. Negative behaviors that detract from greatness have to stop.

Here’s how to keep the focus on achieving greatness with better classroom management.

Establish your environment

The learning space is critical to your classroom management success. Will you use rows of desks and chairs, or are tables better for the teaching you plan to do? Ideally, in any arrangement, you can see your students, and they can see you. You need a clear traffic flow to each area in the room, and students need to be able to look at the visuals you provide.

Get their attention

Before you begin any lesson, make sure you have everyone’s attention. If only a few students are listening to you as you start class, you’ll have to start over, perhaps several times.

Try asking questions that capture your students’ curiosity rather than barking orders to “listen up.” A gentle segue can be more effective than abrupt transitions announcing that class has begun.

Another effective attention-getting strategy is speaking so softly that your students have to stop what they’re doing to hear you. When you have everyone’s attention, you’re ready to start the lesson.

Broadcast your plan

No classroom management system would stand a chance if a teacher didn’t plan for the day. You may think you can wing it, but your students know when your plan doesn’t exist. Every lesson plan should start with the lesson goals. Make these clear to your students. What is it you expect of your students? Tell students not only what you expect them to learn but also how they’ll show you they’ve been successful.

Make class fun

Learning is serious business, but that doesn’t mean that the work has to be boring. Bored students are often the ones who misbehave. To improve classroom behaviors, be flexible enough to include a variety of activities such as learning games and table wars, or cooperative learning groups.

Look for the positive

Teachers who provide ongoing, positive feedback have the best classroom management. Students in these classrooms attune themselves to their teachers, listening for and watching the cues they need for continued success. When the feedback is specific and focused on task performance, children are most likely to succeed.

Ask for feedback

Kids are usually honest, so they are an excellent resource for feedback. You can also distribute surveys to capture more feedback. You’ll have the data you need to guide your decisions when it comes to selecting your professional development opportunities.

Learning takes place in respectful, well-managed classrooms where there’s a give and take of ideas.

Your students will love you for making their learning possible, and it’s likely that you’ll like your students just as much.