ChildCare Education Institute® (CCEI), an online child care training provider dedicated exclusively to the early care and education workforce, offers GUI101: Classroom Management as a no-cost trial course to new CCEI users April 1-30, 2024.

Teachers may not see themselves as managers, but they are more of a manager than they realize. They create a supportive learning environment and guide children′s learning. Essentially they manage the program they provide for children.  From a teacher′s perspective, the term classroom management could be used to describe the process of ensuring that classroom lessons run smoothly.  Classroom management could be the most difficult aspect of teaching and is often cited as one of the main reasons teachers leave the profession. Once teachers lose control of their classroom, it is difficult to regain control. However, some strategies can prevent this from happening.

This course provides a range of strategies and practices for promoting appropriate behavior, positive social-emotional development, and a productive, effective learning environment. Strategies are designed mainly for grades Pre-K to 3 (ages 4 to 8), but most strategies are appropriate for work with any age group, grades Pre-K to 12.

“This course is about teaching children appropriate behaviors, not controlling them,” says Leslie Coleman, Education Director of CCEI.  “Effective classroom management requires the use of many tools and methods, including positive guidance strategies for promoting appropriate individual behavior and a range of methods for maintaining a good group-learning environment.”