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Suggestions on classroom management techniques / procedures to use during problem based learning lessons. During a design challenge or a similar learning lesson, what are the best ways to maintain "control" of ones classroom? I feel as though it is a hard line to balance between being too in-control and being out-of-control during a lesson that involves creating, building, testing, etc. I know it is important for students to make mistakes, get messy and be out of their seats moving around, but how do I keep students at a manageable level of control? 

have an reward that the class works together to achieve. 

have an reward that the class works together to achieve. 

Have you tried the dogo online behavior system? It allows you to mark a positive or negative behavior without saying a word but will get the students attention. It helps keep them on track. This system also allows parents to connect to the system where they will be notified about their child behavior as well. 

What grade are you working with?  As a high school teacher, I can't stand rewards. When our kids arrive in 9th grade are constantly asking "What will I get if..." questions. What will I get if I make an A? What will I get if I answer the question you just asked? What will I get if I turn in my homework? It is frustrating as there are some behaviors/tasks they should comply with whether there is a reward offered or not. Plus, rewards are so expensive when you see 140+ kids a day! However, I do occasionally do "free seating fridays" where the kids can choose their own seat. They cannot ask for this and it does encourage them to behave well. The school I am at has pre-made postcards. I try to send home positive postcards every few weeks to students who have really participated in class, shown great improvements, or done something outstanding. The students like the postcards but the parents really love getting a good note about their child. 

Hi! I am in student teaching this semester and I have been having a problem as well balancing classroom management. My cooperating teacher has been helping me have better time management during my lessons. Her philosophy is respect your students and they will respect you. She uses an app called live school which she can fine or give points to students. The students have been getting used to this and it has helped with their behavior in her classroom. When I first started with student teaching I was afraid that my students wouldn't like me if I was too strict. So I have been working on having a balance when I teach. I like how my teacher does classroom parties if students get enough points from having good behavior and students work toward this. My suggestion would be figuring out what your philosophy is and how you want to manage your class. 

Keep in mind that young children have a very short attention span. Take small breaks during your lesson. Have your students stand up and stretch. Maybe they could also sing! 

It becomes very hard for us as adults to stay in one place for a long period of time so make sure that you are constantly using activities that provide student choice in a structured way and have a cue for how to gain students attention if they are getting out of control. The teacher that I studied under always had songs according to different topics and that was something that she would use daily and the children really seem to enjoy it. The children motion is something that they will constantly crave. 

Class Dojo is a great tool I have witnessed my cooperating field placement teacher use in her classroom. Students hear the chimes sound for giving or taking away of points throughout activities and these sounds can bring them back to staying on task very quickly. https://www.classdojo.com/

One thing that I have seen some of the teachers I have observed that seems to be extremely effective is that, as difficult as it may be, we need to surrender some responsibility to our students. We need to make our students feel as though they are important and an asset to the classroom learning environment. What I have observed other teachers do is that they allow the students to work in groups on activities but make sure that every member of the group has a role in which they need to fulfill. By giving students a specific task and role that they need to do they feel proud and as if they are important because they are responsible for that job in particular, and they also learn the importance of completing a task because they have an entire group of other students relying on them in order to continue moving forward. Whether it be something as simple as Jimmy you're in charge of picking up the beakers, or Johnny you're responsible for researching what protons do in an atom, if we give them the chance to take control and responsibility they tend to be extremely focused and controlled (from what I've seen).

I would definitely skip the reward, because you want students to want to build, create, innovate, and learn, and not feel like they are only participating in order to win a reward. You can try establishing some rules at the beginning of the lesson with the students (creating rules together), this way they can take responsibility for the way that they behave. If there is a lot of moving around in your lesson, perhaps create timed stations where students need to be, and then when the timer runs out, they can switch to the next station. This way the students are moving in one direction and are at one place at a time. If stations are not an option for your lesson, create groups at tables, where the students are still working together to build something, but they are confined to their specific spots with their groups. Also, if you are nonstop monitoring the classroom and asking the students questions (talk moves), they will be interacting with you and aware of your presence at all times, and therefore more inclined to stay in control. In addition to that, if you make sure that all your materials are pre-arranged beforehand in specific areas and are easy to access, perhaps you can avoid some of the inevitable messes that are sure to come! Then again, a lot of this is easier said than done, so good luck and I hope that some of this might help in some way!

I have done several observed lessons in the class and made sure that class management techniques were in place, so that the interactive lesson was manageable. I think that having short phrases to grab the class's attention are a great tool. Calling students by groups works very well too. I think that assigning tasks to certain students, such as having specific students handing out supplies is a great way to manage an activity.

Managing a classroom is a tough job as it is and where there are activities involved, even more. I would suggest having a sign or phrase that grabs everyone's attention. I student teach in a 5th grade classroom and my CT uses a phrase. When the students hear this phrase they automatically stop what they are doing, sit down, and put their heads on the table. This has been very effective especially during activities where the students are constantly moving around. Hope this helped!

I am a fan of Fred Jones and his book "Tools for Teaching". It is an overall look at establishing management for your classroom as a whole, but it could help you with managing inquiry based labs as well.

What I've found useful during a highly interactive lesson with my kindergartners, is making the students understand that the activity is a privilege that can be taken away. Have a supplemental plan for students who fail to cooperate and follow expectations. have specific directions before every transition, so the students know what is expected of them before beginning the next activity. Most students will do fine knowing that their peers will be engaging in something fun and they have to sit out or complete a less fun activity.

I agree!

Just like the others have said, using some sort of reward for good behavior may be beneficial in the classroom. Sometimes it may not work with all classrooms though, it depends on your students. If individual rewards for good behavior do not work for you, it might be a good idea to do class rewards. If a student does something good, you can fill up a jar with marbles for every good deed. And once the jar is filled, you can have a classroom party or movie day. Just a thought. :)