attention in class

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attention in class
By Jill

I remember watching my mentor teacher (who was also very good) and saying to myself, "when I am a teacher...I won't do that or I would have done this...or why doesn't she do this?" When I became a teacher, things changed.
I understood things much more clearly. What your mentor teacher does fits her personality and her teaching style. You will have a different style and personality. You will also find that teaching is much different as a student teacher than as the REAL teacher. She is providing you with a cushion that you don't realize you have yet! So - don't give her any advice.
You didn't say

what grade level you teach. I teach 7th grade and I do a couple of things. I continually monitor the seating arrangements in class - what is working, what isn't working - to prevent excessive talking. During a lesson, I will simply state, "Stop talking and look up front." Then I wait until they are quiet. Another thing that I do is to start my instructions in a voice slightly louder than the class volume, then I lower my voice so that they have to listen. If there is a student that is having a problem listening, then I send him/her outside for a while. I have only had to do that a couple of times. What I think is most important is that you explain to them the cue that you will be using to tell them to stop talking, practice it, then use it. Some things work for a while and you may have to revise it down the line.