Teachers are typically the classroom leaders – they manage the relationships, group norms, discipline and routines, guiding everyone towards their learning goals. There are many ways teachers can lead a group, but the most effective approach is when they have strong classroom management skills combined with compassionate interpersonal skills to manage group relationships and work together with learners.

• 22 Start lessons quickly and firmly

• 23 Have an emotional check-in system

• 24 Use language to facilitate learner cooperation

• 25 Use positive micromessages with learners

• 26 Task students with teaching their peers

• 27 Use silence as a resource

• 28 Distribute your attention deliberately in class

• 29 Use measurable parameters in task instructions

• 30 Embrace the unexpected

• 31 Empower with learning contracts

• 32 Provide strategies to deal with exam stress

• 33 Develop an authoritative leadership style

• 34 Be authentic in your communication

• 35 Have clear and transparent learning objectives

• 36 Encourage learners respectfully to share their identities

• 37 Mix up work partners sometimes

• 38 Introduce autonomous learning in small steps

• 39 Focus on actions of difficult learners, not the person

• 40 Use celebrations wisely

• 41 Plan homework tasks with care

• 42 End the lesson deliberately and positively

22 Start lessons quickly and firmly

The start of a lesson is a key transition in which teachers must gain learners’ attention and get them engaged and on task. Research suggests that learners can spend up to six minutes in the initial time in class on non-learning activities, which can build up to five weeks of lost instructional time over the course of a year across all subjects (Saloviita, 2013). There is a clear link between engaged learning time and learning outcomes, so such a cumulative loss of effective learning time is important to address. The start of the lesson is also the time where learners are at greater risk of becoming distracted and engaging in disruptive behaviours.

Many teachers use the initial time to carry out tasks such as taking attendance or collecting homework. Here it can be helpful to set up routines so that these things happen quickly with minimal disruption. For example, teachers can place a tray on the corner of the desk so that students always place their work there as soon as they come in.