The Unteachables Podcast
Welcome to 'The Unteachables Podcast', your go-to resource for practical classroom management strategies and teacher support. I’m your host, Claire English, a passionate secondary teacher and leader turned teacher mentor and author of 'It's Never Just About the Behaviour: A Holistic Approach to Classroom Behaviour Management.' I'm on a mission to help educators like you transform your classrooms, build confidence, and feel empowered.
Why am I here? Not too long ago, I was overwhelmed by low-level classroom disruptions and challenging behaviors. After thousands of hours honing my skills in real classrooms and navigating ups and downs, I’ve become a confident, capable teacher ready to reach every student—even those with the most challenging behaviors. My journey inspired me to support teachers like you in mastering effective classroom strategies that promote compassion, confidence, and calm.
On The Unteachables Podcast, we’ll dive into simple, actionable strategies that you can use to handle classroom disruptions, boost student engagement, and create a positive learning environment.
You'll hear from renowned experts such as:
Bobby Morgan of the Liberation Lab
Marie Gentles, behavior expert behind BBC's 'Don't Exclude Me' and author of 'Gentles Guidance'
Robyn Gobbel, author of 'Raising Kids with Big Baffling Behaviours'
Dr. Lori Desautels, assistant professor and published author
And many more behaviour experts and mentors.
Angela Watson from the Truth for Teachers Podcast.
Whether you’re an early career teacher, a seasoned educator, or a teaching assistant navigating classroom challenges, this podcast is here to help you feel happier, empowered, and ready to make an impact with every student.
Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode packed with classroom tips and inspiring conversations that make a real difference!
The Unteachables Podcast
#114: Quick Win Challenge! Use this technique for smooth, stress-free, and energy-saving transitions.
In today’s episode, I’m sharing a simple yet powerful transition technique that can help you regain student attention without raising your voice or using unnecessary energy.
Transitions can be one of the trickiest parts of classroom management. Picture this: students are engaged in a group task, there’s movement, chatter, and productive chaos, but now you need to bring them back to whole-class instruction. Rather than calling for attention repeatedly, try this:
- Play transition music—a predetermined song that signals to students it’s time to shift back.
- Project your laptop screen onto the board and type your instructions in big, bold font for students to follow.
This method is non-verbal, calm, direct, and engaging. It saves your voice, adds a bit of novelty, and helps students smoothly transition without unnecessary disruption. Listen in for tips on making this work effectively in your classroom.
Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!
RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:
- Shop all resources
- Join The Behaviour Club
- My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management
- The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
- Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'
Connect with me:
- Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
- Check out my website
Welcome to your weekly Classroom Management Quick Win Challenge. True classroom management is not how we address behavior when it pops up. Instead, it is a compounding effect of many, many micro decisions we make in our teaching practice before the behavior even pops up. In these Quick Win episodes, I'm handing over one actionable, small but mighty tool to help you move the needle every single week to stop crowd controlling and to start calmly classroom managing like a pro. Let's dive into this week's game changing challenge. Hey there, teacher, welcome back to the quick win challenge for the week and for today's challenge I wanted to talk about transitions. Just say students are off doing a group task and there's lots of movement, there's lots of chatter, lots of productive chaos and you're ready to bring things back to whole class instruction Rather than standing there and trying to get yourself noticed. Here's what you can try, and I love using this strategy, especially when I am exhausted and don't want to stand there using my energy.
Speaker 1:I did this one every day when I was heavily pregnant. So first I put some music on that I've predetermined with my class. That is transition music. So when they hear that, it non-verbally signals to them to start getting back to their desks or packing up. I then pair this with projecting my laptop screen up on the board and just typing up my instructions, big and bold font, to grab their attention and type one instruction after the other as they look up and read and follow it. It is so effective, it is non-verbal, it is calm, it is direct, it has a little novelty, it saves your voice. Just make sure the sentences are really simple and direct. You don't want to put in too much fluff and confuse your students, because it could then have the complete opposite effect, also treat it like a nonverbal. So type that first sentence up and quietly wait for students to start noticing it and following it, and then watch as the rest come on board as well. You can use some verbal reinforcements focusing on those students following the instructions. So, oh, james is first up. Great work, jenny. I can see you reading, I can see you following the instructions. Just try it this week and let me know how it goes. That was a very quick win because it is such a quick thing to explain and as a very quick thing to implement, and please give it a go and see how you like it.
Speaker 1:If you are liking the Unteachables podcast and these quick win episodes. Please be sure to head over and leave me a review. It would mean the absolute world to me and it helps immensely getting this podcast into the hands of teachers who need it the most. Because you're here listening so you know that the support, the actionable support, the tangible support, the tangible support around classroom management sucks. It's just either really crappy or non-existent. So it would be brilliant to be able to get this podcast into the hands of teachers who need it the most. If you have a teacher friend who you think could use this support, send it their way. Pick your favorite episode, send it along and that's it. That's enough begging from me today. I will see you in the next episode. Bye for now.
