Classroom Management and Body Language

I feel that there are two things that are necessary for student success in an academic setting.  First, classroom management.  Without proper classroom management, students will be out of control and gain very little from your efforts as a teacher.  Second, rigorous and relevant content.  With serious content that will challenge your students, they will be less likely to get off topic.

In some cases the necessity of classroom management will overshadow the content being presented. In this instance students become off track.  In class discussions when one student is speaking and another interrupts them, often times I will simply hold up my hand in a "stop" motion to the student who is interrupting.

It looks a bit like this.

  With one hand you let one student know that their talking is out of time.  By maintaining eye contact with the original student, you reinforce their behavior.

Has anyone else used this method of classroom management?  What do you all do to maintain control of the class?

Thanks for dropping by,

D. Roach