About this skill
Voice control includes the tone, pitch, volume and pace you use to deliver instruction. Tone is the mood of your voice, pitch is how high or low your voice is, volume is how loud or quiet your voice is, and pace is the speed of your speech. Controlling your voice means moving between two registers – regular voice and assertive voice – for different purposes and to different effect. Effective voice control, along with body language, models and maintains a calm and measured approach to behaviour and contributes to a positive and inviting classroom culture.
Effective classroom management creates safe and supportive learning environments for all students. This practice guide is part of a suite of foundational resources for beginning teachers, teachers working in new environments, or experienced teachers who want to refine or refresh specific elements of their classroom management practice. They can be used to individually reflect on and refine one’s own practice, or as shared resources to support mentoring and other collaborative and whole-school approaches to improving classroom management.
Related practice resources to refine other skills focus on acknowledgement and praise, circulation, clear communication, deliberately pausing, non-verbal correction and scanning.
See Classroom management resources: User guide for more information.
Keywords: engagement, disruption, disruptive behaviour