Classroom Management

Definition It is a dimension of effective teaching, and a process through

which an effective classroom environment is created (Good and Brophy, 1997).

It focuses on student behaviour, especially discipline problems, and deals with issues of low learning motivation and poor self-esteem (Campbell, 1999).

It refers broadly to all activities that teachers carry out in the classroom. It aims to promote student involvement and cooperation (Sanford et al., 1983, cited in Jones and Jones, 2001).

It emphasizes the educational value of promoting the growth of students. Its focus is also on proactive and developmental classroom practices, rather than those with negative features of control and punishment (McCaslin and Good, 1992).

Some Terms Classroom behaviour: This refers to the actions or reactions of

classroom participants. The behavior of an individual is complex as it is controlled not just by the nervous system but also by the social context in which she/he participates.

Discipline: This is the act of responding to misbehaving students in an effort to restore and maintain order, authority and control. It is also considered to be a form of training, aimed at influencing students’ moral and mental development in ways which promote self-control, self-discipline and self-management.

Misbehavior: This refers to behavior that interferes with teaching, violating the right of other students to learn, and sometimes makes them feel psychologically uncomfortable and physically unsafe.

Martin and Sugarman (1993, p.9): Classroom management concerns "those activities…that create a positive classroom climate within which effective teaching and learning can occur"

Good classroom management creates an atmosphere that permits activities to be carried on efficiently and economically maximizing the time, effort and energy of both the teacher and the students.

Classroom Management Approaches1. The Self-Discipline Approach The self-discipline approach is built on the premise that

students can be trusted to evaluate and change their actions so their behaviors are beneficial and appropriate to everyone.

2. The Instructional Approach The premise that forms the basis for the instructional

approach to classroom management is that well-planned and well-implemented instruction will prevent most classroom problems.

3. The Desist Approach The desist approach to classroom management gives the

teacher full responsibility for regulating the classroom.

Classroom Management Approaches cotd.

Burden’s (1995) approach1. The Intervening Model which consists of high control

approaches includes Behavior Modification, Assertive Discipline, ….

2. The Interacting Model which are medium-control approaches include Logical Consequences, Cooperative Discipline, Positive Classroom Discipline, Noncoersive Discipline, ….

3. The Guiding Model which can also be called as low-control approaches include Congruent Communication, Group Management, Discipline as Self-Control, Teaching with Love and Logic, …..

Rogers and Freiberg (1994) identified two approaches based on the locus of control in the classroom as organizer; teacher- and student-centered approaches.Lewis’s (1997) : a continuum of discipline styles containing two extremes :1- from the model of control in which the teacher adopts interventionist strategies 2- to the model of influence where pupils have the power to decide on their own behavior In the middle of the continuum lies the model of management in which all members of the class are responsible for regulating their own behavior through interactionist strategies, and set rules and design consequences for misbehavior

Challenges of Classroom Management Multidimensional, full of simultaneous activities,

fast-paced and immediate, unpredictable, public, and affected by the history of students and teachers actions.

A manager must juggle all these elements every day.

Productive classroom activity requires students' cooperation.

Maintaining cooperation is different for each age group.

General goals of classroom management to make ample time for learning; to improve the quality of time use by keeping students

actively engaged; to make sure participation structures are clear,

straightforward, and consistently signaled; and to encourage student self-management, self-control,

and responsibility. Eggen and Kauchak (1997): two major goals of : (a) to create a learning environment which is conducive to

learning; (b) to develop in students a sense of responsibility and

self-regulation in maintaining it.

General goals contd. 1. More time for learning. Obviously, students will learn only the material they have

a chance to learn. So, one important goal of classroom management is to expand the sheer number of minutes available for learning. This is sometimes called allocated time.

Basically, students will learn what they practice and think about (Doyle, 1983). The time spent actively involved in specific learning tasks is often called engaged time, or sometimes time on task.

When students are working with a high rate of success – really learning and understanding-we call the time spent academic learning time.

General goals contd 2. Access to learning Each classroom activity has its own rules for

participation. Sometimes these rules are clearly stated by the teacher, but often they are implicit and unstated. Teacher and students may not even be aware that they are following different rules for different activities.

For example, in a reading group students may have to raise their hands to make a comment, but in a show-and-tell circle in the same class they may simply have to catch the teacher's eye.

General goals contd 3. Management for Self-Management. The third goal of any management system is to

help students become better able to manage themselves.

The movement from demanding obedience to teaching self-regulation and self-control

Students learn self-control by making choices and dealing with the consequences, setting goals and priorities, managing time, collaborating to learn, mediating disputes

Specific goals of classroom management

First, It is a necessary condition for the creation of a supportive, respectful learning environment. Effective teaching and learning can take place only if there is good order and a positive learning climate in the classroom.

Second, it is a proactive and developmental way to promote the growth of students, in terms of their personal, social and emotional selves.

Classroom Management is maintaining order in the classroom. So,

- Teachers need to create an environment that promotes learning.

- Teachers are responsible for helping students manage and direct their own learning.

Trends in Classroom Management Traditional: Preventing Learners’ Misbehavior1. teachers to maintain order and discipline2. inappropriate behavior must be stopped 3. Managing the classroom can be the establishment of

order and keeping control Recent: Learners’ Engagement 1. preventive measures can enhance self-discipline2. to create classrooms as engaging as possible3. teachers need personal plans to deal with misbehavior

in order to minimize the disruption to classroom teaching and learning

How can teachers encourage engagement?1. The format of a lesson affects student involvement. 2. In general, as teacher supervision increases,

students' engaged time also increases. 3. When the task provides continuous cues for the

student about what to do next, involvement will be greater.

4. Activities with clear steps are likely to be more absorbing, because one step leads naturally to the next.

5. Making work requirement clear and specific, providing needed materials, and monitoring activities all add to engagement.

Three Cs of establishing a classroom community

Cooperative Community: Classroom management begins by establishing a community based on cooperative learning. At the heart of the community is the idea of positive interdependence-individuals working Together to achieve mutual goals.

Constructive Conflict Resolution: Constructive conflict resolution is essential in the community because conflicts are inevitable and even necessary for learning.

Civic Values: They are understandings and beliefs that hold the community together. Values are learned through direct teaching, modeling, literature, group discussions, and the sharing of concerns.

When to Intervene1. Harmful behavior (e.g. bullying)2. Distracting behavior (e.g. playing with toys in

the classroom)3. Testing behavior (e.g. challenging a teacher’s

authority)4. Antisocial behavior (e.g. disengagement)5. Contagious behavior (e.g. talking with a

neighbor).

Woolfolk et al’s (2003) seven levels of intervention

make eye contact or use other nonverbal signals, try verbal hints such as simply inserting the student's name into

the lecture ask if the offender is aware of the negative effects of the actions remind the student of the procedure and have her or him follow

it correctly ask the student to state the correct rule or procedure and then to

follow it move to telling the student in a clear, assertive, and unhostile

way to stop the misbehavior offer a choice-stop the behavior or meet privately to work out

the consequences.

Strategies for Managing Misbehavior

The four levels of intervention strategies1. level of teachers “doing nothing” that is,

permitting or tolerating misbehavior 2. non-verbal intervention (gestures)3. verbal intervention 4. the use of logical consequences for

influencing student misbehavior

Permit/tolerate non-verbal verbal logical consequences

Level 1 (non-interference strategies )1) permitting misbehavior Allowing certain behavior in the classroom does

not mean that the teacher passively accepts misbehavior or off-task behavior, but is an indication of what is and is not allowed.

2) tolerating misbehavior For example, students sometimes make logical

mistakes; and when a student is coughing in class due to having influenza, a teacher can do little more than ensuring that he/she uses a handkerchief to reduce disturbing others.

Level 2 : Nonverbal Skills1) Planned ignoring Planned ignoring refers to neglecting off-task behavior in a

deliberate manner. It is based on the behaviorist theory, according to which disruptive behavior is often reinforced by the attention given to it by the teacher and peers in the classroom, and ignoring it reduces its occurrence.

2) Signal interference Signal interference refers to any kind of body language which

communicates to the student not to misbehave3) Proximity interference In proximity interference, the teacher closes the distance

between him/herself and the student who is misbehaving, usually by moving close to the off-task student while conducting the lesson as usual.

Advantages of non-verbal coping skills

They produce the least disturbance to the classroom. Off-task behavior is tackled while the teaching and

learning processes continue. They appear to the off-task student to be “private”,

without letting others know about the problem. Since there is no explicit identification of the problem

student, they do not embarrass the person involved. The likelihood of hostile confrontation is greatly

minimized because there is no public intervention. The student is given freedom to discipline him/herself.

Level 3: the use of verbal interference Humor for less serious problems Verbal intervention +doing some actions for more serious problems (put

away your…..)1) Praising peers Teachers often try to stop disruptive behavior by not commenting on it

and instead praising a student or group of pupils exhibiting the desired behavior, in the hope that the deviant will notice this and follow their example.

2) Boosting interest Boosting students’ interest is a useful way for a teacher to show care and

sensitivity and, indirectly, it helps in building up good relationships. 3) Calling on students4) Using humor as a tension-breaker5) Asking questions6) Requests and demands

Level 4: logical consequences. This is the most explicit kind of interference in the classroom,

which not only conveys the seriousness of the misbehavior to the student but also sends a message to others that it cannot be tolerated any longer.

Consequences: (a) Natural consequences occur automatically as a result of a

particular behavior. They are inevitable and result directly from the student’s actions if there is no intervention to prevent it happening.

(b) Logical consequences, in contrast, are deliberately planned and carried out by the teacher.

(c) Arbitrary consequences imposed by the teacher on students are not related to the misbehavior and are often seen by the students as retribution.

Punishment: contrived and coercive Consequences: the outcomes related to misbehavior

Assertive, Passive, and Hostile Response Styles

The passive style can take several forms. Instead of telling the student directly what to do, the teacher simply comments on the behavior, asks the student to think about the appropriate action, or threatens but never follows trough.

In a hostile response style, teachers may make "you" statements that condemn the student with without stating clearly what the student should be doing. An assertive response communicates to the students that the teacher cares too much about them and the process of learning to allow inappropriate behavior to persist.

Assertive teachers clearly state what they expect.

Thanks a lot for your patience &

precious timeYousefi