Ways to use current research, case studies, books, journals and articles.
Classroom Management – A Definition
Classroom management refers to actions taken to create and maintain order in the classroom that enable instruction to take place.
What can research on classroom management help you with?
Research on classroom management introduces teachers to a variety of methods and ideas that will help to minimize behavior disruptions in the classroom. It can also provide prospective teachers with the skills to select the appropriate strategies. In the end, teachers will be able to devote more time to teaching and less time dealing with discipline problems.
Classroom Management Resources: A Case Study
Many articles on classroom management, especiallyin High School classes, deal with case studies. A case study is a problem-centered story about a teaching situation. Most have a dilemma or a problem that the teacher must resolve. There will never be one right solution as it is in real classroom situations. There will be better or worse solutions depending on the analysis one uses to understand the problem.
Check this student’s analysis of a particular classroom management situation she faced with a group of high school students.
How can case studies help your classroom management techniques and skills?
- Read the case for an overview in terms of what it is about, what happened, who the main characters are, what are the main problems.
- Analyze the case. Make a list of problems and an understanding of the causes of these problems.
- Return to the classroom management journals and articles looking for theories that can easily be related to the case study.
- Develop solutions. Use relevant theories from the readings to support your solutions. Ultimately, cases call for solutions to problems, not to determine the one right answer but to focus analysis and to prepare you for a real world of teacher action and decision-making. Since there are no perfect decision, be sure you understand both weakness and the strengths of your solutions.
Classroom Management Resources (book, journals, articles)
Classroom Management for Elementary Teachers (A classroom management book by Evert and Emmer)
Assertive Discipline - Canter and Canter
Praise as a Classroom Management Tool
Over to You
Now that you are able to use classroom management theory to analyze classroom situations in order to solve problems, try using your own classroom management experiences to find your own solutions.
Read previous articles on classroom management.
Remember: the educational value is in the analysis of the authentic classroom problems, development and evaluation of possible solutions
