TOPIC 2: CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT: APPROACHES,

THEORIES AND MODELS

DEFINITION
APPROACHES

THEORIES

Assumptions or
beliefs based on
theoretical
principles on
dealing with
instructional
behaviour, pupil
behaviour &
classroom
management

Principles that
provide the
foundation for
classroom
management
approaches &
strategies

Appropriate way to
manage a
classroom

Focuses on
psychological
aspects of human
behaviour &
interactions
between teachers
and pupils

MODELS

Specific strategies
& techniques used
to manage
instructional
behaviour &
student behaviour
in the classroo
Examples:
Authoritarian
approaches
( Canters Assertive
& Skinners
Behaviour
Modification
Models)
Socio-psychological
approaches (Kounin
& Jones Models)
Socio-cultural
approaches (Inner
discipline &
Discipline without
stress)

AUTHORITARIAN CLASSROOM
MANAGEMENT (POWER TYPES &
POWER BASES)

Teachers
have full
responsibili
ty for
regulating
the
classroom

Entirely in
power &
deal
forcefully &
quickly with
misbehavio
ur

Devise &
enforce
specific
rules to
control
pupil
behaviour
in the
classroom

Examples:
i) Skinners
Behaviour
Modificatio
n
ii) Jones
Positive
Classroom
Descipline
iii) Canters
Assertive
Discipline

Teachers shape pupil

behaviour through
systematic
reinforcement

SKINNERS BEHAVIOUR
MODIFICATION MODEL

Examples: Rewards
& negative
reinforcement

Teacher sets clear

limits & organize
the classroom
effectively
Teachers provide
engaging lessons,
helping pupils with
work problems &
giving incentives to
provide
responsibility

Effectiveness &
efficiency of
teachers behaviour
in getting pupils to
get involved in the
learning process

JONES
POSITIVE
CLASSRO
OM
DISCIPLIN
E

Teachers &
pupils have
rights in the
classroom

Teachers get
pupils to fully
comply to
rules without
violating the
interest of the
pupils

CANTERS
ASSERTIV
E
DISCIPLIN
E
Teachers set
clear rules of
behaviour &
expectations
& enforce
them clearly
through a
discipline
hierarchy of
consequences

Teachers have
to
communicate
needs &
requirement to
pupils clearly
& firmly &
respond with
appropriate
actions.

BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION

Reinforcement
principles

3 types of
consequences:
-positive
reinforcement:
rewards, praises,
stickers & tokens
-negative
reinforcement: giving
pupils extra weekend
homework

Pupils will change

their behaviour in
order to get desired
rewards

2 levels of
punishments:
Punishment Iundesirable stimulus.
Exp: private
reprimand,isolation/t
rip to headmasters
office is given to
pupils who commit
undesirble actions
Punishment II-actions
of removing/with
holding a
desired/anticipated
positive stimulus.
Exp: pupils have free
time/be excluded
from some fun
activities as
watching movies
Use of tokens is a
reinforcement
system-pupils earn
tokens for their
academic
performance &
positive classroom
behaviours.

Learning
through social
interaction
between
teacher and
student

Higher learner
achievement

Developing
interpersonal or
intrapersonal
skills, social
competence
and empathy

GROUP
PROCESSES IN
THE
CLASSROOM/
A SOCIALPSYCHOLOGICA
L VIEW

Develop
positive
attitudes
toward school &
ESL teaching
and learning

High selfesteem in
pupils

ELEMENTS OF POSITIVE CLASSROOM

CLIMATE & CHARACTERISTICS OF
EFFECTIVE TEACHERS
Classroom Climate

Effective Teachers

Emotional tones
Pupils self concept
& motivational
satisfactions &
frustrations
Physical
movements, body
gestures, seating
patters & verbal
interactions

Leadership styles
Effective
communication
Levels of friendship
High expectations
Classroom norms
Managing conflict

Introduction to Kounins Model

Kounin's model focuses on preventive
discipline techniques and strategies designed
to prevent the occurrence of discipline problems
in the first place

Good classroom management depends on

effective lesson management.

Kounin's key ideas include the "withitness,"

"overlapping," group focus, and movement
management

Kounins Principle Teachings

Teacher need to be more attentive to all aspects
of classroom.
Effective teacher keep students attentive and
actively involved.
Teacher should be able to attend to two
event/activities at the same time.
Activities should be enjoyable and challenging.

Whithitness
Teacher's awareness of what is going on in all
parts of the classroom at all times or commonly
refer as "having eyes in the back of the head."
Exp:

If students are off-task and fooling around, the

teacher needs to send a clear message that
communicates to the students that the teacher
sees that they are not working and they need to
get started.

The effectiveness of withitness is increased when

the teacher can correctly identify the student
who is the instigator of the incident.

Teacher who target the wrong student for a

desist or a reprimand are perceived by the

students are not knowing what is really
going on.

Teacher

should intervene early and quickly

in dealing with misbehavior. Failure to do
so allows the misbehavior to spread.

Overlapping

Kounin states that overlapping is the ability to

attend to two issues at the same time.
Exp:
A teacher can deal effectively with an interruption
while keeping an eye on the happenings across the
gym.

Kounin found that teachers who are skilled at

overlapping were also more aware of what is going on
in the classroom.

Students are more likely to stay on-task if they

know that the teacher is aware of what they are
doing and can help them when needed.

Movement Management

Kounin's research revealed an important

relationship between student behavior and
movement within and between lessons.

Notes:
Movement = pacing/momentum/transitions
physical movement of teacher or students in
the class

Teachers' ability to move smoothly from one

activity to the next, and to maintain momentum
within an activity has a great deal to do with their
effectiveness in controlling behavior in the
classroom.

In smooth transitions, student attention is

turned easily from one activity to another, thus
keeping student attention on the task at hand.

Group Focus

The ability to keep members of the class or group paying

attention to the task is essential in maintaining an efficient
classroom and reducing student misbehaviour.

Effective grouping maximizes active participation and

keeps students engaged in learning.

There are two techniques that can be used by the teacher

during conducting a lesson in the class.

Technique

Function/Aim

Accountab Powerful force in

keeping students
ility
on-task

Alerting

Ways to
measure

Advantages

Recordkeeping
Public
recognition
Skill testing
Written work.

When students
know that they
will be held
accountable for
their learning and
behavior and
teachers know
how each student
is progressing,
student
misbehavior
decreases.

Focusing the

attention of group Demonstration

Using
questions to
check students
understanding
Varying the

Students become
more alert and
give more
attention during
the
lesson/activities
conducted by

Conclusion

The techniques advocated by Kounin for class

control are all intended to create and maintain a
classroom atmosphere conducive to learning. By
keeping students busily and happily engaged,
behaviour problems are reduced to a minimum.
Kounin does not believe that teachers' personality
traits are particularly important in classroom
control. What is important, he insists, is teacher's
ability to manage groups and lessons.

THE JONES MODEL

According to Fredric Jones,
classroom discipline is the
business of enforcing classroom
standards and building patterns of
cooperation to maximize learning
and minimize disruptions.
In order to make Positive Discipline
successful, these four components
are needed: limit setting, good
body language, incentive systems,
and giving help efficiently.

LIMIT SETTING
Establishment of classroom
boundaries for appropriate
behaviour.
Limits should include the
formation of rule of behaviour,
descriptions of appropriate work
behaviour, procedures for
getting supplies and materials,
instruction on what to do when
stuck on seatwork and what to
do when finished with assigned

BODY LANGUAGE
Set of physical mannerisms that
tend to get pupils back to work,
the most effective of which are
physical proximity to pupils,
direct eye contact, body
position, facial expressions and
tone of voice.

INCENTIVE SYSTEMS
Can be used effectively to keep
pupils on task and to get them
to complete their work.
Examples: giving time to read,
use of educational games, etc

GIVING HELP EFFICIENTLY

Related to time on task
Teacher should cut the time limit
of helping individual pupils who
are having difficulty with
seatwork to reduce the tendency
of pupils to work only when the
teacher is standing near them.

SOCIO-CULTURAL
Classroom consists of different pupils of a
different ethnic background and social
setting
Teacher should have these 5 expectations:
A teacher should recognize his/her own
ethnocentrism and biases
A teacher should know his/her pupils
cultural backgrounds
A teacher should understand the broader
social, economic and political context

 A teacher should be able and willing to use

culturally appropriate management
strategies
A teacher should commit to building a
caring classroom

THEORIES AND MODELS

OF CLASSROOM
MANAGEMENT

1.1 BUILDING THE FOUNDATION

(SKINNER, GLASSER AND GORDON)

The Skinners Model of Shaping Desired

Behaviour

Behaviour can be
shaped by systematic
application application
of reinforcement

Pupils who misbehave

are denied desired
rewards/punished

Reinforcers can be
teacher praise, good
grades,stickers/appropr
iate vouchers

KEY IDEAS
Behaviour is shaped by its
consequences
Reinforcement (rewards) can shape
pupils behaviour in desired
directions
Behaviour becomes weaker if not
allowed by reinforcement

Behaviour is weakened by
punishment
Constant reinforcement
produces the best result in the
early stage of learning
Behaviour modification
successfully uses various types of
reinforcers

Social reinforcers: verbal comments,

facial expression & gestures
Graphic reinforcers: marks & stars
Activity reinforcers: free time &
collaborating with a friend
Tangible reinforcers: prizes & printed
awards

GLASSERS MODEL OF CHOICE

THEORY

Glassers Model has 2

main AIMS:
Provide a classroom environment &
curriculum which motivate pupils &
reduce inappropriate behaviour by
meeting pupils basic needs for
belongiing, power, fun & freedom
Helping pupils make appropriate
behavioral choices that lead ultimately
to personal success

KEY IDEAS
Pupils are rational beings;
they dont control their own
behaviour; they choose to
act the way they do
Good choices produce good
behaviour and bad choices
produce bad behaviour

Reasonable consequences
should always follow pupils
behaviour

Classroom meetings-for class

rules, behaviour & discipline
Teacher must always try to
help pupils make good
choices
Teachers who truly care
about their pupils accept no
excuses for bad behaviour
Class rules are essential &
must be enforced

Behaviour is a matter of choice

GLASSERS
VIEWS
ABOUT
DISCIPLINE
Good behaviour results
from good choices and
bad behaviour results
from bad choices

A teachers duty is to help

pupils make good choices

ACCORDING TO
GLASSER..
Pupils are capable
of understanding
what is generally
regarded as
acceptable school
behaviour & can
choose to behave
in acceptable ways
Teacher refuses to
accept excuses for
Teacher
bad behaviour.
encourages them
Instead, the
to acknowledge
teacher directs the
their behaviour &
pupils attention
evaluate on their
to more
behaviour
acceptable
behaviour

Emphasise
pupils
responsibili
ty
Establish
rules that
lead to
success

Be
persistent

TEACHERS
RESPONSIBIL
ITIES
Provide
reasonable
consequen
ces

Call for
value
judgement

Accept no
excuses

GORDONS MODEL
Importance of developing meaning & mutually
beneficial relationships
How pupils conflict can be resolved in a way
that will improve their relationships with their
teacher & peers
Rejects traditional models of reward &
punishment because they are based upon an
assertion of power & foster no intrinsic
motivation

KEY IDEAS

AUTHORITY
PROBLEM-OWNERSHIP
BEHAVIOUR WINDOW
I MESSAGES
YOU MESSAGES
CONFRONTATIVE I MESSAGES
SHIFTING GEARS
WIN-LOSE CONFLICT RESOLUTION
NO-LOSE CONFLICT RESOLUTION
DOOR OPENERS
ACTIVE LISTENING
VALUES COLLISIONS

THEORIES OF ASSERTIVE TACTICS

: LEE & MARLENE CANTERS
Organized, teacher incharge classroom
management

Pupil compliance is
imperative in creating
& maintaining an
effective & efficient
learning environment

Teacher must react

assertively, as
opposed to
aggresively/ nonassertively

Teacher have the right

to determine what is
best for pupils & to
expect compliance

No pupil should
prevent you from
teaching or keep
another pupil from
learning

Rewards &
punishments
are effective

Teacher creates
an optimal
learning
environment

Teachers are
assertive

KEY
IDE
AS

Both teacher &

pupils have
rights to feel
comfortable

Teacher apply
rules & enforce
consequences
consistently
without
bias/discriminati
on

THEORIES OF DEMOCRATIC
TEACHING
Every action of the pupils is grounded in the idea
that he is seeking his place in the group.
A well-adjusted pupil will conform to the requirement
of the group by making valuable contributions.
A pupil who misbehaves will defy the needs of the
group situation in order to maintain social status.
By doing so, the pupil believes that this is the only
way he/she can function within the group dynamic
successfully.
his goal may occasionally vary or seek revenge at
another (Dreikurs,1968)

THEORIES OF INSTRUCTIONAL
MANAGEMENT: JACOB KOUNIN
Important because without some
idea on how to control the pupils in
an ESL classroom there will be chaos.
The most important aspect of
teaching pupils is classroom
management.

THEORIES OF CONGRUENT
COMMUNICATION: HAIM GINOTT

Effective classroom
management depends a lot
on the way in which the
teacher interacts with
students

Teacher is a decisive element

in the classroom, who can
shape students in anyway
depending on the teachers
behaviour

Promotes the use of

congruent messages & to
respect students as they are
for effective classroom
management

Congruent communication is
open, harmonious with
pupils feelings about
themselves and their
situations and without
sarcasm

THEORIES OF CONGRUENT
COMMUNICATION: HAIM GINOTT

Congruent communication
sends sane messages about
a situation that involves a
pupil, but not the personality
or character of the pupil

Messages are used to guide

pupils away from inappropriate
behaviour

Teachers should avoid using

evaluative praise as it is
destructive to the pupils
character. Instead, teachers
should resort to use
appreciative praise as it
shows appreciation for what
the pupil has done & the effort
taken.

Both teachers & pupils should

interact appropriately to
maintain positive classroom
behaviour.

CONGRUENT COMMUNICATION CAN BE ACHIEVED

WHEN TEACHERS:

Promote self-discipline for both

teachers and pupils
Believe the essence of discipline is
finding effective alternatives to
discipline
Accept & acknowledge pupils without
labeling, arguing, disputing or
belittling the individual

 Avoid evaluative praise & use

appreciative praise instead
Avoid saying you and I
messages to pupils
Demonstrate their best behaviours
Invite rather than demand pupil
cooperation