The Inquiry Question
How can classroom management strategies be used to keep students on task while enhancing student engagement and learning?
Introduction
One of my takeaways from my short practicum is that classroom management is very important not only because it ensures order in the classroom but also because good classroom management enables students to focus on learning without distraction. I watched my school advisors effectively manage their classes during practicum observation and took a lot of notes. But when it was my turn to practice teach, I discovered that managing a class well was not as easy as it seemed. I failed to notice that a few students at the back were on the phone; I occasionally talked over the students. Although no serious damage occurred, I realized that classroom management is an area where I need to improve.
I have taught secondary school students in academy settings for a few years. Teaching in a public secondary school is a slightly different experience. I watched my school advisors manage their classrooms and observed how some of the routines they followed seemed to work well on their students. I am interested in finding out whether my research would corroborate their practices, or point to additional classroom management strategies that I can use in my class.
Background
According to one scholarly definition, classroom management refers to a set of techniques and skills that allow a teacher to control students effectively in order to foster a positive learning environment for all students (Stenberg & Williams, 2009). Ever since public schooling became a social institution, classroom management has been a subject of interest to educators and teachers as they seek to keep students engaged and organized as a precondition for learning. Classroom management has also been a subject of research for years. In the interest of relevance, this inquiry focuses on research that has been done over the last decade or two that address classroom management issues that teachers grapple with in today’s secondary schools in North America.
Most of the research work I have managed to find fall into two broad categories: 1) papers and studies that share practical, evidence-based strategies that enhance classroom management and student learning; 2) research that focuses on the social and emotional developmental challenges youth face that give rise to classroom management issues. Such research gives the strategies experienced and novice teachers practice in their classrooms a theoretical underpinning.
The following is a report on what I have found in the process of this inquiry.
New Understandings
The literature of classroom management strategies and practices is rich and varied in both the kind of advice practitioners and experts dispense and the analysis and theorizing that underlie such advice. And as times change, the focus of teachers’ practice and researchers’ work also have evolved to reflect the changing nature and types of classroom management issues that call for attention. The bulk of the research surveyed in this inquiry addresses the most common classroom management issues found in today’s North American secondary schools.
I. Common Classroom Management Issues
Classroom management issues North-American secondary school teachers find in their classrooms include a long list of behaviors, attitudes, and sentiments. The following are the common issues that are of particular interest to me as they speak to my practicum experience and therefore served as a guide as I navigated through the maze of literature on classroom management:
Side chatter
Chronic lateness
Unauthorized use of computer
Staying on phone during class time
Open defiance of school and classroom rules
Questionable excuses for bathroom visits
Boredom and lack of interest
Disrespect for diversity
Going off-task
Other disruptive behaviors
In the following two sections I will reference the above behaviors wherever applicable as I review the practices of experienced and new teachers and the research findings, and contemplate how I may apply some of those teachers’ practices and use the research findings to inform my decisions during my practicum. Such reflections will be italicized to facilitate easy reference.
II. Practices of experienced and novice teachers
The first category of papers that I have found shares strategies that have proved to work in enhancing classroom management and student learning. The following is a summary of the papers I have surveyed and found particularly relevant and informative.
Zuckerman’s paper (2007) of student teachers’ successful strategies stands out for the comprehensiveness and practical appeal of the recommended strategies. Here, Zuckerman identified a list of classroom management and discipline strategies new teachers practice in their secondary school classrooms. Of these he highlights three strategies for dealing with classroom discipline problems that novice teachers can successfully use during their first weeks of student teaching. The strategies are 1) changing the pace of the lesson; 2) using the least intrusive intervention tactics; 3) conferring privately with the chronically disruptive student. Based on empirical data, this paper offers highly practical strategies for new teachers to manage their classes. The following is a recap of strategies he identifies in the practices of the group of new teachers he studied.
Classroom Management in Secondary Schools
| Prevention | |
| Lesson Planning, Preparation and Execution | |
| Classroom Routines | |
| Classroom Rules | |
| Classroom Norms | |
| Seating (Re)arrangements | |
| Managing Common Discipline Problems | |
| Proactive Interventions | Reactive Interventions |
| Changing Pace | Non Verbal |
| Non-punitive Time Out | Sequence of Nonverbal to Verbal |
| Interest Boosting | Verbal |
| Redirecting Off-Task Behavior | |
| Cues | |
| Managing Chronically Disruptive Children | |
| Proactive Interventions | Reactive Interventions |
| Relationship Building | Changing a Seat |
| Breaking the Discouragement Cycle | Conferring |
| Record Keeping | |
Source: Zuckerman (2007)
What makes Zuckerman’s strategies particularly interesting to me is his dual approach to classroom management – prevention vs. remedy, and proactive vs. reactive. In essence, he recognizes the need for foresight, preparation and proactive planning and the practicality of remedial, reactive interventions in classroom situations as mutually reinforcing and inherently complementary. This approach gives new teachers valuable tools in both anticipating classroom management challenges and coping with them when they do happen.
I believe that I can apply many of the strategies discussed in Zuckerman’s paper in my teaching practice. For instance, I can use preventive measures to set rules and communicate expectations regarding chronic lateness, unauthorized use of computer and/or cell phone, going off-task or other disruptive behavior. I can apply proactive interventions such as interest-boosting if I notice boredom or lack of interest in the class. If the problem persists, I shall reflect on my teaching and consider if improved lesson planning, preparation and execution will help pique and keep student interest.
Another paper that is very informative in exploring the issues involved in managing students’ use of cell phones in school and classroom is Charles’s research (2012), which offers insight into the practices experienced teachers implement in their classrooms and the thinking and dilemmas they struggle with behind their choices. I find the paper particularly relevant to my practice because cell phone use in classroom is pervasive at my practicum school. During my short practicum there, a student was on the phone and went unnoticed for quite a long time while I was teaching at the front. On another occasion three students at the back were using phones during the silent reading period, ostensibly checking spelling.
Recognizing the rampant rule-breaking with respect to cell phone use in classrooms, Charles (2012) recommends the practice of clearly setting the boundaries, communicating teacher expectations of appropriate behavior with social digital tools, and negotiating rules and protocols based on relationships of trust and respect. In terms of approach, Charles appears to favor engaging students in setting the rules, taking the consequences, and honoring the teacher-student relationship. So the approach is primarily preventive and proactive in nature. When abuses do occur, she advises the exercise of discretion in picking and choosing battles.
Upon reflection, I realize that when my school advisers remind their students to put phones away, they are taking preventive measures against potential abuse. Such “gentle” reminders occur quite a few times throughout each class. In addition, my school advisers also circulate the classroom a lot in an act I believe performed to enforce the rules. It would be interesting to know whether the students had participated in setting those rules.
A third paper that I found illuminating is Bucalos’s article on the best kind of teachers adolescents need. Noting the demand being put on teachers by students of increasingly diverse backgrounds and needs, Bucalos (2005) surveys the literature on the dispositional qualities that help teachers become effective classroom “managers”. Four manager qualities essential to the creation of a learning climate are identified: a) caring about adolescents as individuals; b) communicating effectively with appropriate assertiveness; c) attending to diverse needs with differentiated strategies; d) being culturally sensitive. The author then elaborates on ways to acquire or enhance those qualities drawing on research done by other experts. Of particular interest to me is what she reports on developing quality relationships with students, demonstrating appropriate assertiveness, being fair with everyone without treating them the same, and cultivating cultural sensitivity.
On developing quality relationships with students, Bucalos reports the findings of a meta-analysis of over 100 studies, which show “that the quality of teacher-student relationship is the keystone for all other aspects of classroom management and that teachers who had high-quality relationships with their students had 31% fewer discipline problems and rule violations” (2005). She exhorts teachers to show their students that they value their interests, cultures, and life experiences. She also suggests giving students choice when developing curriculum and assigning them work because when the content is “situated within students’ cultures and backgrounds, then good classroom relationships ensue”. (Wolk, 2003 as cited in Bucalos).
Table 1 lists some of the ways teachers use to foster positive relationships with students as are reported by Bucalos.
Table 1: Ways to Foster Positive Teacher-Student Relationships
In elaborating effective communication as a manager quality, Bucalos underscores constructive assertiveness as an integral part of that quality. In order to bring about change in student behavior teachers use appropriate dominance “to provide clear purpose and strong guidance for both behavior and academics” (2005). It is interesting to note that studies found that students actually liked assertive teachers more than permissive ones. Though they sound counterintuitive, such findings may reflect the reality that students gain a sense of direction when teachers set clear behavioral expectations and consequences, clear learning outcomes, and appropriately assertive behavior (Marzano & Marzano, 2003 as cited in Bucalos).Source: R. J. Marzano, J.S. Marzano, and Pickering (2003) and Wolk (2003) as cited in Bucalos
Table 2 summarizes elements of appropriate assertiveness exhibited and practiced by effective classroom “managers”.
Table 2: Elements of Appropriate Assertiveness
Source: Emmer et al. (2003) and R.J. Marzano, J.S. Marzano, and Pickering (2003) as cited in Bucalos
In addition to positive teacher-student relationships and appropriate assertiveness, Bucalos (2005) also emphasizes the importance of using constructive feedback and positive reinforcement as an effective management strategy. To be effective, such feedback and reinforcement should be sincere, well-timed and specific. Frequency and specificity of feedback and reinforcement help preserve teacher-student relationship and effect positive behavioral change.
I find Bucalos’s discussion of fostering teacher-student relationship and giving constructive feedback resonating particularly well with my own philosophy. My experience of teaching and tutoring corroborates much of his theory: fostering strong relationships with your students goes a long way in ensuring that they look up to you as an authority and a resource, but it all begins with you taking an interest in them as individuals and truly caring about their learning by giving them the kind of help they need. I am not sure whether I will need to practice appropriate assertiveness. Regardless, being aware of the few things you can do to assert yourself helps.
In their advice for new teachers planning for their first classes, Roscoe and Orr (2010) suggest that a change in pace is usually sufficient to address minor disruptive behaviors. Such a change may involve circulating the classroom, modifying the ongoing activity, rearranging the seating, or adjusting the volume and tone of one’s voice. Even when further intervention is needed, a low-key approach “that reinforces expectations is more effective with today’s students than enforcing rules and procedures with punishment” (Roscoe & Orr, 2010). Among the recommended low-key intervention measures are eye contact, proximity, pausing, cease-and-desist cues, or quietly saying the offending student’s name. Even higher-key interventions such as offering limited choices or holding a conference with the student outside of class time are designed to minimize disruption to classroom activity, preserve involved parties’ dignity, and stop the disruptions “with minimum outlay of time, effort, and resources” (Roscoe & Orr, 2010).
Roscoe and Orr echo some of the practices Zuckerman discusses such as changing the pace of the lesson and using the least-intrusive interventions to minimize disruption. The escalation from low-key to higher-key interventions corresponds to Zuckerman’s sequence of non-verbal to verbal interventions. In my short practicum, I observed that sometimes one of my school advisors would suddenly stop talking till the whole class quieted down, and then resume instruction or call their attention to something she was about to announce. This is an excellent example of changing the pace of the lesson to get students’ attention.
III. Theories and research that inform teachers’ practices and strategies
In addition to the papers that discuss specific strategies that are evidence-based practices that enhance classroom management and student learning, I have also found a number of research papers that focus on the social and emotional development challenges youth face that give rise to classroom management issues in the first place. Their findings are often used to inform, guide or corroborate many of the teacher practices described in the preceding section. A review of these findings not only sheds light on the theoretical underpinnings of those practices, but also promises to give new teachers, myself included, insight into how adolescent psychology, thought processes, and behavior impact the way secondary school students behave in the classroom, thereby giving novice teachers an independence in developing their own strategies and practices in classroom management down the road.
The first of such research papers is Kate Browne’s work (2013). This is a review of ten primary research articles that discuss strategies used to address commonly occurring challenging behaviors in classrooms: off-task, disruptive, disobedient and inattentive behaviors. It finds that use of positive, reinforcing feedback is effective for increasing positive behavior and, therefore, learning and social outcomes of students. This paper is probably the closest research paper I have found that explores the connection between classroom management strategies and enhanced student engagement.
Grounded in the behaviorist theory that behavior is learned and contextual (Shafer, 2002 as cited in Browne), the evidence-based practices surveyed typically gear interventions towards the creation of learning environments that foster and encourage positive behavior and social skills. Central to these practices is the use of positive reinforcement such as rewards (preferred activities, tangibles, free time, etc.) and/or praise, as well as clear communication about expected classroom behavior. It is hoped that with positive, reinforcing feedback “positive behaviors can be taught to replace negative, challenging behaviors” (Browne, 2013).
At a fundamental level, many of the classroom management strategies practiced by experienced teachers can be traced to the behaviorist theory. The idea of nurturing positive behavior and social skills by using positive reinforcement and setting clearly stipulated expectations informs such practices as rewarding compliant behaviors with praise or preferred activities, co-creating class rules, and holding students to acceptable standards. This approach shall serve as a guiding principle in my future practice.
The second research paper that is related to classroom management is an article by Corso, Bundick, Quaglia, and Haywood (2013). This work zeros in on the dynamics between the three factors that contribute to student engagement. The authors propose a model in which teachers strive to engage students by developing better relationship with them, bringing relevant content into the classroom, and honing pedagogical knowhow (Corso et al., 2013).
I found this article relevant because although it primarily talks about student engagement at the classroom level, the factors that contribute to rapt attention also help teachers manage their classes. When students are absorbed in teacher’s instruction or class activities, there are few classroom management issues to begin with.
In elucidating the interaction between student and class content, the authors emphasize the relevance of class content to students’ current interests, future goals, and identities. As to the teacher-content interaction, the authors cite studies that show how a teacher’s ability to deliver quality instruction, design meaningful tasks involving real-life examples and give students opportunities to think-pair-share contribute to “higher engagement in thought, feeling, and action” (Corso et al., 2013).
The message is clear: the ultimate form of classroom management is no management when a highly supportive learning environment marked by strong teacher-student relationship, intriguing class content and superb pedagogical skills engages students so much that classroom management is rendered redundant.
A third research paper that provides support for classroom management is the paper on school bonding by Catalano, Haggerty, Oesterle, Fleming, and Hawkins (2004). The authors delineate the causal relationship between effective instructional and classroom management methods and enhanced processes of social development that contribute to improved academic performance and school bonding. Results of a series of studies are cited to show how interactive teaching, proactive classroom management, and cooperative learning lead to increased school bonding and achievement and reduced problem behavior. Here, proactive classroom management refers specifically to teachers’ effort to establish “classroom routines at the beginning of the year to create a consistent pattern of expectations” (Catalano et al., 2004). The message is that specific classroom management methods such as clearly spelled out expectations and rewarding of compliant behavior help students develop a sense of bonding to school, which in turn contribute to an improved learning environment for all students.
In their paper, Raby and Domitrek (2007) note the irony in the lack of student input in the setting of rules designed to educate future citizens in participatory democracy. They urge involving students in the rules-setting process because if they are invested in the creation of the rules and consider them fair, they are more inclined to follow them. This finding has important implications for teacher practice. Setting rules and boundaries early in the year has been a widely used proactive classroom management strategy. The idea underlying Raby and Domitrek’s argument appears to be the theoretical foundation for such practices.
The last paper that I found relevant is Solar’s treatment (2011) of the needs of students with an emotional or behavioral disability (EBD). This article shares with the reader ideas on classroom practices that help teachers build trusting relationship with these students. Classroom techniques such as active listening are discussed. I find these ideas relevant because classroom management issues may come from this unique group of students, so understanding them and knowing how to respond to their disruptive behavior will help me better manage my classroom.
Implications and Potential Applications to Practice
The classroom management strategies surveyed in this inquiry are highly practical. Whether they fall into the category of prevention or intervention, they are applicable to my future practice as a teacher. Of particular interest and value to me are the specific strategies that I reviewed that relate to my short practicum experience and observed classroom management issues. The survey of the theories underlying those practices is also a good preparation. Now that I can see the connection between theory and practice, I feel I have the intellectual capacity to develop my own strategies in response to new challenges in the future.
The following is a summary of practical classroom management strategies that I find relevant and potentially helpful:
Clearly communicating expectations
Changing the pace of the lesson
Using nonverbal cues before sequencing to verbal
Boosting interest
Redirecting activities
Having conference outside class time
All of the above-listed strategies easily lend themselves to my addressing of the classroom management challenges I outlined in the beginning of this report. For example, I can address side chatter, chronic lateness, unauthorized use of electronics, and going off-task by clearly setting, communicating and enforcing acceptable behavior and expectations. I can also use a change in the pace of the lesson or nonverbal cues to get the class or individual students refocused and back on task. To address boredom or lack of interest, I can redirect activities. For more chronic or serious disruptions, I can use individual conferences outside class time to look into the behaviors, the underlying contributory factors, and possible remedies more closely.
To be proactive and truly effective, I need to go beyond merely being proficient in applying these evidence-based, practically proven strategies; I should keep abreast of the latest findings in pedagogy, psychology, sociology and other disciplines that shed light on how children and adolescents behave, learn, socialize, and interact with their environment because how current I am on the developments in these disciplines directly and indirectly impact my understanding of student learning, behavior and classroom dynamics and will inform my everyday decisions. The following are proactive, long-range strategies that I find specifically informative and applicable to my teaching practice:
Lesson planning, preparation and execution
Developing teacher-student relationship
Understanding adolescents’ social and emotional development needs
Using positive reinforcement to encourage desirable behavior and school bonding
Involving students in rules-setting
Modeling respect for diversity and respectable behavior
Conclusion
I began my inquiry by posing this question: how classroom management strategies can be used to keep students on task while enhancing student engagement and learning. I expected to find some well-proven practices and strategies that experienced teachers use to manage their classes. I also hoped to gauge how much research had been done in exploring the link between classroom management and student learning, even though the relationship is a well-accepted tenet. (Emmer & Stough, 2001; Wang, Haertel, & Walberg, 1993 as cited in Bucalos) While I largely succeeded in the first, I had yet to be patient in the second because the research I have found so far lacks rigor. To be truly conclusive, efforts to substantiate the causal relationship must not only rest on anecdotal evidence and practical experience but also rely upon a solid scientific approach to inquiry, with experiments being conducted in a highly controlled environment.
Notwithstanding unfulfilled expectations, the inquiry process gives me a head start by equipping me with a repertoire of proven classroom management strategies and an understanding of the theories that inform those practices so that when I start my long practicum I feel prepared for both observed classroom management challenges as well as those that are yet to crop up. For this reason I am glad that I did the inquiry. I find the time and effort spent on the inquiry project worthwhile and rewarding.
Bibliography
Browne, K. (2013). Challenging behavior in secondary school students: Classroom strategies for increasing positive behavior. New Zealand Journal of Teachers’ Work, 10(1), 125-147.
Bucalos, A. B., & Lingo, A. S. (2005, winter). What kind of “managers” do adolescents really need? Helping middle and secondary teachers manage classrooms effectively. Managing Adolescent Behavior.
Catalano, R. F., Haggerty, K. P., Oesterle, S., Fleming, C. B., & Hawkins, D. (2004, September). The importance of bonding to school for healthy development: Findings from the Social Development Research Group. Journal of School Heath, 74(7).
Charles, A. S. (2012, summer). Cell phones: Rule-setting, rule-breaking, and relationships in classrooms. American Secondary Education, 40(3).
Corso, M. J., Bundick, M. J., Quaglia, R. J., & Haywood, D. E. (2013, fall). Where student, teacher and content meet: Student engagement in the secondary school classroom. American Secondary Education, 41(3).
Raby, R., & Domitrek, J. (2007). Slippery as fish…but already caught? Secondary students’ engagement with school rules. Canadian Journal of Education, 30(3), 931-958.
Roscoe, K., & Orr, K. (2010, summer). How to plan for the first class: Frontloading classroom management. The Science Teacher.
Solar, E. (2011, September/October). Prove them wrong. Teaching Exceptional Children, 40-45.
Stenberg, R., & Williams, W. (2009). Educational Psychology (2nd ed.).
Zucherman, J. T. (2007, spring). Classroom management in secondary schools: A study of student teachers’ successful strategies. American Secondary Education, 35(2).