Kounin classroom management

Recall your favorite teacher and think about the way she or he managed the class to make it a positive learning experience for you. Now, read Chapter 5 of your text to explore the various strategies for effectively managing a classroom and see if you can make a connection between what the text says and your favorite classroom experience. Keeping that comparison in mind, answer the following questions:

· When you think about managing a classroom, what do you feel most confident about?

· What are your biggest concerns? State carefully one possible way to deal with your greatest concern and relate it to Kounin’s preventive approaches to managing a classroom.

· Why do you think your solution will work? What challenges or obstacles could impede its success? Explain.

Refer to Chapter 5 of your text, additional resources and your own insights/experiences.

CHAPTER 5 BELOW

The classic study of what effective teachers do when it comes to managing the classroom was published in 1970 by Jacob Kounin. Kounin's research involved the analysis of numerous hours of videotaped segments from classrooms at various grade levels. Kounin observed that teachers who prepared and proactively managed their classrooms were far more effective in teaching and engaging students. Because of the impact of his work, some have called Kounin the "father of classroom management." In this section, we will learn some of Kounin's concepts that emphasize preventive approaches to managing the classroom.

Managing by Being "Withit"

Photo of students in a classroom using cellphones.

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There are so many things to consider when teachers begin their teaching careers that crafting a classroom management system often falls low on the priority list, when in fact it should be one of the first topics addressed.

Jacob Kounin (1970) is known for introducing several helpful management concepts. Perhaps the best known is withitness. This term signifies a teacher's awareness of what is going on in his classroom and the communication of this awareness to his students. Teachers most often communicate their withitness in nonverbal ways, anticipating potential difficulties and warding off problems very quickly. Withit teachers act as if they have eyes in the back of their heads. For example, a withit teacher might go right on teaching when two students are chatting with each other, simply laying a hand on each desk as he walks by. In most instances in a well-managed classroom, this is the only action necessary to nip things in the bud.

Withit teachers also possess the ability to overlap, that is, to do more than one thing at a time. By "overlapping," Kounin meant the teacher's ability to handle two or more simultaneous events, or in today's terminology, to multitask. For example, a teacher who can overlap can answer a student's question and hand another student a hall pass without neglecting the first student. Situations continually arise in the classroom that call for the teacher to overlap.

Kounin (1970) also discovered that effective classroom managers are conscious of momentum and aim to achieve smoothness. Momentum refers to the rate or pace of the lesson, and smoothness involves the lesson's flow. Teachers carefully watch students for signs of boredom or frustration and intervene appropriately. They must be aware of the lesson's momentum and plan ahead for transitions, those times between lessons and activities when chaos can erupt if not planned for. Teachers can productively use transition time, either by giving warnings (e.g., "You have 2 minutes to complete this task") or by preparing for the next task in advance (e.g., "Once you have turned in your math problems, take out your daily journal and enter today's date and a sentence about what we did first this morning").

As a way to enhance lesson smoothness, teachers can use group alerting. Group alerting includes what the teacher does to keep students on their toes. For example, teachers who wait to call on a particular student until after giving all students a chance to think about a question are using group alerting. In addition, a teacher who says, "Everyone look up here," is also using group alerting as a way to focus the class's attention.

Along with exhibiting specific behaviors, maintaining activity flow means that the teacher does not engage in certain behaviors. Kounin (1970) used some colorful terms for these behaviors. One such teacher behavior that leads to what Kounin called "jerkiness" is overdwelling, in which the teacher goes over the same point or direction repeatedly. When a teacher overdwells, students lose interest, become frustrated, and may take advantage of opportunities to misbehave. Another teacher behavior to avoid is what Kounin labeled stimulus-boundedness. This occurs when the teacher is distracted by some external stimulus (e.g., the teacher may comment on something she sees in the hallway and thus cause the students to redirect their attention). A teacher who is stimulus bound is easily drawn off track; the result is confusion on the part of students.