Educational Psychology

This book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

Chapter summary

Classroom management is the coordination of lessons and activities to make learning as productive as possible.
It is important because classrooms are complex and somewhat unpredictable, because students respond to
teachers’ actions in diverse ways, and because society requires that students attend school. There are two major
features of management: preventing problems before they occur and responding to them after they occur. Many
management problems can be prevented by attending to how classroom space is used, by establishing daily
procedures, routines, and rules, by pacing and structuring activities appropriately, and by communicating the
importance of learning and of positive behavior to students and parents. There are several ways of dealing with a
management problem after it occurs, and the choice depends on the nature of the problem. A teacher can simply
ignore a misbehavior, gesture or cue students nonverbally, rely on natural and logical consequences, or engage
conflict resolution strategies. Whatever tactics the teacher uses, it is important to keep in mind their ultimate
purpose: to make learning possible and effective.

On the Internet

<www.theteachersguide.com/ClassManagement.htm> This is part of a larger website for teachers
containing resources of all kinds. This section—about classroom management—has several articles with very “nuts
and bolts” tips about management. You may also find their page of resources for substitute teachers useful.

Active listening

Classroom management

Conflict resolution

I-messages

Learning environment

Logical consequences

Natural consequences

Negotiation

Overlapping

Portfolio

Problem ownership

Procedures

Ripple effect

Rules

Withitness

Benson, B. & Barnett, S. (2005). Student-led conferencing using showcase portfolios. Thousand Oaks, CA:

Corwin Press.

Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee C., Marshall, B., & Wiliam, D. (2004). Working inside the black box: Assessment

for learning in the classroom. Phi Delta Kappan, 86(1), 8-21.

Bothmer, S. (2003). Creating the peaceable classroom. Tuscon, AZ: Zephyr Press.

Britt, T. (2005). Effects of identity-relevance and task difficulty on task motivation, stress, and performance.

Motivation and Emotion, 29(3), 189-202.

Brophy, J. (2004). Motivating students to learn, 2nd edition. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Brookfield, S. (2006). The skillful teacher: On technique, trust, and responsiveness in the classroom, 2nd

edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.