EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Chapter 11 page 256

Table 11.4: Adjustments in applying principles of classroom management to different ages
Component of
classroom
management

Commonalities across ages Adjustments for teachers teaching different age

levels

Physical design The principles of arranging
desks according to the
instructional goals, designing
space to allow students to
move to needed places easily,
and allowing students adequate
space to work are common to
all ages.

Teachers of younger students are more likely to

create special areas such as carpeted reading areas

and learning centers. Student involvement in

designing the physical space is most workable when

teachers teach just one group of students, as in

elementary school.

Rules and
procedures

All the principles we discussed

regarding rules and procedures

are common to all ages.

Students of all ages can be

involved in establishing or

helping to establish the rules.

Elementary school teachers are likely to need to plan

for even more procedures than secondary teachers

are, as they teach multiple subjects and are also

responsible for taking students to recess and other

locations (e.g., the gym for physical education).

Relationships All the principles we discussed
regarding teacher-student,
student-student, and teacher-
parent relationships are
applicable generally to all ages.
It is critical for teachers to be
caring, to promote student-
student appreciation, and to
cultivate positive relationships
with parents.

Relationships may be especially important at
transition periods, such as when students move from
elementary school to middle school. In addition, the
community-building activities that teachers use in
higher grades may become more complex and
sophisticated. Secondary teachers have more parents
to communicate with and will need to plan
systematically in order to reach all parents.
Websites, newsletters, and class newspapers can
help the secondary teacher reach a large number of
parents on a regular basis.
Well-organized,
engaging
instruction

It is equally important at all

ages to develop engaging

instruction and to organize

instruction well (preparing

activities and materials,

providing training, providing

clear instructional signals,

monitoring students, and

following up appropriately).

The nature of instruction that students find engaging
at different levels will of course vary from age to
age, as we discussed in Chapter 10.
Because elementary school teachers plan a full day
of lessons (in contrast to secondary teachers, who
may have just one or two different lessons that are
repeated across different periods), elementary school
teachers must work especially hard to ensure that
the full day of lessons is carefully planned and
organized.
Discipline Kounin’s principles of
preventing misbehavior
(including withitness,
overlapping, signal continuity)
apply broadly to all ages. The
Principle of Least Invention,
the idea of respecting students
when disciplining them, and the
use of logical consequences
also apply at all age levels.

There is one verbal response to minor misbehavior

that is extremely effective at younger ages but not

advisable to use with older students: praising good

behavior by other students. In addition, the logical

consequences that are best suited for differing ages

may differ. Some consequences, such as in-school

and out-of-school suspensions, are likely to be set

by school policy.