Talk:Classroom Management Theorists and Theories/Jacob Kounin

Katie's Reflection:

I agree with Kounin that these techniques are vital to the success of an educator’s classroom, however, misbehaviors will still occur in any classroom regardless of what strategies an educator will use. Kounin gives advice to educators to prevent or decrease misbehaviors in the classroom, but he does not tell the educator what to do to discipline a student. Kounin’s ripple effect is true in that if students feel that you are being unfair there will be an increase in misbehavior; but, I feel that an educator must have flexibility in the discipline model of each child. Each child is different and will react differently to various consequences or affirmations. Therefore, Kounin should elaborate on what he would do in the classroom to accommodate those students that need extra support/flexibility.

Gale’s Reflection

In thinking about Kounin’s ideas that a prepared teacher is an effective manager, I would agree. The idea that a well-managed classroom is accomplished for the most part by having an engaging lesson is very true. However, there are certain students who will not be able to be prevented from misbehavior because there are times that students are misbehaving as a response to some factor that is outside of my control as a teacher. Kounin’s theory is limited in the scope of how it applies to all students; however, I believe that his ideas of with-it-ness, overlapping, momentum, and group focus are all great traits that teachers can strive to incorporate into their classroom skills. I have found that I am very good at the group focus, but tend to have a hard time keeping the lesson momentum, or sometimes unintentionally kill the momentum. These are things I would like to continue or work on in the future.

Daryle's Reflection: Preparation is important; the more you are prepared (with a lesson plan, through experience, etc.) the more you can handle the discussion around a topic area. However, engagement is equally key. Engagement with the students, individually first, then as a group is enabled through preparedness and experience. Each child is indeed different and is seeking ways to express themselves more as time passes and they move from early to later school years. We cannot see this as a threat to teacher authority. Quite the opposite, it is the heart of the teaching and learning experience that we should be encouraging (as in Jonathan Kozol's work, a modern slant on Socratic teaching style). The more we can engage with them through understanding how they see the world, how they learn and how they find it easy to express themselves, the more we can keep them attentive, focussed and on task. This negates the need for behaviour management as the student is connected to the learning experience. Scanning (the lighthouse effect), physically moving around the room (using proximity to encourage attention), managing entrances and exits, these are all great pedagogic and, in my humble opinion, andragogic skills that great teachers employ to keep the classroom alive and interesting, a place for discovery. Kounin is a major contributor to this through his work.