PED3155 - Learning Blog 7

Hello readers,

For this week’s learning logs, we were asked to take a look at the different types of classroom management models and examine what parts of them we would like to hopefully use in our professional practice. Without further ado:

The Kounin Model

The things I like about the Kounin model involve the idea that student behaviour can be well managed through a good lesson plan: if the teacher involves students in their own learning and provides opportunities for the students to take charge of their own, it keeps a level of accountability on the students for their own behaviours. Additionally, by providing a variety to the lessons with a number of smooth transitions between parts/activities, the students can actively move onto the next phase of the work without having any “hang time,” which often ends up causing bad behaviours. This is complemented by a sense of “with-it”-ness, which has the teacher aware of what is going on in their classrooms at all times. One of the major downsides is that the Kounin model employs the ripple effect, which involves catching the “ringleader” of a group and correcting their behaviour, in the hope that it will extend naturally to others. In my experience, the ripple effect often ended up being used on one person constantly, which created an extremely tense student-teacher relationship.

The Neo-Skinerrian Model

The Neo-Skinnerian model focuses on psychological research under the same name – it refers to shaping any desired behaviour through reward and punishment. Simply put, behaviour that is reinforced tends to remain, and behaviour that is punished is weakened. To maintain the behaviours one would want, hand out irregular reinforcements (which can be goodies, encouragement, bonus class time, etc.). This model is useful for organizing how we as teachers should model good behaviour for our students, as it provides helpful and clear guidelines for the students to understand how they should behave.

The Ginott Model

The Ginott model is a great model for moving into newer-style classrooms. At its core, the model discusses that the teacher should adhere to and model good behavioural methods such that the students can respond to it. Additionally, it outlines how teachers should always address the behaviours and avoid addressing the students as it can quickly become an unintentional attack against that student. It also discusses how situations should be handled through communication, and that ultimately there must be a trust between the student and the teacher. I find this one very handy as it is often quite difficult to determine the weight of one’s words as a teacher until a situation has spiralled out of control. Thus, building up self-esteem in the students and valuing the students as human beings worthy of your attention can definitely help towards managing the class.

The Glasser Model

The Glasser model is very similar to the Ginott model as it focuses once again on how we discuss student behaviours after they have been performed. It emphasizes the fact that students are rational beings that can control their own behaviour, and thus they must make choices of their own to exhibit good behaviour. The big kicker with this model is that it focuses on asking the student about the choices they had, and what choices they took. I like this one because it places the accountability in the hands of the student, and really pushes the fact that bad behaviour is often not just one choice, but rather a series of decisions.

The Dreikurs Model

The Dreikurs model focuses on the student’s concepts of belonging. It focuses on creating a classroom community that has democratic behaviours and consequences. The Dreikurs model discusses the idea that student behaviours are a direct function of how they feel that they belong in the classroom, rather than a specific dislike of a topic or activity. This then, helps teachers address the goal that the student originally had as opposed to reinforcing the attention-seeking/revenge that the student wanted to achieve. The one downside to this model, I find, is that it avoids attempting to praise the students work but rather focuses on their efforts almost exclusively. While it might add to the notion that learning is an iterative process, I find the absolute need to avoid praising the end product as a function of the students’ efforts creates a weird dissonance in the classroom.

The Canter Model

Buckle up – the Canter model is a big one. The Canter model discusses that teachers do have a set of inherent rights afforded to them because they are the leader in the classroom. It additionally mentions that students have a set of rights as well, revolving mainly around their right to be disciplined and obtain support. The Canter model states that the teacher is absolutely responsible for stopping students from exhibiting self-destructive behaviours and imposing roadblocks on their own learning. It also says that in order to have an optimal learning environment, teachers have the right to expect support from parents and other school staff. The model also distinguishes between Passive (teachers who use irregular standards of behaviour), Hostile (a teacher who threatens, shouts, and resorts to sarcasm), and Assertive (makes clear the expectations and the consequences) types of teachers as a function of being able to avoid future problems. The big thing here is that being assertive does not mean to be overbearing; it focuses more on the concept of making expectations and instructions clear no matter what the activity is. Finally, it mentions that for as long as one uses a system of punishments, one must have a clear form of reward for the students who do maintain optimal learning. This model is a hefty one, but it has a lot of use in the classroom. First, the co-dependence of maintaining good student behaviours is a helpful one, as it realizes that both teacher and student have a role and a right to different aspects of a classroom. Second, it helps manage teacher expectations by outlining the idea of an assertive teacher being a teacher that provides clear expectations throughout. While it does defend the idea of firm “control” of the classroom, many of the other models discuss that controlling a classroom does not quite work with most students.

The Fred Jones Model

The final model, the Fred Jones model, attempts to break down where most teachers lose their class time. The Fred Jones model believes that most student behaviours can be avoided by having a teacher that stays alert and will act upon blooming misbehaviours. This can be achieved by using effective body language – proximity to the students (achieved by walking around), eye contact, maintaining a calm expression, signals and gesturing, and the like. This will attempt to nip the behaviours in the bud before more time and emotional effort is required. Similar to the other models, reward systems need to be in place and enforced so that students have both intrinsic and extrinsic reasons for having good behaviour. Additionally, the Fred Jones model discusses that if a teacher makes time to get to every student, it becomes increasingly unlikely that they will misbehave because they believe that the teacher is there to see them succeed – which they are! It also, similarly to other models, discusses how teachers must “set the stage” for outlining the rules and potential consequences.

When I look at the seven models, it becomes increasingly difficult to pinpoint which of the seven will work for me (save for the parts that I expressed discontentment with). Upon further inspection, it seems like I will be or have already employed many of them in different measures, based entirely off of the classes that I have been given. Thus, I believe that my effective classroom model will be a gigantic blend of all seven, used in a variety of ways, as long as the expectations are made clear and the students understand the consequences of both good and bad behaviours.

Image Credit: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/managing-behaviour-for-learning

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