Related to content management, Kounin (as cited in Froyen & Iverson, 1999, p. 129) places a special emphasis on instructional management skills, sequencing and integrating additional instructional activities, and dealing with instruction-related discipline problems.
Conduct management is centred on one’s beliefs about the nature of people. By integrating knowledge about human diversity (and individuality, at the same time) into a particular instructional philosophy, teachers could manage their classrooms in a better, more effective way.
Researchers have pointed out the importance of assisting students in positive behaviours. In planning classroom management, teachers should consider using an assertive communication style and behavior. In addition, they should always know what they want their students to do and involve them in the respective learning activities, under the general conditions of clearly and explicitly stated schoolwide and classroom rules.
According to Iverson and Froyen (1999), conduct management is essential to the creation of a foundation for "an orderly, task-oriented approach to teaching and learning" (p. 217), thus leading to granting students greater independence and autonomy through socialization.
An effective conduct management plan should also refer to teacher control and administration of consequences. The following components of such a plan are focused on in this summary: acknowledging responsible behaviors, correcting irresponsible and inappropriate behavior, ignoring, proximity control, gentle verbal reprimands, delaying, preferential seating, time owed, time-out, notification of parents/guardians, written behavioral contract, setting limits outside the classroom, and reinforcement systems. All of these components are presented so they can be identified in examples of best teaching practices.
Covenant management stresses the classroom group as a social system. Teacher and student roles and expectations shape the classroom into an environment conducive to learning. In other words, the culture of any given school is unique to that school. However, it is directly influenced by the culture of the larger community whose educational goals are to be met. A strong connection between school and community must be constantly revised and modified according to the requirements of societal dynamism. As schools become very diverse, teachers and students should become aware of how to use diversity to strengthen the school/classroom social group.
Discussion is vital if students are to understand their subject. Meaning cannot be conveyed directly but needs to be constructed within each student. The negotiation of meaning through discussion is one of the primary purposes for working with small groups - whatever they may be called.
Students usually work alone, the advantages of working collaboratively with others include: exposure to a variety of ideas and points of view, the personal and interpersonal benefits which result from co-operative activity, the development of communication skills, the ability to work creatively with ideas and to argue logically. Working with a small group can encourage the development of understanding in a challenging but safe environment. However, merely meeting as a small group does not guarantee these outcomes; many small group meetings are mini-lectures, or a sterile rehashing of half-understood quotations. The following simple ideas and techniques can improve the quality of small group work.
Establish ground rules all groups have ``ground rules''; these are usually implicit and in terms of effective small group work they are often unhelpful, e.g. that the lecturer is the only person who can decide what to do next, the lecturer always has to comment on every student comment. The ground rules are often about politeness, power and defensiveness. If you want different ground rules then you will have to talk about this at the start and establish explicit ground rules, e.g. everybody should contribute, all have the right to be heard, etc. Decide roughly what you want and discuss this with the students. Pay Attention to the tone interaction in a small group is influenced by its ``atmosphere'' and ``tone''. This influences the amount of involvement with that group and the amount of risk that people will be prepared to take. Time spent in encouraging the group to get to know and respect each other is never wasted.
Structure is important students are happier to work if the benefits they hope to get are clearly visible to them. Students respond to clear statements of aims and objectives. This means that tutors have to plan and be clear of these, not just turn up and hope that somebody has something to say about the lecture, etc. Variety sustains interest and involvement there are many ways of working with small groups. Many of them require very little extra effort and little risk. Using the same approach each meeting is safe but not likely to increase motivation and involvement. Students can do it themselves groups can operate effectively without constant intervention from a tutor. The tutor's role is to facilitate, not to dominate. If students are clearly briefed they can lead the group.
Presentation helps if students are helped to make effective preentations in small groups, this can help self-esteem and their future work. In the early stages group members will be very worried about giving presentations; you can invite the group to discuss this, to consider what good and bad experiences they have had in the past. Working in pairs or threes will help. You can help students leading discussions by not sitting in the most prominent seat, by resisting the temptation to talk too much yourself and by being encouraging. You should discuss what you expect from presentations with students and give them clear guidelines.
Quality schools are defined by teacher effectiveness and student achievement under the auspices of building strong interpersonal skills. In this light, teacher and student relationships are essential to ensuring a positive school/classroom atmosphere. Classroom management discipline problems can be dealt with either on an individual basis (between teacher and student) or by group problem solving (class meetings). As mutual trust builds up between teacher and students, the latter are gradually released from teacher supervision by becoming individually responsible. This is how both “educators and students become co-participants in the teaching-learning process, striving to make the most of themselves and their collective experience" (Froyen & Iverson, 1999, p. 256).
Reference
Froyen, L. A., & Iverson, A. M. (1999). Schoolwide and classroom management: The reflective educator-leader (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
