CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT THEORIES 1.

0 THEORIES OF ASSERTIVE TACTICS (LEE CANTER & MARLENE CANTER) Assertive Discipline, or the Canter model, is a classroom management model developed by Lee and Marlene Canter. An educator and clinical social worker, Lee Canter has devoted the majority of his professional career to helping educators work more effectively with students with behavioral disorders. Marlene Canter has advanced training in special education. Through their research and personal experience, the Canters developed Assertive Discipline, a classroom management model in which offers books, videotapes, multimedia packages and training (including professional development workshops and graduate-level courses) in discipline and classroom management. The Canters believed that teachers were in charge of the classroom and had the right to teach without interruptions, and they offered some value statements as they relate to the classroom teacher. According to this theory, teachers have the right and the responsibility to establish rules and directions that clearly define the limits of acceptable and unacceptable student behavior; teacher have the right and responsibility to be supportive of those students who are not disruptive; teacher have the right and responsibility to teach students to consistently follow these rules and directions throughout the school day and school year; teacher have the right and the responsibility to ask for assistance from parents and administrators. (Wolfgang 2005, p. 82) 1.1 APPROACHES OF THE THEORY The Canters developed the Assertive Discipline model based on the premise that students choose to behave as they do, and therefore the school environment should be structured in such way that students choose to behave in an acceptable manner. (Charles 2008) In addition, administrators and parents are expected to support the teacher in enforcing the preset rules. In order to apply this theory in classroom, teacher has to establish rules that students must follow at all times. These rules must be observable and enforceable. They must be clearly conveyed to the students ahead of time. Other than that, teacher should develop supportive feedback that students will consistently receive for following the rules. Feedback can be given in various forms such as praise, positive notes and phone calls home, awards, rewards, and special privileges. The emphasis is on reinforcing the positive behavior of students rather than giving attention to the misbehaving student. Teacher also should not forget to define corrective 1

actions that the teacher will consistently use when a student chooses not to follow a rule. The corrective actions must be clearly stated to the student so that the student understands that he or she chose the actions by breaking the rules. Actions begin fairly mild and increase in severity. For instance, from a warning for a first infraction to staying in class after the bell has rung to a call to parents to a trip to the principals office for several infractions. (Wolfgang 2005; Baron 1992. 1.2 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES Canter's model of assertive discipline integrates ideas and techniques from several other models. These ideas and techniques include such items as 'behavior as choice', 'logical consequences' rather than the use of threats or punishments, 'positive reinforcement' for desired behavior, 'addressing the situation rather than the student's character', etc. However Canter's model has several unique features- its overall ease of implementation, its insistence on meeting teachers' and students' rights in the classroom, its emphasis on caring sufficiently about students to limit their self-defeating behavior and its insistance on gaining support from administrators and parents. What are this model's shortcomings? Many teachers find fault with it. Many teachers complain, for instance, that it is too harsh, too aggressive, overpowering for younger children, demeaning to older students, so focused on suppressing bad behavior that it excludes emphasis on the building of values for good, responsible behavior. As with all other aspects of human interaction, different people have different opinions; no one approach will please everyone at the same time and in the same situation. 1.3 THE PRACTICALLY OF THE THEORY IN A LOCAL ESL CLASSROOM Rewards and Punishment In order for Assertive Discipline to work, the Canters suggested that, ideally, an entire school should adopt the model for use in all classrooms. All teacher and administrators involved with the education of children need to adopt the principles of the program (Keiper, 2004). In classroom, teacher must apply the rules and enforce the consequences without bias and discrimination. Punishments might include exclusion from certain classroom privileges, time-out, having a discussion with the parent or guardian, referral to administration or that consequences accumulated by a student one day never carried over to the next day. Teacher can maintain a

record of consequences by marking names on a clipboard or adopting whatever manner they can consider easiest. This name can serve as a visual reminder to students. Discipline Hierarchy The Canters suggest that teacher use a discipline hierarchy that informs students of consequences and the order in which they will be imposed. The first time, a student disrupts or break a classroom rule, the teacher issues a warning by saying, Farah, I want you to do your work without disrupting the class. This is a warning. Teacher might use mother tongue in order to make students understand the warning given by their teacher. The second or third time the same students disrupts in the same day, the teacher says, Farah, our rule is no talking while working. You have chosen to take a 5-minute time-out at the back table. The fourth time the same student disrupts by knocking her books off his desk, the teacher says, Farah, you know our rule about classroom disruptions. You have chosen to have your parents notified. In this case, the teacher typically gives the parents a call or sends a note home. The fifth time the same student disrupts the class in any way, the teacher says, Farah, our rule is no class disruption. You have chosen to go to the office to talk with the principal about your behavior. There are some students demonstrate severe behavior that results in what is known as the severe clause. This severe clause in the discipline hierarchy is a helpful way to remove students from the classroom if they pose a threat to others. Assertive teachers insist on decent, responsible behavior from their students. After establishing expectations early in the year, assertive teachers consistently reinforce the established procedures and guidelines. They do not threaten to enforce the rules and guidelines and apply the consequences to misbehavior; they promise to do so. It is assumed that all students, if they want, are capable of behaving; it is a matter of choice.

2.0 THEORIES OF INSTRUCTIONAL MANAGEMENT (JACOB KOUNIN) Jacob Kounin is an educational theorist who focused on a teachers ability to affect student behavior through instructional management. His best-known work was done in the 1970s, where he conducted two major case studies. From educational psychologist to a wellknown theorist today, Kounin brought a novel idea that incorporated both the instructional and disciplinary aspects of the classroom together. Before this happened, most educators viewed their role as a straight-forward passing on of skills and knowledge to their students. After publishing his book, Discipline and Group Management in Classrooms(1977), Kounin attempted to influence the original viewpoint of educators and to integrate teaching and discipline in the classroom. The premise that forms the basis for the instructional approach to classroom management is that well-planned and well-implemented instruction will prevent most classroom problems. The assumption is that students will not engage in disruptive behavior when wellplanned and well-implemented lessons engage students in the learning process with activities that meet their interests, needs, and abilities. In a comprehensive comparison of effective and ineffective classroom managers, Jacob Kounin (1970) found that the teachers differed very little in the way they handled classroom problems once they arose. The primary difference was in the things the successful managers did that tended to prevent classroom problems. They were totally aware of everything in the classroom environment; they kept students actively engated; and they conducted well-planned lessons with smooth transitions. Kounin concluded that some teachers are better classroom managers because of skill in four areas: withitness, overlapping activities, group focusing, and movement management (Charles, 2002). 2.1 APPROACHES TO THE THEORY Withitness Withitness is the skill to know what is going on in all parts of the classroom at all times; nothing is missed. In other words, withitness is an awareness of what is going on in all parts of the classroom at all times. Withit teachers respond immediately to student misbehavior and know who started what. A major component of withitness is scanning the class frequently, establishing eye contact with individual students, and having eyes in the back your head. Withit teachers dont make timing errors (waiting too long before intervening) or target errors (blaming the wrong person and letting the real perpetrators escape responsibility for 4

misbehavior). Withit teachers prevent minor disruptions from becoming major and know who the instigator is in a problem situation. Overlapping Effective classroom managers are also skilled at overlapping. Overlapping means teacher need to control two or more activities or groups at the same time. Essentially, it is the ability to monitor the whole class at all times. It involves keeping a small group on task, for example, while also helping other students with their seatwork. Finally, Kounin notes that successful classroom management also depends on movement management and group focusthat is, the ability to make smooth lesson transitions, keep an appropriate pace, and involve all students in a lesson. Moreover, effective managers do not leave a lesson hanging while tending to something else or change back and forth from one subject or activity to another. They keep students alert by holding their attention, by holding them accountable, and by involving all students in the lesson. Ripple Effect Ripple Effect occurs when the teacher corrects misbehavior in one student, and this positively influences the behavior of other nearby students. It is influenced by the clarity and firmness of the correction. The effect is greater when the teacher clearly names the unacceptable behavior and gives the reasons for certain desist. For example, teacher might try to be firm, which is, conveying an "I mean it" attitude, enhances the ripple effect. The ripple effect is most powerful at the primary level. Kounin found that respect for the teacher along with high motivation to learn leads to the greatest student involvement and minimum misbehavior by students. Effective Transition Kounins research revealed an important relationship between student behavior and movement within and between lessons. The movement includes pacing, momentum, transitions and it is not a physical movement of teacher or students in the class. Effective transition depends on teachers ability to move smoothly from one activity to the next, and to maintain momentum within an activity. Teacher has a great deal to do with their effectiveness in controlling behavior in the classroom. In smooth transitions, student attention is turned easily from one activity to another, thus keeping student attention on the task at hand.

Group Focus Group focus is define as the ability to keep members of the class or group paying attention to the task is essential in maintaining an efficient classroom and reducing students misbehavior. Effective grouping maximizes active participation and keeps students engaged in learning. There are two techniques that can be used by the teacher during conducting a lesson in the class. Satiation Satiation means a feeling of satisfied or having enough in which students have lost their interest in the task especially when students experience satiation or boredom. For example, work on the task without giving it much thought. Try to create some excitement through fooling around with a classmate or engaging in other forms of misbehavior. Kounin suggests teacher can reduce satiation among students by providing students with a feeling of progress of activities. Besides, teacher might offer them some challenging activity throughout the lesson. In order to make students being enthusiastic, teacher can use different teaching styles and add variety to the lesson. 2.2 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES Those teacher who follows Kounin's Instructional Management have three roles; instructor, manager, and person. They should use clear instruction to convey knowledge and influence behavior, they exhibit good classroom management by avoiding behavior that disrupts educational flow and by creating a positive classroom environment, stating clear classroom procedures and rules, and they respect all students as fellow humans. The advantage of the theory is the teacher will be able to produce smooth transitions and maintain momentum. Once established, management plan requires little effort from the teacher - skills are now routinely applied. Kounins model has its advantages in that it focuses mostly on the teachers behavior. In other words, it is easier to change ones self than others. Besides, students are accountable for their actions and their education. When teacher applied this model in class, it will be tremendous reduction in incidents of student misbehavior when teacher effectively implements and maintains plan of action. The disadvantages happened in time consuming which teacher requires excessive lesson planning and preparation to effectively implement. Besides, some teacher fails to address how to correct student misbehavior once it has occurred. Even though prevention is necessary in classroom management and discipline, 6

Kounin overlooks the importance of teachers having a formal behavior plan and monitoring system. Non-verbal methods should be used before a verbal desist correction of students misbehavior. 2.3 THE PRACTICALLY OF THE THEORY IN A LOCAL ESL CLASSROOM Some practical ways to apply Kounin's approach in a classroom is basically to follow what Kounin stated to be the five ways to achieve lesson movement. Overlapping can be applied within the classroom by creating a procedure to use when two separate situations happen at nearly the same time. For instance, if a student finishes a task given early they can read a book, start on another assignment, make a craft, etc. Momentum can be applied within the classroom making lessons short so students have time to work with other students in groups, which will let students elaborate on a certain subject and gain knowledge from other student's connections. Smoothness can be applied within the classroom by constructing certain body language signs at the beginning of the year so students can use these signs during a lesson to notify the teacher if they need help with a certain portion of the lesson so on and so forth. Group focus can be applied within the classroom by always having some sort of group each day so students have time to collaborate with one another. If students tend to go into the same groups, the teacher can write each student's name down and put all the pieces of paper in a hat to randomly select the groups The techniques advocated by Kounin for class control are all intended to create and maintain a classroom atmosphere conducive to learning. By keeping students busily and happily engaged, behaviour problems are reduced to a minimum. Kounin does not believe that teachers personality traits are particularly important in classroom control. What is the most important is teachers ability to manage groups and lessons.

3.0 THEORIES OF CONGRUENT COMMUNICATION (HAIM GINOTT) Haim Ginott put an emphasis on congruent communication. He described congruent communication, "to mean communication that is harmonious with students' feelings about situations and themselves" (Charles, 2011, pg. 35). Ginott also encouraged teachers to use sane messages. These messages were beneficial because they focused on the current situation and did not bring up any past incidents. In addition, he urged teachers to use laconic language. Ginott also wanted teachers to use I-messages instead of you-messages. This means that the teacher would say to the class, "I am upset about the constant distractions" instead of saying, "Izzat, you are being a distraction". Lastly, he wanted teachers to not ask questions when discussing behavior issues. Ginott believed that by asking a student why they did something, teachers made their students feel guilty and defensive. To avoid these problems teachers should just explain or demonstrate the appropriate behavior (Charles, 2011, pg.35). Congruent communication is open, harmonious with students feelings about themselves and their situations, and without sarcasm. It sends sane messages about a situation that involves a student, but not the personality or character of the student. These messages are used to guide students away from inappropriate behavior.

3.1 APPROACHES TO THE THEORY According to Ginott, teacher and students have their own responsibilities in order to create a harmonious classroom atmosphere. Teachers responsibilities at first, teachers must promote self-discipline for both teachers and students. They must believe the essence of discipline is finding effective alternatives to discipline. Teacher must accept and acknowledge students without labeling, arguing, disputing, or belittling the individual. If students achieve their goal in doing something in class, avoid evaluative praise and use appreciative praise instead. Teachers have to demonstrate their best behavior because they are the role model to the students. While communicating with students, teacher should avoid using you and I messages to students. Finally, invite rather than demand student cooperation in participating themselves during activities in class. For students responsibilities they just need to behave properly and accept responsibility for their behavior. As we can see, the teachers play a greater role than the students. Effectiveness of this theory much depends on the teacher.

3.2 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES We acknowledge that Ginotts theory is stress-free and easy to be applied in the classroom because it depends on the way of communication between teachers and students. If the teacher can communicate well with the students, most students will be able to follow the instructions given by their teacher. This will build the character of students in a positive way. Ginott Model creates and fosters positive communication, relationships, and the students behaviors. In other way, this theory also has weaknesses that we may not realize. Ginott was not a professional teacher so he never faced the real situation of dealing with various temperaments of students. Besides, his theories require students to know how to communicate their ideas and opinions, whereas many students dont know how to do this especially for those who are second language learners or passive learners. Also, cultural considerations play a key role in his theories. Because of the different languages, communication styles, boundaries, implied knowledge, and methods of discipline that they bring with them from their homes that will conflict with Ginotts theories. 3.3 THE PRACTICALLY OF THE THEORY IN A LOCAL ESL CLASSROOM Haim Ginotts theories about communication and the importance of positive relationships may be more applicable to a secondary classroom than the elementary one simply because students are more able to respond and contribute, however several basic principles can be included in any classroom. It may be implemented on its own as a classroom management system or it may be included into others. One advantage of Ginotts theory is that it can be weaved in relatively easily to any existing classroom or school management system without disruption. The main principles of Ginotts theories as they relate to implementation in a classroom include asking questions and listening to students, brevity, acceptance, and respect. In an ideal classroom according to Ginott, the teacher would be more of a facilitator for conversations that include every member of the class and address all the important issues. This could be done in a class meeting setting, a daily opener or an evaluation process of some kind. It is important to value the contributions and to listen to everyones ideas. Ginott wrote that teachers often speak too much and that brevity on the part of the teacher will contribute to feelings of validation for the students.

Being brief and clear also helps minimize interruptions in the classroom instead of making spectacles out of minor misbehavior. For example, if a typical disruption occurs like a student out of their seat, the teacher could quietly tell that student that it is distracting for others to have someone walking around the room rather than yelling in front of the class. For this same reason, it is also important to have the rules and specific consequences posted and remind students of them often. In general, teachers should accept their students both for their person and for the behavior. If there is a problem teachers should address it, not the character of the student and should always strive to guide students to acceptable behavior rather than criticize. This is a useful technique for getting students used to procedures and also helps keep negative feelings at bay. Name-calling, sarcasm, and other forms of put-downs should always be avoided. Good communication cannot take place if one party feels belittled. Ginott recommends a system using mostly I statements such as I feel... or I think... Finally, there should always be respect for the students. Teachers should not pry into their privacy nor should they mask their own emotions to try to hide something. In essence, the teacher is the model of what s/he wants the students to be. Practical tips in for the classroom include ignoring disruptive behavior until the teacher can speak to the student about it positively and privately. Ginott also recommends ignoring offensive language rather than making a big deal out of it. Both of these approaches indicate of idea of picking your battles and evaluating the original disruption versus the one the teacher would make resolving it. There is one final tip from Ginott regarding classroom management: punishment should be avoided and praise should be handed out only if it is authentic and warranted. Punishment is counter-productive according to Ginott because once it is over the student feels that they have paid for their mistake and are free to commit it again. Rewards, on the other hand are often not understood or put pressure on students to perform and should therefore be given very carefully.

10