Chapter Fourteen

Classroom
Organization and
Management
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 Introduction
 A teacher’s ability to manage his or her
classroom can greatly enhance the quality of
the education for all students, including those
with special needs.
 Organizational and management dimensions
are typically deemphasized in teacher
education programs.
 Classroom management is the area that first-
year teachers consistently identify as most
problematic for them.
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Classroom management is a systematic
structuring of the classroom
environment to create conditions in
which effective teaching and learning
can occur.
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Model of Classroom
Management (Dole,1996)
 Multidimensionality
 Simultaneity
 Immediacy
 Unpredictability
 Publicness
 History

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Guiding Principles
 All students must be valued.
 Meaningful relationships between teachers and
students need to be developed and cultivated.
 Successful management derives from a positive
classroom environment.
 Good classroom organization and management
must be planned ahead of time.
 Affording students choices contributes to
effective classroom dynamics.

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Guiding Principles
 Teachers and students in effective classrooms are
considerate of individual differences.
 Proactive management is preferable to reactive
approaches.
 Consistency is the key to an effective
management program.
 Two characteristics enhance a teacher’s ability to
manage a classroom:
 With-it-ness

 Overlap

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 Dimensions of Classroom
Management & Organization
CLASSROOM
MANAGEMENT

Psychosocial Physical Instructional Organizational

Dimension Dimension Dimension Dimension

Procedural Behavior
Dimension Dimension
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 Psychosocial Dimension
 Refers to the psychological and social
dynamics of the classroom.

 Focus is on classroom climate, the atmosphere

in which students must function
 Psychosocial management is influenced by
 Student factors
 Teacher factors
 Peer factors
 Family factors (c) Allyn & Bacon 2004Copyright © Allyn
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 Procedural Dimension
 Refers to the rules and procedures that are
part of the operating program of a classroom.
 Rules should be identified and taught during the early days in
the first of the year.
 Immediate and consistent consequences for rule violation are
essential.

 Teachers need to develop logical classroom

procedures - the specific ways in which certain
activities will performed or the way certain
situations will be handled.
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 Physical Dimension

 Includes the aspects of the physical environment

that teachers can manipulate to enhance the
conditions for learning.
 Classroom arrangements refer to physical facets of the
classroom including layout, storage, wall space, and signage.
 The issues of accessibility warrants special attention because
of legal mandates, such as Section 504
 Accessibility extends beyond physical accessibility, and also
includes program accessibility.
 Specialized equipment (e.g., adaptive desks, wheelchairs) for
students with disabilities is another area of concern.
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Behavioral Dimensions:
Major Areas of Concern
 Creating and Increasing Desirable
Behaviors
 Decreasing Undesirable Behaviors
 Generalization and Maintenance
 Self-Management
 Behavior Intervention Plans

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 Behavioral Dimension:
Areas of Possible Emphasis
When Developing Behavioral Programs
(Etscheidt & Barlett, 1999)

 Skill Training
 Behavior Management
Plan
 Self-Management
 Peer Support
 Classwide Systems

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 Creating and
Increasing Desirable Behaviors

 Definition of reinforcer - any event that

rewards and thus strengthens, the behavior
it follows
 Positive reinforcers - present a desirable
consequence for performance of an
appropriate behavior
 Praise
 Physical contact
 Tangible items
 Activities
 Privileges (c) Allyn & Bacon 2004Copyright © Allyn
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 Positive Reinforcement:
Basic Principles

 The reinforcer must be meaningful

to the student.
 The reinforcer must be contingent upon
the proper performance of a desired
behavior.
 The reinforcer must be presented
immediately.
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 Contingency
Contracting

 Contracts should state:

 What behaviors students are to complete or perform
 What consequences (reinforcement) the instructor will
provide
 To be effective, contracts should:
 Initially reward imperfect approximations of the
behavior
 Provide frequent reinforcement
 Reward accomplishments rather than obedience
 Be fair, clear, and
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 Types of
Group Contingencies

 Dependent Contingencies
 All group members share in the reinforcement if one
individual achieves a goal
 Interdependent Contingencies
 All group members are reinforced if all collectively (or
individually) achieve the stated goal
 Independent Contingencies
 Individuals within the group are reinforced for individual
achievement toward a goal
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 Decreasing
Undesirable Behavior
 Natural consequences should be provided
when the situation itself provides the
contingencies for a certain behavior.
 Example: Student forgets permission slip for a field
trip and is not allowed to go on the field trip.
 Logical consequences occur when there is a
logical connection between inappropriate
behavior and the consequences that follow.
 Example: Student forgets lunch money and has to
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Positive Behavior
Support
 Positive behavior support involves the
assessment and reengineering of
environments so people with problem
behaviors experience reductions in these
behaviors and increase the personal quality
of their lives (Horner, 2000).
 Emphasizes changing the environment
rather than just focusing on changing
the behavior of individuals
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 Differential Reinforcement of
Lower Rates of Behavior (DRL)

 Uses positive reinforcement strategies as a

behavior reduction tool

 Teacher provides appropriate reinforcement

to students for displaying lower rates of a
certain behavior that has been targeted for
reduction
 Example: Good Behavior Game

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 Extinction Procedures
 Definition: Teacher withholds reinforcement
for a behavior
 Example: Teacher ignores misbehavior
 Suggestions
 Analyze what is reinforcing the undesirable behavior
 Understand that extinction is desirable because it does not involve
punishment, but will take time to be effective
 Do not use with behaviors that require immediate intervention
 Recognize that withholding reinforcement is likely to result in an
increase in undesirable behavior and may produce an aggressive
response
 Provide reinforcements to students who demonstrate appropriate
incompatible behaviors(c) Allyn & Bacon 2004Copyright © Allyn
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 Benign Tactics (Cummings, 1983)

 Law of Least Intervention - eliminate disruptive

behaviors quickly with a minimum of disruption to the
classroom or instructional routine
 Examples include:
 Position yourself physically near students who are likely to
create problems.
 Establish eye contact and maintain it with a student who is
behaving inappropriately.
 Stop talking for a noticeable length of time to redirect
student attention.
 Use humor to redirect inappropriate behavior.
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 Punishment
Punishment is the presentation or
the removal or something pleasant
. as a consequence for the
performance of an undesirable
behavior
 Examples:
 Reprimands
 Time Out
 Response Cost
 Punishment is the least preferable option and use of
these strategies should be done sparingly and with
careful consideration.
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 Generalization
and Maintenance
 Once behaviors have been established at
acceptable levels, the next stages involve
transferring what has been learned to new
contexts (i.e., generalization) and maintaining
established levels of performance (i.e.,
maintenance).

 Teachers need to program for both

generalization and maintenance.
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 Self-Management

 Special attention needs to be given to students

who do not display independent behavioral
control.
 Self-regulated strategies are interventions that,
though initially targeted by the teacher, are
intended to be implemented independently by
the student.
 Self-regulated strategies are an outgrowth of
cognitive behavior modification, which
combines cognitive strategies with behavioral
techniques. (c) Allyn & Bacon 2004Copyright © Allyn
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Components
of Self-Management

 Self-Regulation

 Self-Evaluation

 Self-Reinforcement

 Self-Instruction
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 Behavior
Intervention Plans
 Behavior intervention plans are
mandated by the IDEA for students with
disabilities who display seriously disruptive
behaviors.
 Behavior intervention plans reflect a
proactive response to these disruptive
behaviors. This in contrast to traditional
reactive approaches such as
suspension/expulsion.
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 Instructional Dimension

 Refers to certain aspects of instruction that

are closely related to sound organizational
and management practices.

 These management practices include:

 Scheduling
 Transitions
 Grouping
 Lesson Planning
 Technology
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Organizational Dimension
 Refers to time management
strategies related to:

 Personal Interactions
 The Work Environment
 Administrative Duties
 Instructional Applications
 Personal Applications
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