## Key Ideas > [!abstract] Core Concepts > > - **Continuum of student responsiveness**: Students range from naturally compliant to requiring systematic consequences, similar to pandemic compliance patterns > - **Behaviour management as curriculum**: Requires structured planning, implementation over time, and includes practice and retrieval > - **Norms provide the strongest influence**: Establishing dominant academic and social norms where conformity leads to belonging ## Definition **Classroom Management**: Systematic approach to creating and maintaining an environment that safeguards students' rights to feel safe and learn through established [[Rules]], [[Routines]], and behavioural expectations (Marzano et al., 2003; Brophy, 2006). ## Overview Every classroom contains a continuum of student responsiveness, from those who comply to those who resist despite clear consequences. Effective classroom management recognises this continuum and responds accordingly, treating behaviour as curriculum that requires intentional planning, explicit instruction, and structured practice. Norms (the unwritten expectations that shape what students perceive as "just how we do things here") provide the strongest lever in this system. When teachers systematically establish norms where academic engagement and respectful behaviour lead to belonging, they create self-regulating classrooms where standards persist without constant teacher enforcement. ## Connected To [[Relationships and Regulation]] | [[Rules]] | [[Routines]] | [[Script Language of Behaviour]] | [[Norms]] | [[Consequences]] --- ## Understanding student response patterns Students in every classroom fall along a continuum of responsiveness to behavioural expectations. At one end, naturally compliant students complete requests before teachers finish speaking and require minimal intervention. Others know the expectations but need gentle reminders through quick prompts and brief teaching moments. Some students are willing but require extensive guidance and detailed explanations to meet expectations. Further along the continuum, certain students struggle even with clear instruction and need systematic feedback and consequences. At the far end, a small number of students resist expectations regardless of the clarity of instruction or consistency of consequences, requiring specialised intervention beyond standard classroom management approaches. ## Core principles Behaviour stems from the need to belong. When students believe they cannot belong through cooperation, they find alternative routes to belonging, typically by drawing attention to themselves (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). This need operates within a framework where everyone has the right to feel safe and learn, with rules and regulations creating boundaries to protect these rights. Effective classroom management treats behaviour as curriculum, requiring structured planning and implementation over time, including practice and retrieval (Lemov, 2015). The establishment of dominant academic and social norms creates environments where conformity leads to belonging (Cialdini & Trost, 1998). Within this system, certainty matters more than severity. Consistent follow-up prevents students from learning they can evade consequences for disruptive behaviour, with immediacy being essential to effectiveness (Marzano et al., 2003). Like all knowledge and skills, behavioural expectations degrade without regular use and require ongoing maintenance. ## Kounin's classroom management principles Kounin's (1970) research on discipline and group management identified that effective classroom management depends less on how teachers respond to misbehaviour and more on how they prevent it through lesson management and group focus. **Withitness**: Teachers demonstrate awareness of what is happening throughout the classroom. Students perceive the teacher knows who is doing what, when. This awareness enables early detection of potential problems before they escalate. Teachers with high withitness position themselves to see all students, scan the room continuously, and address misbehaviour early and accurately (targeting the right student and the more serious disruption when multiple issues occur). **Overlapping**: Teachers attend to two or more classroom events simultaneously. Rather than becoming absorbed in helping one student whilst the rest of the class waits, effective teachers maintain awareness of the whole class whilst providing individual support. This prevents small disruptions from growing whilst the teacher is occupied. **Smoothness and momentum**: Teachers maintain lesson flow without unnecessary interruptions. Effective teachers avoid stimulus-bounded behaviour (becoming distracted by minor events), thrusts (suddenly bursting in on student activity), dangles (starting something, dropping it, then returning to it), and flip-flops (terminating an activity then returning to it). Smooth lessons maintain student engagement and reduce opportunities for disruption. **Group focus**: Teachers keep all students attentive and accountable during group instruction. This includes creating group alertness (students don't know who will be called on next), maintaining accountability (all students are responsible for knowing the material), using format variety (changing activity types to maintain attention), and avoiding unnecessary waiting time that allows minds to wander. **Satiation prevention**: Teachers prevent boredom through progress, challenge, and variety. Over-dwelling on topics or repeating instructions unnecessarily leads to satiation. Appropriate pacing and varied approaches maintain engagement. Kounin's key insight is that teachers effective at group management have fewer discipline problems because students remain engaged. Student engagement is the primary prevention strategy, not reacting to misbehaviour (Kounin, 1970). ## Interpersonal teacher behaviour Wubbels and Brekelmans' (2005) model describes teacher behaviour along two dimensions that affect classroom relationships and management. **Two dimensions of teacher behaviour**: *Influence (dominance-submission axis)*: High influence involves the teacher controlling, leading, and directing classroom activity. Low influence involves student-led activity where the teacher follows. Neither extreme is optimal for learning. *Proximity (cooperation-opposition axis)*: High proximity involves cooperation, friendliness, understanding, and helpfulness. Low proximity involves opposition, strictness, and distance. Generally, high proximity produces better outcomes. **Four sectors of teacher behaviour**: The two dimensions create four sectors describing different teaching styles: - High influence + high proximity produces leadership (clarity, goal-orientation, directing) and helpful/friendly behaviour (understanding, helpfulness, patience). - High proximity + low influence produces understanding behaviour (empathy, listening, interest) and student responsibility/freedom (initiative, independence). - Low influence + low proximity produces uncertain behaviour (hesitant, apologetic, unclear) and dissatisfied behaviour (critical, complaining). - Low proximity + high influence produces admonishing behaviour (strict, demanding, enforcing rules) and strict behaviour (setting tasks, defining procedures). **Optimal teacher profile**: Research across multiple countries shows that effective teachers score high on leadership and helpful/friendly behaviours, moderate on understanding and strict behaviours, and low on uncertain and dissatisfied behaviours (Wubbels & Brekelmans, 2005). This balance combines control with cooperation. High influence alone (strict without friendly) proves ineffective, as does high proximity alone (friendly without leadership). **Key insight**: Teacher behaviour affects student outcomes more than class composition. Students in classes with optimal teacher interpersonal behaviour show higher achievement, better attitudes towards subjects, more on-task behaviour, and less misbehaviour. Teachers can learn to modify their interpersonal behaviour through self-reflection and deliberate practice (Wubbels & Brekelmans, 2005). ## Implementation framework ### Essential foundation elements Effective classroom management begins with establishing [[Rules]] and [[Routines]] that create predictability and structure. Teachers need to develop a strategic [[Seating Plan]] that supports learning and minimises disruption. [[Script Language of Behaviour|Scripting]] language ensures consistent communication of expectations. Building productive [[Norms]] establishes the cultural foundation for the classroom. Careful planning of the [[First lesson]] sets the tone for the year. Finally, defining clear [[Consequences]] ensures students understand the outcomes of their choices. ### Management microskills Proactive strategies prevent disruption before it occurs. - **Take-up time** involves giving a direction and then turning away to convey confidence that students will comply (Lemov, 2015). - **Descriptive encouraging** describes the specific behaviours teachers want to see more of rather than offering generic praise (Brophy, 2006). - **Restating and reminding** involves consistent reference to visible rules. When disruption occurs, responsive strategies redirect behaviour without escalation. - **Tactical ignoring** focuses on the primary behaviour whilst ignoring secondary reactions that might derail the interaction. - **Partial agreement** acknowledges students' feelings before reasserting expectations. - **Observational language** describes what the teacher sees rather than asking questions that invite argument. - **Verbal blocking** repeats directions when students make excuses, refusing to engage with the excuse itself. - **Redirecting** to learning prompts off-task students back to their work. ## Language examples **Partial agreement** acknowledges the student's perspective whilst maintaining expectations. When a student says "This is boring", the teacher might respond "Even if you find it boring, this is the work we're doing today". When a student protests "Ms Smith allows phones!", the response "Maybe so, but the school rule is clear" validates their observation without conceding the point. **Observational language** describes what the teacher sees rather than interrogating the student. Instead of asking "Why is your paper on the floor?", the teacher simply states "Umar...your paper is on the floor". This removes the opportunity for defensive responses. **Redirecting to learning** prompts students back to task through questions like "Are you finished? What's the next step?" that orient them towards their work rather than dwelling on the disruption. ## References Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. *Psychological Bulletin*, 117(3), 497-529. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497 Brophy, J. (2006). History of research on classroom management. In C. M. Evertson & C. S. Weinstein (Eds.), *Handbook of classroom management: Research, practice, and contemporary issues* (pp. 17-43). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Cialdini, R. B., & Trost, M. R. (1998). Social influence: Social norms, conformity and compliance. In D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), *The handbook of social psychology* (4th ed., Vol. 2, pp. 151-192). McGraw-Hill. Kounin, J. S. (1970). *Discipline and group management in classrooms*. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Lemov, D. (2015). *Teach like a champion 2.0: 62 techniques that put students on the path to college*. Jossey-Bass. Marzano, R. J., Marzano, J. S., & Pickering, D. (2003). *Classroom management that works: Research-based strategies for every teacher*. ASCD. Wubbels, T., & Brekelmans, M. (2005). Two decades of research on teacher-student relationships in class. *International Journal of Educational Research*, 43(1-2), 6-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2006.03.003 ---