No matter how well a teacher knows her stuff, if she doesn’t
know how to bring order to a classroom and manage student behavior little
actual learning may occur. The results
from the Classroom Management Standard in
this year’s Teacher Prep Review show
just how little training many new teachers receive.
The Classroom Management Standard this year is new and
improved, with the addition of a new indicator focusing on specific praise. Given the strength of research supporting
classroom management techniques focused on reinforcing appropriate behavior
through specific praise and/or recognition, we were disappointed to find that
only one out of four programs provide their teacher candidates with feedback on
this essential skill.
University of Washington
– Seattle’s graduate special education program provided a bright spot: in
addition to providing its candidates with feedback on using positive
reinforcement, it also provides feedback on whether candidates use more
positive than negative statements–including explicit guidance on that ratio
(4:1). While no specific ratio is explicitly supported by research, research
does indicate there should be more positive than negative feedback.
Also of note is the distribution of programs that submitted
new data for analysis in 2014: compared to programs which did not submit new data, a higher proportion
of programs that submitted new data nearly meet and meet the Classroom Management Standard.
The following example from Murray State (KY) illustrates how simple changes to language in an
observation or evaluation form can provide much more specific and helpful
feedback to candidates: “Uses methods of respectful classroom discipline” is
replaced by “Uses proximity and other non-verbal communication to redirect off-task
behavior. […] Consistently applies consequences when a student misbehaves. […]
Uses effective classroom management to reinforce standards of behavior through
praise, rules, routines and/or procedures.”
