Journal Articles on Classroom Management

Journal Articles on Classroom Management

Cameron T.

MAT 521-Maintaining an Effective Learning Climate

Martin Lewis

June 3, 2003

Journal Articles on Classroom Management

Article #1:

The article "Behavior Management: Making it Work in Middle and Secondary Schools" by Kathryn M. Obenchain and Shannon S. Taylor discuss some tips and techniques for handling behavior issues in the classroom in an effective manner. From reading this article I was shocked to learn that a big factor in teachers deciding to resign early is due to student behavior. According to this article studies show that while teachers may leave the field because of low pay or societal view toward education, another reason teachers choose to leave is student behavior (Obenchain & Taylor, 2002). This article is specifically targeted at new teachers. It appears that new teachers approach teaching with concerns mainly geared towards lesson content and less towards behavior management. Many new teachers make the mistake of overlooking the fact that behavior management is vital to maintaining an effective learning environment.

This article relates to today's classroom because it helps explain why many new teachers are not staying in the field of education. This article states that the retention of new teachers is an even more serious issue, with some reports of forty percent to fifty percent of teachers leaving the field, for a variety of reasons, with in the first five years (Obenchain & Taylor, 2002). I find that information beneficial to know because it lets me know that I must put just as much time into behavior management as I do into lesson and text content.

Article #2:

The article "The Significance of Congruent Communication in Effective Classroom Management" by Dave S. Brown discusses how congruent communication plays an important role in effective classroom management. This article describes congruent communication as a style of speaking that does not attack others, but instead remains harmonious with feelings being experienced (Brown, 2002). I found this article to be quite interesting because it shed light on how to maintain an effective classroom simply by communicating with students correctly. The key behind this concept is for the teacher to gain the trust of the students. Being able to trust one another is so important in maintaining a respectful relationship. Effective communication is the basis of developing an environment of mutual respect between students and teachers. The more congruent the communication is between students and teachers, the more likely students are to become willing participants in the learning process (Brown, 2002).

This article relates to today's classroom because it discusses the importance of gaining the trust of students. In today's classroom many of our students come from environments where their idols and role models display negative behavior that is looked to as being Ð''cool.' It is also very common for the students of today to rebel against figures of authority. For many of them the only positive adults they see on a daily basis are their teachers. Since that is the case it is so important for teachers to communicate effectively with students. The ways that teachers respond both verbally and nonverbally are the initial signs that students use to determine whether they