Kounin's Theories on Lesson Management and Discipline in the Classroom

 

Kounin's theories on lesson management and discipline in the classroom shaped education as we know it. This article will discuss his basic theories known as withitness, momentum, smoothness, group alerting, accountability, overlapping and satiation. CONTENT: Kounin's theories on lesson management and discipline in the classroom shaped education as we know it. Kounin was an educational psychologist who "became known for his detailed investigations into the effects of classroom management and lesson management on student behavior." (Charles & Senter, 2004, pp.56). This article will discuss his basic theories known as withitness, momentum, smoothness, group alerting, accountability, overlapping and satiation (Charles & Senter, 2004, pp.56).

Withitness

This simple term means to know what is happening in all areas of the classroom at all moments. Teachers are much like managers because they must know what is going on with all the students just like a manager must know what all the employees are doing.

Momentum

Kounin described this skill as "starting lessons with dispatch, keeping lessons moving ahead, making transitions among activities efficiently, and bringing lessons to a satisfactory close" (Charles & Senter, 2004, pp.58). Momentum keeps the lesson moving. It creates discipline through lesson management.

Smoothness

This ability is important in a classroom in order to keep students focused on the lesson. Management of distractions and consistency will add to discipline throughout the lesson. Smoothness keeps students involved and active in the classroom.

Group Alerting

Lesson Management and discipline rely on group alerting to keep students focused in the busy classroom. Successful teachers have "systems for gaining student attention and clarifying expectations" ( Charles & Senter, 2004, pp. 58).

Accountability

Effective lesson management is achieved through the theory of accountability. Teachers can manage a classroom and instill discipline in students by making sure to keep them accountable for the actions and their learning. This method should be practiced "regularly calling on students to respond, demonstrate, or explain" (Charles & Senter, 2004, pp.59).

Overlapping

When trying to instill discipline in a classroom overlapping is a valuable tool. Overlapping requires teachers to focus on more than one area of the classroom at the same time. A teacher must be able to "attend to two or more events simultaneously" (Charles & Senter, 2004, pp.60). This lesson skill will achieve lesson management in a classroom and promote discipline.

Satiation

In effective lesson management a teacher will inspire and maintain a students involvement, but a teacher must also monitor it. Effective lesson management requires a teacher to know when "students have had their fill of the topic as indicated through disengagement, boredom, and misbehavior" (Charles & Senter, 2004, pp.61). Discipline in the classroom is easier to achieve when students remain interested in the subject matter. It is important for a teacher to know when to move on.

Kounin's theories on lesson management and discipline in the classroom are still held in high regards in our educational system today. Teachers must understand and utilize the theories of withitness, momentum, smoothness, overlapping, group alerting, accountability, overlapping, and satiation to effective instill discipline through lesson management.

Reference:

Charles, C. M., & Senter, G. W. (2004).Building Classroom Discipline (8th Edition)(8 ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

How to Plan Age-Appropriate Math Lessons Using Classroom Items

Math is one of the subjects a person either loves or hates when they are in school. Math classes can be really boring or really interesting. It is important to make math classes interactive and fun if you want your students to find math interesting. It is also important to take the age level of a student into consideration when designing instructional lesson plans for math classes. If both of these factors are taken into consideration math classes can be exciting and educational.

Teaching strategies and instructional methods in the mathematics classroom should be age appropriate. In order to teach the mathematical concept of measurement to students in a lower elementary grade there are
certain methods that should be used.

The concept of measurement in lower grades can be explained by using wooden blocks. Kids can be asked to compare the blocks to see the difference in sizes. They can figure out which are bigger or smaller. They can also observe the height differences and the differences in width.

Rulers are also necessary tools for children in lower elementary grades, and they can be used in many mathematical lesson plans. The kids can use the ruler to measure the amount of a difference between the blocks. Students do not have to be limited to using the blocks and the ruler.

It would also be fun to use other objects found around the classroom in order to complete this assignment. Students can look around and pick different toys and objects in the classroom that can be compared and measured. Any objects the student find they can measure, and that helps get the students involved.

In middle school measurement is more complex, but rulers are still an essential. As students move into middle school they can learn about measuring as well. Now that they already understand size differences they can learn how to add and subtract measurements as well. As a project that illustrates this point the kids can all pick different items and measure them.

The students can than practice adding the lengths together; they can also subtract them apart as well. This lesson can help work students into learning about volume and mass which is an important lesson for middle school children. Letting the students use their own abilities to determine the size, volume, and mass of objects can keep the students involved and interested.

When teaching mathematical concepts to children in is key to keep in mind the education level of the students. It is also important to construct activities that help get the students to participate. Using simple tools that you can find around the classroom is easy and beneficial and should be applied to all math classes.

written by Sarah Ganly

The Value of Assessment in the Classroom

Assessment is the process and procedures used to gather data, utilizing a variety of factors, about student performance.

Assessment is a very important factor in education. An educational professional must be able to effectively evaluate and assess the students progress and knowledge of the subjects being taught. A teacher must also be able to assess how a student learns and if the methods the teacher is using is effective.

In order to assess a student's classroom success many processes and procedures must be used to gather data (Lemlech, 2006). This data can be used to evaluate the performance of the student and determine the students grade in the classroom. There are many ways to assess a student's progress in the classroom, and there are many factors that reflect a student's progress in the classroom.

Assessment is a necessary tool in a classroom that all teachers must master. Performance assessment and grading rubrics are both means of assessing a students performance, and they are effective for use in a classroom.

Performance assessment is a very common and effective method of evaluating the progress of a student. This method of evaluating a student's performance does not rely only on tests grades so that students who are not always good at tests can reflect their understanding of the material. "The use of performance assessment helps teachers gain insight that informs curricular and pedagogical decisions" (Lemlech, 2006, p.166).

There are many strategies that are used in performance assessment, and the performance of a student can be assessed during many classroom activities. Group work, oral presentations, tests, artwork, and student made projects are all tools that can be used to to assess the performance of students. An important part of performance assessment is that students have the means of showing the teacher how well they have retained the knowledge in the classroom.

Grading rubrics are also important means of assessing the retention of a child's knowledge of the classroom work. Grading rubrics are not only useful for the teacher, but they can be useful for the student as well. With grading rubrics a child is aware of exactly what a teacher is looking for in an assignment, and a teacher can easily judge an assignment by comparing it to the standards set in the grading rubrics.

As a teacher it is important to be aware of a student's performance in the classroom for many reasons. If a teacher is accurately able to assess a students progress the teacher will know if the teaching methods are working, and if and where the students need help. Assessment is a necessary factor in the educational system, and all teachers should be aware of the many means and methods of assessing.

Reference:
Lemlech, J.K. (2006). Curriculum and instructional methods for the elementary and middle school. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-Text]. , : Prentice-Hall/Merrill. Retrieved November 4, 2007, from University of Phoenix, rEsource, Classroom Instruction Web site.

written by Sarah Ganly