EDN358: Creating and Managing Effective Learning Environments

Assignment 1
Classroom management is about creating a learning environment where students are able to learn
and participate in the best way possible. It involves using different strategies and practices to allow
the students the opportunity to learn as much as possible as well as preventing misbehaviour from
occurring. There are many different types of practices that can be used for classroom management
and is up to the teacher to decide which practices they wish to adopt in their classroom and
generally reflects the style or theory of teaching which they hold. The five which are the focus of this
essay is communicating clear behavioural and academic expectations, diagnosing underlying
function, teacher proximity, praise, encouragement and positive feedback, and forming and
establishing classroom rules. These are all evidence based practices which focus on setting up a
classroom structure to prevent misbehaviour from occurring or recurring. It is important for teachers
to understand and know different types of evidence based practices because it sets up the
classroom to run effectively with all students working to their full capabilities. It is also important for
teachers to use practices that are evidence based so there is evidence that the practices actually
work and are effective in helping students learn. Also, teachers should have a large repertoire of
practices that they know about and know how to use because all students and classes are different
so what might work with one, might not work with another.
Communicating clear behavioural and academic expectations:
Communicating clear behavioural and academic expectations involves the teacher explaining what is
expected of the students in the beginning of the lesson in regards to their behaviour and what they
are expected to achieve academically. Teachers would achieve this by making the students aware of
what the lessons would consist of and explain the specific behaviour that they are expected to use.
Such things they would say could include staying on task, not distracting others, respect the other
students opinions, hands-up, etc. depending on what suits the lesson you will be teaching. It is also
achieved by the teacher explaining, in depth, what the students will be doing in the lesson which can
include the activities and the content. This can be done so the students are all aware as to what they
are supposed to be doing so no student should be confused and start to get bored and distract
others or misbehave in general. Research from Swinson & Melling (1995) found that developing
clear expectations on behaviour and recognising and praising the students that have followed the
expectations had a positive impact on how the classroom ran (Lewis, Classroom discipline and
student responsibility, 2001). This is a proactive strategy because it enables the students to be aware
of what is going to happen and what behaviour is not going to be accepted so they cannot use it as
an excuse for misbehaviour. Students that do not know what work they are doing or are confused
about the work they should be doing, are more likely to distract other students, start talking or do

Ashleigh Newman, 32450649

EDN358: Creating and Managing Effective Learning Environments

Assignment 1
other things that can spread distraction through the classroom. By explaining what is going to
happen, prevents situations like that from occurring.
Diagnosing underlying function:
Diagnosing underlying function involves identifying the reasons behind why students behave or act
in a certain way. The teacher can do this by asking a student who is not doing the right thing why
they are doing something in particular, observe what behaviours they do and in what circumstances
they do it and make assumptions about the reasons behind it. An example of this could be if a
student is sitting at their desks and not doing their work, the teacher could ask why they are not
doing their work, or observe them and use prior knowledge with the student to identify that they do
not understand what they are supposed to do or understand the work. This is a good teaching
technique because it enables the teacher to understand why a student behaves in a certain way and
the reason could be something other than the fact that they like to misbehave. It also gives the
students the opportunity to not get punished over misbehaviour if it is not intentional or
intentionally bad. It also allows the teacher to work with the student to create a way to manage or
change the misbehaviour to let the classroom run smoother. It is an interventional strategy because
it works to improve or change misbehaviour that has already occurred. It is also proactive because it
aims to get future misbehaviour under control.
Research shows that there are many different ways of handling student misbehaviour with giving
the student a voice, and talking with them about why they are misbehaving and letting them explain
why they are doing something, as being effective (Lewis, Teachers classroom discipline and student
misbehavior in Australia, China and Israel, 2005). It was found as effective in all three countries that
it was tried in and was popular with the students because it allowed them to have a voice.
Teacher physical proximity and mobility:
Teacher physical proximity and mobility involves the teacher walking around the class amongst the
students while teaching or while the students are working. This can be done as a proactive strategy
or as an intervention strategy. It can be proactive if the teacher walks among the students while they
are working or while teaching because the students see the teacher walking around and avoid
talking to the people around them or misbehaving since they can see they will get in trouble. It also
encourages students to do their work since they know that they teacher will notice them sitting
there not doing anything or contributing. The proactive strategy can also be used to help students if
they are unsure about what they should do. As the teacher walks around the classroom, they are
able to see what the students are doing and see if they are on task, distracted or having trouble with

Ashleigh Newman, 32450649

EDN358: Creating and Managing Effective Learning Environments

Assignment 1
the work and are therefore able to assist them. It can also be an interventional strategy if the
teacher stops near or walks toward the student that is misbehaving and they can see that they will
get in trouble or at least recognise that they are not behaving appropriately. If the proximity itself is
not enough, making eye contact or touching their desk can be added for extra effect.
A study done by den Brok, levy, Brekelmans, and Wubbels (2005) showed the link between teacher
proximity and positive behaviour of the students (BERNAUS, 2008). The study showed that when the
teacher was around the classroom, the amount of misbehaviour dropped as well as having an
increase in the academic performance of the students and also having an increase in the positivity of
atmosphere in the classroom.
Praise, encouragement and positive feedback:
Praise, encouragement and positive feedback involves the teacher praising, encouraging and giving
positive feedback to students. It can be used to encourage students to behave that have been
misbehaving or to encourage students to do their work in a particular way if they were doing it
wrong. It can also be used to increase self- confidence and self-esteem in students which can lead to
them participating in groups or class work and/ or discussions. An example of this would be to say
great job or I like how you to a student who answered a question in a whole class discussion
that normally would not contribute, or by praising a student for trying and redirecting the question if
a student did not give the correct answer. This way, the students do not feel embarrassed but are
empowered and will be more likely to contribute again. Studies have shown that giving positive
feedback, praise and encouragement effectively reinforced and improved student behaviour and
academic skills. Such behaviours include on-task behaviour, as found by Sutherland, Wehby, &
Copeland (2000), correct academic responding, as found by Sutherland & Wehby (2001), and work
accuracy and completion, as found by Alber, Heward, & Hippler (1999) (Moore Partin, Robertson,
Maggin, Oliver, & Wehby, 2010).
Depending on how it is used, it can be either a proactive or an interventional strategy. It can be used
as interventional by the teacher encouraging or praising a student for doing the right thing, such as
putting up their hand to answer a question, which gets the other students to stop shouting out in
class. It can also be proactive if the teacher praises a student for good work that they have done,
emphasising a particular aspect, if a student around them is struggling to get started with ideas or is
doing it wrong. Examples of this are I really like how you used paragraphs or I like how you used
different colours.

Ashleigh Newman, 32450649

EDN358: Creating and Managing Effective Learning Environments

Assignment 1
Forming and establishing classroom rules:
Forming and establishing classroom rules can be used to teach students what behaviour is and is not
acceptable in the classroom. It is best done with the involvement of the students in the beginning of
the year where they create no more than about ten rules or guidelines for everyone to follow in
regards to their behaviour and academic work. It is also best done by having the class discuss why
they think certain actions deserve to become a rule so everyone can understand early on why
certain behaviours are not allowed. Having the students participate in the creation of the class rules
creates a sense of community amongst them and lets them all know what they should and should
not do as well as creating a sort of unofficial contract between the students and teacher. It also
creates a reference point later on if a student misbehaves because then they already know what
they are doing is wrong and why it is wrong. It is also important though that the rules are written in
a positive manner such as always walk in the classroom as opposed to dont run in the classroom
so the students do not think negatively of the rules. It is used as a proactive strategy because it lets
the students know early on in the year what behaviours will be expected from them and therefore
what behaviours will not be tolerated. It can also be referred back to if, later in the year, a student
behaves in a way that does not follow the rules.
Research has found that in classrooms that have a list of classroom rules, the students tried to
please the teacher and fellow students by doing the right thing and by following the class rules
(Wentzel, 1994). This does occur best when there is a good relationship between the teacher and
the students because then the students are more likely to try and impress the teacher. By using
other practices that create a positive learning environment is the optimum way to include classroom
rules.

These practices relate to my developing philosophy of teaching which is mostly related to the
cognitive-behaviourist theory. I believe that students should have the opportunity to learn and
investigate different topics or ideas on their own and that children should have input into how and
what they learn. I chose these five practices because I believe that they play a large role in how
classrooms are run and managed as well as being a factor in the breakdown of the lessons if they are
not done correctly. The different practices work together to create a positive learning environment
for the students which allows for the maximum learning to occur. Communicating the expectations
of the students in the beginning of the lessons and the creation of the classroom rules allows the
students to know at all times what they should be doing and how they should be acting or behaving.
It can eliminate the unnecessary misbehaviour that occurs when students are unsure of what they

Ashleigh Newman, 32450649

EDN358: Creating and Managing Effective Learning Environments

Assignment 1
are supposed to be doing or if they have not been told that certain behaviours are unacceptable in
their learning environment. Diagnosing the underlying function is important because it means that
students are not punished for something which is unintentional or for something that has a reason.
It also allows for the teacher to better understand the student which means that they can create or
try a new behaviour management plan that better suits the needs of the student. It also gives the
child a voice so they do not feel like they have been punished unfairly which can cause greater issues
down the track. I also chose proximity because I feel that it can control classroom behaviour in a way
that allows the students to keep their power. It can let the student know that what they are doing is
wrong without calling them on it in front of the other students. The praise, encouragement and
positive feedback is also really important because it helps the students feel good about something
they have done and encourages them to do even better in the future. It can also be used build up
the self-esteem and self- confidence of students in situations which also creates a more positive
learning environment. The creation of the classroom rules is a practice that would be more common
in the behaviourist approach however I think it can still be related to cognitive-behaviourist. By
allowing the students to create the rules means that it can become a social activity and can bring the
students together as well as letting them know what is acceptable and unacceptable. It also provides
the students with an opportunity to have input into how their classroom is run which is important.
Classroom management is an important aspect to how classrooms are run. Teachers knowing
different practices to use is important because it can manage student behaviour and sets the
classroom up to work in the most effective way possible. Each teacher will use different practices in
their classroom depending upon what their own philosophy for teaching. The practices I have
discussed, I chose based upon the fact that they are a variety of proactive and intervention practices
as well as because they set up the classroom in which I would like to teach and reflect my growing
philosophy for teaching.

Ashleigh Newman, 32450649

EDN358: Creating and Managing Effective Learning Environments

Assignment 1

References
BERNAUS, M. (2008). Teacher Motivation Strategies, Student Perceptions, Student Motivation, and
English Achievement. The Modern language journal, 387-401.
Lewis, R. (2001). Classroom discipline and student responsibility. Teaching and teacher education,
307-319.
Lewis, R. (2005). Teachers classroom discipline and student misbehavior in Australia, China and
Israel. Teaching and teacher education, 729-741.
Moore Partin, T. C., Robertson, R. E., Maggin, D. M., Oliver, R. M., & Wehby, J. H. (2010). Using
Teacher Praise and Opportunities. Preventing School Failure, 172-178.
Wentzel, K. R. (1994). Relations of social goal pursuit to social acceptance, classroom behavior, and
perceived social support. Journal of educational psychology, 73-82.

Ashleigh Newman, 32450649