Current Trends in Classroom Management

¶ … Fitness Business Trends Three current trends in classroom management One recent trend in classroom management is a stress on defined goals and expectations. The popular classroom behavioral management program Wong's Pragmatic Theory "stresses that classroom procedures and rules are clarified at the very beginning of the school year. Teachers are to instruct students how to follow rules and procedures. The teacher prepares lessons about the rules and procedures so that he or she can thoroughly teach the kids about the classroom procedures and rules" (Miller 2013).

This stress upon predictability is also commensurate with such philosophies as behavioral theory, which emphasizes how student behavior can be shaped and reformed through goal-setting. Students are given goals to strive for and then are rewarded for reaching those goals. For students with behavioral issues this can be useful given that it provides concrete, reward-based mechanisms for improvement. The need for greater adherence to a standardized curriculum and meeting standards in a diverse classroom also makes this regimentation more necessary, although critics say it lacks spontaneity.

Canter's Behavior Management Cycle is another theory which has a highly structured approach. "First, teachers must acknowledge that they can and do affect student behavior. Second, teachers must learn to display an assertive response style, which is the most effective style they can have. Third, teachers must make a discipline plan that contains good rules and clear, effective consequences. Fourth, teachers must provide student instruction on the discipline plan. Finally, teachers should instruct students on how to behave responsibly" (Behavior management, Sage Publications, 10-11).

This is a teacher-directed behavioral model that places teachers squarely 'in the driver's seat' of the classroom. This trend is often called one of assertive discipline. However, despite these trends in favor of a more disciplined, controlled, and centralized approaches to classroom management, there is also an equally strong countervailing tendency to give students greater independence because of the explosion of technology in the classroom. Students can use self-directed methods to learn, empowering them over their own learning.

This also gives teachers greater flexibility in dealing with students with mixed levels. While teachers help struggling readers in a first grade classroom, they can challenge highly competent readers to do Internet research on a topic. "Because of the increased use of technology in the classroom, we can certainly expect to see more of an integration of technology within the classroom, in part as a management approach but perhaps also as a discipline approach" (Lynch 2012).

During vacations or snow days, teachers can keep in contact with students through technology and reduce the risk that critical learning time will be lost and reduce the need for review. Standardization is the one uniting theme amongst all these trends. As teachers are asked to do more and more within the classroom, they must make.