Behavior Management Strategies for Elementary Classrooms
This paper examines behavior management as a critical component of elementary classroom life, drawing on Kraft's (2010) research conducted at a high-need school environment. It explores why new teachers often struggle with classroom control and argues that effective management depends less on strict rules than on engaging lessons, clear expectations, and authentic teacher-student relationships. The paper also acknowledges external factors — including family dynamics, learning disabilities, and developmental disorders — that affect student behavior, while affirming that teachers must develop thoughtful, proactive management strategies to create structured, supportive learning environments.
- The Challenge of Classroom Behavior Management: Why behavior management surprises new teachers
- Kraft's Framework for an Effective Classroom: Kraft's research at a high-need school
- Specific Strategies for Managing Student Behavior: Rules, transitions, authority, and modification techniques
- The Role of Personality and Mindfulness in Teaching: Personality, experience, and mindful teacher-student interactions
- External Factors Affecting Student Behavior: Family, disabilities, and disorders affecting student conduct
- Conclusion: Synthesizing Kraft's principles for classroom management
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What makes this paper effective
- It grounds its argument in a specific, credible source — Kraft's (2010) study at a high-need school — lending empirical weight to practical recommendations.
- It balances idealism with realism, acknowledging that external factors like family dysfunction, learning disabilities, and developmental disorders also shape student behavior.
- It maintains a clear, consistent thesis throughout: effective behavior management stems from engaging content and authentic relationships, not authoritarian control.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of a single scholarly source as a sustained conceptual anchor. Rather than surveying many sources superficially, the writer engages deeply with Kraft's argument, paraphrasing key claims, quoting selectively, and extending the ideas with original commentary — a strong model for short analytical essays at the undergraduate level.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens by establishing the real-world problem new teachers face, then introduces Kraft's framework and specific strategies. It broadens the discussion to include personality and mindfulness before addressing external behavioral influences. The conclusion synthesizes all threads, reaffirming Kraft's core principles as essential starting points for any classroom teacher. The structure moves logically from theory to practice to context.
The Challenge of Classroom Behavior Management
Behavior management is a major component of classroom life that often takes new teachers by surprise. Presenting creative lessons in the context of a teacher education program is very different from teaching in an actual classroom filled with lively elementary school students.
Kraft (2010) points out that teaching and learning can take place only when the proper environment is created and maintained. Inexperienced teachers in particular may resort to "draconian classroom management tactics" (p. 45) out of frustration and fear of losing control. Well-established classroom procedures make the classroom a student-centered place rather than a teacher-centered one. Kraft asserts that the best-behaved students are not found in classrooms with the strictest rules, but in those with the most interesting and engaging lessons.
Kraft's Framework for an Effective Classroom
Kraft developed his theory in a challenging environment: Life Academy, a small sub-school for at-risk ninth graders at Berkeley High School in California. The goal was to modify classroom behavior while motivating students academically and creating an environment that would enable them to succeed.
Students cannot learn in an environment Kraft likens to "a three-ring circus" (p. 45). Teachers must consistently apply specific strategies and techniques that establish a structured, supportive classroom. Effective management begins with content that matters to students and includes clear, consistent expectations and rules. The teacher should not be an authoritarian figure who is feared, but rather one who provides guidance and support while facilitating learning.
Specific Strategies for Managing Student Behavior
Specific strategies outlined in Kraft's article include non-negotiable rules, clear expectations, well-managed transitions, and gaining the class's attention with authority rather than shouting. With respect to specific behavior management techniques, Kraft suggests the use of behavior modification systems, avoidance of public confrontations, and defusing the notion of a power struggle between teacher and students.
He also recommends that teachers share their feelings with students, admitting when they are tired or frustrated. This transparency is part of establishing a genuine human connection while still maintaining the proper position of authority.
Conclusion
However, teachers must work with the students they are given. It is essential that teachers develop a well-thought-out approach to behavior management in the classroom. As Kraft's experience shows, establishing oneself as an authority, relating to students on a human level, and fostering an engaging, supportive learning environment are essential components to managing behavior.
Reference
Kraft, M. A. (2010). From ringmaster to conductor: 10 simple techniques can turn an unruly class into a productive one. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(7), pp. 44–48.
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