Jacob Kounin Presentation

Jacob Kounin

Theoriest presentation by Julia, Abby, Brianna, and Emily

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Classroom Applications of Withitness

Main Theoretical Beliefs

Withitness

Ripple Effecf

1) Continually being alert to the myriad of sights and sounds in the classroom 2) Arranging the classroom so that all students are always within eyesight 3) Scanning the room periodically when working with individuals or small groups of students 4) When helping an individual student, the teacher faces the rest of the class 5) Briefly acknowledging student misbehavior at first detection to let the student and the class know that the teacher is aware, thus preventing an escalation of the misbehavior”

The teacher should be aware of what is going on in all parts of the classroom at all times The students will understand that the teacher is aware of what is going on in all parts of the classroom When students are off-task, the teacher should send a clear message that communicates to the students that they need to become engaged

Whenever the teacher corrects the behavior of one student It causes a ripple effect and positively influences the behaviors of the other students He believes that correcting the behavior of one student by addressing the unacceptable behavior, it provides reasons to the other students on why it is unacceptable

Tips on Effective Transitions

Main Theoretical Beliefs

Effective Transition

Overlapping

1. having well-established routines 2. a consistent signal for gaining the student's attention 3. giving clear directions 4. and preparing students to shift their attention from one task to another 5. Concise explanations that highlight the main points of the task will help reduce student misbehavior. Kounin expresses that having smooth and effective transitions is one of the most important techniques in maintaining student involvement and class control

The teacher should be able to effectively be engaged in two or more classroom events at the same time. Give feedback to different groups without one being neglected “When instructing one group, a teacher should be able to acknowledge difficulties that students outside of the group may be having so that instruction may continue”

He believes that classroom misbehavior increases whenever they move from one task to another The smoother the transition the better the classroom behavior will be

Smoothness

Main Theoretical Beliefs

Momentum

Maintaining direction throughout the lesson and not being diverted by irrelevant incidents. Teacher’s ability to manage smooth transitions between learning activities Kounin believes that valuable instructional time is often wasted in the process of the teacher moving the class from one instructional activity to the next The time spent actually instructing students is often known as “Time on Task” and can be measured. Smoothness then refers to a teacher’s ability to preserve instructional time by eliminating many of the common barriers to a smooth class transition

The momentum of a lesson should effectively pull the students along To have momentum, the teacher moves through the lessons at a brisk pace and has very few slowdowns as they teach Having momentum helps engage the students and helps prevent misbehavior

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE IN THE CLASSROOM?

TRANSITIONS

RIPPLE EFFECT

WITHITNESS

OVERLAPPING

• Student behavior is influenced by the effectiveness and smoothness of transitions
• Teacher gives confusing directions so students are unsure where to start. The class begins to talk to each other and it disrupts the start of learning.
• Teacher displays a countdown timer in the morning while students are entering to help them keep track of how long it takes to unpack and begin their activity. Students effectively manage their time and immediately begin their work.

• The behavior of one student will impact the behavior of another student, and eventually the entire class

• Can be negative or positive

• Example (positive): one student quietly starts reading a book after they are finished with their assignment and his group members follow him
• Example: (negative) one student blurts out during a lesson and other students follow

• Teacher attends two or more events at the same time

• The teacher walks around and notices that one student does not have a period at the end of her sentence, so she reminds the student that sentences need end marks. The teacher then gives another student ideas for how he can expand on his sentence and congratulates another student on her creativity.

• A teacher walks by and sees a student is doodling on their paper and has none of their work complete. The teacher reminds the student to stay on task.

• The teacher immediately notices when a student is talking to group members during a level-zero voice time and reminds them of the expectations

• The teacher has “eyes in the back of their head”

Benefits

Drawbacks

The strategies can be used in a wide variety of classrooms. His strategies are very simple and easy to understand. This encourages mutual respect between both the students and the teacher Students are less likely to test the boundaries because they have been clearly communicated with the students

Lots of preventive ideas, but little techniques of corrective discipline. Lots of effort by the teacher. Teacher centered with value on student compliance.

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Professional critiques

William Glasser

John Hattie

John Hattie is considered a critical theorist who supports the idea of positive learning environments. His research has found that greater learning occurs when collaboration between teachers leads to shared decision-making and the gaining of knowledge.

Student Responsbility

- Glasser’s theory involves student responsibility, more particularly “Choice Theory” where students choose their decisions about behavior

Referring to educator traits such as friendliness, helpfulness, rapport, warmth, patience, and the like, he claims that contrary to popular opinion, such traits are of little value in managing a classroom.

Teacher Responsibility-Kounin’s theory states that it is the teacher’s responsibility to hinder poor behavior and increase good behavior

Thank you!