Tips for Teachers

~ Always be alert to sights and sounds in the classroom.

~ Arrange the seats so that students are always within eyesight.

~ Scan the room when working with individuals or small groups of students. When helping an individual make sure you do not have your back to the rest of the class.

~ Briefly acknowledge misbehavior at first detection to let the class know that you know what is going on (so not to let the misbehavior escalate before action is taken).
Work Cited

http://www.pecentral.org/climate/april99article.html
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=withitness
http://www.ul.ie/epsresources/prev/alert.htm
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-ripple-effect.htmhttp://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Withitness

Professional Development Workshop
on 
Classroom Management Featuring 
Kounin

By Linda Burkholder, Lisa Heaton, and Abby White
Withitness

Withitness is the ability to be aware of everything that is going on in the classroom.

When you use Withitness…
~You are able to perceive the needs of your students with accuracy and care. 
~You can quickly respond to unexpected events and pay close attention to students’ verbal and nonverbal responses in the classroom. 
~You use the verbal and nonverbal cues of the students by deciding when it is time to change the pace of the lesson, when you should move around the room, and when it is time to interact with certain students. (example: Jonny’s table starts talking. So you ask someone at Jonny’s table a question related to the subject matter. They easily answer the question although they weren’t listening. You think…okay maybe it is time to move on to something else.)

Application in the classroom:
~ When discipline problems occur, you need to instantly and consistently suppress the misbehavior of those students who began the trouble.
~If two discipline problems occur at the same time, you need to deal with the more serious one first then deal with the second one.
~You need to handle “off-task” behavior decisively before it gets out of hand or is imitated by other students.

Ripple Effect

Jacob Kounin coined the ripple effect in 1970. 

Ways to use Ripple Effect.

Kounin noticed that when a teacher asked a student to stop a distractive or destructive behavior in front of the class it had the same ripple effect as a pebble in a pond. When asked to a student in front of the rest of the class it would get everyone’s attention.

Kounin also noticed that it could be used in the positive way as well. If you see a student who is behaving well, if you praise them, the rest of the class will follow. 

When not to use Ripple Effect

	If a student has behavior problems from medical conditions or a learning disability, may not handle having their faults publicly displayed. 

	Kounin found that these students may be socially challenged as it is and by showing the whole class how their faults may cause them to be more socially challenged.  

Momentum of Lesson
“The teacher's ability to have steady movement or pacing throughout a lesson.”

To have Momentum of Lesson a teacher needs to:
-Keep the lesson moving briskly.
-Not over dwell on already understood material.
-correct students without nagging and quickly move back to lesson.
-Students should be able to move from one lesson to the next without waiting on other students or steps in transition. 
Example: In an elementary setting, the teacher could pair up the class in groups of 3-5 students and assign a team name. The teacher could have a visual of a pocket chart to show where that group will be during the time granted. For example, a pink card for Suzy, Bobbie, and Billy could stand for the Phonics station. A green card could stand for Lizzy, Gary, and Greg to be at the Math station. The time could be set for 30 mins. Once the timer has elapsed the students would be instructed of how to rotate. The teacher must not remain idle at any time. This should be used as reinforcement/enrichment of the content in which the teacher has already covered the material and could informally assess understanding and application of content. The centers assure the five strategies by having directions at each center, a visual to state where students should be after the time is up, and a way for teachers to actively listen to concerns/speed-bumps that are holding them back. The teacher should make each center as kinesthetic as possible with many manipulative at each station  It is very important that elementary instructors maintain their energy and enthusiasm when presenting to their students