Dissertation Proposal: Classroom Management: Effective Teachers and Instructional Practices in Public Schools
Introduction
In general, the purpose of the study is to identify the relationship between classroom management and effective teaching techniques to improve student learning development. In particular, the research will address the benefits of technology and teaching to improve academic learning. Specifically, the frame of study will explore the phases of learning by focusing on past and present learning experiences of middle-school level students in an academic year through the development phases of understanding the key concepts and skill development in Math and Reading. For the most part, the direction of the proposed study will include effective teaching principles of a diverse population students in today’s world influences learning behaviors based on social or economic background. Based on the selected research questions, I will be able to gain in depth knowledge of different teachers' techniques in which impacts classroom management and student learning outcome. One method could be used by administrators is developing an assessment tool which provides constructive feedback to raise academic learning. Also, the identified categories relating to the culture's economy and demographics, particularly in education, family involvement and the environment will reveal learning strategies to actively engage students in high-interest lessons geared to meet their interests, needs and activities.
The inability of teachers to effectively manage classroom behaviors often contributes to
poor student development. The ineffectiveness of instructional strategies will spill over
Into classroom learning leading to students' lack of classroom participation. The lack of effort to maintain effective classroom management teachers will show lack of student's response and support. A teacher's accomplishment makes up both student learning and teacher efficiency, can frequently be traced to the ability of the teacher to manage the classroom. A teacher ineffective classroom management contributes to slow learning goals and less motivational student learning. The lack of teacher's management skills and student attitudes will result into teachers finding solutions to create a positive learning environment. The problem is teachers often fail to sufficiently engage students, instructionally creating an unproductive environment.
Research Questions
The research questions in the qualitative study will guide the purpose statement to explore the concept of the research. The research questions will identify the most appropriate methods for collecting data for the purpose and the questions. The type of data collected will determine the methodology and design.
Q1. What classroom management strategies facilitate student learning?
Hypothesis
If a teacher could implement effective instructional strategies, then it will lead to improved student learning?
Brief Review of the Literature
One of the impacts of classroom management was the improvement student teacher relationship because it results in an increase in academic knowledge; it also affects grades and classroom participation. When the academic, motivations and social student composition was brought under scrutiny to examine classroom participation and relationships it showed to affect the student’s level of ability to learn and motivation, in a positive manner (Stevens & Lingo, 2013). However, only advanced placement classes showed a need to have increased motivation and classroom management, as it makes it easier for the teacher to hand out an average grade. (Hochweber, Hosenfield, & Klienne, 2013). Furthermore, it has become known that teachers should be more involved with their students in management activities as compared to achievement-oriented activities (Sahin, Erden, & Akar, 2011).
There is a noticeable difference in the teacher’s ability to incorporate and integrate learning techniques for ordinary students after dealing with advance placement students, which presents a drawback. Since the teacher’s role in classroom management is crucial to identify desirable and undesirable learners, the teachers have an opportunity to implement new learning techniques, but nonetheless all students should be given the opportunity for classroom learning equally.
Constructive feedback
Discipline
Studies in this area show a lack of discipline in classrooms, i.e. disrupting the decorum and leaving their seats. Classroom management in Turkey and England presented similar problems with students. Innovation of new ways is required to control this. Problems need to be identified and classroom strategies to cater to this need to be innovated. Moreover, teachers should rely on their own judgment. It is a teacher’s responsibility to create a good nurturing environment for the students (Englehart, 2012).
Classroom management is a procedural process meant to maintain a stable learning environment. However, studies are still required to evaluate proper ways and improving decision-making skills of teachers (Erdogan, Kursun, Saltan, Gok, & Yildiz, 2010). Classroom management brings to light all these factors under consideration, i.e. discipline with the help of activities, less time is wasted, and more is learned. Behavior problems result in the students having a hard time answering the teacher’s questions. There are various other factors which need to be taken into consideration like the fact that changes in the environments can often result in behavior changes from the students, and this can lead to often unwanted behavior which must be reprimanded thus making it more undesirable and this requires attention to see what factors could lead to this.
Monitoring
There are similar issues resulting into promoting academic achievement and establishing effective classroom management through constant monitoring and constant feedback to allow students to demonstrate effort and improve motivation (Xenos, 2012). Effective classroom management is an aid for teachers to implement learning mechanism to strengthen students' efforts in problematic areas. The points serve as a motivating factor to reward good behavior. However, it could lead to bad behavior and that need to be studied, as to whether it is a potential threat or not.
The detection of classroom accountability and the questioning of strategic planning to build knowledge and transfer skills about organizational management and the values of ethics, reported on the Nonprofit Management Education programs in Ecuador in which address transparency and accountability, identify three strategies to process the collectivity and knowledge production for managers to learn about public affairs.
Various styles of management and teaching process to address certain characteristics of leadership style were studied (Kolak, 2010). Classroom learning greatly depends on this, however, there is a lack of research as to exactly what style are better suited to foster learning environments. Another that requires study is the relation between management styles and student reactions, i.e. what type of students reacts in what way to which management styles, as there is a brief literature present on the matter. This is an important factor, as each individual person has a different disposition and especially in learning environments, these things are of the utmost importance as it is what is most crucial to development and learning, which can leave everlasting effects on the students (Lewis, Roache, & Romi, 2011).
Complexity of classroom management
Complexity of classroom management stretches to eight factors in total all, which must be carefully noted. Most student-teacher relationships are the third most significant contributor to classroom behaviors and academic success (Baker & Baker, 2012). In addition, research shows that most of the student teacher relations based are based on teacher experience. Careful examination of the intricacies of classroom management is required.
The framework of classroom management as it is tailored by a point system to launch interventions in which encourage guiding principles to improve student learning. In addition, similar issues resulting into promoting academic achievement and establishing effective classroom management through constant monitoring and constant feedback allow students to demonstrate effort and improve motivation (Xenos, 2012).
Instructional learning
With a broader scope of influences of the physical environment for early childhood education and learning triggers, the teacher's perception of the difference between classroom management and environment manipulate classroom management practices hindering instructional teaching. In addition, research has shown physical environment is not based on instructional learning only, but spilled over into children social lives. Questioning parties, about the physical environment in childhood education is necessary for teachers to manage a classroom in which learning occurs to improve academic success. However, teachers should utilize effective classroom management in which launches a satisfied learning environment for all students (Sahin, Erden, & Akar, 2011).
Proposal and Dissertation
Nature of the Study
For the sake of this particular study design, a qualitative design will be ideal, as subjective appraisals of the effectiveness of classroom management on the part of the instructors and students alike do not require or necessitate the rigor required of quantitative study designs. The proposed study design for this particular qualitative research is a case study; because these research questions deal very intimately with the effect of experience, this particular method of qualitative design will be ideal. Case studies typically involve a group of individuals being analyzed and studied under particular criteria to determine the effect of an intervention. According to Thomas:
"Case studies are analyses of persons, events, decisions, periods, projects, policies, institutions, or other systems that are studied holistically by one or more method. The case that is the subject of the inquiry will be an instance of a class of phenomena that provides an analytical frame — an object — within which the study is conducted and which the case illuminates and explicates” (Thomas 2011, p. 511).
The subject of this research design will be a sample population of public school teachers engaging in an intervention to implement improved classroom management techniques at a public school in which the researcher currently teachers. This setting was selected due to its applicability to the criteria involved (classroom management practices and their effect on public school teachers), in addition to ease of access and proximity to the researcher. Discussion with the teachers and staff of this public school will allow researcher to gain entry into the setting.
Convenience sampling will be the preferred method for selecting the population for the case study. Convenience sampling is a non-probability sample where the sample is taken from populations that are already close and convenient for the researcher. This method has been selected because the population in question is readily available and convenient for selection, in addition to how inexpensive and quick it will be to recruit subjects (Boxill, Chambers and Wint, 1997).
The participants will answer a variety of open-ended questions concerning the methods used to encourage student learning outcome. After receiving permission from the school to conduct the research, 56h, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade teachers in a Middle School District of Virginia will complete a written document with a series of questions. The questions will be open-ended short answer questions related to the teachers’ feelings of comfort and readiness regarding the classroom management strategies they used, as well as their perception of the effectiveness of each strategy. The students’ perception of these classroom management strategies as perceived by the instructors will also be included in the proposed questionnaire document.
Data analysis will be performed at the same time as data collection, the researcher conducting a constant comparison data analysis method (Fram, 2013). The information will be recorded from the documents by utilizing a Word file to code each response. After receiving each written document result, the researcher will upload and record information, rather than waiting for the entire data set to be completed. File folders, computer files and index cards will be used to organize the data to properly develop a matrix or table that can be used to help organize the material. Material will be coded based on patterns related to a sense of comfort and/or readiness with particular classroom management strategies, coding for key words based on pattern similarity, difference, frequency causation, correspondence and other attributes in the questionnaire. An SPSS software will store responses to easily compile and analyze data properly.
Significance of the Study
This study is important for a number of reasons, not the least of which includes the contributions it will make to the field of classroom management techniques. The efficacy of several different focuses on classroom management and instructional strategies is extremely important to consider, as evidence of teachers’ perceived effectiveness with these techniques will help guide future research and more rigorous focus on specific strategies and their effectiveness. By determining the effects of these classroom management strategies on teacher comfort, improved academic outcomes, and increased student participation in the classroom, further research can better determine focused methods of codifying classroom management strategies and implementing them on a larger scale.
The results of this study should be of particular interest to both educational researchers and teachers in the education field as well. Educational researchers should be able to use the results of this study to better inform and focus their own research on classroom management practices. In addition to this, educators (particularly in public school environments) will value the results of this study and its implications for the efficacy of classroom management strategies, which they can then incorporate into their own instruction if so desired.
Summary
Poor student development often comes from teachers’ inability to effectively manage classroom behaviors. Educational researchers and educators are constantly searching for new ways to improve teacher efficacy and classroom management. The proposed study will seek to examine the efficacy of several classroom management strategies on a population of public middle-school students of varying ages and ethnicities through qualitative questionnaires with their instructors. The proposed research question would explore which classroom management strategies best facilitate student learning, a qualitative case study research design being used to facilitate this research. Data analysis will be performed using qualitative coding methods and SPSS software to test for significance. The goal is to gain a qualitative assessment of perceived outcomes of classroom management strategies on middle-school classrooms in public schools through teacher perception of effectiveness. These results are hoped to better inform existing literature and research on the efficacy of classroom management strategies on public school classrooms, and may lead to more significant and rigorous study in the future.
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