7/5/2009

The Kounin Model Jacob Kounin

Jacob S. Kounin  Focuses on preventive discipline -- techniques
Lecture 7 and strategies designed to prevent the
occurrence of discipline problems in the first
place.
 Good classroom management depends on
effective lesson management.

Achieving Classroom Management

Through Preventative Discipline Kounin’s Principle Teachings
 Teachers need to be attentive to all aspects of the
Key Ideas: classroom.
 Ripple Effect  Effective teachers keep students attentive and
 “Withitness” actively involved.
 Overlapping  Teachers should be able to attend to two activities
at the same time.
 Movement Management
 Smoothness
 Activities should be enjoyable and challenging.
 Momentum
 Group Focus and Accountability
 Effective Transitions
 Satiation

The Ripple Effect What is a desist?

 The "ripple effect"
occurs when the
teacher corrects a - Remarks intended to stop
misbehavior in one
student, and this
misbehaviour.
positively influences
the behavior of other
nearby students.

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Characteristics of Desist
According to Kounin desists can be : Ripple Effect
described in terms of three major
characteristics
 Clarity - measure of amount information  By correcting the misbehaviour of one
teacher provides students during desist student it can positively influence the
 Firmness – extent to which teachers convey the behaviour of another
messages “I mean it”, “right now”
 Roughness – has a different effect and is the
extent to which teacher expresses anger
through scowls, remarks, threats or
punishment. Fails to improve behaviour,
though children get upset when they
witness such desists

Overlapping
Withitness
 Awareness of what is
 When teachers can
going on in all parts of the effectively tend to
classroom at all times. two or more events
 Teachers have eyes on
the back of their heads! simultaneously
 Classroom layout  Students are more
benefits the teachers likely to stay on task
ability to see all if they know that the
students at all times
teacher is aware of
what they are doing
(body language)

Movement Management Effective Transitions

 Smoothness:  Keeping lessons
 Smooth transitions between activities moving with avoiding
 Momentum:
abrupt changes.
 Appropriate pace and progression through a
lesson
 Group Focus and Accountability:
 Keep the whole class involved and interested

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Group Focus Satiation

 The ability to keep  Being satisfied or
members of the class having enough
or group paying
attention to the task

Teachers can reduce satiation When Managing the Classroom,

by: Try to AVOID

 Dangling:
 Providing a feeling of progress  Teacher leaves a topic and introduces new,
unrelated material
 Offering challenges throughout the
lesson
 Flip-flop:
 Being enthusiastic  like dangling, except that the teacher inserts left-
 Adding VARIETY to the lesson over materials from a previous lesson

Avoid…
 Thrust:
 teacher forgets to give clear instructions at the
appropriate time of a lesson.
 Teacher must then re-explain the instructions to
each student on an individual level
 Stimulus-bound:
 Teacher is distracted by an outside stimulus and
draws the class’s attention to it
Classroom Applications
 Be aware of what is happening around the classroom.
 Intervene before misbehaviours escalate.
 Use routines, explanations and smooth transitions to gain the
attention of the students.
 Keep all students involved through constant supervision and
accountability.
 Reduce off task behaviour and boredom by creating
challenges, extending tasks, providing progress and adding
variety.

 Be able to attend to more than one event at the same time.

Note: Classroom management is most effective when these

applications are applied at the beginning of the school year.

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Strengths and Weakness of

the Kounin Model
 Strengths  Weaknesses
 Based on empirical research
 Limited to use in
 Teachers’ positive and negative
influences may extend beyond classroom
the limits.  Shows to avoid
 Offers techniques for making
desists effective. discipline problems
 Stresses the importance of but not how to solve
choosing the proper discipline
problem to deal with and timing
it.
desists appropriately.  Doesn’t help students
 Helps to teachers to create the
impression that they are aware of
become personally
everything happening in the responsible for their
classroom.
behavior.