Course Description

Have you ever heard the song “Love and Marriage…go together like a horse and carriage”? You can’t have one without the other. A bit trite perhaps but it helps to show the connection between classroom management and discipline. There cannot be effective classroom management unless at the same time there is a prevailing sense of discipline.

It is vital for a teacher to create a classroom environment which is emotionally warm and supportive. Carl Rogers in his book Freedom to learn published in 1969, pointed out how learners preferred learning environments in which they were engaged in collaborative learning activities, peer teaching, carrying out their own enquiries and classroom talk that required multiple levels of thinking. Furthermore a teacher should build an environment in which she works collaboratively with her learners to achieve mutual goals. In such environments, he suggested, students came to 'love' learning.

Teachers should strive towards setting up a “productive classroom”. Such a classroom is one in which learners can learn with the teacher using methodologies and technologies that are appropriate to the lesson being taught.

Even today, educationists such as H. Jerome Freiberg, currently a curriculum and instruction professor at the University of Houston and editor of the Journal of Classroom Interaction, continues to adapt Dr Carl Rogers’ learner-centred model to education and behaviour management. He played a critical role in moving Houston school district from corporal punishment to a more proactive discipline approach called “Consistency Management and Cooperative Discipline.” 

The environment which a teacher establishes therefore must allow for the learner to feel positive about himself and his abilities to succeed. Putting such a “cosy” environment into place ought not to compromise order and discipline. Discipline in a classroom can be set up by putting systems in place which helps learners to feel secure within the boundaries that have been set. These boundaries should be made up of very clear guidelines for the learners to follow. Learners need to have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. Within this framework of discipline, a learner still needs to feel valued and this can only occur if he is treated with respect and dignity. The classroom itself should present as a site which is not harmful to any learner, physically, emotionally or mentally.

Co-operative learning is a method employed to engage learners by placing them into groups. These groups are small enough for each learner to have an opportunity to be actively engaged in a clearly defined task. Learners with differing abilities when thrown together to complete a task, have an opportunity to compare themselves to others and gain a better understanding of the challenges others experience. From this experience, learners could be exposed to the concept of “Ubuntu” which encourages respect between people. Of course the teacher herself needs to behave with “Ubuntu” towards her learners.

It is vital that the teacher displays very good communication skills in her interaction with her learners. These skills are manifest by her ability to give instructions that are not confusing or ambiguous. If instructions are not given clearly, learners become unruly and this brings about chaos which is the exact opposite of a well-managed classroom, which is the ideal towards which all teachers aspire.