Jacob S.

Kounin (Classroom Management Theorist)

Who is he?

Jacob Kounin is known as a classroom management theorist. Around 1946, he began

working as an educational psychologist at at Wayne State University. Many people believe
that Kounin was highly influenced by Glasser, and it can be seen throughout his work. He
made people think about the possibility of discipline and instruction being utilized as one.
Instead of these two techniques being separate, Kounin explained how you have to
incorporate different aspects from each in order to create an effective classroom. By utilizing
skills within discipline and instruction, one should be able to manage a classroom according
to Kounin's ideas and principles.

Best known for his two studies done in 1970

He wrote the book, "Discipline and Group Management in Classrooms"

Kounin worked to combine both discipline and learning in the classroom

Kounin believed that organization and planning are key to engaging students

This relationship is characterized by proactive teacher behaviour along with student

involvement in learning

JACOB KOUNIN’S THEORY

Issue Skills Definition Examples

Preventing Withitness General awareness The teacher makes
misbehaviour of the classroom, eye contact with a
which is student who is about
communicated to to “shoot a basket “
students; prompt and with a wad of paper.
correct identification The student behind
and correction of him, who has seen
misbehaviour. the interaction,
decides he is not
likely to get away
with shooting a
basket either.

Overlapping Attending to two or The teacher is

more simultaneous leading a class
events discussion when a
student comes in
late. The teacher
nods to him,
continuing the
discussion. Later,
when students have
begun a seatwork
assignment, she
checks in with him
and signs his tardy
 slip.
Maintaining group Group alerting Taking action to Each student has a
focus engage the attention number that was
of the whole class draw from a hat on
while individuals are the way into class.
responding. The teacher draws
numbers and uses
them to call on
students during a
fast-paced review.

Encouraging Communicating to At the end of

accountability students that their discussion and
participation will be practice of a new
observed and skill, students are
evaluated. told to turn to a
neighbour and
explain the process
to him or her.

High participation Using lessons that While some students

formats define behaviour of work problems at the
students when they board, students at
are not directly their desk are
answering a instructed to check
teacher’s question them by working the
problems on paper.
Managing movement Momentum Keeping lessons The teacher notices
moving briskly; that the explanation
planning carefully to of a relatively minor
avoid slowdowns. concept is taking too
long and distracting
attention from the
primary focus of the
lesson. The teacher
makes a mental note
to go more deeply
into this concept in a
separate lesson the
next day, and moves
on.

Smoothness Staying on track with While being

digressions and responsive to student
diversions that can interests, the teacher
lead to confusion. avoids comments
that tend to draw
attention away from
the key points of the
lesson.
Kounin’s model has its advantages in that it focuses mostly on the teacher’s
behavior. In other words, it is easier to change one’s self than others.

Withitness, Alerting, and Group Management.

*The ripple effect: when you correct one pupil's behavior, it tends to change
the behavior of others.

*The teacher needs to be with it to know what is going on everywhere in the

room at all times.

*Smooth transitions between activities and maintaining momentum are key to

effective group management.

*Optimal learning takes place when teachers keep pupils alert and held
accountable for learning.

*Boredom [satiation] can be avoided by providing varietyto lessons, the

classroom environment and by pupilawareness of progress.

Kounin emphasized how teachers could manage students, lessons, and

classrooms so as to reduce the incidence of behavior. Kounin identified specific
teaching techniques that help, and hinder, classroom discipline. Kounin showed
that technique, not teacher’s personality, is most crucial in classroom
management of student behavior.

Key features of Kounin’s classroom and lesson management

 Withiness
 Momentum
 Smoothness
 Group alerting
 Accountability
 Overlapping
 Satiation
 Fun and challenge.

Organization and planning set the stage for good classroom management.

LESSON MOVEMENT emphasizes the strong relationship between effective

management and effective teaching. Lesson movement is maintained through
withitness, overlapping, momentum and smoothness.

WITHITNESS means that a teacher knows what is going on in the classroom at

all times, kind of "eyes in the back of your head."

OVERLAPPING is a closely related to withitness and is the ability to attend to two

incidents at the same time.

MOMENTUM refers to the force and flow of a lesson. An effective lesson pulls the
student along.
SMOOTHNESS is maintaining direction in the lesson and not being diverted by
irrelevant incidents or information.

Kounin also coined a term he called the Ripple Effect. How a teacher’s method of
handling misbehavior influences the other students who were not misbehaving.
The effect tends to have more influence on younger students and early in the
school year. Students with high motivation to learn also responded more, as did
those who respected the teacher.

Desist occurs when the teacher tells a student to stop a behavior. Desist
influence on the ripple effect in three areas: CLARITY, FIRMNESS AND
ROUGHNESS

CLARITY refers to how much information is given. A simple ‘Stop that." Had less
ripple effect than, "In school we ask for things, we don’t just grab."

FIRMNESS is the degree the teacher carries an "I-mean-it" and a "right now!"
quality in the desist.

ROUGHNESS refers to the amount of anger or exasperation the teacher

expresses. Roughness is not simply more firmness and seems to have little
effect on the ripple effect.

Clear firm desists tend to work the best.

Jacob Kounin and some principles of Classroom Management

What is classroom management?

It includes all of the things a teacher does towards two ends:

1. To foster student involvement and cooperation in all classroom activities.

2. To establish a productive working environment.

Effective vs. Ineffective Teachers (or good managers vs. poor managers)

***Kounin’s 1970’s study: effective teachers were no different from ineffective

teachers in responding to or dealing with students’ misbehavior after the
misbehavior had occurred.

The difference: READINESS

* Room ready

* Work ready

* Teacher ready
Kounin interested in group management -- how a teacher’s method of handling
the misbehavior of a student influences the other students who are audiences to
the event but not themselves target the ripple effect.

Kounin found that good managers:

1. Project an image of being in charge in the classroom.

a. whithitness – "having eyes in the back of your head"

b. overlapping – ability to deal with two or more issues at once

2. Efficiently manage lessons and transitions between lessons.

a. focus – making sure students know what they are supposed to do and why

b. attention – motivation and specific directions

c. accountability – calling on students to respond, discuss, interact,

demonstrate

d. pacing – timing

e. momentum – progression of lesson without slowdown or frantic rush

f. transitions – established routines