T-210L: A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT
Summer 2014 Syllabus
June 23-27, 2-5 PM
Gutman 305
COURSE OVERVIEW:
This course is designed to support teachers in developing a practical, effective and lowstress approach to classroom management. The course focuses on a classroom
management system with four components: classroom structure, limit-setting,
responsibility training and back-up systems. Through course readings, reflective writing,
class discussion and simulations, participants will develop effective classroom
management practices, break current “high cost” and ineffective strategies, and establish
a proactive, positive classroom setting that maximizes time on learning and minimizes
classroom disruptions. This course is intended for students who are preparing for (or have
already embarked upon) careers as classroom teachers at the middle or high school level.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Scott Seider
seider@bu.edu
(617) 353-3223
Liza Hansel
liza.hansel@gmail.com
Required Reading (Articles available via iPAC or HGSE data-bases):
Books
Required: Goldstein, M. (2013). Phoning parents. Boston, MA: Match Education.
Recommended: Jones, F. (2007) Tools for teaching: Second Edition. Santa Cruz, CA:
Fredric Jones Associates. (older editions are fine as well)
Peer Reviewed Scholarship on Classroom Management
Duncan-Andrade, J. (2009). Note to Educators: Hope required when growing roses in
concrete. Harvard Educational Review 79 (2), 181-194.
Ritchhart, R. (2002). Intellectual character: What it is, why it matters and how to get it.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
Romi, S., Lewis, R., Roache, J & Riley, P. (2011). The impact of teachers’ aggressive
management techniques on students’ attitudes to schoolwork. Journal of Educational
Research, 104, 231-240.
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Simonson, B., Fairbanks, S., Briesch, A., Myers, D., & Sugai, G. (2008). Evidence-based
practices in classroom management: Considerations for research to practice. Education
and Treatment of Children, 31(3), 351-380.
Walker, J. (2009). Authoritative classroom management: How control and nurturance
work together. Theory Into Practice, 48: 122-129.
Yeager, D. Purdie-Vaughns, V., Garcia, J., Apfel, N., Brzustoski, P., Master, A., Hessert,
W. T., Williams, M. E., & Cohen, G. L. (2013). Breaking the cycle of mistrust: Wise
interventions to provide critical feedback Across the racial divide. Journal of
Experimental Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0033906
Zuckerman, J. (2007). Classroom management in secondary schools: A study of student
teachers’ successful strategies. American Secondary Education, 35(2), 1-16.
Classroom Management Practices By and For Teachers
Canter, L. (2011). Assertive discipline: Positive behavior management for today’s
classroom. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.
Fay, J. and Funk, D. (1995). “Confronting Myths About Discipline.” Love and Logic
Press. Burbank, CA: Love and Logic Press.
Greene, R. W. (2008). Kids do well if they can. Phi Delta Kappan, 161-167.
Jones, F. (2002). Positive Classroom Discipline. New York: McGraw-Hill. Chapter 16.
Kohn, A. (1997). Beyond discipline: From compliance to community. Alexandria, VA:
Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.
Marzano, R. and Pickering, D. (2003). Classroom Management that Works. Chapters 1
and 5.
Shakespear, E. (1999) “What I’d Tell A White Gal: What My Black Male Students
Taught Me About Race and Schooling.” In S. Freedman & E. Simons (Eds), Inside City
Schools: Investigating Literacy in Multicultural Classrooms, pp. 76-88.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS


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Attendance and active class participation (25%)
Simulation (25%)
Final paper (50%)
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ATTENDANCE
We only have 5 course meetings, which amounts to 15 hours of class time. Only a genuine
emergency or highly contagious disease (e.g. H1N1) should prevent you from attending class. If
you experience an emergency or disease, please contact me ASAP to let me know what is going
on.
DAILY DISCUSSION BOARD
By noon before each of our classes, please post on the iSites class discussion board one
comment (2-5 sentences) and one question (1-2 sentences) about some aspect of the preclass video lecture and assigned readings that caught your attention. One for each. So, if
your comment is about the pre-class video lecture, your question should be about one or
more of the readings… and vice-versa.
SESSIONS
Session 1: Classroom Structure – Part I
Pre-Class Video Lecture:
Classroom Management & the Layer Cake (15 mins)
Reading Assignments Due:
Marzano, R. and Pickering, D. (2007) Classroom Management that Works. Chapters 1
and 5.
Walker, J. (2009). Authoritative classroom management: How control and nurturance
work together. Theory Into Practice, 48: 122-129.
Noguera, P. (2008). Joaquin’s dilemma. In M. Sadowski (Ed.), Adolescents at School:
Perspectives on youth, identity, and education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education
Press.
Session 2: Classroom Structure – Part II
Pre-Class Video Lecture:
Kids Make the Rules vs. Ten Commandments (15 mins)
Reading Assignments Due:
Fay, J. and Funk, D. (1995). Teaching with love and logic. Burbank, CA: Love and Logic
Press. Chapters 1-3
Ritchhart, R. (2002). Intellectual character: What it is, why it matters and how to get it.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass. Chapter 5.
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Duncan-Andrade, J. (2009). Note to Educators: Hope required when growing roses in
concrete. Harvard Educational Review 79 (2), 181-194.
Recommended: Tools for Teaching, Chapters 1, 3, 4, 11, 12
Session 3: Limit Setting
Pre-Class Video Lecture:
Triune Brain Theory and the Fight/Flight Response (really!)
Reading Assignments Due:
Canter, L. (2011). Assertive discipline: Positive behavior management for today’s
classroom. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press. Chapters 2, 10, 11, 12, 13
Shakespear, E. (1999) “What I’d Tell a White Gal: What My Black Male Students
Taught Me About Race and Schooling.” In Inside City Schools: Investigating Literacy in
Multicultural Classrooms. S. Freedman and E. Simons (Eds.), pp. 76-88.
Simonson, B., Fairbanks, S., Briesch, A., Myers, D., & Sugai, G. (2008). Evidence-based
practices in classroom management: Considerations for research to practice. Education
and Treatment of Children, 31(3), 351-380.
Recommended: Tools for Teaching, Chapters 13
Session 4: Limit Setting II & Collaborative Problem Solving
Pre-Class Video Lecture:
Plan A vs. Plan B. vs. Plan C
Reading Assignments Due:
Greene, R. W. (2008). Kids do well if they can. Phi Delta Kappan, 161-167.
Kohn, A. (1997). Beyond discipline: From compliance to community. Alexandria, VA:
Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development. Chapter 2 (Blaming the Kids)
Yeager, D. Purdie-Vaughns, V., Garcia, J., Apfel, N., Brzustoski, P., Master, A., Hessert,
W. T., Williams, M. E., & Cohen, G. L. (2013). Breaking the cycle of mistrust: Wise
interventions to provide critical feedback Across the racial divide. Journal of
Experimental Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0033906
Recommended Reading: Tools for Teaching, Chapters 15-19
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Session 5: Responsibility Training and Back-Up Systems
Pre-Class Video Lecture
Limitations of the Office
Reading Assignments Due:
Jones, F. (2002). Positive Classroom Discipline. New York: McGraw-Hill. Chapter 16**
Ritchhart, R. (2002). Intellectual character: What it is, why it matters and how to get it.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass. Chapter 4.
Romi, S., Lewis, R., Roache, J & Riley, P. (2011). The impact of teachers’ aggressive
management techniques on students’ attitudes to schoolwork. Journal of Educational
Research, 104, 231-240.
Recommended Reading: Tools for Teaching, Chapters 24-25
FINAL PAPER ASSIGNMENT DUE FRIDAY, JULY 2nd
For all three of the assignment options below, you can utilize 4-6 typed double-space
pages as a guideline (but not a governor) for optimal length.
You do not need to draw upon sources outside the course’s assigned readings, but please
do draw upon (and cite) in your writing the readings with which you chose to engage.
Please use APA style citation (which is utilized earlier in this syllabus).
Please submit a HARD COPY of the paper to Susan Kandel (TEP administrator) in
Longfellow 307 by 5 PM on July 3rd.
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OPTION #1:
A Student Investment Plan1 articulates all of the steps you will take to build a powerful,
productive relationship with your class. A Student Investment Plan might include:







your core beliefs about classroom management
your core values for your classroom community
your messaging to your students beginning on day one
how you’ll build relationships with students as individuals and as a class
how you will set up your room
your plan for student and parent communication
your plan for contending successfully with “high rollers”
In laying out your plan, please make reference to specific course themes and readings.
Core Beliefs &
Values
Strategies for
Building
Investment
Strategies for
Succeeding from
Day One
0 Points
Paper does not present a
guiding philosophical
approach to classroom
management
2 Points
Paper presents a clear
philosophical approach
to classroom
management
Paper does not present
specific strategies that
will be utilized or
avoided
Paper does not offer a
blueprint for the opening
days of school
Paper presents 1-2
specific strategies that
will be utilized or
avoided
Paper offers plan for
the opening days of the
school year overly
reliant on generalities
Paper offer minimal
support of claims with
references to assigned
readings
Paper contains
distracting grammar,
typographical, or
mechanics errors
Textual Evidence
Paper does not support
claims with references
to assigned readings
Organization and
Clarity
Paper is not logically
structured
AND/OR
Writing is not clear and
easy to understand
1
Match Teacher Residency “Relationships & Development” Textbook
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4 Points
Paper presents a detailed
and compelling approach to
classroom management that
acknowledges the
complexities of the
enterprise
Paper presents multiple
strategies raised in course
and readings that will be
utilized or avoided
Paper offers detailed plan
for succeeding from day one
Paper offers robust support
of claims with references to
assigned readings
Paper is structured logically,
written clearly, and errorfree (or mostly free).
OPTION #2:
Read “Blaming the Kids” by Alfie Kohn. In this essay, Kohn offers several criticisms of
other classroom management systems. Though he does not specifically reference Fred
Jones, some might read this piece as critical of the system Fred Jones espouses in Tools
for Teaching. Compare and contrast Jones and Kohn’s perspectives on classroom
management and discuss where you fall now in your own classroom management
philosophy.
0 Points
Paper fails to present
clear differences or
similarities between
the two classroom
management systems
2.5 Points
Paper provides a clear
comparison of the two
classroom
management systems
5 Points
Paper presents a detailed
and nuanced comparison
of the two classroom
management systems
Your own perspective
Paper does not present
a philosophical
approach to classroom
management
Paper presents a clear
philosophical
approach to classroom
management
Textual Evidence
Paper does not
support claims with
references to assigned
readings
Paper offer minimal
support of claims with
references to assigned
readings
Paper presents a detailed
and compelling approach
to classroom management
that acknowledges the
complexities of the
enterprise
Paper offers robust
support of claims with
references to assigned
readings
Organization and
Clarity
Paper is not logically
structured
AND/OR
Writing is not clear
and easy to
understand
Paper contains
distracting grammar,
typographical, or
mechanics errors
Paper is structured
logically, written clearly,
and error-free (or mostly
free).
Comparison of the two
systems
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OPTION #3:
Fred Jones notes it’s the rare class that does not have has at least one “Larry” (male or
female). In this paper, offer a brief description of the “Larry” with whom you have
worked in the past and the types of behavior that are of concern to you as a teacher.
Drawing on strategies and course themes from T-210L, discuss your specific plan for
effectively working with “Larry” to optimize his or her chances of success, if you found
out you would be teaching him/her again in the spring.
Description of Larry
and the classroom
management challenges
he/she presents
Strategies
Textual Evidence
Organization and
Clarity
0 Points
Paper does not
describe Larry or
classroom
management
challenges
2.5 Points
Paper presents a clear
and factual account of
Larry and his/her
accompanying
classroom
management
challenges
5 Points
Paper presents a detailed
and vivid portrait of Larry
and specific examples of
the challenges
encountered in the
classroom
Paper does not present
specific strategies that
will be utilized or
avoided
Paper does not
support claims with
references to assigned
readings
Paper presents 1-2
specific strategies that
will be utilized or
avoided
Paper offer minimal
support of claims with
references to assigned
readings
Paper presents multiple
strategies raised in course
and readings that will be
utilized or avoided
Paper offers robust
support of claims with
references to assigned
readings
Paper is not logically
structured
AND/OR
Writing is not clear
and easy to
understand
Paper contains
distracting grammar,
typographical, or
mechanics errors
Paper is structured
logically, written clearly,
and error-free (or mostly
free).
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