Classroom Management – Conceptual Gaps and Requirements in Teacher Education

Authors: Dr. Vini Sebastian

Pages: 45-50

Abstract:

focused, attentive, on task, and academically productive during a class. The skills of classroom management are acquired during the B.Ed. course and imparted to student teachers in the theory section along with small training sessions. These classroom management skills need to be demonstrated during the teaching practice. The main focus of teaching practice for the teacher educator, shifts from learning to evaluation. The teacher educators often stress on the demonstration of teaching skills which are given more importance during the induction sessions of teaching practice, but little importance is given to demonstrating and developing the skills of classroom management. With this concern in mind the first year B.Ed. students after completion of their first part of the internship semester program were involved in this study to understand their perceptions on classroom management. The study highlights the lack of theory-practice link, the anxieties and preparedness of students with reference to classroom management. The success of teaching is in the way a teacher manages a classroom is the message that student -teachers need to understand and not in completion of their lessons in time. The parameters of measuring the effectiveness of the teaching is also linked to how the class is managed. The definition of classroom management also requires much attention and a wider perspective is required to understand all the nuances of classroom management. The paper alerts all colleges of education to the much needed aspect of classroom management and also prompts them to take adequate measures to improve the same.