Who Is Jacob Kounin? * Jacob Kounin is a classroom behaviorist theorist. He first started as a psychologist at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. * He is best known for two studies he did in 1970 that was based on classroom management. * He began his studies in 1970 by writing Discipline and Group Management in Classrooms. He wrote the book to discuss the effective and ineffective behaviors in the classroom. The process began by observing teachers in an everyday classroom setting to see how they handled misbehaving. He found that no matter how the teacher’s handled the given situation, the outcome was always the same. His conclusion was basically to prevent misbehavior before it even happens. This brought on his idea of having main points to follow to have successful classroom management.
Ripple Effect * The ripple effect came about while Kounin was teaching during Mental Hygiene class. A student of his was in the back reading a newspaper. The paper was completely open and covering the student’s face. Kounin asked the student to put the paper away and follow along. This brought on other students to follow the same directions. Therefore, if you “call out” one student in front of the class, it will cause other students to get refocused.
“Withitness”
* Withitness is not a teachable concept. This is basically a natural instinct in education. Being “with it” involves many concepts. Teachers have to constantly knowing what is going on in their classroom at all times. There are many ways to maintain “withitness” is being alert, circulating the classroom, asking numerous questions, redirecting students and knowing students on a personal level.
Overlapping
* Overlapping is basically a teacher’s way of multi-tasking. Teachers should constantly keep their students focused and engaged in the learning taking place. This key point ties back to having “Withitness”.
Momentum * A teacher that has a
Cited: Charles, C.M. Building Classroom Discipline. 10th. N.A.: Pearson, 2011. 66-68. Print. "Discipline Theorist." n. page. Web. 3 Feb. 2013. http://www.elearnportal.com/courses/education/classroom-management-and-discipline/classroom-management-and-discipline-discipline-theorists. Evertson, C.M, and E.T. Emmer. Classroom Management for Elementary Teachers. 8th. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2009. 108-112. Print. Gulliver, L. "Jacob Kounin." 01/2011. Web. 3 Feb. 2013. http://lynneg.edu.glogster.com/lynne-gullivers-jacob-kounin-glog/