Classroom Management and the Instrumental Music Classroom

What comes to mind when you hear the words “classroom management”? Many people think of a school classroom in utter chaos: students socializing during work time, projectiles flying across the room, a fight breaking out in the corner, and a helpless teacher wondering, “where did I go wrong?”. Eggen and Kauchak (2007) cite classroom management as the primary concern of preservice teachers (p. 369), and I am no exception to this citation. I am very excited to teach in a classroom someday, but confess my concern that students will not behave or listen. This paper, therefore, seeks to further explore the concepts of classroom management, with an emphasis on challenges specific to the instrumental music (band) classroom.

Classroom management is defined as “teachers’ strategies that create and maintain an orderly learning environment” (Eggen & Kauchak, 2007, p. 371). Classroom management is to be differentiated from discipline, which is the response to misbehavior. The distinction is important to make because teachers’ views of classroom management are often discipline-focused. However, as psychologist Jacob Kounin claims, discipline is just a small part of classroom management (Eggen & Kauchak, 2007, p. 371). Most of classroom management should be a proactive, rather than reactive, process. Just as the United States declared war on Iraq before a direct attack occurred, teachers can use classroom management as a sort of “preemptive strike” against misbehavior (here defined as anything that prevents learning) before it attacks them. The process of classroom management, however, is less controversial than declaring war; it is instead an essential ingredient to maximizing learning in the classroom.

Three principal classro...

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...ctive preventative measure to decrease disruption and promote productive, positive, learning-centered classrooms.

References

Discipline Strategies in the Music Classroom. (2008). Retrieved November 15, 2008, from http://www.teachervision.com/music/behavior/6763.html

Eggen, P., & Kauchak, D. (2007). Educational Psychology. Columbus: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Kelly, M. (2008). Top 10 Tips for Classroom Discipline and Management. Retrieved November 15, 2008, from http://712educators.about.com/od/discipline/tp/disciplinetips.htm

Musco, A. (2008). Smart Starts for a Successful School Year. Retrieved November 15, 2008, from http://www.menc.org/v/future_teachers/menc-collegiate-october-2008-newslink

Wagener, A. (2008). Ten Ways to Encourage Good Student Behavior. Retrieved November 15, 2008, from http://www.menc.org/v/future_teachers/ten-ways-to-encourage-student-behavior