Since Coleman (1966) claimed that teachers do not make a difference
in school learning, there has been almost thirty years of research
in education investigating the role of the teacher in the learning
process. Researchers and educators seem to agree that "One
of the most significant sets of findings from process-product
research on teaching entailed the demonstration that teachers
did make a difference" (Shulman, 1986, pp.30-31). The more
recent line of research on "teacher thinking" also
attest to the crucial role of the teacher in creating and maintaining
a positive classroom atmosphere conductive to academic learning
(Calderhead, 1989; Carter, 1990; Clark, 1988; Doyle, 1990; Feiman-Nemser
& Folden, 1986; Tom & Valli, 1990). As Winzer & Grigg
(1992) point out, academic climate and effective teaching practices
promote high task engagement and good attitudes that prevent misbehaviour.
However behavioural control is also important, since "instructional
success is often directly proportional to a teacher's ability
to use appropriate management strategies" (Winzer &
Grigg , 1992, p. 620). Classroom management is viewed as a broad
concept, encompassing not just techniques to control behavior,
but also academic climate and effective teaching practices.
Therefore it may be more accurate and more productive to think
of classroom management as "the orchestration of classroom
life so that all children can maximize their learning potential
" (Andrews, Lupart, Bachor, Crealock, Dudley-Marling, Marini
and Piper, 1993).
To orchestrate the classroom life, a teacher need to be aware
of the numerous variables affecting the classroom milieu, as
well as the dynamic interplay of these variables, since "Any
teaching act is the result of a decision, whether concious or
unconscious, that the teacher makes after the complex cognitive
processing of available information." (Shavelson, 1973,
p.18). Studies in education have focussed on a wide variety of
variables, several of which are directly under the teacher's control:
room arrangement; selection of material, instructional ressources,
and academic tasks; handling of material; grouping for instruction;
time on task; discipline procedures; teaching methods and assessment
practices. However, "much of the research on education is
confined to shelves in research institutions and libraries, ...
new teachers must flounder through the archaic trial and error
method of developing effective practice..." (The American
Federation of teachers, 19 -- p.5). Since "knowledge is power",
and that "Teachers require a wide array of information and
skills to respond appropriately to infinitely variable classroom
situations" (The American Federation of teachers, 19 -- p.5)
, this activity is intended to guide student teachers reflective
practice by providing them with a better understanding of the
classroom milieu as well as of the teacher's role in shaping that
milieu.