Elementary Classroom Management: Lessons from Research and Practice

Elementary Classroom Management: Lessons from Research and Practice is a comprehensive guide to classroom management, presenting proven, tried-and-true methods for designing classroom environments where elementary school students can succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. This updated, streamlined eighth edition balances the latest research on classroom management with the wisdom of practice, following five real teachers managing elementary school classrooms. The teachers featured in this text teach different grade levels and in school districts that vary in terms of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, demonstrating how classroom management practices can be applied with diverse students in diverse settings. In this text, teachers and teachers-in-training will learn all they need to know about classroom management through real-life stories and examples, including how to build positive relationships with students, implement engaging and effective instruction, use good preventive management strategies, and include and teach all children.

Molly Romano works in the department of Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies at the University of Arizona. Dr. Romano received a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and a master’s and doctoral degree in Teaching and Teacher Education, all from the University of Arizona. Before her work at the university, Dr. Romano was an elementary classroom teacher for 10 years. During this time, she worked as a cooperating teacher for several student teachers and as a beginning teacher mentor. Dr. Romano has conducted research on “bumpy moments” (a term she coined to describe episodes during the practice of teaching that require additional reflection before acting) with both practicing and preservice teachers. This led to an interest in the successes and struggles of teachers, particularly during thefirst year of practice. Dr. Romano found that many of the “bumpy moments” and struggles of teaching identified,for both preservice and practicing teachers, were concerns about classroom management. Currently, Dr. Romano is serving as project director for an NSF grant for the preparation of math and science teachers.

Carol S. Weinstein has recently retired from her position as Professor of Education at Rutgers Graduate School of Education, where she was Associate Dean of Teacher Education and Chair of the Department of Learning and Teaching. She received her doctorate from Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1975. A former public school teacher, she has authored dozens of journal articles and book chapters on topics ranging from the physical design of classrooms to prospective teachers' beliefs about classroom management. Her most recent work has focused on “culturally responsive classroom management,” and she served as the guest editor for a special issue of Theory Into Practice on “Managing Classrooms in a Diverse Society.” With Carolyn Evertson, she co-edited the first Handbook of Classroom Management: Research, Practice, and Contemporary Issues (to be published by Erlbaum, 2006). She has also written a companion volume to this text on managing secondary classrooms (McGraw-Hill). In July 2000, she received a Contributing Researcher Award from the American Federation of Teachers for "Bridging the Gap between Research and Practice in Effective Classroom Management." Her special interests are classroom organization and management, violence prevention, and teacher education.