Jacob Kounin's Classroom Management Research

Jacob Kounin (1912–1995) was an American education researcher and psychologist who studied classroom management techniques in the mid-1900s. Jacob Kounin’s classroom management research is still considered to be some of the most important research done in the field. Some researchers still cite Kounin’s publications and base parts of their own research on his. In addition, some of Kounin’s unique concepts—such as with-it-ness and overlapping—are still important aspects of classroom management theories. One of Kounin’s major innovations in the field was that he asserted that teachers made the most difference in their classroom management by preventing negative behavior in the classroom rather than by addressing negative behavior that already happened.

Overview

Kounin was one of the first researchers to focus on classroom management. Classroom management is when teachers use processes and practices to control and manage the classroom setting. Teachers have always had to manage their classrooms and deal with negative behaviors. However, before the middle of the twentieth century, teachers often viewed management decisions as distinct from their instruction. Many teachers viewed classroom management as something that happened before and after lessons, and one part of their job did not involve another part. However, research done in the early and mid-1900s indicates that classroom management and instruction are interwoven and affect each other.

Jacob Kounin became interested in studying classroom management when he was working at the university in Michigan. Kounin, who was born in Ohio in 1912, received his doctorate from Iowa State University in 1939, and he worked as an educational psychologist at Wayne State University starting in 1946. While working at the university, Kounin had the opportunity to research classroom settings. When he first started his research, Kounin was interested in classroom discipline. Before Kounin began his research, discipline and classroom management were focused on how to address negative behavior after it had taken place. Kounin’s work would help shift the focus of much classroom management research.

While Kounin taught a college course, he noticed a student behavior that interested him. Kounin told a student to put something away, and he noticed that other students in the class became more attentive after Kounin addressed the first student’s negative behavior. He thought that he might have observed a link between his directions to one student and the actions of other students.

Kounin was interested in his observation. He wanted to prove whether a link existed and, if it did, how the link affected students and the overall classroom. Kounin developed a research study to learn more about this phenomenon. He recorded kindergarten classrooms in twenty-six schools in Detroit. Kounin and other observers paid attention to student behavior after the children watched the teacher correct other students for engaging in negative behavior. Kounin found that the students acted in predictable ways after observing the teacher correct others. Kounin asserted that students who saw teachers explain what behavior they expected from students usually responded by showing more positive behaviors. However, students who saw teachers treat other students harshly without explaining what behavior was expected were more likely to engage in negative behavior themselves. Kounin called the phenomenon the ripple effect, as he indicated the teacher’s behavior rippled throughout the classroom. He published the findings in a 1958 paper called “The Ripple Effect in Discipline.”

Kounin continued his research by observing classrooms and studying the ways that students and teachers interacted with and affected each other. In 1966, he published the paper “Managing Emotionally Disturbed Children in Regular Classrooms.” Kounin’s research—which involved students in first grade through fifth grade—helped him develop one of his most important contributions to ideas about classroom management. Kounin found that teachers who were effective at managing the behavior of children who did not have mental health problems were also generally more effective at managing the behavior of children with mental health problems. He also found that teachers’ actions before negative behavior took place, not their techniques for dealing with misbehavior, had the biggest influence on overall student behavior. Through this and other research, Kounin developed the theory that teacher behavior determined outcomes in the classroom. He also believed that teachers could best control student behavior by using classroom management practices that prevented negative behaviors before they started.

In 1970, Kounin published Discipline and Group Management in Classrooms, which is his most famous publication and one that explains some of his most famous classroom management theories. To write the book, Kounin conducted further research in elementary school classrooms, videotaping student-teacher interactions. The book again asserted that teacher behavior, not student behavior, was the most important factor in determining behavior outcomes in the classroom.

Kounin presented multiple theories about classroom management practices that teachers could use to maintain positive student behavior. One of Kounin’s most famous classroom management practices is withitness, or with-it-ness. This term refers to teachers’ awareness in the classroom. Teachers who are alert and actively monitoring their classrooms have with-it-ness. Kounin also asserted that teachers with with-it-ness are overt about their monitoring so that students understand that they are being monitored. Kounin stated that teachers with with-it-ness quickly notice negative behavior and use body language to indicate they have observed the behavior. Teachers using with-it-ness do not verbally announce their observations or actions, but they use their behavior and body language to communicate with students.

Another classroom management principle that Kounin developed was the idea of overlapping. This idea states that teachers should overlap tasks to be effective classroom managers. As a teacher finishes one task, the teacher should begin another task, or the teacher can do two tasks simultaneously. For example, a teacher could be giving one student individual feedback while also guiding another group of students about their next task. One reason that Kounin believed in overlapping was that he noticed from his research that times of transition were often times when students engaged in negative behavior. Many of Kounin’s findings indicated that timing and pacing are important in the classroom, and when teachers allow a lapse in activity, students are more likely to lose focus or engage in some other type of negative behavior. Overlapping allows teachers to use their time efficiently and keep students engaged.

Kounin also believed that teachers should use what he called group focus as a classroom management technique. The idea is for teachers to get all the students in their classes to focus on the same thing. Kounin asserted that this practice helps prevent students from engaging in negative behavior. Teachers can engage the class in group focus by asking questions about the lesson. Teachers may ask the questions to random students so that students do not know if they will be called on, and thus they will be more likely to pay attention so they can be prepared to answer. Teachers can also give points for answering questions to encourage students to pay attention and participate.

Kounin developed a fourth classroom management principle he called movement management. Movement management refers to the way teachers pace their lessons. Konin asserted that teachers should think about momentum and smoothness when presenting a lesson to class. Momentum is when teachers can keep a lesson moving without stopping because of distractions. Konin used the term smoothness to indicate a smooth pace that teachers should use when presenting a lesson. Smoothness also means that lessons should be slow enough for students to understand but fast enough for students to stay engaged without becoming bored.

Kounin’s research led him to develop other theories about classroom management. He believed that teachers had to practice effective classroom transitions to improve their classroom management skills. He believed that teachers could provide their classes with smooth transitions if they developed strong routines that accompanied transitions and if they clearly expressed any directions or explanations students needed during the transition. Kounin also believed that teachers should be aware of the ripple effect and satiation. The ripple effect is when one student-teacher interaction affects—either positively or negatively—the behavior of other students. Kounin used the term satiation to refer to what happens when students begin to lose interest in the lesson. Kounin asserted that satiation increases throughout a lesson, and teachers should notice when satiation reaches a point where students might lose focus on the lesson and instead engage in negative behaviors.

Applications

Teachers have been applying Kounin’s research and theories to their classroom management practices since the 1970s. Although classroom management techniques have continued to evolve, many teachers still use his basic ideas when developing classroom management practices.

Classroom management practices affect decisions teachers make throughout their design and teaching processes. Teachers even use classroom management techniques when they establish the physical layout of their room. For example, Kounin’s idea about with-it-ness encourages teachers to monitor all parts of a classroom. Teachers who practice with-it-ness will create organized classroom layouts that allow them to monitor all the students in the room at one time. Teachers may also arrange the room so that students can take part in a routine each day, such as entering the classroom to give the teacher a high-five or some other form of greeting.

Developing routines is another vital part of classroom management. Teachers who use Kounin’s classroom management techniques might create routines to complete at transition times to ensure students understand what to expect from the transition and can smoothly move from one activity to another without being distracted. Teachers can create routines that allow them to observe the classroom and show their with-it-ness.

Another aspect of classroom management is developing relationships with students. Teachers who use with-it-ness can help build and maintain strong relationships with students. For example, teachers might use a facial expression or eye contact to address misbehavior, instead of using words to call out the bad behavior. The facial expression is often enough to stop the negative behavior and helps prevent the student from being embarrassed by a more intrusive correction.

Teachers can also use Kounin’s theories when creating their instruction plans. Teachers who think about Kounin’s movement management principle will most likely try to plan engaging instruction that moves at a smooth pace and will keep students engaged and involved. Teachers can use the idea of overlapping when planning their instruction so that they use their time effectively. Teachers might also use the idea of group focus when planning instruction. They can plan to ask questions of random students, or they can give credit for student participation.

Viewpoints

Kounin is sometimes called the father of classroom management because his research and theories were so important to the development of classroom management principles in the United States. His research laid the groundwork for many other researchers who developed classroom management theories and practices. Some of Kounin’s work introduced new terms, such as with-it-ness, that are still used in discussions of classroom management. Numerous studies have been conducted testing Kounin’s findings and theories. One 2016 study supported his ripple effect theory. The study found that short, negative teacher-student interactions (e.g., a teacher yelling “Stop that now!”) were often followed by an increase in negative behavior by other students in the classroom (Reinke, Herman, & Newcomer, 2016).

Kounin’s work was also important to research about classroom management and teaching because he focused his work on real-world classrooms and real student-teacher interactions. Many other researchers imitated Kounin’s research methods, such as monitoring real classrooms and using videotapes to record interactions to study and make observations about later.

In addition to Kounin, other researchers developed theories and concepts on classroom management. One of the most famous was B.F. Skinner, who proposed the Behaviorist Theory. Skinner suggested a series of rules whose outcomes would result in either punishments or rewards. This combination would result in achieving the desired behaviors. A different approach under the Behaviorist umbrella is called the Token Economy. In this method, students are rewarded or penalized by a type of classroom currency. These can be points or tokens. The tokens can later be redeemed for something desirable.  Another Behaviorist approach is the Non-Adversarial Method which is credited to Fred Jones. Jones proposed positive rewards such as “Preferred Activity Time.” When students exhibit desired behaviors or performance, they are allowed to engage in a side activity they find enjoyable. The teacher sets aside a specified amount of time for these students to engage in these activities.  Theorists Alfie Kohn and John Dewey helped to develop the idea of Democratic classrooms. This school of thought allows students to participate in developing the rules or environment to which they will be subjected. This allows for more student ownership of their learning process.

Although Kounin’s work still influences theories of classroom management, many researchers have used his work as a guide to make more refined theories on the topic. For example, Walter Doyle built on some of Kounin’s work by studying real-world classrooms. Although Doyle cited Kounin’s work in his papers, Doyle’s conclusions about classroom management and relationships are different somewhat from Kounin’s conclusions. For example, Doyle asserted that teachers and students influenced each other, while Kounin’s work focused mainly on the way the teacher’s behavior affected students. Numerous other researchers have developed classroom management theories based on or relates to Kounin’s work.

Most American teachers learn about Kounin’s classroom management principles and numerous other classroom management styles while in school or in training. However, a study from National Council on Teacher Quality indicated that the average teaching training program in the United States devoted only eight total hours to the topic of classroom management (Greenberg, 2014). Kounin’s work and the work of numerous other classroom management researchers indicate that teachers with strong classroom management skills can reduce negative behavior and, therefore, increase the amount of time the class can devote to instruction and learning. Some researchers have asserted that Kounin’s research supports the idea that people training to be teachers should receive more in-depth classroom management training.

About the Author

Elizabeth Mohn earned a BS in communications in 2006. She has developed social sciences content for more than a decade.

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