Jacob S.

Kounin

Classroom Management
Model
 Who is Kounin?

Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1912

He graduated in 1939 with doctorate
degree from Lowa State University
Kounin is a classroom behaviourist
theorist
He wrote the book, "Discipline and
Group Management in Classrooms"
Kounin worked to combine both
discipline and learning in the
classroom
 Achieving Classroom
Management Through
Preventive Discipline
Key Ideas:
Ripple Effect
Withitness
Overlapping
Movement Management
Smoothness
Momentum
Group Focus and Accountability
 Strategy 2: Withitness

Awareness of what is going on in all

parts of the classroom
Teachers have eyes on the back of
their heads!
Classroom layout benefits the
teachers ability to see all students at
all times
Strategy 3: Overlapping

When teachers can effectively tend to

two or more events simultaneously
Students are more likely to stay on
task if they know that the teacher is
aware of what they are doing (body
language)
 Strategy 4: Movement
Management
Smoothness:
Smooth transitions between
activities
Momentum:
Appropriate pace and progression
through a lesson
Group Focus and Accountability:
Keep the whole class involved and
interested
 When Managing the
Classroom, Try to AVOID
Dangling:
Teacher leaves a topic and
introduces new, unrelated material

Flip-flop:
like dangling, except that the
teacher inserts left-over materials
from a previous lesson
 Avoid
Thrust:
teacher forgets to give clear instructions
at the appropriate time of a lesson.
Teacher must then re-explain the
instructions to each student on an
individual level
Stimulus-bound:
Teacher is distracted by an outside
stimulus and draws the classs attention
to it
 Classroom Applications
Be aware of what is happening around the
classroom.
Intervene before misbehaviours escalate.
Use routines, explanations and smooth transitions to
gain the attention of the students.
Keep all students involved through constant
supervision and accountability.
Reduce off task behaviour and boredom by creating
challenges, extending tasks, providing progress and
adding variety.
Be able to attend to more than one event at the
same time.
Note: Classroom management is most effective when
these applications are applied at the beginning of
the school year.
 References
Kounin 1970
http://www.educ.uvic.ca/epls/faculty/rowles/kounin1.htm

Jacob Kounin
http://scied.gsu.edu/Hassard/mos/10.2.html

Kounin, Jacob from WikEd

http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Kounin,_Jacob

Learning Environment Article from The Premiere Website for Health and Physical
Education http://www.pecentral.org/climate/april99article.html

Maine Education Association

http://www.maine.nea.org/index.htm

The Kounin Model from Approaches to Discipline

http://www.solwebs.net/sgfl/teaching/discplan/koun1.htm

West Dunbartonshire Council

http://www.wdcweb.info/home/