About the Course
In contrast to many courses developed by instructors who have little connection to today’s classrooms, Classroom Management: Strategies and Practices was developed and will be facilitated by a team of practicing elementary teachers, as well as a college professor with experience in an elementary classroom.
Although a few of the topics to be addressed will be similar to those addressed in previous classroom-management courses (because they are foundational), the vast majority of the topics will focus on dealing with inappropriate behavior and classroom conflicts. The course is intended to equip teachers with a variety of practical strategies for building community, fostering student responsibility, and dealing, in student-centered ways, with inappropriate behavior. In addition, the course will provide time for teachers to read and discuss relevant literature that focuses on a variety of topics. For many busy teachers, time to read and discuss ideas with knowledgeable peers is a real need. The course has been designed to specifically address that need.
Instructors
The primary instructors for the course will be Dr. Jim Nolan and Professor Bernard Badiali.
Dr. Nolan is Hermanowicz Professor of
Teacher Education and co-director of the Penn State–State College Elementary Professional Development School Collaborative and a former elementary teacher, secondary teacher, and guidance
counselor. He is co-author of Principles of Classroom Management: A Professional Decision-Making Model, published by Allyn and Bacon.
Professor Badiali has consulted with
numerous colleges and universities throughout the country, as well as more than forty school districts in the United States and abroad. His most recent book, Teacher Leader
(with Thomas Poetter) was released by Eye on Education in 2001.
Additional instructors for the course include a group of teachers from the State College Area School District who have been involved in designing and delivering courses for both
preservice teachers and veteran teachers in the area of classroom learning environments.
