Suchergebnisse

An expanded focus on discipline and disorder classrooms In Sweden, we have over the last 15 years experienced a heightened concern with discipline, especially among politicians and debaters, who argue that problem with discipline has decreased in Swedish classrooms. Even so, the PISA results focusing on discipline in classrooms between 2000 and 2009 reported in some years (OECD, 2011, 2013) the opposite trend towards more orderly classrooms. According to that report, Sweden is one of the countries with more than 10 percentage points of improvement, based on students' reports of calm classrooms. From that, the report concludes:"By 2009, the quality of student-teacher relations was even better"(OECD, 2011, p. 3). Secondly, Swedish educational researchers have overthe last 10 years (cf. Bartholdsson, 2007; Granath, 2008; Wester, 2008; Samuelsson, 2008; Landahl, 2009; Karlberg, 2011) studied what happens in classrooms and how teachers' think about and handle disturbances and discipline. Thirdly, Sweden during 2010 passed a new Educational Act (Utbildningsdepartementet, 2010:800) with expanded disciplinary sanctions for teachers to use. With the passing of that act teachers and schools gained the possibility of suspending a student for three weeks, as well as moving a student to another school as a response to the disorder, troublesome behaviour or disrespect they have had to tolerate in the classroom. In light of the above mentioned, the aim of this study is to describe and understand the ways in which teachers have experienced students' troublesome behaviour during lessons.

Background. Learning to manage a classroom is a difficult but important part of teacher education. Earlier research on simulations for learning classroom management has highlighted the difficulty of supporting reflection. Purpose. This case study explores and evaluates the design of a simulation for student teachers' reflection on classroom management. Design. The design process resulted in the scenario-based SIMPROV simulation, which was made in the form of a hypermedia radio theatre that students go through in pairs or triads. Authoritarian, authoritative, democratic, and compliant leadership styles were built into the choices student teachers made. Evaluation. The simulation was evaluated in two courses where the participants' level of reflection and perceived knowledge improvement was measured using a questionnaire. Forty three first-year student teachers, 48 third-year student teachers, and 38 of the student teachers' mentors participated in the evaluation. Results. The results indicate that participants engaged in reflection and understanding to a high degree, and only to a low degree in critical reflection or habitual action. Conclusions. The conclusions are that the scenario-based simulation designed as a hypermedia radio theatre supported knowledge improvement, understanding, and reflection and that social interaction during and after simulation sessions was an important feature. ; SIMPROV - Simulerade provokationer