Elementary Classroom Management: Lessons from Research and Practice

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.

Molly Romano works in the department of Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies at the University of Arizona. Dr. Romano received a bachelors degree in Elementary Education and a masters 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.

Andrew J. Mignano Jr. is currently the principal of the Laura Donovan School in Freehold Township, New Jersey. He received his bachelors degree in elementary education from Rutgers College in 1974 and his masters degree in educational psychology from Kean College in 1981. During his 15 years as a teacher, he taught at all levels from kindergarten to fifth grade, including one year teaching special education. His tenure as a principal has been characterized by the implementation of new programs in early literacy, technology integration and world languages. A firm believer in professional development and teacher preparation, Mr. Mignano has worked closely with the Rutgers Office of Teacher Education. As a staff developer, he has conducted workshops on the topics of writing workshops, early literacy, brain based learning, classroom management and cooperative learning.