The Kounin Model By Amy Mead

Who was Jacob Kounin Jacob Kounin was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1912 He is best known for his book Discipline and Group Management in Classrooms (1971/1977) and his ideas of: Ripple effect “Withitness” Overlapping Movement Management Group Focus Avoiding Satiation

Ripple Effect This idea was discovered by accident. Kounin realized that when he reprimanded one student for misbehaving, it changed the behavior of the rest of the class, having a “ripple effect” on students who merely witnessed the reprimand. He tested this theory in college age, high school, summer camp and kindergarten settings. Three qualities were used in the kindergarten study. They are: clarity, identify deviant, point out unwanted behavior, and give reason for stopping; firmness, teacher has a “Say it like you mean it” attitude; and roughness, including anger, physical handling, and punishment. Kounin realized that clarity increased the chance of changed behavior. Firmness only worked in students who were acting out at the time. Roughness only upset the children, making them restless and anxious. The “ripple effect” worked well on the first few days of class but tended to diminish as the year wore on.

“Withitness” Simply put, “withitness” means the teacher knows what is going on in the classroom at all times, like the saying “eyes in the back of your head”. Knowing which student to correct and, make sure the teacher doesn’t let misbehavior escalate.

Overlapping Overlapping is a form of group management. It is the ability to attend to two issues at the same time. For example, a teacher has students working in small groups for a project and is helping one group but notices another group playing cards. The teacher must be able to monitor the whole class while conducting small groups which means addressing the card players from a distance and keeping everyone on task.

Movement Management By this Kounin meant movement between lessons, not physical movement. Teachers should transition smoothly between one subject to the next and maintain momentum.

Group Focus Kounin describes group focus as keeping students paying attention to the same thing at the same time, which is essential to a productive, efficient classroom. There are three ways to accomplish this. Group format refers to grouping students in such a manner that maximum active participation is encouraged. Accountability refers to each member of a small group is responsible for learning all of the facts, concepts or procedures of a lesson. The students are more likely to pay attention and stay involved. Attention, which Kounin believed was the most important, can be maintained when the students know they may be called on at any moment to respond to a question.

Avoiding Satiation The three key elements of reducing boredom is to provide students with the sense of progress. Offering challenges, in an enthusiastic and positive manner, helps the students to keep wanting more. Variety, Kounin says is the “spice of each lesson”. Lessons can be presented creatively, using manipulatives or restructuring groups.

Happy Teaching Everyone