School of Education named as one of the nation's top teacher prep programs for strong training in classroom management

 

Loyola’s undergraduate elementary teacher preparation program has been named among the top in the country for strong training in classroom management strategies by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), a nonpartisan, not-for-profit research and policy organization.  Our undergraduate program is among the only 14% of almost 1000 programs evaluated that earned an A, and serves as a model of excellence for others.

“This is a tremendous accomplishment that speaks volumes about the work faculty are doing in the Teaching and Learning program,” said Malik Henfield, Dean of the School of Education.

Our program was recognized for requiring our aspiring elementary teachers to demonstrate their ability to implement all five classroom strategies:

1. Establishing rules and routines that set expectations for behavior;
2. Maximizing learning time by managing time, class materials, and the physical setup of the classroom, and by promoting student engagement;
3. Reinforcing positive behavior by using specific, meaningful praise and other forms of positive reinforcement;
4. Redirecting off-task behavior through unobtrusive means that do not interrupt instruction and that prevent and manage such behavior, and;
5. Addressing serious misbehavior with consistent, respectful, and appropriate consequences.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has, at least for this year, reshaped much of what happens in schools, which impacts classroom management training for aspiring teachers. Several essential classroom management strategies can’t simply be converted to a remote teaching environment, limiting opportunities to practice. However, the basic principles of quality classroom management still stand in spite of COVID and are still critical to the success of aspiring teachers in their future careers.

“In previous editions of the Teacher Prep Review, the predominant approach to classroom management instruction by most programs was that establishing classroom rules and planning great lessons will prevent student misbehavior,” observed NCTQ President Kate Walsh. “As any teacher can attest, engaging classes alone are seldom enough. We are heartened by the growing acknowledgment by schools like Loyola of the many benefits of building new teachers’ skills in these key strategies.

For More Information: nctq.org/2020TPRPractice

 

Photo: Bernarda Tarré Romero reads to first grade students at New Field Elementary in Rogers Park. (Photo: Lukas Keapproth)