From Discipline to Culturally Responsive Engagement: 45 Classroom Management Strategies

by Laura Elizabeth Pinto

The forward-thinking techniques you need to manage today’s diverse classrooms

A well-managed classroom is a successful one. But as cultural diversity increases in schools, old classroom management strategies are growing ineffective—or even counterproductive. In a comprehensive, practical guide, Laura E. Pinto details why today’s classrooms are best managed by valuing culturally responsive engagement and what teachers must do for their classrooms to flourish in this new reality. 

Drawing from extensive research, Pinto outlines action steps for teachers to critically reflect on their management style, then implement changes to supercharge the learning experience for students of all cultural backgrounds.  The book

Keys to developing the cultural fluency necessary to prepare students from all backgrounds for success Exercises for teachers to reflect deeply on how they manage their classrooms and to identify areas for improvement 45 easy strategies—including many that support the Common Core—for boosting engagement and cultural responsiveness in the classroom Readable and compelling, From Discipline to Culturally Responsive Engagement is essential for any educator ready to adapt to the changing face of classrooms. "The book creates a type of neural pathway between classroom management and the nature of relationship-building that is grounded by culturally responsive practice. Incorporating the relationship and significance of the common core only adds to the development of teacher capacity and efficacy development." —Deborah Childs-Bowen, Chief Learning Officer Alliance for Leadership in Education, Atlanta, GA

Genres: Education

232 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2013

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some serious flaws, but I will probably return to it whenever resetting classroom management plans or problem-solving particular engagement problems. This book is most helpful in pushing teachers to shift their mindsets about management and discipline. I really like the idea of starting to plan classroom management structures with an eye toward engagement rather than control or maintaining order. It will certainly help me make management plans that are more useful and meaningful to me.

Pros
Focusing on shifting mindset away from how to control classroom to how to engage learners
Encourages a shift away from thinking of disruptive behavior as a student failure to failure of classroom systems
Provides system for critically analyzing strategies to see if they are aligned with your goal, your students and best promote engagement and achievement
Assumes there are no best strategies for classroom management and that teachers must work as researchers to determine which strategies are best for them and their setting
Discusses common pitfalls associated with each classroom management strategy
Set-up for teacher teams to use for group inquiry

Cons
Way oversimplifies cultural responsiveness in the examples in ways that promote stereotyping and generalization
Title implies turn-key strategies, but this is more about critically thinking about strategies and adapting for your environment
A lot of the strategies are not strategies (ex “seating arrangements” just says you have to consider what message seating arrangements send about communication)
Assumes teachers/readers are white and middle class
No frills. No photos or images of tools in action in classroom. “Reproducibles” are unattractive and poorly laid out for actual use

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relevant for new teachers - better for elementary school or schools in suburban communities re: some of the suggestions and strategies.

[Veronika · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of common sense, but reminders are always welcome.

[Joel Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful and practical with a much more open mind to considering different ideas and ways of looking at things than most books in the education genre, in my experience.

[Julie Aquilina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A myriad (45 to be exact) of specific strategies to help build community in any classroom, all cushioned by how and why it's so important to keep those strategies culturally responsive. I was a little disappointed that a small chunk of the strategies were based on extrinsic motivators (despite Pinto's clear awareness of the limited nature of extrinsic motivators to have lasting impact). However, still enough specific strategies focused on achieving engagement rather than compliance to give this book a read.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will definitely keep this on hand for teaching!