EFFECT OF CASE BASED REASONING ON CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT PROBLEM SOLVING SKILL AMONG PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS AT SECONDARY SCHOOL LEVEL

Abstract

Abstract A classroom is socially and culturally complex where there are multiple ‘actors’ such as a teacher and many students who perform multiple actions that occur simultaneously (Poole & Evertson, 2013). A teacher who is a master in one’s subject and pedagogy may not really be able to teach in the classroom without having necessary skills to manage the events that occur in the classroom. Sometimes, events could very well turn out to be disruptive and evolve into a classroom management problem. Unfortunately, teachers are not trained to manage disruptive events in a classroom in their pre-service teacher education programme. It is assumed that teachers could learn to manage a classroom all by themselves by developing a repertoire of tools out of experience. Studies show that beginner teachers and sometimes regular teachers find it very difficult to deal with classroom management problems because of their lack of training to deal with in such situations (Gay & Howard, 2000; Choi & Lee, 2008; Cushner et al., 2009; Wubbels, 2011; Cushman & Kemp, 2012; Eisenman et al., 2015; Akin et al., 2016). Therefore, it is important to focus our efforts to train teachers scientifically on how to manage a classroom. Studies show that when classroom management was offered as a course along with teacher education programmes, they didn’t yield quite good results (O’Neill & Stephenson, 2012; Incecay & Dollar, 2012; Freeman et al., 2014). Also, classroom management problems transform/evolve over time and place, which makes it difficult to situate them with treatise based on existing theories. Setting of the Problem Classroom management problems are uncertain to novice teachers as they are not trained exclusively for solving them during their teacher training days. So, it may take a few years in service to understand the classroom behaviour dynamics to learn to solve classroom management problems through trial and error and the experience gained along the way. How to teach prospective teachers to solve real-world classroom management problems that disrupt the teaching learning activities? For this purpose, a case-based problem-solving learning environment must be developed. In case-based reasoning new ill-structured problem situation is interpreted and defined using old cases which are old ill-structured problem situations. Professionals especially, medical practitioners, lawyers, engineers, technicians, etc., use case histories and narratives as a tool to help them gather expertise to forge suitable solutions to the new and unfamiliar problem situation. Using cases as prior experiences have proven to be effective in solving ill-structured problems (Choi & Lee, 2008; Jonassen, 2011). Need & Significance of the Study One can argue that practice teaching is enough in training a prospective teacher to acquire skills in solving classroom management problems. Studies conducted around the world over the years regarding classroom management prove that novice teachers face difficulty in managing the classroom during the earlier phase of their teaching career more than the later phase (Ganser, 1999; Choi & Lee, 2008; Eisenman et al., 2015; Steins et al., 2015; Akin & Yildirum, 2016; Dugas, 2016). It is evident from these studies, that during the practice teaching phase the prospective teachers might not have experienced varied factors that lead to classroom management problems. Even in authentic books on classroom management like ‘The Classroom Management Book’ by Wong and Wong (2014) and ‘Transformative Classroom Management: Positive Strategies to Engage All Students and Promote a Psychology of Success’ by Shindler (2010) just give thumb rules on ensuring disciplines in punctuality, reinforcement techniques or some tips that worked for some teachers during their career. However, most of them are based on the age-old behaviourist schools of Psychology which Synopsis 2 either reinforces stimulus-response or weakens it. Assuming that the mundane problems the teachers face have regular pattern and symptomatically assume a behaviourist cause associated with it would be oversimplifying the issue. As we dig deep into it, we find the real cause, more intriguing and could only be solved with a cognitive as well as philosophic approach. As we have moved on to cognitive theories of teaching and learning, should we not anchor our classroom management problem solving strategies on using cognitive skills in learning to solve Ill structured problems? Research Questions What effect does Case Based Reasoning have on the Classroom Management Problem Solving Skill of prospective teachers of secondary schools? How does teaching attitude and non-verbal intelligence effect classroom management problem solving skill? Statement of the Problem The problem selected for the investigation stemmed from an assumption that prospective teachers may not learn the necessary skills to solve classroom management problems during their brief practice teaching phase in the B.Ed programme. Learning to solve classroom management problems have never been an intense topic of study in teacher education institutions. There have been studies which focus on discipline in the classroom, where the teachers are given thumb rules on classroom management strategies eventually leading to best teaching practices (Brophy, 1996; Martin et al., 1998; Froyen and Iverson, 1999; McDonald, 2010). Choi and Lee (2008) have attempted to learn about classroom management problems and design a case-based learning environment. Praveen (2020) studied different types of classroom management problems and implemented a moodle based case-based reasoning instructional strategy among inservice teachers. However, out of all the studies reviewed, none of them discussed about learning to solve classroom management problems at pre-service teacher education. The researcher from personal experience and after review of related literature found that novice teachers face difficulty in managing the classroom problems during the earlier phase of their teaching career more, than at a later phase (Gay & Howard, 2000; Choi & Lee, 2008; Cushner et al., 2009; Wubbels, 2011. This is because most of the prospective teachers have little or no experience on the type of classroom management problems that they may encounter, revealing the fact that the prospective teachers lack Classroom Management Problem Solving Skill. The point of contention here is that teacher education programmes should insist on enhancing the Classroom Management Problem Solving Skills among all other aspects of the B.Ed programme. A mere theoretical teaching on classroom management will not justify the improvement of Classroom Management Problem Solving Skill among prospective teachers at secondary school level. The best way is to familiarize the prospective teachers with problems that normally occur while teaching and feel confident in getting equipped with at least a few skills in solving such problems. This prompted the researcher to implement problem-solving learning environment with Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) to learn to solve Classroom Management Problems. This approach will enhance the Classroom Management Problem Solving Skills among prospective teachers. Keeping this in mind, the study is entitled as, “Effect of Case Based Reasoning on Classroom Management Problem Solving Skill among Prospective Teachers at Secondary School Level”. Variables Independent Variable Instructional Strategy (instruction using Problem-Solving Learning Environment with Case-Based Reasoning. Dependent Variable Classroom Management Problem Solving Skill. Operational Definition of Key Terms The key terms which are defined operationally for the study are as follows: Case Synopsis 3 “Cases as prior experiences are descriptions of previously solved problems that are reminded by the problem to be solved” (Jonassen, 2011, p. 150). In the present study, a Case, is a past experience describing a real-world ill-structured classroom management problem situation expounded by a novice teacher, which are used as practice problems by prospective teachers to learn to solve Classroom Management Problems. The cases were constructed such that the learners could reason it out by engaging cognitive skills, viz., analogical comparison of the problems, finding causal relationships in problems and argumentation to solve problems. Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) According to Kolodner (1992), “Case-based reasoning can mean adapting old solutions to meet new demands; using old cases to explain new situations; using old cases to critique new solutions; or reasoning from precedents to interpret a new situation or create an equitable solution to a new problem” (p. 4). In the present study, Case-Based Reasoning is comprehending classroom management problems, reasoning out its cause-effect relationships, analysing them with scaffolds, comparing with associated similar cases and evolving a tentative solution which would be reviewed and refined in a collaborative peer environment. Classroom Management Problem “A Classroom Management Problem is the felt difficulty of teachers when they attempt to realize instructional objectives in the classroom, when; (a) a teacher cannot control emotions while students misbehave, (b) a teacher cannot manage a student who misbehaves, (c) a teacher cannot manage students owing to lack of moral development, (d) a teacher cannot manage a group of students who misbehave, (e) a teacher cannot manage students owing to ineffective teaching-learning method, (f) a teacher cannot manage students with psychological problem, (g) a teacher cannot manage students owing to lack of infrastructure” (Praveen, 2020, p. 11). Classroom Management Problem Solving Skill In the present study, it is the cognitive skill that could be improved upon with practice and time which helps the prospective teacher to solve classroom management problems. In this research, the investigator has defined Classroom Management Problem Solving Skill as a conglomerate of cognitive skills, viz., analogical comparison of the problems, finding causal relationships in problems and argumentation to solve problems. We conceive Classroom Management Problem Solving Skill as something that can be improved upon with a problem-solving learning environment using Case Based Reasoning. “When problem solving is conceptualized as a skill, it is seen as something that develops over time as a function of practice” (van Merriënboer, 2013, p. 156). Objectives 1. To find out the extent of prevalence of typical classroom management problems as experienced by secondary school teachers. 2. To develop a module on learning to solve Classroom Management Problems using Case-Based Reasoning among prospective teachers at secondary school level. 3. To find out the effect of Case Based Reasoning on Classroom Management Problem Solving Skill among prospective teachers of secondary school. 4. To find out the direct and interaction effects of Teaching Attitude and Non-Verbal Intelligence on Gain of Classroom Management Problem Solving Skill among prospective teachers at secondary school level. 5. To find out the direct and interaction effects of the Instructional Strategy and Teaching Attitude on Gain of Classroom Management Problem Solving Skill among prospective teachers at secondary school level. 6. To find out the direct and interaction effects of Instructional Strategy and Non-Verbal Intelligence on Gain of Classroom Management Problem Solving Skill among prospective teachers at secondary school level. Synopsis 4 Hypotheses 1. There will not be any significant effect of Case Based Reasoning on Classroom Management Problem Solving Skill among prospective teachers at secondary school level. 2. There will not be any significant direct or interaction effects of Teaching Attitude and Non-Verbal Intelligence on Gain of Classroom Management Problem Solving Skill among prospective teachers at secondary school level. 3. There will not be any significant direct or interaction effects of Instructional Strategy (Case-Based Reasoning) and Teaching Attitude on Gain of Classroom Management Problem Solving Skill among prospective teachers at secondary school level. 4. There will not be any significant direct or interaction effects of Instructional Strategy (Case-Based Reasoning) and Non-Verbal Intelligence on Gain of Classroom Management Problem Solving Skill among prospective teachers at secondary school level. Methodology The present study is quasi experimental in design. Here, a pretest posttest non-equivalent group design is used. Population The population for the study is prospective teachers at secondary school level who are studying for B.Ed programme in the teacher education colleges of State of Kerala, India. Sample Convenience sampling is used to select 200 prospective teachers at secondary school level studying in the 2nd year of the B.Ed programme of select teacher education college in Kerala, India. Out of which 100 prospective teachers are in control group and the other 100 are in experimental group. According to Cohen et al (2005), “Convenience sampling (or as it is sometimes called, accidental or opportunity sampling) involves choosing the nearest individuals to serve as respondents and continuing that process until the required sample size has been obtained. Captive audiences such as students or student teachers often serve as respondents based on convenience sampling.”