Effective Classroom Management in Student-Centered Classrooms
Recent changes in educational laws have created new classroom management
opportunities. According to Wong, Wont, Rogers, and Brooks (2012), “classroom management
refers to all the things that a teacher does to organize students, space, time, and materials so that
student learning can take place” (p. 61). Effective teachers, who establish an efficient
management system from the beginning of the school year, will have more time to devote to
student learning, than teachers who are constantly trying to use an inefficient management
system. The two federal laws, No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 and the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) of 2004 made it a necessity to improve
student achievement for students of all learning abilities. Due to these changes, classrooms are
now shifting from teacher-centered to student-centered learning communities. Garrett (2008)
defines student-centered learning communities as having "shared leadership, community
building, and a balance between the needs of the teachers and students” (p. 34)