Abstract:

The diversity of students can challenge the classroom management skills of educators in the 21st century more than ever. When teachers effectively manage students’ behaviors, the learning environment is positive, and the outcomes are motivating for more improvement. The purpose of this study was to examine the pre-service teachers’ experiences during their training in classroom management regarding both declarative and procedural knowledge in a virtual face-to-face (F2F) class. It aimed to understand how the study groups contributed to the development of the classroom management curriculum in both forms, as a process and product. The structure-process-outcome theory (Johnson & Johnson, 2018) guided this inquiry. The study employed a qualitative methodology with a case study as a research design. The aim was to understand the participants’ experiences within the study groups and collect recommendations for better practices.

The participants were 26 students from the Pedagogy of Preschool and Primary School academic program. They benefited from instruction during one semester in the Classroom Management course. Data collection included a focus group discussion with seven participants, 12 course evaluation forms, observations, and 100 students’ reflective journals selected from a total of 200.

The findings revealed pre-service teachers’ positive attitudes in working collaboratively in their study groups for solving the class requirements. Further, it emphasized the efficiency of the classroom management portfolio with rules, procedures, consequences, and rewards, developed as a tool for their future teaching profession. The participants’ recommendations were to include more study groups for enhancing pre-service teachers’ classroom management skills and develop other classroom management materials.

Keywords:

Pre-service teachers, study groups, classroom management, case study.