Best Practices in Classroom Management for Today's University Environment

The college classroom has changed in many ways over the last two decades due to enhanced technology and updated methods of information communication. Disruptive behavior and cheating in the classroom also have increased over the last 20 years. Engineering is among the top five disciplines with the highest rates of misconduct. In addition to developing the curriculum for their courses, faculty must be proactive in establishing effective classroom management practices. To this end, instructors increasingly are encouraged to gain a better understanding of problematic behaviors and to become more aware of campus policies, procedures and services related to academic integrity, student conduct, and mental health problems in order to reduce disruptive occurrences. This paper, which may be particularly useful for those with limited teaching experience, describes research on incivility in the classroom and features a classroom management workshop for faculty developed and convened at an historically black college and university in the southern part of the United States. The workshop example presented highlights best practice recommendations from the workshop and the literature.