"Schooling for Hard Knocks": using scenario-based learning (SBL) for behaviour management skills in pre-service teacher education

Abstract

This chapter describes the use of Scenario~Based Learning (SBL) to close the transitional gap between "top~down" university~based theories of behaviour management and the "bottom~up" realities of school practice. It outlines three stages of problem-based scenarios implemented in a pre-service teacher education subject using a five-phase inquiry model. The three stages of problem-based scenarios used to sequence participant learning included Caricatured Scenarios. Fixed Scenarios, and Emergent Scenarios. The inquiry model used to structure participant engagement with the problem-based scenarios included five phases: Identification, Understanding, Response, Reflection, and Refinement. This form of SBL was developed to help pre-service teachers in a final year elective - "Classroom Management" - to understand and navigate the complexities of behaviour management problems faced by beginning teachers.