Do as I Say: What Teachers’ Language Reveals About Classroom Management Practices

2026/01/20 by Mei Tan, Dorottya Demszky · 2 voices
Social Sciences · Psychology · #Education Discipline and Inequality #Behavioral and Psychological Studies #Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

paper · doi:10.3102/0013189x251410178

openalex publication_date 2026/01/20 · openalex created_date 2026/01/22 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21

Abstract

Classroom management critically affects students’ academic and behavioral outcomes, yet we lack quantitative methods for observing these practices at scale. This study develops and validates language-based measures of classroom management—such as responding to student behavior and issuing verbal or material sanctions—using natural language processing on 1,652 elementary mathematics classroom transcripts. On average, classroom management language comprises 24% of teacher talk, and behavior management comprises 7%, with wide variation across teachers. Novice teachers use more reprimands, and command frequency increases with experience. Classrooms with more Black students experience more language reflecting exclusionary discipline. These measures offer a new lens for studying and supporting classroom management as it unfolds in real time.

Citations

• Why Reform Sometimes Succeeds: Understanding the Conditions That Produce Reforms That Last

Discussions

• "we found that novice teachers not only used significantly more behavior management language overall but also relied more heavily on reprimands. By contrast, the use of commands increased with each ad [bsky, 3 points, 0 comments]
• Interesting study on teacher talk suggests it varies more by teacher style than as result of school systems or instructional format. Novices reprimand more, experienced command more. And classes with [bsky, 3 points, 0 comments]

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