Causes, prevention, and interventions regarding classroom disruptions in digital teaching: A systematic review

Abstract

Digitization and the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic are accelerating the use of digital tools in teaching. Therefore, this systematic literature review offers an overview of international studies with a particular focus on classroom disruptions and their causes, as well as on prevention and intervention strategies in digital settings. Selecting out of over 700 published articles from the last 20 years, the results show that, although the research on classroom management in general is numerous, the connection between digitization and classroom disruptions has received little attention so far. Studies of different methodological orientations have been conducted, but strongly teacher-focused. Also, there are conceptual inaccuracies leading to a variety of different findings and interpretations. Thus, this article provides a definition of the term digital teaching and critically discusses the classification of new findings, their emplacement in existing research, as well as their potential to expand existing models. Furthermore, the results summarize causes of disruptions in digital teaching, their possible prevention and intervention strategies.

Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Role and Classroom Management Practices in a Technology Rich Primary School Classroom

“…Naturally, as an intrinsic case study (Stake, 1995), these findings have their limitations regarding generalizability, but at the same time, they do provide us with important descriptions and examples regarding teacher's role and classroom management practices in a technology-rich primary school. In this study, we have delved into teachers' perceptions in order to cast light on how they perceive their role and classroom management practices in technology-rich environments, but the field certainly has more space for pupils' voices, as well (Meinokat and Wagner, 2021). In the light of lack of uniform definitions and practices, as well as scarcity of relevant studies from primary education (Bolick and Bartels, 2015;Cho et al, 2020;Meinokat and Wagner, 2021) we find these results promising regarding implications toward succeeding in classroom management in technology-rich learning environments but acknowledge the need for gaining more knowledge and further research focusing particularly on classroom management in primary education.…”

“…Teachers have expressed doubts regarding their pupils' maturity to demonstrate an adequate amount of selfregulation and responsibility when the temptations of digital devices are constantly within the reach, but it has been argued that many of such issues could be resolved by better competence in classroom management (Krumsvik et al, 2013). Although several Norwegian studies have examined the relationship between digitalization and classroom disruptions, a recent systematic review shows that this topic has received little attention internationally (Meinokat and Wagner, 2021). Studies also show that while the access to and the use of digital technologies has increased significantly during the past years, there is still great variation in digital practices within and between Norwegian schools (Krumsvik et al, 2016;Fjørtoft et al, 2019).National studies and international comparison indicate that in spite of teachers' positive attitudes and good access to digital technologies, the use of ICT in Norwegian schools has been generally rather mediocre (Ottestad et al, 2013;Throndsen and Hatlevik, 2015;Blikstad-Balas and Klette, 2020).…”

Classroom disruptions in digital teaching during the pandemic – an interview study

“…Various terms, such as classroom disruptions, classroom disturbances, disorders, or disruptive/disturbing behavior, are used synonymously (Meinokat and Wagner, 2022). Exemplary definitions have described disruptions and disruptive behaviors as "behavior a reasonable person would view as being likely to substantially or repeatedly interfere with conduct of a class" (Stockton University, 2001, p. 1), "general issues hindering students' and teachers' classroom work" (Belt and Belt, 2017, p. 55), "any behavior that interferes with teaching and learning" (Franken, 2020, p. 445) or "behavior that seriously interferes with the teaching process, and/or seriously upsets the normal running of the classroom" (Infantino and Little, 2005, p. 493).…”

“…According to Mulvahill (2018) "simply put, classroom management refers to the wide variety of skills and techniques that teachers use to ensure that their classroom run smoothly, without disruptive behavior from students" (Mulvahill, 2018, p. 1). Although researchers in educational science are aware that not only students can be disruptive in a classroom (Kearney et al, 2002;Scherzinger and Wettstein, 2019), and different perspectives inside a classroom create different views on classroom disruptions (Montuoro and Lewis, 2015;Wettstein et al, 2016;Eckstein, 2019), studies in this area have often been teacher centered (Meinokat and Wagner, 2022). This research about Classroom Management is focusing on general strategies to achieve the goal of having a smooth classroom environment (Zoder-Martell et al, 2023).…”

Indicators to assess preservice teachers’ digital competence in security: A systematic review

“…It is necessary to drive, understand and deepen knowledge in use and to assume a more responsible attitude (Cózar-Gutiérrez et al, 2016). The current educational scenario caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of digital teaching competences as the use of technology has become essential in all educational areas (Meinokat & Wagner, 2021). This scenario has led to the putting into practice of skills related to the search for, selection and use of information; and types of organization, use and communication among professors, parents and alumni (Tomczyk & Walker, 2021) that involve secure, ethical, legal responsible Internet use.…”