Task Instructions vs. Prompts in Classroom Management

           Summary of Gabel et al. (2025)

Background & Existing Knowledge
Teacher professional vision—particularly noticing classroom management situations—is critical for early career educators. Classroom videos are commonly used for training, but optimal ways to guide pre-service teachers’ attention remain uncertain.

New Insights from This Study
✔ Both pre-viewing specific task instructions and in-video prompts improved noticing of classroom management events.
✔ Verbal reactive strategies were more easily noticed than nonverbal ones.
✔ Specific task instructions require fewer resources and can substitute for prompts in many cases.

Practical Applications

Curriculum Innovation
📌 Incorporate authentic classroom videos into teacher education/training programs.
📌 Provide pre-viewing instructions focused on specific observation targets.
📌 Include exercises that distinguish between verbal and nonverbal classroom management strategies.

Empowering Learners
📌 Train pre-service teachers to interpret both visible actions and underlying intentions.
📌 Use post-video debriefs to strengthen analytical thinking.
📌 Develop reflection activities where students explain their noticing process.

Resource Efficiency in Teacher Training
📌 Replace complex prompt systems with clear, well-designed task instructions where possible.
📌 Offer digital checklists for self-paced video analysis.
📌 Allocate freed-up resources to other high-impact areas, such as mentoring.

Conclusion
Structured attention guidance through task instructions is a cost-effective, scalable method to enhance early professional vision.

Reference

Gabel, S., Keskin, Ö., & Gegenfurtner, A. (2025). Comparing the effects of a specific task instruction and prompts on pre-service teachers’ noticing of classroom management situations. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 28, 105–123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-024-01276-x  

Suggested Citation
Ross, E. M., & Malar, D. B. J. (2025). Task Instructions vs. Prompts in Classroom Management. Excellent Educator, 2(16), 1.