Question: How could Maggie use the ideas of social cognitive theory such as modeling and self-regulation to help herself? Case Study: It was already the third week of October, and Maggie Lindberg knew she couldn't put off taking her students on a nature walk much longer. All the other third-grade classes had ventured out and returned with the materials they would study as part of a science lesson. Her students were asking when they were going, and Maggie knew she was running out of time; in another two weeks there would be no more brightly colored leaves to study.

Walking past a bulletin-board display entitled "The Splendor of the Changing Seasons," the result of a nature walk taken by the third-grade class next to hers, Maggie couldn't help smiling to herself. "I guess it would be irresponsible of me to just ignore this annual phenomenon of nature," she thought. But she wished that she could.

This was Maggie's first year as a full-time teacher. She had graduated from college midyear and then substituted in several nearby school districts for the rest of the school year. Littleton had offered her a full-time position starting in September, and she was assigned a third-grade class of twenty-six students. Maggie had been excited by the prospect of teaching her own class. She spent much of the summer defining her objectives for the year and planning activities and curriculum materials to achieve them. Maggie had wanted to be a teacher for as long as she could remember, and now her goal was a reality.

Maggie's experiences as a substitute teacher had shaped her opinions about teaching almost as much as had student teaching. Maggie knew that substitute teaching was often just an exercise in crowd control, and she had "baby-sat" many classrooms full of unruly children with grace and patience.

But she vowed to herself that her own classroom would be orderly and her students better behaved. Unfortunately, that goal was proving elusive. Maggie also had a specific experience while she was substitute teaching that really frightened her. The incident involved a fourth-grade class scheduled to take a field trip to a local fire station. She vividly recalled the feeling of panic that overtook her when one of the students bolted from the group and ran off the school grounds into a nearby wooded area.

Maggie had the parent volunteer who was accompanying the class on the field trip take the rest of the students back to their classroom. Maggie then went after the runaway student, eventually located her, and brought her back to the classroom. When she returned, she found the principal with her class. While the principal did not rebuke her, the memory was a constant reminder of what could happen when the students were not in the teacher's control. At the moment, Maggie was headed for the art room to pick up her class. As she stood in the doorway, she couldn't believe how intent her students seemed to be on their projects. "These kids must love art," she thought. "They never act like this in my class." Maggie reflected on the reading lessons she had taught earlier that morning. Because the students had art on Tuesdays, Maggie felt real pressure to have the reading groups stay on schedule so that she could meet with all three groups between 9:15 and 10:30, when art was scheduled. But the students seemed to be even less cooperative when Maggie most needed them to stay on task.

She had begun the lesson by reminding the students of the morning schedule. "Since today is Tuesday, we really need to get everything done on time so that we can go to the art room with all our reading work finished."

Some of the children began to clap. Several commented to each other about going to art. Maggie ignored the interruptions and continued, "Look up at the board, and you'll see the assignments for each group. I want the Chocolate Chips with me first today. Twinkies should be reading the story that starts on page 49 of your reading books and then doing the workbook pages on the board. Oreos have to complete the workbook pages left from yesterday and then start a new story, beginning on page 141 of your reading books." Maggie pointed to each group's assignment, which she had written on the chalkboard.

As Maggie was giving the students their directions, many of them were occupied with other activities. Several were walking around the room, some to the pencil sharpener, others to the cubbies to retrieve books or suppliesand a few were gathered at the reading center in the back of the room.

Maggie spoke sharply.

"You're not listening to me! I want the Chocolate Chips at the reading table now.Everyone else, in your seat and doing the work that's on the board."

The children began moving toward their places. Four children gathered at the reading table, while others went for their books and then headed to the table. Two children, sitting at their desks, had their hands up. Maggie noticed and said, "Yes, Melody, what is it?"

"Why do we have to do yesterday's pages? I'm tired of them."

Other children immediately joined in.

"Yeah, don't make us do the old stuff."

"I already did that stuff."

"All we do is the same stuff all the time."

Maggie again raised her voice to be heard over the din. "That 'stuff,' as you all refer to it, is our work. And you will do it, now.I don't want to hear any more complaints, and I want to see everyone hard at work or the whole class will stay in and do the work during recess. Chocolate Chips, you should all be at the reading table. Let's move it."

Maggie's frustration was evident in her voice and the set of her shoulders. Ten minutes of an already shortened reading period had been lost getting the children to settle down to their tasks. She sat down with the Chocolate Chips and, trying to lighten her tone, said, "Okay, Chippers, we're reading on page 76. Emmanuel, why don't you begin?"

Emmanuel was quiet. John said, "He don't got his book."

"Where's your book, Emmanuel?" Maggie tried to keep the impatience from her voice.

"In my cubby."

"What good will it do you in your cubby? What have you been doing all this time? Emmanuel, you know that one of our class rules is 'Be prepared,' but you're not, are you?" Maggie's voice again began to reflect her tension.

She turned to the rest of the Chocolate Chips. "Does everyone else have a book?"

Of the nine children in the group, three had come to the reading table without their books. Maggie sent them to get their books and tried to keep the other children quiet while they waited to get started. It was taking all her control to remain calm. She was tempted to banish the three children who had not brought their books, to make a point about being prepared, but she knew that they needed the reading time too much. However, as a result of all the confusion and interruptions, all the reading groups spent far less time reading on Tuesday than they should have. That was one of the things that bothered Maggie the most.

Of the twenty-six children in her class, more than half had come into third grade below grade level in reading. Maggie wanted them to leave her class reading far better than they did when they came in, and she needed maximum reading time to accomplish her goal. She also knew that third grade was a crucial time for these children. In order to succeed in the upper grades, where there was more emphasis on reading content than on reading skills, they would have to "break the code" and learn to be efficient readers this year. Maggie wanted to be the teacher who enabled them to meet that goal. But, so far, she had not been very successful.

Maggie's reverie about the morning was interrupted when the art teacher noticed her in the doorway. She called to Maggie and waved her into the room. The art teacher directed the children to put away their work. As Maggie watched the children clean up the art room, she was fascinated by what she observed. When the art teacher was satisfied with the cleanup, she had the children line up at the door. Maggie found it hard to believe these were the same children who, forty minutes earlier, had been causing her such consternation. However, as soon as the class stepped into the hall, Maggie remembered why the children frustrated her.

She walked down the hall trying to keep order.

"Tommy, don't run ahead of the class. You know the rules."

"Maria, please try to keep up. Don't dawdle."

"Matt, come walk next to me. I've told you not to bother the girls.

Could we all please keep the noise down?"

Maggie looked at the children straggling into the classroom and thought, "What's the matter with these kids? Why don't they listen to me?

Is it because I'm so young?"

Eventually Maggie was able to herd the last of the students into the classroom. She looked at the clock and saw that it was 11:25; her social studies lesson was beginning late.

"Okay, everyone in your seat now and take out your social studies books."

The students continued talking to each other as they made their way to their desks.

"Please quiet down. I want to see all of you in your seats, because we have a lot of work to do."

Looking out over her class, Maggie saw that most of the students were ignoring her. Two students were in the library corner; a group of boys had their heads together over a comic book; and one little girl, looking for a pencil, had emptied the contents of her desk onto the floor.

Maggie went over to the boys, took the comic book, and told them to take their seats. The boys complied but continued to talk above the noise of the rest of the class.

As Maggie walked toward the girls in the library corner, she heard a loud crash from the front of the room.

"Miss Lindberg, it wasn't my fault. Tony was pulling it down too hard."

Maggie saw the world map crumpled in a heap on the floor in front of the chalkboard.

"Well, why were you pulling the map down? Please sit down, and I will take care of the map."

The sound of the map crashing to the floor had captured everyone's attention, and the students listened to hear what would happen next. Maggie was angry enough to raise her voice.

"I mean it. I want all of you in your seats now.Let's get out those social studies notebooks, and if I hear one more word from anyone, there will be no free time this afternoon."

As Maggie walked briskly to the front of the classroom, she looked at the clock. It was 11:35. She would barely have time to introduce the social studies lesson before the lunch bell at 11:45.

The classroom was filled with the sound of rustling papers as the children searched for their books. As Maggie watched them, she tried through sheer force of will to repress her dismay and replace it with the excitement and anticipation she had felt on the first day of class. Maggie did not want to let herself become discouraged; she wanted to teach these children something! But too often they wouldn't even listen to her, and the idea of organizing the group for a field trip seemed like a nightmare.

Looking out the window, she again noticed how brilliant the leaves had become. She knew she had to take the students on a nature walk, and she had to do it soon. She was sure that they would enjoy some time outside and that a science lesson based on materials they had gathered themselves would be a good learning experience for them. "But," she thought, "I can't even control them in here!"