A group of Hamilton County elementary teachers representing 30 different schools learned new strategies to manage their classrooms at the first William Butterfield Classroom Management Institute, held at UTC. A total of 150 people participated, including administrators, pre-service teachers from UTC, and representatives from community organizations.
A new teacher typically doesn’t worry about planning curriculum or delivering content to students, but there are concerns about establishing the necessary structure to be successful in the classroom, according to Dr. Valerie Rutledge, director of the UTC School of Education.
“The institute presented strategies to manage issues and behavior in the classroom," said Dr. Rutledge. "UTC faculty who presented these strategies will follow up, at least once a semester, to find out which strategies are working and which ones are not. We will continue to provide input for the teachers."
The institute was named in honor of Dr. William Butterfield, the late professor emeritus of Teacher Preparation Academy who taught for 31 years at UTC. A UTC fund established in Dr. Butterfield’s name by his wife, Martha, provided support. Additional funding was provided by the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga.