Dr Mark Dowley on Improving Classroom Management and Behaviour
Dr Mark Dowley on Improving Classroom Management and Behaviour
March 4, 2025
Dr. Mark Dowley’s journey into the world of education started early. “I always enjoyed working with young people,” he recalls. “As a teenager, I was always volunteering on school camps or coaching sports teams.” This passion for working with youth and a belief that education could solve many of the world’s problems drove him to pursue a career in teaching. “As teachers, we can make a positive difference,” he says.
Dr. Mark Dowley is now an experienced coach, educator, and school leader. For over 15 years, Mark has taught and presented in schools from Papua New Guinea to New York and has received multiple teaching awards. He consults internationally to schools on
staff development, coaching, and behavior. Unlike a general consultant or university lecturer, Mark remains actively engaged in the classroom. Mark completed his Doctor of Education and Masters in Education Policy (International) at the University of Melbourne.
With years of experience in the classroom, Dr. Dowley and his colleague Ollie Lovell recognised a significant challenge faced by new teachers: classroom management. This realisation led them to write “The Classroom Handbook.” Dr. Dowley explains, “We found that so many new teachers to the profession struggled with classroom management, and this impacted their wellbeing as well as the learning outcomes of students.” They aimed to codify the effective strategies used by experienced teachers to help new educators. “Essentially, we wanted to write the book we wish we could have read before we started teaching,” he adds. “Personally, it would have saved me a lot of stress from learning classroom management by trial and error.”
Dr. Dowley emphasises the importance of classroom and behavior management for those training to be teachers. “It’s a foundational skill for effective teaching,” he asserts. He is concerned about the high attrition rate among new teachers, attributing much of it to the stress of not being able to manage classrooms effectively. “Our students also suffer when classrooms aren’t productive, and we need our students learning,” he stresses.
One principle from the book that has garnered significant positive feedback is the “defuse debate routines.” These routines use various tools, including partial agreement, describe and direct, directed choice, and take-up time, to navigate challenges from students effectively. “We commonly hear parents say they use the same conversational tool with their children, and it’s helped their relationships at home,” Dr. Dowley notes.
Both new and experienced teachers benefit from “The Classroom Handbook” and Dr. Dowley’s seminars. “New teachers love the book,” he shares. Experienced teachers also find value in the strategies. “We’ve found that experienced teachers find it affirming when they see many of the strategies they use have been given a name, allowing them to codify and share their expertise,” he says. He acknowledges that even seasoned educators face classroom management challenges and benefit from improved behavior strategies.
Looking ahead, Dr. Dowley sees both challenges and opportunities in the field of education, particularly concerning staff development and classroom management. He points out the increasing difficulty students have paying attention due to social media. “Teachers need to be able to overcome that,” he states. Additionally, he addresses the outdated notion that teaching is an innate skill. “We argue that teaching, like any other skill, can be taught and practiced so all teachers can move towards mastery. Then we can have engaged, productive classrooms where our students can thrive,” he concludes.
Dr Mark Dowley will be running a full-day seminar on Improving Behaviour and Engagement in the Classroom on 7 May 2025. For further details and to book visit: tinyurl.com/ttimarkdowley
