Learning from TikTok: Quality and Reach of #TeacherTok as a Classroom Management Tool for Teacher Education

Challenging student behaviors that disrupt the learning environment are experienced by teachers in classrooms across the world. Of all the pedagogical content areas taught in preservice teaching programs, classroom management is an area in which teachers often do not receive adequate training and enter the field with underdeveloped skills (Greenberg et al., 2014). Classroom management is defined as teachers’ arrangement of the learning environment to create and maintain a productive space for social and academic learning where successful implementation supports student and teacher needs (Everett & Weinstein, 2007). For students, effective classroom management promotes academic engagement and achievement (Korpershoek et al., 2016) and school climate (Mitchell & Bradshaw, 2013). For teachers, effective classroom management strategies minimize disruptions and preserve instructional time (Behar-Horenstein et al., 2006) and support positive teacher-student relationships (Wubbels et al., 2014) and instructional performance (Evrim et al., 2009). Classroom management also protects teachers’ well-being and prevents burnout and leaving the profession (Wronowski, 2018).

Effective classroom management centers around prevention (Sugai & Horner, 2008), as off-task behavior is largely predictable and often results from lessons that are not engaging, have unclear expectations, or dismiss students’ underdeveloped academic or social-emotional skills (Landrum et al., 2011). Teachers with well-developed classroom management skills provide students with clear structure, explicitly teach expectations, actively engage with students, and follow consistent and predictable strategies to address positive and negative behavior (Simonsen et al., 2008). When teachers’ classroom management skills are underdeveloped, they are more likely to engage in coercive interaction cycles instead of addressing the underlying cause of off-task or disruptive student behavior. Since student and teacher success depends on effective classroom management, teachers must have access to quality classroom management training methods and materials. Some of this work is done at the pre-service level; however, more support is needed as these skills develop and evolve over time. Thus, teachers need ongoing access to professional development resources. TikTok is one of the ways teachers already look for information and reflective experiences. Therefore, #TeacherTok is naturally positioned as a potential source of information related to their professional development in this area.

The CM PReP model, introduced by Kwok (2021), incorporates the key elements needed to support preservice teachers’ development of classroom management skills, including teachers’ attention to Culture, Methods, Practice, Relationships, and Partnerships. Culture refers to teachers’ understanding of students’ needs and how it influences behavior. For example, a student who has an argument with a peer at recess may find it challenging to engage in academic lessons until they can regulate their emotions, which can undermine the teachers’ efforts to manage the learning environment effectively. Method relates to the practices and strategies a teacher implements to effectively manage the classroom. Practice is the intentional use of evidence-based classroom management strategies. Relationships refer to teachers' centering classroom management activities within the student–teacher, student-students, and teacher-parent relationships (Kwok, 2021). Finally, Partnerships refer to teachers’ application of strategies to real-world scenarios and feedback to improve implementation (e.g., monitoring by supervising teachers, mentors, video feedback and analysis; Nagro et al., 2020). In this study, we operationalized Kwok’s framework into a scoring rubric to assess the quality of video content as an avenue to access high-quality classroom management instruction.

The popularity and accessibility of TikTok, specifically #TeacherTok, situates the platform as a potentially useful and widely available professional development tool for teachers. Where most forms of professional development are costly and time-consuming, #TeacherTok content can be consumed in bite-sized increments at a teacher’s convenience to provide quick, easily accessible lessons, materials, and content knowledge that can be applied in the classroom immediately. Users’ frequent views and creators followed also increase the relevance of content supplied by the TikTok algorithm, which tailors content to each user’s educational and professional interests based on use and search history.

While the algorithm can pinpoint types of content that would best align with a user’s interests, its popularity within the platform does not necessarily equate to quality of content. This is primarily due to the metrics the algorithm uses, and just because a classroom management video goes viral with substantial reach (e.g. high number of views, shares, likes, and followers), it does not necessarily mean that video reflects empirical-based instructional practices. That is, classroom management content on TikTok is only helpful if the strategies and practices dispensed are evidence-based and presented in a way teachers can quickly grasp and implement. In this study, we investigated the content and virality of #TeacherTok videos to understand the viability of this space as an informal training device. We applied the CM PReP model introduced by Kwok (2021), which incorporates the key elements needed to support preservice teachers’ development of classroom management skills. This work was guided by the following research questions:

A corpus of 100 TikTok videos was used in this study and collected using a digital ethnographic framework (Androutsopoulos, 2008; Murthy, 2008; Varis, 2015) in order to examine the structure, context, and content of communication and interactions within the TikTok platform. To account for the algorithmic influence and tracking pattern of user behaviors, a research-only TikTok account was created, then applied a two-week walkthrough integration (Light et al., 2018) and algorithm training to produce a sample of #TeacherTok and classroom management-related videos. The research team developed a list of possible search words based on our expertise that might be used by PSTs and searched multiple times over a two-week period, maintaining collaborative memos of the content, themes, and hashtags used within videos. Using this initial walkthrough approach allowed for the research team to curate and refine the terms to include: Classroom management, Behavior management, Difficult students, Difficult behavior, Challenging behavior, Class control, Disruptive behaviors, Student disrespect, Behavior consequences, Escalating behavior(s), and Discipline. To conduct our search for video collection, the research team used “#TeacherTok + [selected keyword]” to enhance our search and align with the growing teacher-focused digital community of #TeachTok. To ensure a diverse collection that captures multiple perspectives on classroom management patterns, we selected ten videos per keyword, resulting in a total of 100 videos. During our search, we selected every fifth video returned by the search to prevent periodicity or biased sampling. Data collection concluded once we reached topical saturation, where video content echoed the information found during our original two-week walk-through scraping (Bengtsson, 2016). To determine video virality (Bruni et al., 2012), the following metrics were also included in data collection: the number of video likes, comments, shares, bookmarks, and views.

Using Kwok’s (2021) CM PReP framework, we operationalized the five components to develop a scoring rubric to assess the quality of content in TikTok classroom management videos. After creating an initial draft of the rubric, we solicited feedback from CM PReP framework author Dr. Andrew Kwok. His feedback focused on the intended interpretation of the Methods, Practice, and Partnerships components. This supported improvements in our understanding of the operational definitions and the development of a summary question for each area as follows:

The research team developed a rubric using the CM PReP Framework to construct ranked criteria and scores from 0 to 2 (see Appendix); a 0 indicates that the presenter did not discuss that framework component; 1 was assigned if some information was mentioned but not explained or cited; a 2 indicates that the presenter mentioned, explained, and gave examples or resources. Along with the rubric, we also noted the content of the videos, naming which strategies, instructional practices, or form of classroom management tool was described. Scores were assigned based only on video text or verbalizations; we only rated what the creator explicitly said or captioned in the video and did not otherwise infer meaning. Each video was coded across all five dimensions of the CM PReP rubric and assigned a score. Total scores were calculated across categories for a total score out of 10 (2 points maximum × 5 dimensions).

Within #TeacherTok videos scoring high in Culture, we observed that most content creators focused on the personal needs of students, particularly the ways that educators and school personnel can address the emotional regulation of students and how their behavior expectations, management procedures, and classroom environment can support those emotional, social, or regulatory functions. These videos averaged a VSS \(\mu = \text{39,501}\) ranging from 2,512 to 199,619. Of these videos, we noted that many creators highlighted ways that students across grade levels have differing experiences, backgrounds, and needs, which came across as providing a variety of strategies that would support those specific student needs. Videos with high scores suggested strategies and provided specific examples of what educators might see as evidence of students needing personalized or differentiated interventions and supports. In one video with 186,600 views (as of August 2024), the content creator described her approach to supporting students with escalated behavior. She identifies as a special education behavioral specialist and is a popular #TeacherToker with 96,400 followers (VSS = 199,619). She used her video to discuss how children need to be calm and regulated before structured learning can take place. Using the popular analogy of “upstairs brain” and “downstairs brain,” this content creator also described behaviors that support regulation and provided examples educators might see when students are in a state of emotional dysregulation. For example, she said, “you know when a kid is escalated because they’re lying under the floor, they’re not doing what they’re supposed to be doing, they’re breaking, they’re kicking things. They are escalated, you can tell”. These specific examples provide viewers with the necessary context and the indicators they might use when going back into their classroom to define and determine personal needs and emotional behaviors that need to be addressed.

The CM PReP framework included Practice as an aspect that focuses on not only the classroom management strategy but also the effectiveness of the practice by implementing empirical or research-based methods to support students’ behavioral development. Within this category, fewer videos (n = 7) were inclusive of Practice at a level that included specific examples or named particular research. These videos averaged a VSS \(\mu = \text{42,605}\) ranging from 2,512 to 199,836. We observed videos that named programs such as Whole Brain Child or Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) as credible research resources while also addressing how these strategies worked in their classroom space. One video focused on the HALT strategy, based on Whole Brain Child, saying, “It’s important to remember to halt with the kids before anything gets worse. And by halt, I mean H, A, L, T …that's a great way for you to remember to ask yourself: Are they hungry? Are they angry? Are they lonely, or are they tired? In addition to describing this strategy, the content creator also provided solutions to support children who might demonstrate these attributes. This video had 28,600 views and was created by an elementary teacher with 481,100 followers (VSS = 30,791). Like other videos that scored a 2 in Practice, this video also had high scores in multiple categories, including Culture and Methods.

Our rubric findings noted that Relationships were prevalent but only n = 5 scored high where content creators modeled or provided specific examples to support relationships within classroom environments. These videos averaged a VSS \(\mu = \text{76,755}\) ranging from 2,512 to 214,893. Many of these videos provided strategies that coincided with Culture where they stressed the importance of addressing students’ personal needs within the context of a strong teacher-student relationship as a key factor to support students’ ongoing behavioral development. Across these scored videos, we observed that content creators repeatedly emphasized the theme of relationships as imperative to conduct meaningful instruction with students from all grade levels and backgrounds. For example, one video with 8,567 views discussed handling hard behaviors by including the specific challenges experienced by one particular student. The content creator, an early childhood educator with 108,100 followers (VSS = 9,113), described herself as a “loving teacher with boundaries.” She explained that she focused on building connections with students by using micro-celebrations to acknowledge students’ accomplishments and provided specific quotes to hold firm boundaries. For example, if a student refuses to follow directions, she recommends responding with, “that is not a choice.” Although this content creator provided specific examples from her classroom grade level (preschool), she also included aspects that could be utilized across other grade levels.

As parts of our society continue to transition into digital spaces, teacher education and training of teachers is no exception. Particularly as we consider how the field of education continues to shift, malleable practices across content areas, literacy, and classroom management are needed to access all teachers across career development. #TeacherTok in its current form appears to offer cursory instructional material for classroom management strategies. This may be due to short-form consumption of TikTok where videos that focus on quick tips or strategies are more likely to be popular or go viral by users and the algorithm. Although knowledge within such short videos is limited, content that names specific strategies, methods, or names of approaches may be enough to support teachers’ inquiry and exploration for more in depth materials or resources. This study focused on the quality of the content as a way to assess what might be viewed in #TeacherTok and how high-scoring videos might support a teacher’s classroom management practices. We are not arguing that #TeacherTok video content should replace the teacher education practices or coursework designed to support teacher preparation. Rather the findings from this study point to the relevance of this digital space and how the content within the sub-community warrants acknowledgement to serve as a potential tool to support teachers and teacher candidates. Although TikTok comes with a wide range of securitization concerns (Juned et al., 2023) and issues with its black-box algorithm bias (Harris et al., 2023), the ways teachers are engaging in this space to share knowledge about classroom management remain significant. The content within #TeacherTok warrants consideration as to how it plays an impactful role as a co-instructor for teacher preparation and an on-demand instructional tool in an ever-changing digital world. To that end, we advocate for teacher preparation programs to embrace PSTs’ use of #TeacherTok as an ongoing, informal tool to build upon foundational knowledge of classroom management strategies. This could include embedded practice in undergraduate courses where PSTs engage with TikTok content or create TikTok videos utilizing empirical research practices learned through field experience or coursework. We see potential value where teacher education programs can integrate authentic feedback with real-life mentors to complement the content knowledge present in TikTok, both within the teacher education program and as they transition to in-service teaching.