I am Jack...prac session 5.

This morning, our guest speaker Suzanne Gervay  while discussing her children's book 'I am Jack', had  transported us through time, and left us wanting to know more. Not only did this poignant lady have every member of her audience encapsulated and lingering upon every word spoken, she had left a particularly large mark upon one of our students.

 This student, known for his continual disruptions during lessons, repeated victimization of students, disrespect of teachers and general disengagement, had changed before our eyes. The fact that he was sitting on his bottom, listening attentively to the guest speaker, was a remarkable feat in itself - but this student was completely engaged, inquisitive, was putting up his hand to answer every question posed to students, and providing intelligent, articulate and informed answers. This student was not the boy that was constantly being sent to the principal's office, he was a boy who knew the details of the second world war, the intricacies of land mines, and the exact location of Hungary. He showed empathy, understanding...and showed us teachers a thing or two.

There were three reasons that I came up with, as to why he might have acted in this way:

1.The student was provided a level of positive attention and reinforcement that he didn't normally receive. 2.The student knew that Ms Grevay had no preconceived idea that he was a 'naughty' student.

3.The student had not previously been provided an opportunity to engage deeply with a topic that was of interest to him.

1.The student was provided a level of positive attention and reinforcement that he didn't normally receive. After this incident, I began to consider the ways in which I could encourage this student's positive behaviour within our classroom. When students misbehave, we are more inclined to remain reactive and provide only correction procedures & increase the intensity of our negative behaviours. ( Barbaretta et al. 2005, p. 14) What this means then, is that this student needs his teachers to be more proactive than reactive in their approach, providing more time to provide positive reinforcement of correct behaviour, instead of being constantly reprimanded. 

Barbaretta ( 2005)  provides 7 steps to being proactive in behaviour management:

Step 1. Identify the context and the predictable

behavior

Step 2. Specify expected behavior

Step 3. Systematically modify the context

Step 4. Conduct behavior rehearsals

Step 5. Provide strong reinforcement such

as frequent and immediate teacher

praise;

Step 6. Prompt expected behaviors; and

Step 7. Monitor the plan

I would like to try and incorporate Barbaretta's strategy into my teaching approach during my 3 week block, to try and break the cycle of bad behaviour this student seems to be trapped within, and by providing a model of, and reinforcement for, positive behaviour.

2.The student knew that Ms Grevay had no preconceived idea that he was a 'naughty' student.

Through the constant reprimandment that this student has faced, the idea that he is a 'naughty' student seems to have turned into a self -fulfilling prophecy. ( Brophy, 1983 p. 645)

Strategies to reduce labeling of 'naughty' students.

1. Find something good and rewardable within every student.

2.Ensure your judgments don't go beyond the evidence.

3. Don't let the judgment of other staff members effect your relationship with the student.

3.The student had not previously been provided an opportunity to engage deeply with a topic that was of interest to him. I have learnt several things about the students personality quirks and interests, which I hope to be able to nurture within my own teaching of him. This seems to be a prime example of Gardener's Theory of multiple intelligences, (1993) with this students interest and knowledge in the war having been overlooked or un-nurtured within his schooling. I aim to provide more tasks for this child in which he can incorporate and further explore his interests, with the hope that increased engagement will lead to a greater level of intrinsic motivation within his work.

References 

Barbetta et al., (2005) Preventing classroom misbehaviour: A dozen common mistakes and what to do instead In, Preventing school failure: alternative education for children and youth, 49(3), 11-19.

Brophy, J. ( 1983) Research on the self-fulfilling prophecy and teacher expectations.Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 75(5),  631-661.

Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: The theory in practice. New York: BasicBooks.

A class of individuals...prac session 4

Today,on competition of their group based-activities, students were assigned to individually construct and present either a speech or a information report about what they had learnt from the session.  The students had gone from being able to draw upon support from their peers to being assigned independent self-directed study, with many students feeling overwhelmed with the task as it was seemingly beyond their ability. 

I was told to spend this time assisting a young boy to write his speech. After spending two hours with this student, we had written a complete speech - and one that he was really proud of. I left that lesson feeling so uplifted, I could really see the difference I had made in those two hours...but what would have happened if I was not there? Who would have been able to sit with this boy and provide him so much assistance? What would he have been doing, instead of doing his work?

As identified by Marsh, ( 2010, p. 254)  independent learning proves a challenge when individual needs have to be taken into consideration. It is identified that the predominant mode of instruction that occurs in classrooms involves the total class or small groups, and only occasionally are students given the opportunity to undertake independent learning. The reasons for this include

• Teachers would need to prepare a range of activities to suit the range of learning needs.
• There would be problems in finding the space and resources to support the range of individual activities
• There would be supervisory problems
• There would be misbehaviour and discipline problems. ( Marsh, p. 254)

 My classroom generally tries to combat this issue by relying heavily on the use of student contracts, which are designed to encourage self-directed learning, give students a choice when they will undertake a particular activity, and permit individual pacing.( Atherton, 2001) Within the classroom however, the students are directed to undertake contract based activities within small groups. This seems to allow for individual needs to be addressed, while also ensuring that a student is able to receive help from other group members.

Example of a learning contract

Currently, within my classroom, each group works with the same learning contract. Perhaps, the teacher could construct a few different learning contracts, with activities that are of differing levels of ability. This would promote a 'differentiated classroom,' where teachers provide specific ways of teaching each individual, without assuming that one students map for learning is identical to anyone else' s'. ( Marsh, p. 254) As identified by the Professional Teaching Standards, it is required of the teacher to recognise the diverse needs of students, and to tailor a program that can optimise the student's talents.  (NSWIT, 2006)

Today, I have witnessed the benefits of working in small groups, as opposed to individual learning. It not only avoids the teacher having to design a different program for every student within the class, it also provides the opportunity for students to learn and be motivated by one another.

For further information on using learning contracts to accomodate a variety of learners, see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIXtjXuryKo&feature=related

Referenes

Atherton J S (2011) Teaching and Learning; Learning Contracts. Online: UK. retrieved 14 September 2011 from http://www.learningandteaching.info/teaching/learning_contracts.htm

Marsh, C ( 2010 )  Communicating effectively. In Becoming a teacher. ( p. 181-195) Sydney: Pearson

NSWIT (NSW Institute of Teachers). (2006). Professional Teaching Standards. URL: www.nswteachers.nsw.edu.au/Main-Professional-Teaching-Standards.html (14/09/11)

Behaviour (un)management...prac session 3.

In an attempt to address behaviour management issues, my goal for the last 2 weeks has been to get to know my students as well as I can. Formulating teacher - student relationships is really important to me, and I consider central to my teaching philosophy. The importance of this is also echoed by Hattie ( 2003, p. 4), whose 2003 study revealed that teacher -student relationship was the single most powerful influence upon student achievement. I don't understand how a teacher can expect to handle, let alone teach a class, when this relationship is lacking.

For a larger image or further information, refer to J. Hattie's 2003 study

http://www.acer.edu.au/documents/RC2003_Hattie_TeachersMakeADifference.pdf

 The relationship between the students and my supervisor  seems to be compromised due to her consistent use of yelling as a discipline technique. In addition,  I have also noticed that there is minimal positive reinforcement being offered to students who are exemplifying the correct behavior.As identified by Barebetta et al., (2005, p. 4) this lack of reinforcement provides little motivation for students to want to be acting appropriately, nor does it allow students to be given a model of what the appropriate behaviour may be in the first instance. You know you have a serious problem when the good majority of your class readily practice the art of defiance, not afraid to give you a firm 'no,' upon being asked to complete a task.

It is interesting that the Framework of Professional Teaching Standards implemented by the Institute of Teachers, neglects to mention student - teacher relationship on an emotional or psychological level. (NSW Institute of teachers, 2006) While 'Element 2' of the framework involves teachers knowing their students and how they learn, this is as close as it comes to mentioning any type of relationship. Where do empathy, understanding and compassion come into play?

Yesterday  I sat and spoke with a boy who is usually highly disruptive and unproductive, with the aim of getting to know his interests.   Within these 3 minutes, I had managed to connect with this student and later on in the day, when I gave him a task to complete, he did it, no questions asked, to  a very high quality. This student is renown for never completing work, and is never on task.

I believe that if you have a good relationship with your students,  I believe students will want to listen to you, will want to engage in the work you have given them, will want to come to school. As identified by Pianta et al. (2002), building positive relationships with students educators can provide the motivation, initiative, and engagement which are essential for success. Saying this, it's not an easy feat to achieve, but from what I have seen in my prac, the teachers can continue to yell at the students until the cows come home, but are their students ever going to respect, value and trust them? Maybe, but probably not.

For further discussion surrounding behaviour management and relationship building, please see:

ABC - EdPod

http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2011/09/edp_20110901.mp3

References

Barbetta et al., (2005) Preventing classroom misbehaviour: A dozen common mistakes and what to do instead In, Preventing school failure: alternative education for children and youth, 49(3), 11-19.

Hattie, J (2002) What are the attributes of excellent teachers? In Teachers make a difference: What is the research evidence? 3-26.

NSWIT (NSW Institute of Teachers). (2006). Professional Teaching Standards. URL: www.nswteachers.nsw.edu.au/Main-Professional-Teaching-Standards.html (7/09/11)

Pianta, R,, Stuhlman, M,, & Hamre, B.(2002), How schools can do better; Fostering stronger connections between teachers and students. Nnv Directions for Youth Development, 93, P. 91-107.

Questioning for learning...prac session 2.

Today I read an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, discussing the way in which students are questioned, and suggesting that  students raising their hands to respond to a question is outdated. ( See below for link ) Instead, the author interestingly proposed that all the students names should be placed into a container, and then randomly selecting a student out of this collection when a question required answering. While not dedicating this post to an entire critique of this technique, this method of inquiry got me thinking about the questioning strategies ( or lack thereof ) within my own classroom.

Freseman ( 1990 ) identifies that it is essential  for students to have skills in questioning, so that they will not become addicted to being told what to think and do. Furthermore, questioning can be seen as a vital factor in allowing for students to progress through the varying domains of Bloom's taxonomy. The nature of my classroom, and the 'open learning' environment, means that learning through transmission is ruled out, and group work is the flavour of the day. This means however, that much of the work that the students are involved in relies on students being able to ask their own questions and seek out their own answers. This approach lends many benefits to the students, but I have realised it has resulted a lack of engaging questions being posed by the teacher, and highlights the  need for teachers to be able to scaffold  learning through the posing of questions in any teaching strategy.

The development of intellectual quality, the first domain of the DET's Quality Teaching Model, places deep-understanding, higher-order thinking and in-depth communication at the forefront of emphasis, and the model states that it is this intellectual quality that is conducive to the significance of learning and a quality learning environment.(DET, 2003) As questioning is a vital tool in developing this intellectual quality, it is an element of teaching that I believe is so essential, but so readily overlooked. As identified by Marsh, (2010, p. 190)  it is useful to incorporate questioning into your lesson plan, which should consist of:

1. Preparing a number of key questions in advance which are directly related to the purpose of your lesson.

2. The inclusion of questions that involve higher and lower levels

3.Ensuring  that the sequence of the key questions is logical to the students.

4.Making  sure that the wording of the questions is clear and suited to the level of students. ( Marsh, p. 190)

Examining the way in which my classroom operates, I have learnt that:

• Even when students are participating in group work, it is essential that the teacher poses engaging and thought-provoking questions to the students to faciliate the intellectual quality leaning, as opposed to students being required to constantly create their own questions. In this way the teacher can act as a scaffold in ensuring deeper learning.
• As a transmission based approach to teaching can allow for a teacher to easily question, probe and direct students knowledge, this level of questioning still needs to be apparent within the group work context.
• Often, to ensure quality questioning and attaining intellectual quality, it is necessary to plan questions you will pose to students. Particularly for beginning teachers, it is not enough to assume that you will know what questions to ask.

For a comprehensive list of verbs that can be used to promote questioning in each category of Bloom's taxonomy, refer to:
http://www.teachers.ash.org.au/researchskills/dalton.htm

References


Freseman, R.D., ( 1990 ) Improving Higher Order Thinking of Middle School Geography Students by Teaching Skills Directly. Florida: Nova University.
 
Marsh, C ( 2010 )  Communicating effectively. In Becoming a teacher. ( p. 181-195) Sydney: Pearson

NSW Department of Education and Training ( 2003 )Quality teaching in NSW public schools. Sydney: NSW DET.

'Show of hands outdated' Sydney Morning Herald 4/10/11, Brendan Sullivan.
http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/show-of-hands-outdated-20110904-1js8d.html

Into the fishbowl ... Prac Session 1.

'I hear, I forget, I see, I remember, I do, I understand.' - A Chinese proverb, frequently used to support open education...

Prac with year 6 -Session 1.

My school has recently implemented  'open education',  the separating wall between the two classrooms has been removed  in an attempt to create  a 'learning community in which students actively engage with the material and take ownership of their individual learning experiences.' ( Hodge, 2006 p.156)

While not a new phenomena, being particularly prevalent in the 1960's & 70's, this learning style promotes a level of inquiry based learning aimed to develop problem solving, critical and analytical skills required of 21st century learners. (Melbourne Declaration, p. 4) 

Inquiry based learning - an overview...

This learning environment keeps transmission learning to a minimum, with  the only direct instruction that students received during the day was an informal, non-compulsory 'workshop' on equivalent fractions. While this meant that the workshop was highly productive, as the students who were there really wanted to learn, I couldn't help but feel concern for the students who chose not to attend. There was one equation that certainly didn't have any equivalence - the teachers passion for the topic, and the students willingness to learn about it.

 As discussed by Marsh ( 2010, p. 136) there are a multitude of benefits that students can gain from inquiry based learning, but unfortunately- I have seen evidence within my prac - that the reliance upon a single method of pedagogy,  isn't conducive to a successful learning environment.I have noticed that often students are not engaged with the task at hand, and often the teacher is unable to attend to the need of each group. Killen ( 2009, p. 86) discusses the proposition that variation in student academic success can be influenced greatly by a mismatch between teaching and learning styles. In my own classroom, I am concerned for the needs of the students who do not warm to this teaching style.

Similarly, critics of open-education contend that the visual and audible distractions of open-education has been greatly underestimated. ( Marsh, p. 136) Within my own classroom, I frequently found that students were off task due to the distracting and overstimulating environment. Needless to say, managing classroom behaviour was difficult.

I have learnt that for this environment to be conducive to successful learning, it requires

• a greater number of staff to support individual groups
• the ability to minimise external distractions
• a high level of self-motivation from the students.

For more information on open education & inquiry based learning see:
'Open verses self-contained classrooms'
 Marsh, C (2010). Organising classroom structures and routines. In Becoming a teacher. ( p 135-6) Sydney: Pearson.

Reynolds, R.(2009) Inquiry learning. In Teaching studies of Society & Environment in the primary school. ( p. 32-61 ) Sydney: Oxford university press.

References:

Hodge, J.K ( 2006) Top ten things I have learned about discovery based learning. Priumus, 16(2):154-161.
   
Killen, R ( 2009). Planning for quality teaching and learning. In Effective teaching strategies. 5th edn (p. 77-100) Melbourne: Cengage learning.
  
Marsh, C (2010). Organising classroom structures and routines. In Becoming a teacher. ( p 135-6) Sydney: Pearson.

Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs Australia  (2008)  Melbourne declaration on educational goals for young Australians. [electronic resource]  Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs , Melbourne :  http://nla.gov.au/nla.arc-93985

Power of the PC...not P&C.

On August 13th, the Sydney Morning Herald published an article entitled 'Schools use the net to eavesdrop on students,' ( See below for link)  presenting the case that student's online activities outside of classroom hours should be monitored ' in the interests of safety.' ( SMH, 13/8/11) It is interesting to note  how the exponential use of technology utilised by both staff and students is extending the schooling environment and allowing for an all encompassing level of regulation that extends into the private world of the students.

Certainly, if students are participating in online activities that are seen to have negative consequences upon other students or members of staff, this should be addressed, regardless of the context and medium in which this takes place. The problem arises however, in knowing where to draw the line when it comes to surveillance. Do we really want to simulate an Orwellian scenario, 1984 style?

Both a teacher's and students use of technology can be considered invaluable to a student's education. As discussed by Colin Marsh, IT has developed exponentially, creating multi-sensory classroom environments. (Marsh,  2010, p 244) It is undeniable that technology has a continually increasing impact on the way that we both teach and learn, and has the beauty of being able to meet the needs of a range of learning styles. 

In April of 2011, The Australian Flexible Learning Framework even published an article highlighting the success of ICT based learning to underprivileged and disadvantaged learners, concluding that an increased emphasis on ICT has allowed education to become 'real' and connected to a world extending beyond the classroom. ( AFLF,2011) This is also highlighted by Killen, emphasising the importance of computer-assisted instruction in integrating special needs students into the classroom. ( Killen, 2009,p 238)

Despite the volumes of research emphasising the usefulness of ICT, one must also be aware of its shortcomings. In this case, one must wonder about the level of autonomy that parents are now being denied, as schooling authorities increase their presence outside of school hours. It is one thing for teachers to utilise ICT to enhance the quality and versatility of lessons, but is the involvement in the student's social media activities crossing the line?

  It is clear, and somewhat daunting, to realise that the blurring of home and schooling environment has created a confusing dichotomy in terms of the role of parents, and that of teachers. Should teachers use the technology available to them to monitor student activity that should really be the responsibility of the student's carers? What if parents are unable to understand or access these social media sites that many teachers  are comfortable with, and aware of the potential risk for students?

I'm starting prac with a year 6 class next week. I will be interested, and I'm sure also quite dumbfounded, to learn more about my student's engagement with technology, social media in particular, and the school's participation, parental involvement, and values surrounding this activity. 

Until next time, I'm off to check my requests, posts, and tweets!

References

Australian flexible learning framework ( AFLF) (2011) The role of technology in disengaging disadvantaged youth: final report, Australian government.

Killen, R ( 2009) Using Cooperative learning as a teaching strategy. In Effective teaching strategies, 5th edn  (p 211-242)  Australia: Cengage learning

 Marsh, C ( 2010) Using resources creatively. In  Becoming a teacher, 5th edn ( p 236-252) Australia: Pearson

 'Schools use the net to eavesdrop on students.'

Andrew Stevenson, 13/8/11,SMH.

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/schools-use-the-net-to-eavesdrop-on-students-20110812-1iqx2.html 

.

Welcome to the site!