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.