Care Group Program, Yoga, Kindness Bags and Mentor Comment
Every student has the right to be supported to participate and engage in classroom activities. In my practice, I aim to embed holistic strategies that allow students of all abilities to participate in the classroom actively. Some examples of these involve roundtable discussions in senior year levels and Yoga to break up lengthy 100-minute lessons. In my practicum, I was responsible for conducting care group each day. To support attendance, participation and collaborative, I developed a Care Group curriculum and incorporated several activities to engage students in the short lesson. Examples of these include: Get to know you bingo, meditation, the precept of the day, create a handshake with your buddy and strength spotting in the classroom. As reflected in my report, one strategy of resounding success was the kindness bag I created over both my practicum experiences. In Year 7 English, the kindness bags strategy worked in conjunction while analysing the themes of the text study, Wonder. Each student was asked to write three compliments for members of the day each day for two weeks, and to place these into a bag with the student's name on it at the start of each lesson. At the end of the period, the bags were given out to their 'owners'. Each student received a bag of kindness - genuinely good compliments from other students in the room. This not only made the novel's theme much more apparent but created great well-being within the class. The same activity was conducted for a Year 9 care group and fostered a create team-bonding activity and established a positive atmosphere in each lesson. I am aware of the need for a combination of hands-on activities and teacher-directed learners and aim to keep the student's interest at a high level through all lessons.
Classroom Norms, Handbook for Positive Learning and Student and Teacher Expectations List.
I manage classroom activities by enforcing many strategies that provide clear and distinctive directions. Fundamentally, I make a habit of modelling positive behaviour to promote focused and productive learning for all students. I create a safe and comfortable environment by constructing class norms with the students early on. In this activity, students are grouped and list what causes tension in a classroom and subsequently list what creates positive environments. Then students work as a whole class to create a master list of norms that are shared both digitally and in the classroom. Further, all students receive a copy of my expectations as well as developing their own. This acts as a collective agreement of appropriate actions in the class, both behaviorally and academically. I have also developed a Handbook for Positive Learning to assist in managing classroom activities. I prefer to focus on proactive approaches and techniques rather than reactive and problem-based responses to classroom management. Nonetheless, these strategies and techniques would not be effective without strong teacher-student relationships. Establishing meaningful connections with students is a fundamental aspect of positive classroom experience - increasing engagement and making the time students spend in the classroom worthwhile and productive.
Henley High Behaviour Management Guide, Uni Liaison Observation Feedback and Mentor Comment.
There are many theoretical frameworks for addressing behaviour management. However, each classroom and student is different and requires tailor practical skills for effective teaching, behaviour management and discipline. A great way to understand a school's culture of behaviour management is to refer to the school's behaviour policy and guide. At Henley High, this document guided my practice when managing challenging behaviour and to what degree a student could receive consequences for undesirable behaviour. My capacity to manage the class behaviour, like most new teachers, was a challenge in the beginning phase. However, my mentor teachers reported that my growth in this area was commendable - stating my ability and confidence to control the class had grown in leaps and bounds. I am sensitive and caring when speaking with students about any behavioural indiscretions and remain fair in my treatment, speaking with students privately is necessary, and at times engaging parents, too. When I critically reflect upon my practice, and through dialogue with other teachers, I am developing strategies and the confidence to use them in complex situations. This is reflected in feedback notes from an observation conducted by practicum liaison, Virginia Gill. I prefer to focus on rewarding good behaviour, but also have fair and equitable strategies in place for undesirable behaviour and find that it, along with the relationships I have built, enables me to manage the class and facilitate their learning effectively.
RAN Training, Student Wellbeing Framework Module 1, Risk Assessment
Students who feel connected and safe in school, have positive and respectful relationships with teachers, peers and the broader school community. Educators hold a duty of care to support student wellbeing and safe learning experiences within the school, curriculum and legislative requirements. I have undertaken formal training to broaden my knowledge and understanding of strategies to work towards these goals. The RAN training is a legal requirement for teacher registration in South Australia and equipped me with information relating to the underlying factors of child abuse and neglect and their impact on students development and wellbeing. I am now prepared to help prevent and lessen the effects of abuse and neglect and feel confident to make notifications of suspected child abuse and neglect if necessary. I also undertook a module relating to the Australian Student Wellbeing Framework. This training informed the importance of wellbeing and learning. I discovered practical strategies, resources and references to help build a positive, inclusive and respectful classroom where wellbeing can flourish. Using the knowledge from my training, I developed a risk assessment for a Geography excursion to the Adelaide CBD. The Risk Assessment help plan the field trip safely and acknowledge the level of risk for the duration of the trip. However, I understand that my role is to support schools to build learning communities that promote student wellbeing, safety and positive relationships. Ultimately, my goal is to enhance student learning outcomes and provide a strong foundation for students to reach their aspirations in learning and life.
The world has become increasingly interconnected. There are several issues associated with the use of ICT. Some problems include the discrediting intellectual property, distribution of sexually explicit material, hate speech, commentary of defamatory intent and content relating to illicit drugs. For this reason, young people must understand how to communicate in a safe, responsible and ethical manner. ICT in the Australian Curriculum captures the way technology is used in our world and aims to help students technologies to enhance their school lives. In my role, I promote the development and apply these critical skills and social and ethical practices in my learning areas. For example, Menti.com is an online platform used in both Geography and English to generate ideas and develop mind maps collaboratively. Students are advised to make respectful choices of information they choose to share and outline the behavioural consequences they face if they decide not to participate in strategies. I comply with legislative, curriculum and school system requirements by adhering to the school’s ICT agreement. I model appropriate behaviour by installing AD BLOCK onto my computer system. AD BLOCK is a content filtering and ad-blocking browser extension on all internet browsers. It has prevented page elements such as advertisement and irrelevant content from being displayed. I am committed to educating students of safe and responsible use of ICT that is expected of them regardless of location.