Standard 4: Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
4.3: Manage challenging behaviour
Demonstrate knowledge of practical approaches to manage challenging behaviour.
4.3: Manage challenging behaviour
Demonstrate knowledge of practical approaches to manage challenging behaviour.
Artefact 6: Standard Comment from Final Practicum Report Excerpt from the Final Practicum Report identifies my ability to fulfil Standard 4: Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments to a graduate level. |
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Reflection
Engaging in meaningful, reflexive practice is conducive to a teacher’s capacity to create and maintain safe and supportive learning environments. Feucht, Brownlee and Schraw (2017) suggest that through reflection, an “internal dialogue leads to action for transformative practices in the classroom” (p. 234). During my teaching practicum, I consistently challenged my perspective and practice through verbal, written and mental reflections. In this way, daily reflections enabled me to transform my teaching practice. By evaluating my pedagogy, I was empowered to make the changes necessary to foster a safe and supportive classroom environment.
Throughout my teaching practicum, deep and critical reflections were useful in evaluating the classroom environment in accordance with my teaching philosophy. Initially, my lesson reflections highlighted a tendency to focus on negative behaviours with a disciplinary approach. This authoritarian approach was ineffective for managing student behaviour as it restricted student autonomy and contributed to a pessimistic atmosphere. Consequently, through reflection, I was able to identify strengths and weaknesses of my classroom and behaviour management strategies to restructure the classroom environment. By emphasising a system of positive behaviour for learning and recognising modelled behaviour, students were encouraged to follow classroom behaviour guidelines.
Standard 4.3.1 indicates that pre-service teachers must employ practical approaches to manage challenging behaviour. Through reflective discussions with my mentor teachers, university advisor and fellow pre-service teacher, I was able to recognise the importance of stating explicit classroom and behaviour management expectations during lesson introductions. This discussion allowed me to create a classroom environment which was characterised by a positive learning for behaviour framework (Liu, 2015). In particular, I outlined how students could earn rewards such as stickers, Step Ups, affirmation armbands and being named under the green, happy face. Due to ongoing discursive reflection with my mentor teachers, I refined my ability to set clear, concise and achievable behavioural expectations during lesson introductions.
During my teaching practicum, I demonstrated my ability to engage in meaningful reflections which foster a safe and supportive classroom environment. In order to improve, I must refine my classroom and behaviour management to consistently implement the most effective strategy.
Throughout my teaching practicum, deep and critical reflections were useful in evaluating the classroom environment in accordance with my teaching philosophy. Initially, my lesson reflections highlighted a tendency to focus on negative behaviours with a disciplinary approach. This authoritarian approach was ineffective for managing student behaviour as it restricted student autonomy and contributed to a pessimistic atmosphere. Consequently, through reflection, I was able to identify strengths and weaknesses of my classroom and behaviour management strategies to restructure the classroom environment. By emphasising a system of positive behaviour for learning and recognising modelled behaviour, students were encouraged to follow classroom behaviour guidelines.
Standard 4.3.1 indicates that pre-service teachers must employ practical approaches to manage challenging behaviour. Through reflective discussions with my mentor teachers, university advisor and fellow pre-service teacher, I was able to recognise the importance of stating explicit classroom and behaviour management expectations during lesson introductions. This discussion allowed me to create a classroom environment which was characterised by a positive learning for behaviour framework (Liu, 2015). In particular, I outlined how students could earn rewards such as stickers, Step Ups, affirmation armbands and being named under the green, happy face. Due to ongoing discursive reflection with my mentor teachers, I refined my ability to set clear, concise and achievable behavioural expectations during lesson introductions.
During my teaching practicum, I demonstrated my ability to engage in meaningful reflections which foster a safe and supportive classroom environment. In order to improve, I must refine my classroom and behaviour management to consistently implement the most effective strategy.