My educational journey
Flexbox Froggy
I had conducted interviews with three different people all at different levels in their educational careers (one a student, a new teacher, and an experienced teacher). based on what I found I complied the useful quotes I took out of this process, and this is what I found:
For my interview, I began by asking teachers in all different stages in their careers questions regarding my inquiry topic “what aspects of classroom management do new teachers struggle with the most.” I started by asking how they would define classroom management, they answered with “ability to regulate your students’ emotions/behaviour or use your students’ emotions/behaviour productively towards your goal that day,” “convey concepts in an efficient, effective manner,” “The key for sustainable management is to be authentic in your approach, flexible in your understanding of events/actions and consistent with follow-through.” Their experience ranged from learning to be a teacher having taught for only 3 years and having “10 years of working with students prior to becoming a teacher.” one teacher commented on where they thought new teachers may struggle with “developing a broader ‘toolkit’ of attention-grabbing/student catch and call strategies; communication with parents regarding management issues in their classrooms; developing/ applying non-grade specific management strategies to use as TTOCs. The ability to build rapport when you are a sub needs to take place quickly and effectively.” All of these I plan on mentioning during my argument as it brings up the idea that “management is complex, and there is no ‘magic recipe’ for success”. This is something new teachers may not understand learning to be a teacher, we think that there are set ways to run an effective class but it is far more fluid than that. Being effective at classroom management involves “Rapport with your students and school community” “Students should be comfortable approaching you, but by no means should you become their friend, it is important that you maintain a professional line”. “You must know your students before you can build trust and leadership in your actions.”One teacher, in particular, recalled a hands-on experience that they had where he was able to “ develop [his] relationship with [the student] so that she can feel more comfortable in her learning environment and asking [him] questions. Another teacher had a great method that included “learning kindness [and] explicitly teach what kindness looks, sounds, and feels like. When I ‘catch’ students being kind they earn a warm fuzzy. As a class students fill a kindness jar with warm fuzzies (tokens) and when the jar is full they receive ‘Warm-fuzzy PJ day’. For individual management, which is directly linked to whole class management I often use ‘first/then’ systems of management”.
In terms of their educational experiences in becoming teachers, for the most part, they had a positive practicum, observing and mentoring experiences. The bases of understanding pedagogy to give new teachers the best opportunities to be successful. “across the classes I either observed, participated in or instructed I was exposed to a number of different classroom management scenarios which allowed me to become a more well-rounded instructor.” By “work[ing] as an Educational Assistant, and community support worker before becoming a teacher… classroom management a seemingly natural aspect of the job” which reiterated the importance of experience.
All three teachers noted that positive encouragement and a safe environment are vital aspects of classroom management. self-regulation was also a commonly brought up topic as “positive feedback, pro-social structuring and nurturing a belief in one’s ability to self-regulate. Management is about creating learning and working atmospheres that foster positive growth, development, and social connections.” further all teachers agreed that “having clear boundaries [and expectations] is the first step to holding students accountable” as well as, when they are “explicitly stated at the beginning of the year can really have a positive impact on students. Especially if you involve the students in the creation and implementation of those expectations.” In terms of setting hard rules “class rules should help students work towards self-regulation, although I don’t think that we should expect too much from younger grades. (Use the GRR method). There shouldn’t be too many class rules that the students feel encumbered by them, but enough that they cover general behaviors.” Moreover, “teachers should maintain interactions with students that are kind and consistent. When faced with handing down consequences teachers need to be firm, fair and flexible in their approach and the consequence/actions must be justifiable and equitable in the eyes of students”.
I read this article regarding some of the biggest challenges that new teachers face and this is what I found:
New teachers can often be overwhelmed by having to deal with recursive problem behavior. It is a challenge that inevitably occurs for new teachers and can cause one to second guess their decision to become a teacher. However, by better understanding the root of student behavior a teacher is better equipped to manage a class. A teacher must manage issues when they first occur but it is important to implement long term change as well. Being clear when setting expectations, consequences, choice, and consistency in every day positive responses are a vital start. Long term change is about building strong relationships with difficult students and this takes time to develop. By then investigating the child’s behaviors based on their actions, and understanding what they mean for the child a teacher can be able to gain an understanding to support change. Although the curriculum has created an emphasis on personalized learning, it is more about tracking their ability to meet curriculum targets as opposed to valuing their personal and diverse abilities. Individuals that might be labeled as having ‘behavior problems’ in school are able to later cultivate creative or entrepreneurial skills in later years, underlining the idea that there is no one-size-fits-all format for dealing with behavioral issues. Moreover, by shifting to solution-focused thinking, one can get to the root of a student’s issues eradicating the behavioral disruption. Asking questions about why they are feeling something and offering a solution is an example of this. It is important as a teacher to understand that the expectations of a school do not always make sense for all students.
Roffey, S. (2011). You and your biggest challenges. In The new teacher’s survival guide to behaviour (pp. 91-126). London: SAGE Publications Ltd doi: 10.4135/9781446252000.n7
Today we did our first Ed Camp! Although it was short, I thought it was a constructive method for starting a deep thinking discussion. I stopped at two groups which considered mental health in education and classroom management. The mental health group discussed a lot about different apps and resources that could be implemented into a class as a way for teachers to keep well informed about what their students are feeling inside even if they are not showing it. Even guided mediation apps like Headspace were talked about for helping calm students down when they come to school or after recess.
For the classroom management portion we talked about different methods we have noticed our Wednesday visit teachers have used. I found this valuable for my free inquiry project as it relates to my topic. we talked a lot about giving younger kids visual ques to know when their behavior is not acceptable or getting out of hand. I connected this to my free inquiry because most new teachers will not have all the art and posters in their classrooms like teachers who have taught for a long time have collected over the years. new teachers will have far less teaching manipulative in comparison.
After visiting the Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry I feel like I have grasped a better understanding of inquiry and how it works. I finally realized that it is normal to face a lot of struggles when first investigating inquiry. Shifting one’s mindset is not an easy thing to do and at PSII I began to feel more confident about being able to learn through an inquiry-based process when I started coming up with more questions.
I found a lot of the structures they used for learning to be highly interesting. For instance, the different steps for inquiry and how it works I wouldn’t have thought could have fit in a structure. I thought inquiry was nonconstructive and free-flowing which isn’t entirely realistic because it is something that needs to start more guided and slowly become free inquiry.
