Grady Bryant EEA 202 Assignment 1 11540786

Personal Philosophy and Proactive Management

Part A - Mini Case)

Tom Collins, an eleven-year-old boy in grade 5 has been exhibiting a

series of behavioural issues within the classroom that have directly
impacted the learning outcomes of Tom and other students during
classroom activity. Tom often calls out answers to questions
without raising his hand or being prompted to do so by the teacher.
As a result, the teacher is constantly having to stop and remind Tom
and the rest of the class the importance of why we raise our hands
and wait to be called upon during discussions. Consequently, this is
effecting the learning time of all students as well as the clarity and
instruction of the lesson. Tom is also frequently distracted from his
work during most afternoons and requires regular prompting to stay
on the task at hand. Subsequently, the teacher is having to increase
focus on Toms behaviour and is unable to focus on all students who
require assistance or attention. Tom also exhibits problems during
group work and is unwilling to engage or contribute with his fellow
classmates. Due to this Tom is falling behind in class work and the
students within his group have been taking on his extra workload.

Part B - McDonald Key Learning Areas and Philosophy)

How Children Learn:

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Establishing and applying a collaborative and understanding

relationship between the teacher and student is essential when
regarding how children learn. This helps construct a safe learning
environment where students can take risks and feel confident
asking questions, creating discussions and sharing ideas with
others. As a future teacher, I recognise that all children are
individual learners each with unique positive potential. It is this
potential that I wish to develop and maintain through strong
teacher-student relationship by getting to know the students within
the classroom and what influences surround these children on a
daily basis. My personal philosophy would be primarily based off
Urie Bronfenbrenners ecological systems theory as I recognise that
there is a dynamic relationship among all systems in which
children develop (McDevitt, Ormrod, Cupit, Chandler, Aloa, 2013, p.
12). There is a direct correlation between all students and the
people, places and ideas that surround them on a daily basis, which
must be identified when catering for all the different ways students
learn within the class.

Why Students Behave the Way They Do:

Student behaviour is not solely affected by just the classroom

learning environment. In fact, there are numerous internal and
external factors that teachers must identify and understand before
responding to student performance and misbehaviour. As a teacher,
we must take precautionary steps to prevent student
discouragement by first building cooperative and interactive

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relationships with each student and their parents, to interpret and

monitor student behaviour. If we are aware of what situations can
prompt misbehaviour then we can be more aware and proactive in
our decisions and actions to prevent it (McDonald, 2013, p. 232).
Misbehaviour is caused by a range of factors that can include lack
of interest, individual issues and environmental factors such as
psychological and biological attributes. As a future teacher, I
strongly identify with Alfred Adlers theory that people are
motivated by a desire to belong and find their place in society (John,
2011, para. 2). If I can identify and understand why students behave
the way they do I will be able to promote positives attitudes to
learning within the classroom environment.

The outcome and intervention of discipline interventions:

As a teacher, there is great importance placed upon the application

of intervention and discipline within the classroom. To be an
effective teacher there must be both short term and long term goals
that the teacher is trying to achieve when discipling a student. In
order to be a valuable teacher, you have to be able to critically
reflect upon interventions and examine why disruptions occur and
how modification to plans can prevent future misbehaviour and
interventions. Creating a positive learning framework within the
classroom is necessary as effective teaching and prevention of
student indiscipline are key ingredients to successful student
engagement in learning (McDonald, 2013, p. 3). It is my belief that
teachers should work frequently on creating and structuring a
positive learning framework in class that teaches students to self-

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discipline and remain focused on the task. Teachers should not

dictate everything a student does, instead students and teachers
should work collaboratively together to create a learning
environment where students can take ownership for their learning.

The degree of control or coercion that is desirable:

As a teacher, it is essential to keep control over the classroom in

order to manage effective academic learning time, however
teachers should not control or dictate their students but rather
maintain group focus and provide students with a degree of
accountability for their own work. An effective teacher can achieve
this by applying and adopting valuable classroom management
skills such as, rules, boundaries and consequences that allow for
students to self-regulate and remain focused on the task. A personal
goal of mine will be to promote quality learning environments that
encourages self-discipline and personal responsibility. As a future
teacher, I would place myself as authoritative/democratic on
Porters continuum as I wish to combine both elements of direct
teaching approaches and student centred learning methods
(Westwood, 2006, p. 11). It is my belief that students require a
degree of control over their learning and that my role will be to drive
students to take an active role in their learning that is supported,
monitored and developed by the teacher.

The role of the teacher and the importance of instruction:

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Within the classroom learning environment it is crucial as a teacher

to place great importance on instruction by identifying key focus
areas such as; how different children react to particular instruction
and catering for those needs through various teaching-based
strategies. As a future teacher, my personal philosophy regarding
instruction is to begin by utilising direct teaching methods, and over
time progress to a guided learning approach where students take
more responsibility, once rules and procedures have been
established. Many problems that students face when learning are
not directly linked to cognitive ability, lack of motivation or memory
and attention. But rather complications are often caused or
exacerbated by ineffective or insufficient teaching strategies
(Westwood, 2006, p. 1). I strongly believe that classroom
management and instructional techniques are in separable and
must integrate with each other, to create a learning environment
that caters for the needs of every individual student.

Part C - Six Main Preventative Areas)

Self-Awareness

Displaying self-awareness as a teacher means to recognise your

own strengths, weaknesses and feeling towards teaching. A
proactive teacher will actively reflect upon themselves and their
lessons in order to create new strategies to manage student

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misbehaviour. A teacher also needs to be self-aware of how to

respond to each student within the classroom considering the
different situations students may be subject to inside and outside of
the school environment. McDonald recognises that misbehaviour is
certain to happen within the classroom but by being self-aware
teachers can understand the stress levels that led to confrontation
with students and can apply the necessary steps to avoid or diffuse
the conflict (McDonald, 2013, p .247/248). In the mini case Tom has
an issue of calling out answers, which could simply be prevented by
utilising a form of self-awareness to proactively respond to Tom
using a positive reinforcer, instead of something negative that could
discourage further participation and his eagerness to learn. For
example, Tom I love your enthusiasm and willingness to contribute,
but just remember that we have to put our hand up and wait before
we answer questions so others also have time to think. By
recognising Toms contribution and emphasising the expected class
rule it helps keep the student focused on doing the responsible
thing and is part of maintaining a positive, supportive classroom
climate. (Kuaffman, Mostert, Trent, Pullen, 2006, p. 240). A positive
outcome would be for Tom to become aware of this and critically
reflect and judge his own performance and behaviour so he may
respond appropriately in the situation next time.

Proactive Thinking

Proactive thinking works collaboratively with self-awareness as it is

being prepared with strategies to target misbehaviour inside and

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outside the classroom. Proactive classroom management can

lessen the likelihood of misbehaviour occurring in the classroom by
anticipating problems and interruptions before they occur and
finding ways to eliminate or lessen their impact on academic
learning time. McDonald states that students are most likely to
misbehave during transitioning phases from one activity to another
(McDonald, 2013, p. 248) and can be best targeted through constant
monitoring and praise to keep students on task. In the mini case the
teacher could use the following strategies to address Toms
constant misbehaviours in the class. Toms reluctance to contribute
during group work may be due to the group he is placed in. This
could be effectively managed if the teacher made adjustment to the
groups, in order to place Tom within an environment that grants him
and his fellow classmates the ability to utilise their academic
learning time positively. Additionally, the teacher could reiterate the
class rules before beginning discussion, so that the consequences
of calling out are fresh in the students mind. Another method the
teacher could use is to have an open class discussion about the
subject, where students can interact and share their ideas without
the usual restraints in place. An effective teacher proactively uses
different styles and formats of teaching to keep student interest
alive. Changing the routine can refresh student interest and break
down the negativity surrounding the constant working routine.

Caring and Welcoming Environment

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Establishing a caring and welcoming classroom is crucial when it

comes to managing the classroom environment and requires a
strong positive learning framework that is constructed and based
upon student resilience, self-worth and inclusion. The teacher is
responsible for the development of the classroom feeling and must
build this environment utilising all the resources possible, to
capture and appeal to students that it is a safe learning
environment. Mastropieri identifies that student behaviour is in
many ways a response to the environment, which includes the
teacher, peers, other school personnel, and even the physical
environment (Mastropieri, Scruggs, 2010, p. 151). For a caring
environment to be established, the teacher must be aware of all
students diverse cultural backgrounds, so they may cater for
different students and create an inclusive learning environment.
Toms issues with group work may be attributed to how he feels
within the classroom environment. Tom may feel that he belongs or
that he does not know his place or role within his group. To attend to
this behaviour the teacher can identify instructional objectives with
Tom and offer support through conversation using sincerity and
enthusiasm (Mastropieri, Scruggs, 2010, p. 155) to genuinely show
an interest and to find out how this process can be mended. It is
also important to not discourage Tom from his constant calling out
as it may be effecting other areas of his learning such as with group
work. Toms calling out could be easily and effectively managed
through positive communication and reminding him that the class
rules are there for a reason.

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Classroom Layout and Resources

A proactive classroom will incorporate a well-structured classroom

layout that takes into account and incorporates for learning spaces
and activities. The learning environment requires careful
consideration and planning to effectively increase student
engagement in learning and assist in establishing a caring
environment where students feel they belong (McDonald, 2013, p.
249/250). This can be achieved by immersing students in a print rich
environment that contains their work and is well organised and
relevant to their learning outcomes. Tom is often found frequently
distracted and unsettled, this could be a direct result of poor
classroom layout that could be misguiding his instruction or causing
numerous distractions due to certain seating arrangements. When
planning classroom layout and structure of seating, it is crucial to
have the classroom organised in a way that can allow for small
group discussion, as well as seating that grants view of the front of
the classroom where the teaching often takes place. The layout of
the classroom could also be effecting Toms willingness to
contribute to group work as it may be too distracting or he may
require a learning space where he can use classroom resources to
gather ideas and knowledge before he contributes.

High and specific expectations

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Teachers in general set high and specific expectations on students

and themselves, as they typically approach teaching with motivation
and desire for student achievement by providing students with the
tools to succeed. A proactive teacher manufactures a classroom
feeling and environment that conveys self-worth. Generating high
levels of self-efficacy in the classroom motivates students to
engage in positive behaviours, support the person in setting
appropriate goals and assists the person in finding a comfortable
niche where they feel capable, cared for and respected (McDevitt et
al, 2010, p. 504). For this to occur a teacher must nurture their
students and work collaboratively to set goals and provide students
with ways to approach and achieve these goals. The issues that Tom
is exhibiting could be due to a lack of self-efficacy within Tom, or
even misunderstandings between the teacher and student. Toms
reluctance to contribute during group work could be affected by
having low levels of self-efficacy, as he may be worried about
answering incorrectly. To address this the teacher needs to reassure
Tom that this is a safe learning environment and that all work and
collaboration is welcome. Perhaps the teacher could also set a task
with no correct answer so discussions are more frequent creating
an interest and a sense of wanting to know. To counter Toms
distraction from individual work a series of sensible and achievable
goals could be created for Tom, so that he may self-monitor his
progress and work towards a goal he feels is achievable.

Rules, Routines and Procedures

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As a teacher planning the rules, routines and expectations will

reflect your views on how best to match student autonomy with
teacher control (McDonald, 2013, p. 250). It is crucial for effective
classroom management, that a teacher works collaboratively with
students to establish and develop class rules, routines and
boundaries that are relevant to all students. For rules, routines and
procedures to be effective within the classroom they need to be
constantly applied during lesson, otherwise the rules that are not
enforced soon lose effectiveness and promote ineffective classroom
learning and distractions. In the mini case Toms misbehaviour of
continually calling out could be managed with a series of class rules
that are discussed and integrated during everyday classroom
activity. When rules are first posted, describe them carefully to the
class, model the behaviours covered by the rules, and ask students
to give their own examples of how they may meet these rules
(Mastropieri, Scruggs, 2010, p. 155). By setting these expectations
Tom and other students have a system that they can use to guide
their behaviour and hopefully recognise their misbehaviour and self-
discipline themselves according to the rules. Furthermore, Toms
issue with losing focus during independent work can be solved with
the correct procedural systems in place to guide his learning. Tom
may require further instruction or additional structure as the work
may be too difficult or it may be that his focus levels are not as
strong towards the end of the day and requires a few minutes to get
a drink or read a book before readjusting to his classwork.

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By Grady Bryant

Reference List:

John, K. (2011). The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler. Retrieved

from
http://www.adleriansociety.co.uk/phdi/p3.nsf/imgpages/0939_KarenJ
ohn-ASIIPConf-April2011.pdf/$file/KarenJohn-ASIIPConf-April2011.pdf

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Kauffman, J. M., Mostert, M. P., Trent, S. C., & Pullen, P. L. (2006).

Talking with students. In Managing classroom behaviour : a
reflective case-based approach (4th ed.) Boston, MA : Pearson.

Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T. E. (2010). Effective differentiated

instruction for all students ; Improving classroom behavior and
social skills. In The inclusive classroom : strategies for effective
differentiated instruction (4th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ : Merrill.

McDevitt, M., Ormrod, E., Cupit, G., Chandler, M., & Aloa, V.
(2013). Child Development and Education. Pearson Australia.

McDonald, T., (2013). Classroom management engaging g students

in learning. (1st ed.). Oxford University Press

Westwood, P. (2006). Teaching and Learning Difficulties: Cross-

curricular Perspectives. Camberwell, Vic: ACER Press.

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