Developing your personal philosophy of classroom

management
John De Nobile
School of Education, Macquarie University
With adaptations by Roberto H Parada, School of Education, Western Sydney University

This resource consists of a series of linked activities chapter-by-chapter to the De Nobile et

al 2017 course text Positive learning environments: Creating and maintaining productive
classrooms. These activities enable you to progressively work on and develop your own
philosophy, plan and style of classroom management.

A classroom philosophy, simply put, is a statement of what you believe about how to best
manage a class and how you will go about achieving that vision. This resource will help you
build it bit by bit. Complete the activities linked to each chapter of the text and by the end
of chapter 10 you should be able to bring your work together to form your classroom
philosophy.

FINAL PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY FOR ASSESSMENT 2

Insert in the box below your final personal philosophy (max 1000 words).

At the beginning of the semester I did not realise how detailed and comprehensive a
teaching pedagogy could become. By reading all of the resources given to us in lectures and
tutorials as well as experiencing practical placement it is now evident just how much can
influence how I teach and how easily my pedagogical practices can change. Qualities such as
behaviour management, flexibility and patience I thought would all develop in time, but it
has been clearly evident throughout my semester and practical placement that they are
necessary at all times to be an effective teacher; they can’t be learnt, they just have to come
naturally from somewhere. In addition, I have learnt a lot about structured problems. I need
to learn to be able to have many possibilities with my class. That at times everything could
go wrong – technology doesn’t work, class is loud and disruptive and I still have to teach so I
need to have backup on backup on backup to engage the students and ensure that they
have learnt all the appropriate content. Although classroom management needs to ensure
that students are more engaged in the topics rather than what just happened on the latest
snapchat story, I need to make sure that they are covering the material and also maintaining
the information rather than learning and losing it.

I believe that classroom setup and climate is vital to the students learning. If the
environment where they are learning the information is set up incorrectly then there is no
point in having engaging lessons as they will not retain any information. I believe that
classes that are in groups allow best for inclusiveness and student inquiry learning. The
grouped tables allow for individual and group activities and allow for visual contact with
students around the room. Furthermore, the different seating and arrangement of the room
allow for students to create a feeling of familiarity and are more likely to engage with their
room and to have a connection to that workspace.

It is my opinion that non-verbal communication is a vital tool to an effective pedagogical

practice. It is a non-evasive method of behavioural management and if done correctly will
eventually lead to students self-monitoring their own behaviour. The continual act of non-
verbal communication in the classroom enables teachers to have a stronger control over
their students through means of not continually badgering the students with commands.
Non-verbal communicative behaviours often convey emotions like anger, frustration, joy,
interest and boredom as well as attitudes and values. These behaviours are learned and are
quickly internalised. Non-verbal communication is important because it is less consciously
controlled and therefore less likely to be deceptive. I believe that it is important to have
good non-verbal communication skills as I continually used these when I was on my practical
placement and they were one of the most effective methods that I used to control the
climate in the room and did eventually lead to students self-monitoring and keeping their
behaviour in check.

One of the major practices I continually did while on practical placement was to reflect on
all of my lesson plans. I believe that personal reflexivity is important as it allows for personal
growth and professional growth. The continual growth of one’s pedagogical practices will
benefit not only me but will also benefit the students as they will have a teacher that keeps
up to date with all research but also is evolving their pedagogy for the benefit of the
students. Self-reflection is paramount to improve as a teacher and I believe that without
reflexivity, a teacher cannot improve and grow and as a result will remain stagnant in their
practices. Another aspect of continually reflecting is through the use of reflection when
implementing the syllabus. When creating a program, teachers need to look at past
implementation and how effective that was. When implementing the syllabus teachers need
to reflect on what worked well and what didn’t work well and how they can change and
evolve their programing methods to creating a better unit or work. In addition, the final
stage of the PIR cycle is paramount to recreating an effective program each unit.

I believe one of the most effective methods to engage students thus preventing classroom
misbehaviour to have content that engrosses students. One of the best ways to manage
misbehaviour is to have engaging content as if students are engaged they have no outlet to
get distracted and be involved in distractions. If the classroom is productive and makes
students participate in their learning not only as individuals but also in groups then I think
this is the best way to facilitate a positive environment for students to learn and develop.
The best way to manage a classroom is to solve problems collaboratively and through this,
students have the ability to grow, with teachers letting the students evolve and learn at
their own pace rather than imposing consequences if a student can’t complete a task. The
viewpoint of collaborative learning, much like inquiry learning and student based learning, is
where the majority of the focus is on the student to learn, rather than the teacher to know
everything and just recount information. The student is able to work at their own pace and
discover the information either individually or in groups, making the learning process a lot
more engaging and fun, thus stopping misbehaviour at its core- being bored and
uninterested. I believe that classroom management can easily be achieved through how a
classroom is set up and the establishment of positive learning outcomes which focus on
what the student has learnt rather than remembered and this comes down to the
effectiveness of a teacher’s pedagogy. I want to try and evolve my pedagogy so in the
classroom the students only have to learn the bones from me and together they flesh out
the information.

Overall, I think that my personal philosophy has developed over the semester. During the
beginning of the semester I was very naïve about how important behavioral management
and classroom climate is to the overall management of the classroom. I do believe that after
my practical placement I have greatly improved on management but think that I could still
improve with my non-verbal communication with students. I need to develop my
communication with students as a whole surrounding both the deliverance of tasks and
conveying my behavioral requirements for the class. I think I have greatly developed as a
teacher but know that there is still so much to learn.

Acknowledgements:
My views on what effective reflection and classroom climate are based on the work by De
Nobile, J., Lyons, G., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2017). Positive learning environments: creating and
maintaining productive classrooms. South Melbourne: Cengage Learning.

My views of effective classroom management is based on Joseph E. Zins , Michelle R.

Bloodworth , Roger P. Weissberg & Herbert J. Walberg (2007) The Scientific Base Linking
Social and Emotional Learning to School Success, Journal of Educational and Psychological
Consultation, 17:2-3, 191-210, DOI:10.1080/1047441070143145.

My views on problem solving for students and the h importance of students involvement in
their learning is influences by Greene, R. (2011). Collaborative Problem Solving can
Transform School Discipline. Phi Delta Kappan, 93(2), 25-29.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/003172171109300206
(Week 1) Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments: A problem based
approach
Reflection of the week’s Lecture, tutorials and readings.
The following activities are designed to get you thinking about your own model of teaching
and classroom management.

1.1 What is a ‘good teacher’? Think about the teachers from your days in primary and
secondary schooling. What qualities did they have that made them ‘good’? Make a list
in the box below.

A good teacher is someone who is flexible in their practices. A good teacher is one who can
reflect on their current practices and evolve to improve in their abilities as they teach their
students. By being up to date with the current trends of education teachers are able to
capitalize and grow to help everyone.

I had an excellent history teacher. She was always firm in her teachings and was very “old school” in
her ways. Her teachers, although annoying for some, allowed me to learn to the best of my abilities.
She was very stern, but was a mix of “I’m the teacher do as I say” as well as “I’m here to talk to you if
needed and can help you in any way”.

She always made me feel like I had the ability to achieve anything. Even if I failed on a test she
reminded us that there is another day and we have more and more opportunities to prove
ourselves.

1.2 Using the what you have learnt about ill structured vs structured problems in relation to
classroom behavior, what do you think are the key considerations when a teacher is
planning their strategy for classroom management? list them below.

Ill structured problems are ones that have a specific goal and expected situation. The key
considerations to think about when a teacher is planning their strategy is the fact there you
cannot know everything when planning a class. Lessons could be moved, technology could
not work etc. and as a result a teacher needs to plan for many situations and scenarios in
their strategies for classroom management. Classroom management is a difficult thing to
plan for as teachers can also not anticipate how students are going to be feeling or behaving
during their class. Classroom management needs to ensure that there is engaging topics
then will entice all to learn and not seek other methods of acting out when they are not
engaged enough in the topics.

1.3 With your responses to the last two activities as a source of ideas, complete the
sentence in the box below.

I believe a positive learning environment is about a safe place where students feel like they
have an ability to fail but can later exceed. Students need to feel safe and nurtured and
understand that they can learn in their own way and they will be supported any way.
(Week 2) Review of classroom management theories
This week you have been introduced to some theories of behaviour/classroom
management. Your readings (Ch 8 & 9 of the text and De Jong in tutorials) introduced you to
different views on why young people misbehave and particularly what to do about it. Some
of these might have caused you to react in some way, either negatively or positively. Of the
ones you developed a positive feeling about, was there a particular theory that stood out?
Was there a theory or approach that you felt might fit your view of how children should be
treated and how teaching happens? Think about this before responding to the activities.

2.1 In the box below, list the theories that you think are ‘not for you’ under the heading
‘Not me’, and the theories that you think are more favourable under the heading ‘More
like me’.

Not me More like me

Teacher-centred approach
Embrace inclusiveness
Student-centred philosophy/holistic
Relevant and engaging curriculum
Goal theory
Teacher effectiveness training

2.2 Now take a closer look at the theories you placed in the ‘More like me’ column. Read
the suggested readings provided in this chapter and the online companion. Get to know
the theories more intimately. Use this new knowledge, specifically the key philosophies
behind the theories (or theory), to develop your own statement of belief about the sort
of places classrooms should be. Complete the following sentence and perhaps add
another to accompany it.

I believe classrooms should be places where students-centred approach is followed. Quality

learning experienced and reinforced through effective pedagogy and relevant and engaging
curriculum. Furthermore, classrooms she be flexible in their learning environment. It is
essential that students are engaged and involved in their learning, and are given the
opportunity to have input in what and how they are taught. The concept of students having
goals throughout their lessons entices them to continually improve themselves is a
promising one. The focus on students learning and improvement should be paramount,
rather than teacher-focused lessons – the student should be the main focus. Students
should be able to work together and develop their knowledge together rather than having
the teacher lecturing and giving out all the information. This form of classroom means that
students are constantly improving their researching and investigative skills as the teacher is
not giving them all the information; rather the student has to find the relevant information
and be able to understand it and communicate it to others. Overall, classroom management
approaches are those that are positive, democratic and empowering.
(Week 3) Relationships, communication & professional reflexivity
Effective communication is a key component of effective classroom management, and
quality teaching depends on it. The lecture, tutorial readings as well as Ch 2 & 3 of the
textbook describe some very useful skills for dealing with inappropriate student behaviour
in a non-confrontational and positive way. Being aware of non-verbal cues will lead a
teacher to be more sensitive to how their messages are being received as well as how to
send messages and provide feedback more effectively. Active listening allows teachers and
students to interact with minimal interference from underlying emotional factors. I-
messages provide the teacher with a tool to convey to students how their behaviour is
affecting the class in a non-submissive, informative and positive manner.

Teaching philosophies often describe the way a teacher will interact with their students and
this, in turn, provides a window into the classroom climate that a teacher is trying to
establish. The following activities should help you to identify your preferred way of
communicating with the class generally as well as in dealing with inappropriate behaviour.
After completing them you should have a better idea of how your classroom philosophy will
describe your communication style in the classroom.

3.1 Using your readings of the chapters, in particular the Relationships and communication,
Interference, Communication process and Non-verbal communication sections,
complete the sentence in the box below. You might need to add a second or even a
third sentence.

I believe that good communication between teacher and student is vital to a positive
classroom climate because it enables teachers to understand what the student needs to
learn. Good communication enables students to combine to form a positive classroom
climate. Furthermore, good communication enables positive relationships which allows a
better learning environment. The inclusion of non-verbal and verbal communication is
imperative to good class management. Non-verbal cues are highly effective in classrooms as
they allow the classroom to be less consciously controlled making the students feel less
restricted by the teacher.

This week you also looked at how personal beliefs can help or hinder in your relationships
and communication with students.

3.2 Briefly outline your understanding of how beliefs can help or hinder your ability to
create positive learning environments:

Teacher personal beliefs affect the way we create Positive Learning Environments by either
positively or negatively influencing our opinions of students. The impressions of bias that
teachers may have could negatively impact on students. If the teacher has negative beliefs
then students will reciprocate that and not aspire to achieve much. If a teacher has positive
beliefs about all of their students then the student will aspire to reach their goals and
continually improve throughout the year. Through active listening and learning, beliefs
about events or people can be disputed and challenged and replaced with effective new
beliefs that allow for students to thrive. The management of the classroom enables teachers
to gain accurate beliefs and opinions of students and how they will act.

Your teaching philosophy should describe how and for what purpose you might engage in a
cycle of professional reflexivity, be it through critical analysis using various perspectives or
an action research model, or both.

3.3 Why should teachers engage in professional reflexivity? Once you have given this some
thought and done some further reading, complete the following sentence.

I believe professional reflexivity is important to my teaching because it allows teachers to

improve and grow their pedagogical strategies. The importance of regular reflection on
one’s teaching pedagogical practices enables growth and development of ones’ skills.
Furthermore, constant reflection on the ability of students is necessary for not only your
progress but also their own. Students need to be constantly challenged and by having an
engaging professional reflexivity enables both student and teachers to grow and learn
better. By teachers being thoroughly reflexive more research-based evidence and the best
practice data will enable one’s pedagogical practices to positively grow and include up-to-
date information on how best to teach students. Furthermore, involvement in reflexive
pedagogy involves a commitment to open investigation on one’s own teaching practices.

3.4 Having thought up a justification for it, how will you go about engaging in reflection
about your practice in your teaching career? Once you have thought this out, think of
some practical and achievable ways you can engage in professional reflexivity and
complete the next sentence.

As a consequence of this belief, I will ensure that after the end of each day I write down
what worked and what I need to improve on for each lesson taken. By constantly reflecting
on ones’ pedagogy the teacher can continually evolve their practices to match the students’
abilities. By having lesson plans printed out at the end of each day I will write down what
parts of the lesson worked and which bits need improvement. I will also comment on the
ability of the students and if it was my pedagogical practice or the student abilities which
made the task not efficient.
(Week 4) Classroom organisation and curriculum, assessment and pedagogy
Classroom management is not just about managing behaviour. At the heart of teaching and
learning are the curriculum taught, the pedagogy used and the assessment designed to
measure how well that curriculum was taught and how well the pedagogy worked. This
chapter takes you through these three areas one at a time.

The next part of your teaching philosophy will be about how you will deliver curriculum and
assess student achievement/growth. After reading this chapter, please reflect on the
following:
 What will you take into consideration when planning your teaching program?
 How will you know what to teach and where to start?
 What are the many ways in which your students could demonstrate achievement other
than tests and quizzes?
 What teaching approaches will you use and what philosophical views will your
pedagogies reflect?

4.1 Using the PIR Cycle (see Ch 5 p118) as a stimulus, explain how you will go about
planning your teaching program in the box below.

Firstly, I will plan what I need to teach the students. This will occur through consultation
with syllabi, curriculums and discussions with other teachers in the same curriculum. I will
need to plan out time to ensure that students have enough time to learn the content but
also have time to complete assessments, informal tasks and how I will cater for students’
individual learning needs. In the planning stage, I will also exploit resources that will be
useful but also back up resources and extra tasks for everyone.

Secondly, I will implement the program into the classroom. I will deliver the lessons to the
students and hope that they are engaging and interesting. My role as a teacher needs to
ensure that there is independent learning, monitoring student performance and constantly
providing feedback to students on how they are going.

Lastly, I will review how my teaching program worked. I need to reflect on what worked and
constantly ask why tasks worked as well as tasks that didn’t work. Furthermore, I need to
review on how effective my pedagogy was in implementing the curriculum and how
effective the students retained the content. I will need to monitor the implementation of
the program and at times might need to replan and redesign the curriculum to be more
effective. In addition, reflection will occur after formal assessment tasks are handed in and
redesign needs to occur for students who did not understand the information presented.

4.2 Pedagogy refers to how you will teach the curriculum. Usually, the type of pedagogy
you implement is influenced by a basic belief about how students best learn. After
considering your pedagogical approach and strategies, complete the sentences below.

I believe that students best learn through engaging and exciting stimuli. Teachers need to
engage students through tasks that encourage discussions and enquiry learning. I will use an
enquiry learning process to engage students and encourage them to find their own
information rather than a teacher-focused lesson where the teacher is talking the entire
lesson. This method will then accommodate for different levels of learning, and enable
students to be constantly learning throughout the classroom. This method also encourages
self-efficacy and motivates students to continually learn. I will teach students respect by
listening and acknowledging what others are discussing are acceptable actions in the
classroom. I will teach the class with a lot of group work and very minimal copy or note
taking; collaborative learning through group work, worksheets and study of
textbook/workbook.

As explained in Chs 3 & 4, there are several dimensions to classroom organisation. Each of
these put together become the manifestation of your classroom culture. Your classroom
culture is, simply put, the way your class operates and incorporates:
 rules and procedures
 organisation of the physical space.

It is now time to think about how your teaching philosophy will describe these two aspects
and explain them in terms of an overarching set of beliefs or approaches. After reading
these chapters, complete the next two activities.

4.3 What values do you hold as important to establishing an orderly, productive and
positive classroom? Answer this question below, then list the key rules/expectations
you think flow naturally from those values and which you want to stress in your class.
Complete the section by explaining how rules and consequences will be established in
your classroom.

Classrooms should facilitate positive student-teacher relationships which encourages a

sense of security which is essential for students to progress in their learning. Furthermore,
classrooms should allow continual discussions, as by having continual student input,
teachers are able to gain students’ knowledge and focus the lessons around students’
knowledge and ability. In addition, by having student discussions students are learning from
other students and not just another teacher.

Rules and consequences will be established by me at the start of each terms creating
expectations that the students all contribute to and sign at the end of the lesson.
The rules are logical and easily achievable for all students. They are continually referred to
throughout the year and will be mentioned positively in every lesson. By having the
students create and agree to the expectations they themselves know they can achieve them
and therefore there is no reason as to why they would misbehave in the first place.
Furthermore, they must also adhere to the basic school rules as well as these expectations
that there is fluidity between all classes in the school.

I will implement group stations for tables to ensure that people are working cohesively
together but can will ensure that all students can still see the board and see the teacher
clearly. I believe that group tables – circle tables with 5-6 people will enable students to
have a group together that they can work as one or also as a group if necessary. The tables
would be numbered and after each week students rotate so they are making new friends
and geyting access to different ideas and perspectives. I think that group circle tables would
make students most engage with one another and will enable the most input in goal and
knowledge exploration. The constant movement of seats means that students are able to
talk to all students throughout the topic, which enables them to gain the most insight into
the information and are able to get multiple viewpoints and opinions on the information.
Furthermore, the students are able to from more deeper relationships than if they stayed in
their friendship groups, which would create a stronger feeling of a safe working and learning
environment. The set-up of the classroom in individual circle/group desks will enable the
teacher to be able to easily move around the classroom and aid students when needed, and
will enable students to be working as a group but also be able to focus on the teacher when
necessary. The circle tables will also help facilitate teacher/group interaction and create a
growth of knowledge and understanding as the students are able to learn with fellow
students.

(Week 5 ) Principles of behaviour modification

This week we looked at fundamental aspects of behaviourism and learning (see Ch 6 & 7 of
your text) But also Ziporli from your references in the Learning Guide and Killu your tutorial
reading which provide examples of the application of such theory and research to classroom
management and behaviour change. Important concepts such as reinforcement, functional
purpose of behaviour and behaviour shaping are discussed

5.1 After reading Ziporli and Killu and reflecting on the lecture content what would you add
about aspects of your classroom management that have not been mentioned so far in
your philosophy? Add these in the box below in rough draft form. You can refine them
later.

Classroom management is important to ensure that all students are focused on their work.
Behavioural approaches focus on the observable. This means that the teacher needs to be
walking around monitoring the students’ behaviour. This is also applicable through non-
verbal methods of management which ensure that students are working to their best
abilities but is less confronting then setting up consequences and continually talking to
specific students. Subtle hints of what is expected in a teacher’s class can be a lot more
effective than continually talking to students and giving out consequences and punishments.
Behavioural approaches to the classroom understands that behaviour is conditional to the
environment and therefore the teacher’s approach to behaviour has to be fluid and
continually change to match the constantly changing behaviour of the students.
Managing the classroom through seating plans, engaging activities, and constant
observation aide the teacher’s ability to understand students’ behaviour. The only way a
teacher can change classroom misbehaviour and understand why it is happening is to gather
information through observation and questioning. Teachers variously manage antecedents,
deliver rewards and impose consequences to influence students’ behaviour. While the
overall goal of any classroom plan is to promote appropriate behaviour, any student self-
regulation and responsibility, behavioural approaches place the teacher firmly ‘in control’ of
and make them responsible for broader aspects of the classroom environment.
Self-regulation is a very important too for students to have when in the classroom. Teachers
need to teach students how to self-regulate so that the teacher isn’t constantly having to
talk with the student. Antecedent behaviour control is important as it encourages
appropriate behaviour and can reduce inappropriate behaviour by manipulating
environment condition such as in seating plans or use of various classroom consequences.
By having positive reinforcement for both self-regulation and all misbehaving students, can
reinforce the behaviour that the teacher finds acceptable and teaches students the correct
way to act. By having positive reinforcement, the likelihood of appropriate behaviour
increases and at the same time reduces the power of competing impulse for inappropriate
behaviour.
Overall my classroom management will try to focus on positive reinforcement and through
managing the class by continually observing and questioning the negative behaviour in the
room. Through non-verbal cues and walking around the classroom, the students will also
lean to self-regulate and monitor their own behaviour so as not to continually be addressed
by the teacher.
(Week 6) Applying behaviour modification in schools PBIS
Positive Behaviour Intervention and Support also known as Positive Behaviour Support (see
Text Ch 6 p168) has become an accepted and often implemented part of schooling in NSW.
A key aspect of PBIS is to teach students behavioural expectations.

6.1 Previously (see week 4) you reflected on what your classroom could be like. In the
section below pick 1 expectation (e.g., respect self and others) and list how you will
teach what this expectation looks like, is exemplified by and demonstrated in your
classroom. Give as many examples as you can.

My one expectation I have chosen to focus on is respecting others when they are talking. I
will teach what this expectation looks like by firstly discussing what respect is with the other
students. We will create mind maps of all the various ways you can firstly disrespect a
student and then methods of how to respect someone (eg, raising hand when wanting to
talk, looking after personal belongings, listening to other responses, waiting turn when want
to talk to teacher or another student, asking permission to go to toilet/get a drink). This will
be demonstrated in the classroom as well by hanging posters around the room.

To reinforce the behaviour in class I will constantly remind students of respecting one’s-self
and the people around. I will also remind students when they call out that they are
disrespecting the entire class when they do that and then reinforce the correct way to
behave by telling them they need to raise their hand and wait their turn. I will also remind
the students that just because they have their hand raised does not mean that they can
then yell out. They must first be addressed by the teacher and then they can give their
answer.

As students learn better by being taught directly how to act and by receiving positive
feedback rather than constant punishment, I need to implement a system that every time a
student is respectful throughout the entirety of lesson they get a sticker and when reach a
certain number they get a reward. The use of positive reinforcement will encourage the
students to keep up the good behaviour of respecting others and will also reinforce their
behaviour so they keep following that behavioural activity.

The expectation of respecting each other will also help provide consistency of classroom
management and allows stability in interacting among students and staff members.
Furthermore, by having respect of others in the classroom the environment will remain a
positive area where students feel safe to communicate their ideas and not feel judged or
made fun of. Respecting others is a very important expectation to have in the classroom and
will be constantly implemented in all classrooms.

Lastly by developing a clear and consistent consequence system to respond to students

violating the behaviour rules will allow students and teachers to evaluate how students are
behaving throughout the year.
(Week 7) Social Emotional Learning in Schools SEL
Readings: Cohen, J. (2006) & Zins, et al (2007).
Social and Emotional Learning brings your attention to focus efforts on promoting students’
social and emotional competencies. Many leaders in the field underscore the importance of
skills-based teaching and learning to properly address this important facet of teaching the
whole child.
7.1 After reading Cohen and Zin and reflecting on the lecture content what would you add
about aspects of your classroom management that have not been mentioned so far in
your philosophy? Add these in the box below in rough draft form. You can refine them
later.

I need to add in more time for students to reflect on their day and manage the classroom
through self-reflection. Furthermore, I need to try and make the classroom climate warm
and welcoming so when they are challenged there is support to make their mistakes
learning experiences. In addition, teachers need to make social and emotional learning an
integral element of education. I need to create a classroom environment where students
learn to recognise and manage emotions, care about others, make good decisions, behave
ethically and responsibly, develop positive relationships and avoid negative behaviour. If all
these are addressed in a classroom the management of said classroom will be a lot easier as
students already feel safe in their environment and understand not only how to make good
decisions and behave in their own best interests but are also always considering the feelings
and behaviour of the students around them making a more cohesive environment. The need
to address the social-emotional as challenges that interfere with students’ connecting to
and performance in school. Issues such as discipline, disaffection, lack of commitment,
alienation and dropping out frequently limit success in school and can lead to failure.
Integrating this awareness in the classroom management will highly benefit students in the
short and long run. rather than each student learning individually, even in group
work/participation.

Management of classrooms needs to not only be academic in its focus but also needs to
focus on the emotional needs of students in the way they interact with each other and also
in the way they connect with the teacher. Effect management of both academic standards
as well as managing the emotional/social aspect of the classroom will result in a completely
rounded classroom.
(Weeks 8 & 9) Drafting your personal reflection/philosophy
In the space below cut and paste each of the sections you have completed above and create
a (very) draft version of your personal philosophy

My personal reflection/teaching philosophy (Draft 1)

A teachers’ personal reflection is a vital tool for teachers to continually reflect on their
abilities and pedagogical practices and how effective these practices are in their classrooms.
In general, a teacher’s philosophy will grow and develop the more the teacher works in
classrooms and communicates with students. A philosophy allows teachers to continually
reflect on the current trends or research in education and discuss how these have changed
or affected the way they teach. Personally, I feel like a personal reflection/philosophy is an
ideal tool to not only see how your pedagogical practices have changed from how you teach
your class, classroom setting to the content you teach it but also see how much growth and
development has occurred throughout a teaching career.

At the beginning of the semester I did not realise how detailed and comprehensive a
teaching pedagogy could become. By reading all of the resources given to us by lectures and
tutors as well as experiencing practical placement it is now evident just how much can
influence how I teach and how easily my pedagogical practice can change. Many qualities
that I took for granted necessary to become a teacher I have now experienced firsthand and
understand how critical they are to have an effective pedagogy. Qualities such as behaviour
management, flexibility and patience I thought would all develop in time, but it has been
clearly evident throughout my semester and practical placement that all are necessary at all
times to be an effective teacher, they can’t be learnt, they just have to come naturally from
somewhere. In addition, I have learnt a lot about structured problems. I need to learn to be
able to have many possibilities with my class. That at times everything could go wrong –
technology doesn’t work, class is loud and disruptive and I still have to teach so I need to
have backup on backup on backup to engage the students and ensure that have learnt all
the appropriate content. Although classroom management needs to ensure that students
are more engaged in the topics rather than what just happened on the latest snapchat
story, I need to make sure that they are learning the material but also maintaining the
information rather than learning and losing it.

I believe that classroom setup and climate is vital to the students learning and memorising
the content. If the environment they are learning the information is set up incorrectly then
there is no point in having engaging lessons as they will not retain any information. I believe
that classes that are in groups allow best for inclusiveness and student inquiry learning (De
Noble, 2016). The grouped tables allow for individual and group activities and allow for
visual contact with students around the room. Furthermore, the different seating and
arrangement of the room allow for students to create a feeling of familiarity and are more
likely to feel like their room and to have a connection to that workspace.

It is my opinion that non-verbal communication is a vital tool to an effective pedagogical

practice. It is a non-evasive method of behavioural management and if done correctly will
eventually lead to students self-monitoring their own behaviour. The continual act of non-
verbal communication in the classroom enables teachers to have a stronger control over
their students through means of not continually badgering the students with commands.
Non-verbal communicative behaviours often convey emotions like anger, frustration, joy,
interest and boredom as well as attitudes ad values. These behaviours are learned and are
quickly internalised. Non-verbal communication is important because it is less consciously
controlled and therefore less likely to be deceptive. I believe that it is important to have
good non-verbal communication skills as I continually used these when I was on my practical
placement and they were one of the most effective methods that I used to control the
climate in the room and did eventually lead to students self-monitoring and keeping their
behaviour in check.

One of the major practices I continually did while on practical placement was to reflect on
all of my lesson plans. Professional reflexivity as it allows for personal growth and
professional growth inclusively. The continual growth of one’s pedagogical practices will
benefit not only ones own pedagogical practices but will also benefit the students as they
will have a teacher that keeps up to date with all research but also is evolving their
pedagogy for the benefit of the students. Self-reflection is paramount to improve as a
teacher and I believe that without reflexivity, a teacher cannot improve and grow and as a
result will remain stagnant in their practices. Another aspect of continually reflecting is
through the use of reflection when implementing the syllabus. When creating a program,
teachers need to look at past implementation and how effective that was. When
implementing the syllabus teachers need to reflect on what worked well and didn’t work
well previously and how they can change and evolve their programing methods to creating a
better unit or work. In addition, the final stage of the PIR cycle is paramount to recreating an
effective program each unit (De Noble, 2016).

I believe one of the most effective methods to engage students thus preventing classroom
misbehaviour to have content that engrosses students. One of the best ways to manage
misbehaviour is to have engaging content as if students are engaged they have no outlet to
get distracted and be involved in distractions. If the classroom is productive and makes
students participate in their learning not only as individuals but also in groups then I think
this is the best way to facilitate a positive environment for students to learn and develop. As
Ross Greene (2011) states that the best way to manage a classroom is to solve problems
collaboratively and though this students have the ability to grow and teachers are letting
the students evolve and learn at their own pace rather than imposing consequences if a
student cant complete a task. The viewpoint of collaborative learning, much like inquiry
learning and student based learning is the majority of the focus is on the student to learn,
rather than the teacher to know everything and just recount information, the student is able
to work at their pace and discover the information either individually or in groups, making
the learning process a lot more engaging and fun, thus stopping misbehaviour at its core-
being bored and uninterested. I believe that classroom management can easily be achieved
through how a classroom is set up and the establishment of positive learning outcomes
which focus on what the student has learnt rather than remembered and this comes down
to the effectiveness of a teachers’ pedagogy. I want to try and evolve my pedagogy so in the
classroom the students only have to learn the bones from me and together they flesh out
the information.
Ready to roll …
Now, read it to yourself, and start editing to a maximum of 1000 words, it’s time to prepare
your final submission. Look at the Unit Learning Guide rubric and instructions and now write
your own personal reflection and philosophy You have to reflect on what you have learnt
and what you are still to learn. This reflection is an opportunity to provide your own
behaviour management philosophy/model.

Your personal model can be based on your personal experience and any of the theories and
research explored in PPLE or other Units which form part of your course. You need to
appropriately identify and credit these theories which influenced your thinking in relation to
the development of your personal approach within your text. You must provide at the end
(not counted to word limit) an ‘acknowledgement’ section where you may list the
theories/policies/ people that may have influence your model to date.

Into the future!

However, please be aware that your philosophy may well change as you gain experience in
teaching and are exposed to other ideas from your ongoing professional development, your
interactions with peers and other sources of inspiration. It will be an interesting task for you
to go back to this philosophy you have just completed in 10 years’ time and compare it to
the one you have then. Will it have changed much? How have your approaches evolved?
What kind of teacher have you become?

NOW WRITE YOUR FINAL DRAFT OF YOUR PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY (1000

words Max) IN THE SPACE PROVIDED AT THE START OF THIS DOCUMENT!