annabelledomdigitalfolio.weebly.com · Web viewEDF 4006 Professional Learning Investigation. Rationale/Prior Knowledge. I have chosen to investigate the Classroom Management Policy

EDF 4006 Professional Learning Investigation

Rationale/Prior Knowledge

I have chosen to investigate the Classroom Management Policy of my placement school because I feel that I am most inexperienced with dealing with difficult and potentially dangerous situations within the classroom and I would like to develop my own strategies for when I am teaching. My placement school is from a very low-socio economic area and I have witnessed my mentor deal with several behaviour management problems in his class, however, he has chosen not to use the school Policy, as he does not believe it is effective. In light of my mentor’s attitude towards the Policy, I am interested to learn how the school leadership team supports teachers in implementing the Policy and also how confident teachers feel in implementing the Policy themselves.

It is a proven fact that the most important factor, governing student learning is Classroom Management (Wong & Wong, 2009). If a school has a clear, effective Classroom Management Policy that teachers feel confident in implementing, class disruptions may occur less often and may not escalate to a high-risk level. This will improve student learning as it will aid students in making the most of the time available to them and provide them with a safe and nurturing environment. The Victorian Principles of Learning and Teaching P-12 also states that the learning environment should be ‘supportive and productive’ which can only occur if teachers are able to limit class disruptions and support student learning.

Classroom management skills are an essential component of effective teaching (Strong et al, 2011). Provided with a safe environment, students will be able to focus on class work and learn to the best of their abilities. Delivering students with such an environment correlates with the AITSL Standards as Standard 4 (Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments) refers to the expectation of a teacher’s ability to implement effective classroom management: ‘Initiate strategies and lead colleagues to implement effective classroom management and promote student responsibility for learning’ (4.3 Managing challenging behaviour).

A solid Classroom Management Policy will also improve student teaching and a teacher’s confidence in the classroom, as they will feel prepared to deal with a variety of difficult situations. Begeny & Martens, 2006; Chelsey & Jordan, 2012 found that many pre-service teachers did not receive adequate classroom management training prior to beginning their teaching careers and felt unprepared for the demands of managing student behaviours in their classrooms. If a school’s leadership team provides its staff with an operational Behaviour Management Policy and appropriate support in implementing it, teachers will spend less time attempting to control the class and more time focussing on students’ academic achievement.

Research Approach

To begin my research I located the school’s Classroom Management Policy, which is included in the staff’s school diaries (Appendix 1).The School Policy is split into two sections: inappropriate behaviour and disruption. Each section consists of giving students five warnings, with each warning gradually providing a more severe consequence for the student. The school’s theory behind providing students with several warnings is that they are being given ‘opportunities’ to correct their behaviour before a correctional action is taken by the teacher. By allowing the students to control their own behaviour, the school believes they are enforcing student responsibility and promoting intrinsic motivation to study. Burke (2007) has argued that for classroom teachers, ‘There is a potential balance to be struck between the targets of discipline which aims to control “behaviour”, and discipline which aims to promote study’ (178). Therefore, by providing warnings before consequences, the school aims to promote study over discipline. However, this approach, which encourages greater self-knowledge and awareness, takes a bit longer and may not seem as immediate as more punitive sanctions to some classroom teachers (Maguire, Ball & Braun. 2010).The School’s Classroom Management Policy also states the student responsibilities and expectations, although it also recognises that some subjects may require specific rules for safety and/or the use of specific equipment, which are left up to the discretion of the teacher. These rules should be enforced at the beginning of every term to ensure that students understand what is expected of them. Dr Castolo agrees with this strategy: ‘in an attempt to enforce the rules and regulations by whatever method the teacher wishes to use, it is his/her responsibility to communicate these rules and expected behaviours, to the students’ (2006).

Given that active engagement in learning is significantly related to academic success, the ability to effectively teach rests first on the teacher’s ability to manage student behaviour in the classroom. (Gest & Gest, 2005) If a student is making others feel unsafe or disrupting other students’ learning it will have a negative impact on the academic success of the class. In lieu of this, the Policy also states that a ‘student may be exited form class (without warnings/consequences) if the teacher believes there is a ‘safety issue’ or the student is deliberately and openly challenging the rules of the teacher. This exception in the Policy also supports the school’s belief that all students have the right to learn in a nurturing environment and feel safe at all times.

After analysing the School Classroom Management Policy, I had a brief discussion with my mentor about whether he believes it to be effective. When I learnt that he was unhappy with the Policy, I decided to conduct a survey amongst other subject teachers and leading teachers to find whether they thought it was supportive and effective or not. I surveyed five teachers in total (Appendices 2-6)

Findings

My findings from the surveys I conducted were very insightful and raised several issues teachers have with the whole-school policy and how effective it is in supporting them to manage classroom behaviour.

The surveys in appendices 2 & 3 show very similar opinions towards the School Classroom Management Policy. Neither teacher felt that they had been shown how to implement the school’s Policy and have only been told to ‘refer to the school diary’ if they need to use it in their classroom. Unfortunately, many teachers do not receive adequate classroom management training prior to beginning their teaching careers and feel unprepared for the demands of managing student behaviours in their classrooms (Begeny & Martens, 2006; Chesley & Jordan, 2012). The lack of training made both teachers feel nervous and uncomfortable with implementing the school Policy. With mixed feelings towards the Classroom Management Policy, they both mentioned that they choose to apply their own classroom management strategies and ‘not worry about the school’s opinion’. While teachers 3, 4 and 5 also stated that they had attended an information session explaining the School’s Classroom Management Policy to staff, teacher 4 discussed that ‘there is a need for more examples of how the school would want the staff to implement it, especially for young staff or graduate teachers as it can be quite confusing’ (appendix 5). Teachers report inadequate pre-service training on classroom management (Chesley & Jordan, 2012; Stough, 2006) and ongoing frustration with a perceived lack of support and training for handling student behaviours (Halford, 1998; Lane, Wehby, & Barton-Arwood, 2005) Particularly for young, inexperienced teachers, I believe it is extremely important for the School to organise a detailed and focussed information session on how teachers can use the Policy.

All state maintained schools have to take seriously the need to show that they are raising standards and have developed a wide range of strategies in order to bring this off through various techniques of behaviour management (as well as through other strategies) (Maguire, Ball & Braun. 2010). Teachers 1 and 2 also voiced strong concerns with how many warnings have to be given to misbehaving students before a consequence should be used, “I think it is ridiculous that there are 6 warnings before any action is taken” (appendix 2). Due to both teachers having several students who continuously display disruptive and rude behaviour, they believe the school must take the Classroom Management Policy more seriously and develop a wider range of strategies to aid teachers in effectively correcting behaviour. Teacher 5 also agrees that 5 warnings can be overwhelming for the teacher as there are a lot of things to remember while dealing with a potentially stressful situation.

While teacher 5 agreed that 3 warnings instead of 5 could be more effective, she found that giving so many warnings could also be confusing for students. Perhaps allowing the unacceptable behaviour to continue for such a time before a consequence is implemented gives students the impression that the teacher is not bothered about their behaviour. Allowing negative behaviour to develop will also subtract from other students’ learning. The DCSF [Department for Children,

Schools and Families and Schools] recognises that teachers are only able to teach effectively and pupils learn effectively in orderly classes with good behaviour. (www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/ behaviour)

When I asked teachers 1 and 2 if they would change anything about the School Classroom Management Policy they immediately said they would both use less warnings before issuing a consequence, “I would make it one warning and then action instead of 5 warnings” (appendix 3). As Head (2007) has explained, ‘there is an assumption that if teachers deal with difficult pupil behaviour as a first step, then the young people will learn better. ‘Fixing’ behaviour will ‘fix’ learning (1). Both teachers agree with this statement as they find the School Policy far too lenient and slow in solving problems and allowing negative behaviour to continue in the class during the 5 warning process detracts from other student learning ‘Poor behaviour cannot be tolerated as it is a denial of the right of pupils to learn and teachers to teach’ (Tertemiz, Okut. 2014). Teacher 5 also raised a valid concern, “Having it in the diary is great, but it would be better if it were in the students’ diary as well so they were more aware of the school expectations and consequences” (appendix 6). In the students school diary there is only half a page dedicated to ‘Student Code of Conduct’ and no description of the consequences and Management Policy. (See appendix 7) I strongly agree that students should have a copy of the expectations and consequences available to them in order for them to understand what behaviour is considered to be appropriate.

Although teachers 1 and 3 stated that they sometimes felt supported, “depends on the coordinator” (appendix 2), teacher 2 said that he does not feel supported by the school leadership team at all. “They have not allowed us to have any say in the school policy. They did not ask staff how they feel comfortable dealing with difficult situations” (appendix 3). While each school has to make its own decisions about how they will construct a ‘whole school’ attempt at enacting ‘behaviour for learning’ (Maguire, Ball & Braun. 2010), perhaps more teacher influence in creating the Policy will be more beneficial for the school staff. Teacher 5 feels that coordinators are not always available to help the teacher and raises the issue of where to send the student after removing them from the class: “The coordinators are not always available and we can’t put them into someone else’s class because that is unfair on the other teacher and we can’t leave them outside without an adult so that aspect does not work so well” (appendix 6). I believe teachers 3 and 5 provided a great example of how to solve this issue when discussing the previous school they worked at (same school). To enable learning to take place preventative action is most effective, but where this fails, schools must have clear, firm and intelligent strategies in place to help pupils manage their behaviour’ (Tertemiz, Okut. 2014). Instead of depending on coordinators to handle students that have been removed from the classroom or who have misbehaved, their previous school created a time-out room that was constantly monitored by staff. During the time-out, students were to under-go a ‘Restorative Justice Session’ with a qualified restorative justice trainer. Students were not permitted to return to any classes until they completed the training and both teachers described the system as being very effective in rectifying inappropriate behaviour.

Reflection

I have learnt a great deal about classroom management strategies during my placement and throughout my professional learning investigation. When I began teaching at my placement school it only took one lesson to realise how inexperienced and uncomfortable I felt with having to control such extreme behaviour, as I have never been exposed to such challenges before. After observing several teachers I became curious in investigating the whole-school Classroom Management Policy to determine which strategies the school felt would be effective in controlling disruptive and inappropriate behaviour.

All five teachers I surveyed disclosed concerns about the Management Plan, whether it regarded the support they received from school coordinators or details about the Plan, however, overall I think it is important to use it as a guide instead of a ‘non-negotiable’ Policy. As I became more comfortable with my classes, I attempted to use the Management Plan and found it to be effective, however I slightly adapted it depending on the situation and level of misbehaviour I was facing. For example, at times I only gave 2 warnings before implementing a consequence and at other times I gave 6 warnings before giving a consequence. Spending time reflecting on which strategies worked for me was very valuable for future teaching as I feel much more confident and comfortable in the classroom after this experience.

I have learnt that when enforcing any classroom management policy, consistency is key. Students should be aware of my expectations and classroom rules and also, the consequences they will face if they display disruptive or inappropriate behaviour. I have also learnt that although all schools provide teachers with a whole-school classroom management plan, how the teacher chooses to implement it is up to his/her discretion and it should be adapted to how it best suits the individual teacher.

References

Colson, B. (2013, March 12). Classroom Management Plans | Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/groups/classroom-management/640101

Freeman, J., Simonsen, B., Briere, D. E., & MacSuga-Gage, A. S. (2014). Pre-Service Teacher Training in Classroom Management: A Review of State Accreditation Policy and Teacher Preparation Programs. Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, 37(2), 106-120. Retrieved from http://tes.sagepub.com.ezproxy.lib.monash.edu.au/content/37/2/106.full.pdf+html

Steer, A. (2005). Learning Behaviour. The Report of The Practitioners’ Group on School Behaviour and Discipline. Retrieved from http://www.educationengland.org.uk/documents/pdfs/2005-steer-report-learning-behaviour.pdf

Maguire, M., Ball, S., & Braun, A. (2010). Behaviour, classroom management and student ‘control’: enacting policy in the English secondary school. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 20(2), 153-170. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com.ezproxy.lib.monash.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1080/09620214.2010.503066?needAccess=true

Tertemiz, N., & Okut, L. (2014). A comparison of preservice teacher's beliefs on education and classroom practice. Educations Research and Reviews, 9(24), 1372-1380. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.lib.monash.edu.au/eric/docview/1658193908/fulltextPDF/691DFAE4FBB648DBPQ/5?accountid=12528

Appendices

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Classroom Management Policy Survey

Position: Japanese Teacher / Humanities Teacher (TEACHER 1)

Are you aware of the school Classroom Behaviour Management Policy?

Yes, only because it is in the staff diary.

Has the school organised a training session to ensure you understand and are comfortable with implementing the Policy?

No, they have just told me to “refer to the diary”

Have you implemented the Policy in your classroom? Under what circumstance?

I have used my interpretation of the Policy as I have not been clearly instructed on how the school would want me to use it. The circumstances of when I implement my own classroom management strategies varies. Students disrupt the class in a range on ways, and display unacceptable conduct that is not conducive to a satisfactory environment.

Do you feel that it is/was effective in managing students’ behaviour?

I think it is ridiculous that there are 6 warnings before any action is taken. I do not give 6 warnings. I feel like the leadership don’t want to be bothered during their free time.

Would you change anything about the Policy? (Add/subtract anything?)

Less warnings, one warning and then I would issue a consequence (depending on how serious the behaviour is)

Does it differ from any other school you have worked at? How?

Yes definitely! I have never been in a school where it takes 6 warning to take action to curve the misbehaviour. In other schools it has been left up to personal discretion.

Do you feel supported by the school leadership team in regards to implementing the Policy in your classroom?

Sometimes, depends on the coordinator.

Appendix 3


Position: French Teacher (TEACHER 2)


Yes


No, I have never been shown how to implement it I have just been shown where to find it


No I have not but I have used my own strategies to manage student behaviour


No because there are too many warnings, it’s ridiculous to wait so long before you take any action to correct the behaviour


I would make it one warning and then action instead of 5 warnings


Very different, out of seven schools I have taught at it is one of the worse behaviour management policies I have seen. At other schools students had better behaviour and here we have so many issues with classroom management and instead of cracking down they give too many warnings, which makes the issue worse


I don’t feel supported because they have not allowed us to have any say in the school policy. They did not ask staff how they feel comfortable dealing with difficult situations.

Appendix 4


Position: Director of Literacy & Literacy/English teacher (TEACHER 3)


Yes I am


Yes they have at the beginning of the year. The year level coordinators conducted a description of the Policy during a middle school staff meeting


Yes I have, when students are misbehaving in my class.


I find it most effective having compass as a tool for communicating with coordinators. All teachers can access student profiles and writes positive or negative comments that are colour coded depending on the severity level or the behaviour.


I wouldn’t necessarily change the Policy but I definitely adapt to my situation and teaching style. To me the Policy is a general understanding and the consequences I implement depend on the student and the behaviour they display


It was very similar to the last school I worked at, however at the extreme stage, instead of contacting a coordinator, students were sent to a time-out room that was constantly monitored by staff. Following the time-out room is was compulsory that the students attended a ‘Restorative Justice Session’ with a

qualified restorative trainer. Students were not permitted to return to any classes until they completed the training.


It varies on the coordinator

Appendix 5


Position: Languages Coordinator & French/EAL teacher (TEACHER 4)


Yes I am


They have organised an information session during a staff meeting. The coordinators showed us a detailed presentation but not many practical examples of how to implement the Policy. I think they just left it up to the teachers to come up with their own strategies


Yes I have, when students displayed disruptive or inappropriate behaviour.


It was eventually effective given the amount of warnings. Obviously not instant as it is quite a long process.I find it effective to use compass to document what has happened in regards to behavioural issues, however if a serious matter occurs I send the year level coordinator a personal email or contact the student’s parents


I wouldn’t because I leave it up to my interpretation; it just depends on how strictly you want to follow it. It’s a good guide, but there is a need for more examples of how the school would want the staff to implement it, especially for young staff or graduate teachers as it can be quite confusing.I believe above all, consistency is the most important factor in regards to successful classroom management


Yes. The first school I worked at was catholic and there were few behavioural issues. If an issue arose, the teacher would discretely speak to student but rarely feel the need to give out a detention.The second school I worked at had a very similar policy, however as it was a EAL school for refugee and immigrant students, the Policy was slightly more lenient. One main difference was that the school did not use the word ‘detention’ as many students came from detention camps and it could be traumatising for them. Instead it was just called ‘time-out’


So far I haven’t had any issues with the support of the school leadership team, however I have not greatly depended on them either

Appendix 6


Position: Head of teaching / Maths, Science and Humanities teacher (TEACHER 5)


Yes I am


Yes in a middle/senior school meeting. I felt quite comfortable with it after the explanation. I do think it is quite tricky with 5 levels; there are a lot of things to remember. Having it in the diary is great, but it would be better if it were in the students’ diary as well so they were more aware of the school expectations and consequences.


Yes I usually use it when dealing with disrupting behaviour. I have a year 7 student who is particularly challenging (funded student) with interesting social behaviours and I have to implement the plan with him very often.


I think kids need to have a clearer idea of where the line is, so many warnings can make it confusing for them.


I think its good, I really only use 3 warnings instead of 5 thoughAlso, when students need to be removed from the class it is unclear where we have to move them to. The coordinators are not always available and we can’t put them into someone elses class because that is unfair on the other teacher and we can’t leave them outside without an adult so that aspect does not work so well.


Yes, at the other school I worked at there was a supervised time-out room the students were sent to where they underwent a ‘Restorative Justice Session’. Without completing this session they were unable to return to class, it was very effective in rectifying inappropriate behaviour.


I do in some ways. I think the Policy needs to be clearer and have everyone better aware of how to implement it in their classrooms.

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annabelledomdigitalfolio.weebly.com · Web viewEDF 4006 Professional Learning Investigation. Rationale/Prior Knowledge. I have chosen to investigate the Classroom Management Policy