Section A- Reflecting on my behaviour as a teacher
What actions demonstrate that you are an authoritative teacher?
An authoritative teacher is one who has high expectations of students but are also sensitive to classroom dynamics and to individual needs (Roffey, 2011, p. 54). They set boundaries but also encourage self-control, and they show fairness and consistency (Roffey, 2011). I do have high expectations of everyone, where if someone does not do their best work then I will make them try again but I also take into consideration their age and ability. For example in writing I know that some can not write as much as others and also if they have just started school then their letter formation might not be great so I would not make them do it again if I know they have done their best. When children are working on an independent task then it is important that the class know the boundaries that they can work in, which is why when they get too noisy I stop them and remind them that they have gone over the noise limit and also give them a reason why I expect them to work at that level so that they can learn what is appropriate at what times. I like to think that I am fair and consistent in the class but I have noticed that sometimes I am not very consistent with punishing inappropriate behaviour. I have noticed that it can depend on my mood what degree of discipline I give out to children misbehaving. Sometimes if it is a child whom I often have to talk to then I tend to act quicker and am more likely to give them a consequence such as name on the board or moving them. Where as if it someone is normally good I tend to just remind them to act appropriately. If I was fair and consistent then as soon as an inappropriate behaviour emerged then it would be delt with according to the set out process that is the same for everyone.
How does your classroom reflect a democracy in action?
Students value fairness and having a say in what happens (Roffey, 2011, p. 59). Being in a junior classroom there is not a lot of choice as most of it is routine but I try to include choice where possible, such when we got out for fitness I will ask them what game they would like to play and then we have a vote and the most popular is what we do. They also get a say in what their class reward is when they work well which is also selected through a vote. Invite and encourage everyone to participate but do not demand that they do by putting individuals on the spot (Roffey, 2011, p. 59). When questioning students I try and ask a variety of students and sometimes if it is always the same children then I will ask someone who perhaps hasnt put their hand up but I wont choose someone who I know is shy or might not know, and if they cant give me an answer I dont pressure them. Allowing children to make choices (Roffey, 2011) is a part of a democratic classroom. In reading and math time I explain all the activities that they can do but then they are allowed to choose the order they do them in except if it is an activity their group is required to do after working with the teacher. I think that I could work on making the classroom more democratic, through mixing up students when working in pairs and asking for joint responses to encourage those who might not normally share. This way everyone is given more opportunity to participate.
How do children know that you care about them?
Every morning I take the time to have conversations with the children as they arrive or at the very least say good morning to them as they enter the class, making sure that I give them my full attention instead of only half listening while setting up other things. I also make note of when a child has succeeded in something, for example one boy was having difficulty writing on the lines and when he eventually did I made the point of saying how proud I was and that I knew he could do it. It is also important that to care for their learning you do have to respect them as people, and respect their capacity to learn (Absolum, 2006, p. 33). I always acknowledge what a student has to say even if it is not relevant or answering a question. This way I am showing them that I listen to what they have say and that their voice is important in the classroom. Also I am always encouraging children to do their best and when they dont I remind that I know they can do better, so I am showing them that I pay attention to them and believe that they are great learners.
What actions show children that you are trying to be inclusive?
Caring also means helping. Students who are unclear what to do, need too know how to access guidance (Roffey, 2011, p. 60). I am always open to helping students and if I am too busy at the exact moment I will ask them to try or ask someone else until I can get there so that they are not sitting around waiting but I always go and see them eventually. I usually try and help them by questioning them some more or offering suggestions for them to choose from, but of course I dont want to do it for them. I also try and give as many examples and ideas before sending them away to do independent work so that they are supported. I know that not everyone learns in the same way or at the same pace so I am open to giving extra guidance to those that need it. One example of being inclusive is where not everyone is at the same level in math so I went over the numbers before and after with all of the students so that even though I was focusing on a few students who I knew would need it I was doing it in a way as not to draw attention to them but also enabling them to join in successfully.
Section B- Promoting behaviour for learning
Learning-focused relationships are about using the considerable potential in the relationship between teacher and student to maximize the students engagement with learning; about enabling the student to play a meaningful role in deciding what to learn and how to learn it; and about enabling the student to become a confident, resilient, active, and self-regulating learner (Absolum, 2006, p.43). I believe that to some extent I have developed learning-focused relationships with my class as I encourage them to do their best work, ask for their input in decisions in the class and allow them to make decisions about certain activities they do. However I can still see areas that I need to work on such as including the class more in their own learning perhaps more peer or self assessment on how well they went or how they felt the lesson went so that I can get feed back on my teaching from them rather than making assumptions.
A teacher who believes that students need to be controlled limits the extent to which a deep and rich learning relationship can be developed with students (Absolum, 2006, p. 31) At the beginning the year I was worried about controlling the class, so I thought about that aspect of teaching rather than the learning outcomes of the children in the class. I noticed it mainly when I was working with a group of children on the mat, I would often be scanning and thinking about if the rest of the class was at an appropriate noise level or if they were on task which meant that I was not paying attention to the group I was with and if they were meeting the learning goals. Also at the young age that I am teaching, new entrant and year one, it is important for them to be able to make noise and work with others in order for them to learn. It took me while to adjust my expectations to suit this but now as long as they are on task and at a reasonable noise level I dont get too worried about controlling the behaviour. This also relates to writing where I have noticed that it is actually important for children to be able to talk to each other so that they can share ideas, so instead of expecting quiet work I allow the class to talk and share ideas. By not worrying about the noise children are working at as long as they are on task means that they are able to be active learners and learn how they know they learn best.
Teachers who want a learning focused relationship works with the students to build the motivation of the student to learn; checks with the student that they are experiencing success, helps them overcome difficult bits, boots motivation by rewarding success, by introducing a range of motivational devices (Absolum, 2006, p. 44). When planning my lessons I always try to think about how to make them engaging so the children will be motivated to participate, however in the future I could ask the class for more of their input into how they want to learn and what topic they want to do instead of just making assumptions about what they would like. This way they would have a more meaningful involvement in their learning so that is it important and relevant to them. I also praise children when they have done something really well, making sure to be specific in my feedback so that they know how they have succeeded. This helps students become confident in their learning and also give them the devices so they can evaluate their own learning.
Absolum says that teachers that are focused on building learning-focused relationships let children know what is to be learnt and how they will know when they have learnt it (Ablsoum, 2006, p. 29). One of my goals during practicum was to inform the children of the success criteria so that they would know what I was looking for in their work. I managed to do this for most areas and if I didnt then I at least told them WALT so they knew what we were focusing on. I do believe that it is important for children to know what they are learning so that they can self monitor their progress so this is definitely something I am working on.
Classrooms are places where children can take risks (Carpenter et al., 2002). Some of the children in my class find it hard to take risks, most often when writing a word they dont know. I do by best to encourage them, telling them that it doesnt matter if they make a mistake, that I want to see what they can do, and I always praise them once they have given it a go. Also when children are suggesting answers for a question I dont tell them that they are wrong instead I will tell them if they are close or good try or thanks for sharing your idea. This way they wont feel like their contribution isnt good enough or like they shouldnt try if they arent sure. I sometimes make mistakes when talking or writing on the board and try and make a point of showing them that it is ok to make mistakes. However I do think that I could model making mistakes more often and showing them that it is the process of learning. Carpenter also believes in encouraging children to take responsibility of their own actions and work for inner reasons (Carpenter et al., 2002). This is a point that I probably need to work on as I focused a lot of giving positive praise, which encouraged children to work mainly for the rewards. Most of the time the rewards or praise I gave was to show the children what sort of work environment I expected so hopefully over time they will become self regulating once they realise that they will not get rewards all the time and see the importance to their learning. Allowing children to take risks and encouraging them to work for inner reasons are important when developing learning-focused relationships as they both relate to being an active and self-regulating learner.
Section C- Implementing restorative practice
Incident one
A boy in the class was continually talking to others around him on the mat. I gave him a warning that if he kept talking that his name would go on the board and he would have to stay in at morning tea. He continued to talk and therefore I told him he had to come see me at later. When it was morning tea I saw him about to leave and reminded him that he needed to come and see me. I was helping another student tie their shoelaces and when I finally went to see the boy he had started crying. I asked him if he knew why I had asked him to come and see me, and he replied with the fact that he was talking. I told him how it was disrespectful for him to do this when I am teaching and that I was very disappointed. I asked him to them go and sit at his desk and think about what he had done and what would do in the future. My response to his behavior was to ask the of- fending student a few questions to foster awareness of how others have been affected by the wrongdoing. Or we may express our own feelings to the student (Wachtel, p. 3). I did not just want to tell him off as I knew that he was a sensitive child and that this would probably have a negative effect on his confidence. So my using knowledge of the restorative approach I got him to think about his actions as well as sharing how it affected me. When he came back to me all he has to say was sorry and that he wouldnt do it again. I think that in order for it to be more restorative I should have asked expect him to actively repair the damage to genuinely show me he was sorry and understood what he did was unacceptable. After we had talked I left it at that and let him leave and we moved on. Starting each day with a clean slate (carpenter, p. 5) I believe that this is an important aspect for developing good relationships with the children in the class as it gives children a chance to surprise you rather than just expecting the worse. Through making sure that I dont hold past actions against them or make judgments about a child I am showing that child that I have high expectations of them, which will encourage them to take responsibility for their behaviour. Incident Two
During guided reading one of the boys was being very silly and also encouraging another student to be silly too. I asked him to be sensible and when he still didnt stop I just sat quietly giving him a displeased look. When he calmed down a bit I begun the lesson, however shortly after he acted up again so I sent him to sit at his table. I read one page with the other student and then asked the boy if he was ready to be sensible now and he nodded and came back. I explained to him that it was disrespectful to me and also disrupting the other students learning and we continued the lesson. The process for restorative practice is to tell the story; explore the harm; repair the harm; and move forward (Jansen & Matla, 2011, p. 93). In this incident I gave my side of the story but I did not think to ask the boy why he was acting that way. Perhaps if I had done this initially then I could have solved the problem without excluding him from the group and damaging our relationship by unnecessarily punishing him. It also would have been good for him to be able to share his feelings afterwards so that he was more actively involved in telling his story and how the harm affected him. In this incident we did not really repair the harm instead we just moved on from it. In order to repair the harm we should have had a conversation about what happened and how it effect both us and what we both could do differently in the future to ensure it doesnt happen again.
References Absolum, M. (2006). Learningfocused relationships. In Clarity in the classroom: using formative assessmentbuilding learning focused relationships (pp. 2746). Auckland, N.Z.: Hodder Education. Carpenter, V. M., McMurchyPilkington, C., & Sutherland, S. (2002). Kaiako Toa: Highly successful teachers in low decile schools. Set: Research information for teachers, (1), 48.
Jansen, G., & Matla, R. (2011). Restorative practice in action. In V. Margrain, & A. H. Macfarlane (Eds.), Responsive pedagogy: Engaging restoratively with challenging behaviour (pp. 85109). Wellington, N.Z.: NZCER Press.
Roffey, S. (2011). You and your class. In S. Roffey, The teachers survival guide to behaviour, 2 nd ed. (pp. 40-65). London: Sage.
Wachtel, T. (1999). Restoring community in a disconnected world. In Reshaping Australian Institutions Conference: Restorative justice and civil society (pp. 1- 4). Camberra, Australia: The Australian National University. Available from http://wwwiirp.edu/pdf.SSSRestoringCommunity.pdf