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Jenna Negruk EDUC 4206 ID: 110146196

Professional Inquiry Project - Report


How can I successfully manage challenging student behaviour during Inquiry lessons, to maximise
student participation and therefore achievement?’

Focus:
An explanation is provided of the PST’s teaching behaviour investigated within a specified curriculum area.

My focus relates to the AITSL standard within the professional practice domain, being standard 4.3 - Manage
Challenging Behaviour (AITSL 2011). This focus area was chosen due to my lack of experience and confidence with
challenging behaviours in the classroom. From initial observations of my placement class, I could see that challenging
behaviours such as disruption, talking out of turn, work avoidance and general off-task social interaction was
hindering participation in learning. These disruptive behaviours were observed during Inquiry lessons which involved
reading and writing tasks, thus why this curriculum area has been chosen.

Justification of Teaching Behaviour and Curriculum Area Focus:


A justification for the inquiry focus within a curriculum area is provided using research literature.

Work by Sullivan, Johnson, Owens and Conway (2014) reveals that, a teachers’ ineffective classroom management
of challenging or disruptive behaviours can have detrimental impacts on student participation and engagement
(p.43). With this clear connection made between student behaviour and student participation, my overarching
question for my personal inquiry project is ‘How can I successfully manage challenging student behaviour during
Inquiry lessons, to maximise student participation and therefore achievement?’ A central reason for choosing my
particular focus is to build confidence in dealing with a range of behaviours which I am sure I will encounter in relief
teaching after graduating. By trailing various behaviour management strategies during Inquiry lessons, I hope to build
an understanding and confidence surrounding challenging behaviours and classroom management, which will
hopefully reduce the risk of teacher burnout and enable any learning environment I work in to be conducive of
participation and achievement (Simpson 2017).

Context and Curriculum Area:


Details of the placement context & curriculum area.

The placement context in which my personal inquiry project has taken place is a small school community of 297
students and 23 teaching staff (MySchool 2017). The socio-economic status of the school community ranges from
high to low (MySchool 2017). The specific setting where action, observation and data collection has taken place is a
year 6/7 classroom with 28 students, including 12 boys and 16 girls. My initial observations of teaching and learning
revealed challenging/disruptive behaviour, lack of motivation and poor student engagement and participation. These
behaviours were most prominent during Inquiry lessons – which are focused around an interdisciplinary unit which
includes various curriculum areas such as English, Science and HASS. Each term a unit is used to guide teaching for
the purpose of Inquiry learning. This term, the unit theme is ‘Future Focused’. The teacher essentially guides the
lesson, with the goal being the students taking responsibility of their learning. Each lesson has a topic focus, with
both questioning, collaborative and reflective practices embedded throughout to ensure meaning making.

Design and Data Collection Techniques:


The planned inquiry process is outlined & the explanation of the data collection methods is excellent.
Jenna Negruk EDUC 4206 ID: 110146196
In order to reduce challenging/disruptive behaviours and promote student productivity and engagement, a teacher
must be skilled in classroom management (Narhi, Kiiski & Savolainen 2017). With this in mind, I fully support the
approach to behaviour management of prevention rather than reaction (Harbour, Evanovich, Sweigart & Hughes
2015). To promote this approach to behaviour management, I used evidence based practice and strategies to
encourage productive behaviours that support participation and engagement in learning, which in turn decreases the
occurrence of challenging behaviours. With the ability to manage challenging behaviours, I hope to build the
knowledge and confidence needed in this area of teaching and learning, which can have major impact on student
achievement and teacher resilience.

Data was collected over weeks two and three of my placement during each Inquiry lesson, which was Tuesday after
lunch, Wednesday before recess Thursday after recess. Four methods of data collection were discussed in my
proposal, however only three were implemented due to the realisation of time constraints. The three used include; 1.
Observation - which is often referred to as field notes, involved recording detailed, concrete descriptions of
behaviours and events that I observed/experienced during each data collection session in a research journal – see
appendix 1 and 2 for an example (Marshall & Rossman 2006). Personal reflection, including my thoughts and feelings
are also included within the journal entries. 2. Oral and written feedback from my supervising teacher was collected
using a template with guiding questions – see appendix 3 for an example. These observations were discussed together
and then used to reflect on my practice and compare with my own observations and notes of the lesson. 3. Student
feedback was collected using structured, written tools including; a survey, comprising of open ended questions
collected once a week and exit slips with a feelings chart for a quick and easy response from students after each lesson
–see appendix 4 and 5 for an example (Mandouit 2018).

Data Results and Analysis:


Results of the inquiry are presented & validated which demonstrates a high level of sophistication.

After careful analysis of the data collected during my personal inquiry project, I have reached the conclusion that
strong teacher-student relationships, clear expectations and individual reward incentives are the most beneficial
strategies in managing challenging behaviour. From week one of my placement, I worked extremely hard on building
strong relationships with my students (Jong 2003). I could see a considerable decrease in the challenging behaviours
as each week passed and the students became more comfortable with me as their teacher. I used feedback Fridays
as an opportunity for relationship building. The lesson before recess each Friday morning was an opportunity for us
all as a class to be open and honest with each other, helping to build feelings of trust and respect. During these
sessions, we reflected upon our week, shared something new about ourselves and set goals for the future. Students
revealed to me in their surveys that they liked how I really cared about each individual and they appreciated the time
I took to get to know the class. My supervising teacher provided feedback on my manner with the students, with the
following comment written during a data collection session; ‘You have a lovely way with the kids – it’s very reassuring
and calming one on one. This is really fantastic, especially for building relationships with this age group. I can already see
they are enjoying your presence, keep it up!’. Data collection during Inquiry lessons revealed a correlation between the
relationships formed and a decrease in challenging behaviours.

Setting clear expectations at the start of each lesson was a strategy that I neglected to use at the beginning of my
placement and turned out to be one of the most beneficial. My reflective journal entries revealed that when I did
utilize this strategy, the challenging behaviours were minimal and when I forgot to do this, the challenging behaviours
were more apparent. Expectations were set at the start of the lesson and included instructions around behaviour,
noise level, work completion, seating arrangements and social interaction (Burke and Jarman 1994). By week two of
my data collection, behaviour expectations were relatively similar for each lesson; students responded well to my
Jenna Negruk EDUC 4206 ID: 110146196
expectations and they knew what consequences would follow if any behaviour did not match my expectations. There
was one specific incident which made me realise how powerful expectations are on behaviour. It was a Thursday after
recess inquiry lesson on STEM – coding and conditionals. We moved from the classroom into the STEM building and
I failed to set new expectations as I felt confident in the students knowing what my expectations were without saying
them. The lesson began very loud, students seemed distracted and were not showing respect towards my teaching
or those students who were trying to listen and learn. I felt the lesson slipping away from me, and I struggled to
understand why – when up until this point the challenging behaviour had decreased. After discussion with my
supervising teacher she explained ‘you need to always re-establish your expectations every lesson, especially in a new
space – seating, body language, talking, noise level etc. (anything that will cause distraction and therefore cause
behaviour that is not wanted). This lesson made it very evident how influential clear expectations are on behaviour.
Modelling tasks also had a similar impact – which helped to reduce confusion about expectations on learning, desired
behaviour then followed.

My whole class reward system ‘Miss Jenna’s Gem Jar’ did not have a positive effect on the challenging behaviours
right from the start. Despite my persistence with it, the desired affect was not achieved and I found it unbeneficial.
Although educational research does not recommend the use of individual reward systems – my supervising teacher
and I decided to trial it with the class. I created a concept called ‘Jenna Beans’ which involved giving students a
laminated card which looked like a jelly bean – when they displayed the desired behaviours of participation and
engagement. With great surprise, this strategy worked wonders. Those students who usually displayed the
challenging behaviours of talking out of turn, work avoidance, disengagement, distraction of others and general off-
task social interaction would notice the students being rewarded and could see exactly what behaviours were
receiving rewards and did the same as their peers.

Reflection:
A highly reflective explanation of changes that will be or have been made to PST’s teaching behaviour is documented.

As a result of the inquiry project, I have become more knowledgeable and confident in managing challenging
behaviours. The combination of self-reflection, supervising teacher and student feedback has helped me to critically
evaluate on what did and did not work well in my practice. As noted in my last journal entry; ‘Students are giving
honest and reflective feedback on the strategies I am using. Those who didn’t show the challenging behaviours have
noticed a difference in the classroom climate and their ability to engage and not get distracted by the challenging
behaviours. Those students who were displaying the challenging behaviours have noticed positive progress in their
own behaviour, participation and achievement, this is very pleasing to hear’. When I was able to successfully manage
the challenging behaviours, I felt more confident in my teaching abilities. This strongly relates to the ideas discussed
by Sullivan et al. (2014) on challenging behaviour having negative impacts on the resilience of beginning teachers if
not managed well. I could also see that the changes I had made to my practice were not only benefiting myself but
my students too. By trialling the effectiveness of different strategies, I have built the confidence needed to manage
and prevent challenging behaviours and help maximise student participation and therefore, achievement.

Conclusion:
Provides an exceptional summary of the impact of the PST’s inquiry focus on their own professional learning.

As a pre-service teacher who is about to graduate, this inquiry project has provided the professional growth and
learning needed to support my practice as I embark on my career journey as an educator. With the successful
management of challenging behaviours, I believe I was able to facilitate a learning environment that was conductive
of participation and achievement. Through self-evaluation and feedback from both my supervising teacher and
mentor – I was able to critically reflect on and adapt my practice in order to improve and grow as a teacher. I was able
to evaluate both my failures and successes – which has contributed to the realisation that this profession will provide
daily opportunities for continuous growth. Each class that l teach will be different and unique, meaning that the
Jenna Negruk EDUC 4206 ID: 110146196
efficiency of my applied strategies for prevention rather than reaction to challenging behaviours may not work for
every class. However, I will endeavour to always evaluate and reflect on my practice and will use my confidence and
knowledge of prevention strategies to successfully manage challenging behaviours.

References:

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) 2011, Australian Professional Standards for Teachers,
AITSL, viewed 25 July 2018, https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards

Burke, C & Jarman, K 1994, ‘Disruptive and anti-social behaviour in the middle years of schooling: approaching the
primary-secondary divide’, Unicorn, vol.20, no.2, pp.52-57.

Harbour, K.E, Evanovich, L.L, Sweigart, C.A & Hughes, L.5 2015, ‘A Brief Review of Effective Teaching Practices That
Maximize Student Engagement’, Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, vol.59,
no.1, pp.5-13.

Jong, T.D 2003, ‘Behaviour management in the middle years of schooling: what is good practice?’, Australian Journal
of Middle Schooling, vol.3, no.1, pp.1-8.
Jenna Negruk EDUC 4206 ID: 110146196
Mandouit, L 2018, ‘Using student feedback to improve teaching’, Educational Action Research, vol. 5, no.1, pp.1-15.

Marshall, C & Rossman, G.B 2006, ‘Data Collection Methods’, in Designing Qualitative Research, Thousand Oaks,
California, pp.97-150.

My School 2017, Torrensville Primary School, My School, viewed 25 July 2018,


https://www.myschool.edu.au/school/49635/profile/2017

Narhi, V, Kiiski, T & Savolainen, H 2017, ‘Reducing disruptive behaviours and improving classroom behavioural
climate with class-wide positive behaviour support in middle schools’, British Educational Research Journal, vol.43,
no.6, pp.1186-1205.

Simpson, R.G 2017, ‘A Case Study of The Perceived Impact of Disruptive Behavior Among Grades 9 and 11 Students
on Their Academic Performance at A Corporate High School’, Thesis, Temple University, Pennsylvania.

Sullivan, A.M, Johnson, B, Owens, L and Conway, R 2014, ‘Punish Them or Engage Them? Teachers’ Views of
Unproductive Student Behaviours in the Classroom’, Australian Journal of Education, vol.39, no.6, pp.43-56.

Appendix 1:
Jenna Negruk EDUC 4206 ID: 110146196

Appendix 2:
Jenna Negruk EDUC 4206 ID: 110146196
Jenna Negruk EDUC 4206 ID: 110146196
Appendix 3:
Jenna Negruk EDUC 4206 ID: 110146196

Appendix 4:
Jenna Negruk EDUC 4206 ID: 110146196
Appendix 5:

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