According to Dewey (1916), reflection is the readiness to participate in self-evaluation and improvement. Reflection is important when becoming a teacher as it you have to be ready to try new things and adapt your own teaching to each individual child. It is difficult for beginning teachers as we must first understand the differences between what we had previously thought about teaching and what the reality (Muijs & Reynolds, 2001) is now. Reflection allows us to look at long term problems and solutions rather than just the present situation (Pollard, 2014). For example, there were many behavioural issues within my first placement that it became overwhelming. There would be times that I would feel like losing my patience and I would punish that child. However, upon reflection, the individual in question would only misbehave because the attention and care he need was not being provided at home. Being reflective allows us to be reflexive and this is important as it focuses more on us an individuals and our own self-awareness (Dymoke & Harrison, 2008). Schon (1983) stated that reflection should be done on action rather than in action so that it allows for a more analytical view of decisions that were made in the moment. This is the route I have taken throughout the course so far and it has allowed me to see any positive or negative aspects of my teaching practise.
This assignment will look at the role that reflection plays in the improvement of behaviour management in the classroom. Disruptive behaviour can be very damaging to children learning and development (Haydn, 2007) and so it is important to look at how teachers manage it. There are numerous different theories relating to behaviour management in a classroom environment. Throughout my time in my first placement, I undertook observations of the children in the classroom setting where I observed their behaviour both within the classroom and around the school. I observed how the children behaved with each other and towards the class teacher. Through these observations I was able to establish clear rules and routines for behaviour in the classroom and promote good behaviour in accordance with the school’s behaviour policy. I was able to reflect on my use of behaviour management strategies by using my observations of professionals as well as the feedback given to me by my mentor.
The way classroom management is asserted in any particular teachers’ classroom influences every pupil’s motivation to learn and perform to the best of their ability (Cremin 2014). This is why behaviour management is so important. An approach that I deem to be extremely reliable and effective is Canter’s (1992) Assertive Discipline. Canter suggested that students have to know what teachers expect of them without doubt, what will happen if they do not comply and that the correct behaviour will be recognised (Cremin 2014). I made sure that the children were aware of the rules and knew what was expected of them in terms of behaviour as seen in my lesson observation. This worked well as it had been stated to me that the class’ behaviour was normally quite poor when confronted with a new teacher and in fact, they were no worse with me in comparison to their class teacher (show in mentor meeting/ observation). Assertive discipline was used throughout the school as a behaviour management technique but it is also based on the fact that teachers should be able to use punishment in order to effectively manage the classroom. Negative reinforcement and punishment were key tools in behaviour management throughout the school and this is something that I felt uncomfortable with. Feedback from my mentor meant that I moved on to a slightly different approach (see observation).
I followed school policies within managing behaviour (as seen in my lesson observation) however; I attempted to allow the children to take ownership of their own decisions in order to create a more positive atmosphere. This approach is highlighted in William Glasser’s Reality and Choice theory (2006). This states that students must be aware of their responsibilities and how to make their own decisions about their learning and behaviour in the classroom. Glasser (2006) goes on to talk about children having a choice in their own curriculum which is obviously something I could not implement but I did allow a choice within their learning by providing different activities for them to do. There would be occasions where I would ask them how challenged they wanted to be and would give them worksheets based on their decision. At first, some children picked the easier sheets through laziness, but after a short time they become bored and took ownership of their own learning through requesting harder questions. This approach improved their learning as they became more independent in their work and took more pride in what they were doing. This meant that the low level disruption decreased as they were not doing something they did not want to do. This was an effective approach but it did not always work. I worked with the second year 4 class and due to a difference in personalities, they continued to choose easier work. This shows that it is important to understand the individuals you are teaching as what will work for one will not work for another (Barrow et al, 2001).
According to the behavioural approach, behaviour is learnt through observation (Skinner, 1998). This approach also states that behaviour is also learnt through operant conditioning meaning that behaviour that is rewarded will more than likely be repeated. Using excessive negative means to improve behaviour was not always successful and so following Skinners position, I began to use more positive reinforcement. This came as I designed a behaviour chart for the class which was based on a chart that the children moved up and down based on their behaviour that day. This worked better and the children reacted more positively at the thought of being rewarded for good behaviour instead of punished for bad behaviour. These rewards were chosen based on the individual child. I chose to do this after a conversation with my mentor about being more proactive with behaviour management in the classroom.
Behaviour is learnt through the environment and as Bandura (1977) stated within his social learning theory, people learn from observations and modelling. Banduras approach encompasses issues of attention and motivation which were key issues in my own behaviour management techniques. There were issues of low self-esteem within my previous class which had a negative effect on the individual’s behaviour. This is related to what Bandura defined as self-efficacy; the belief in your own ability to succeed. I tackled this issue with the use of positive reinforcement in order to raise self-esteem. Praise would be rewarded for minor things and as their confidence grew, they would be more likely to produce good behaviour in larger and more significant quantities. For example, they may start by simply saying thank you and then move onto following an instruction straight away. Attention was a key theme highlighted in my targets throughout my placement as it was my lack of pace during lessons that could cause low level disruption. This was developed throughout my placement through a more specific use of times seen on my planning as well as allowing for more time for the children to complete their own activities. This can be seen in the evidence of my mentor meetings (See mentor meeting 7th November and 9th December). This is important because pace can be seen to be directly linked to disruptive behaviour (ARI, 2016) and this was evident in my own teaching. It is something that I continue to work on in order to successfully manage poor behaviour. I was careful to take note of Piaget’s Constructivist Learning Theory (1983) when deciding upon the correct behaviour approach. The cognitive development of the child plays an important part in their behaviour and their understanding of right, wrong and consequences (Carey et al, 2015). For example, going from a year 4 class to a year 1 class has highlighted how important it is to tailor behaviour management for individuals. Previously, there had been one on one intervention with pupils who were struggling with behavioural issues. This is harder to do at a younger age as their communication is not as developed.
I attempt to guide my student’s behaviour and so phrases like ‘do you think that is the right thing to do’ are frequently used in order to allow for them to understand their behaviour and come to their own conclusions. This is directly linked to Dewey’s belief in the theory of experience whereby children are seen to be adept in learning and behaving in the desired way with the teacher as the implementer (Dewey, 1916).
In conclusion, there are many different techniques to use when it comes to behaviour management but they must be carefully considered when looking at the class you are teaching and the individual personalities of the children. I have found that using a balance of positive and negative rewards as well as punishments work well in managing disruptive behaviour in the classroom. There is always more to be done and as McKinney et al (2005) states, further action should be taken to improve classroom behaviour and to form safe and operative environments. The next steps I will take to develop Teachers’ Standard 7, is to research more behavioural management techniques and use them in the classroom.