Standard 4 - Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
Standard 4 - Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
4.1 - Support student participation
4.1 - Support student participation
A key component of my teaching philosophy is that every student is valued and cared for, and I ensure this through the development and maintenance of a positive classroom environment. In my first year of teaching (2014) I purchased three beanbags and a couch for my classroom. When the students arrived, they were amazed and excited. The students loved the furniture and wanted to be in the classroom as much as possible.
Since them, I was the ambassabor for flexible seating within our school. I added 3 fit balls, two small stools and a stand up table to the flexible furniture in my classroom. Following this, new (flexible seating) desks were ordered for my classroom to trial for the school. This was a huge success in my classroom and now almost our entire school runs on flexible seating. I am always looking for new and exciting flexible furniture that can be added to my classroom. I supported other teachers in transitioning to the new furniture and often offered suggestions and ideas to help the running of the class with the new furniture. I often have colleagues approach me with questions regarding the seating and I offer my advice and ideas often. I have also found that I am learning more about flexible seating myself when speaking to colleagues.
The positive result the furniture has had on my students is astounding. They are concentrating more with increased motivation and engagement and always have smiles on their faces. It does not surprise me at all that physical activity and flexible seating is linked to higher academic performance, better health, and improved behaviour.
I also place a high value on praising students and ensuring their work is displayed in the classroom at all times. Over my three years of teaching, I have found that the more work I display around the room - the more ownership students take of the classroom and their learning. The students want to show their parents their class everyday, they want to keep the room clean and they want to participate in all classroom activities.
Another factor that I believe strongly supports student participation is the establishment of rules and consequences within a classroom. A the beginning of every school year I get my students (in groups) to create a set of class rules that they feel are vitally important to allow me to teach and them to learn. We then join all the rules together and vote on the 5-7 golden rules which are followed all year. These are always displayed around the room and referred to when inconsistent behaviour occurs.
I believe the furniture, along with my positive optimistic attitude, provides a safe and supportive environment where students aspire and even yearn to learn.
Since them, I was the ambassabor for flexible seating within our school. I added 3 fit balls, two small stools and a stand up table to the flexible furniture in my classroom. Following this, new (flexible seating) desks were ordered for my classroom to trial for the school. This was a huge success in my classroom and now almost our entire school runs on flexible seating. I am always looking for new and exciting flexible furniture that can be added to my classroom. I supported other teachers in transitioning to the new furniture and often offered suggestions and ideas to help the running of the class with the new furniture. I often have colleagues approach me with questions regarding the seating and I offer my advice and ideas often. I have also found that I am learning more about flexible seating myself when speaking to colleagues.
The positive result the furniture has had on my students is astounding. They are concentrating more with increased motivation and engagement and always have smiles on their faces. It does not surprise me at all that physical activity and flexible seating is linked to higher academic performance, better health, and improved behaviour.
I also place a high value on praising students and ensuring their work is displayed in the classroom at all times. Over my three years of teaching, I have found that the more work I display around the room - the more ownership students take of the classroom and their learning. The students want to show their parents their class everyday, they want to keep the room clean and they want to participate in all classroom activities.
Another factor that I believe strongly supports student participation is the establishment of rules and consequences within a classroom. A the beginning of every school year I get my students (in groups) to create a set of class rules that they feel are vitally important to allow me to teach and them to learn. We then join all the rules together and vote on the 5-7 golden rules which are followed all year. These are always displayed around the room and referred to when inconsistent behaviour occurs.
I believe the furniture, along with my positive optimistic attitude, provides a safe and supportive environment where students aspire and even yearn to learn.
A range of flexible seating options being used in my classroom. Including: Couch, fit ball, beanbag, low table and a stand up table.
Colourful student work displayed all around the classroom at all times to promote ownership and participation.
2016 student created classroom rules posters and one of the classroom rule displays.
Standard 4 - Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
4.2 - Manage classroom activities
4.2 - Manage classroom activities
I believe that establishing and maintaining orderly and workable routines is essential to the smooth running of a classroom and to ensure students are on task and learning. Students like routine and thrive when they know what ix expected of them and what they need to do in order to succeed. In my classroom I have a classroom schedule on display at all times. In the morning, my classroom leader gets the schedule from my desk and writes it on to the big whiteboard at the back of the room. During morning meeting time, I run through the schedule and answer any questions students may have about the day to eliminate any anxiety which may occur.
Above are two photos of the large whiteboard found at the back of my classroom where the student leader for the week writes up our daily schedule every morning. This includes any homework that is due and any notices that there may be. The first picture shows it blank (start of term) and the second picture shows it in use (how it looks everyday).
Creating a classroom timetable that is related to the curriculum, with the appropriate amount of learning time allocated to each Key Learning Area (KLA) is essential in managing the classroom learning environment. Literacy and Numeracy require majority of the teaching and learning time and all other learning areas take up the rest of the time. At my school we have upper and lower Numeracy Blocks (across classes and year levels) and I have implemented my own literacy blocks within my classroom. My timetable shows the allocation of time for each KLA and has proved successful in managing the learning environment.
Above is a copy of my weekly timetable. This alternates each year but the amount of time allocated to each KLA remains the same. Following this timetable has allowed me to establish and maintain orderly and workable routines to create an environment where student time is spent on learning tasks.
Student time spent on learning tasks is of utmost importance in a students' development of key skills, knowledge and understandings. I have very explicit routines established in my classroom within all KLA. Every single morning we do a 3 minute time table test as soon as the bell goes. Students are aware of this and as part of their morning routine they need to get ready for their times tables prior to the bell. This task is quite difficult for the first couple of weeks of Term 1 but once the students know the standard and expectation, they are always ready to go. If one student forgets, there are always 29 other students reminding them to get ready. Every single morning on the whiteboard, morning tasks will be displayed with the first task always being 'get ready for your times tables'.
I have found that if students have continuous time prompts and reinforcement of this, they are more likely to keep on tasks and produce a higher standard of work in the time given. In all lessons, I use a timer and stick to it. If I tell my class they have 10 minutes to complete a task - then they literally have 10 minutes to complete a task. Establishing these routines is difficult initially but definitely pays off for the remainder of the year as students are far more productive when these explicit routines and implemented and reinforced constantly.
I have found that if students have continuous time prompts and reinforcement of this, they are more likely to keep on tasks and produce a higher standard of work in the time given. In all lessons, I use a timer and stick to it. If I tell my class they have 10 minutes to complete a task - then they literally have 10 minutes to complete a task. Establishing these routines is difficult initially but definitely pays off for the remainder of the year as students are far more productive when these explicit routines and implemented and reinforced constantly.
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Above is a copy of a lesson plan for a mathematics lesson on probability. The lesson plan has been broken down into introduction and main body. The lesson plan details clearly how long should be spent on each learning tasks to ensure that the lesson objectives are met.
Standard 4 - Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
4.3 - Manage challenging behaviour
4.3 - Manage challenging behaviour
Standard 4 - Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
4.4 - Maintain student safety
4.4 - Maintain student safety
The information and evidence below addresses both Standard 4.3 and Standard 4.4.
I possess a range of skills to maintain student interest and engagement and am confident with a number of behaviour management systems. Currently within my classroom I have individual, group and whole class reward and recognition systems in place and these have proven extremely successful in preventing and managing challenging behaviours. I incorporate positive reinforcement in my classroom wherever possible in order to create an encouraging learning environment. Consequently, I am confident in my ability to deal with inappropriate behaviour in a fair and consistent manner. This year I have been faced with a student that requires constant recognition for all small achievements in order to accomplish individual success with a task. To ensure this student achieves success I created a tick chart that allows the student to collect ticks for different things. Four ticks provides the student with 10 minutes of computer time (a reward chosen by the student). This system has been highly successful and allows the student to be constantly rewarded for displaying appropriate behaviours.
I possess a range of skills to maintain student interest and engagement and am confident with a number of behaviour management systems. Currently within my classroom I have individual, group and whole class reward and recognition systems in place and these have proven extremely successful in preventing and managing challenging behaviours. I incorporate positive reinforcement in my classroom wherever possible in order to create an encouraging learning environment. Consequently, I am confident in my ability to deal with inappropriate behaviour in a fair and consistent manner. This year I have been faced with a student that requires constant recognition for all small achievements in order to accomplish individual success with a task. To ensure this student achieves success I created a tick chart that allows the student to collect ticks for different things. Four ticks provides the student with 10 minutes of computer time (a reward chosen by the student). This system has been highly successful and allows the student to be constantly rewarded for displaying appropriate behaviours.
Above is a copy of the tick chart that was laminated and placed on the student's desk. Ticks were stamped on with a stamp or drawn on with a whiteboard marker. This system has no limits - meaning the student (if displaying on task behaviours all day) could earn their computer time over and over again throughout the day. This system worked extremely well and the improvement in work output and behaviour was significant and obvious.
Within my classroom, I follow a policy which aligns closely with our school's Behaviour Management Policy (BMP). Clear rules and expectations were established within the first week of school (see Standard 4.1). Following this, consequences for challenging and misbehaviour were explained and demonstrated for the students. The students did not have input in the consequences as they were drawn directly from the school's BMP. In my classroom if a misbehaviour occurs, the student receives a verbal warning. If the behaviour continues their name goes on the board. If the behaviour continues further a cross is placed beside the student's name. If this occurs, the student also receives a blue slip meaning they have to shadow a duty teacher for 10 minutes during recess or lunch. In my experience, once the student has their name on the board, it is very rare that the behaviour continues. Often this visual cue is enough to help that student stay focused and on task for the remainder of the day.
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Above is a copy of my school's Behaviour Management Plan that I follow at all times. This is made available to parents at all times and referenced during my parent meeting at the beginning of the year.
If I am presented with a particularly challenging student (which has happened a number of times), I follow the BMP religiously. If behaviour is not improving and the student is remaining very unfocused and disruptive, the next step I take is to place that student on an Individual Behaviour Management Plan (IBMP). Before this occurs, I am in close contact with the parents, letting them know of my concerns and of the constant challenging behaviours which are occurring. The construction on the IBMP is done with the parents and in the past I have used a couple of different templates and formats depending on the child and the situation. After creation of the IBMP, parents must sign off on the form and it is placed in the student's file. Continuous communication between myself and the parent then occurs to ensure they are informed of the ongoing behaviours. This is often done in the form of daily or 2 daily emails.
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Above are two copies of different IBMP that I have created and implemented in correspondence with parents/carers for students in my class. Creation and implementation of these documents has allowed me to manage challenging behaviour by establishing and negotiating clear expectations with the student(s) and allowed me to address discipline issues promptly, fairly and respectfully.
These IBMPs also ensured the students' wellbeing and safety by taking into account service, school and system requirements.
These IBMPs also ensured the students' wellbeing and safety by taking into account service, school and system requirements.
Standard 4 - Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
4.5 - Use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically
4.5 - Use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically
Technology is such an integral part of the teaching and learning cycle. The students in my class use some form of technology every single day and I felt that it was of utmost importance that they learned about the responsibilities and ethics surrounding this.
My class use an online blog website as part of their homework writing tasks. When first creating this online blog I needed to ensure that it was completely private and no one except students in my class could access that blogs. Following this establishment, I needed to introduce the program to my class in a safe and responsible way. Firstly, students and parents/carers were shown the website and a discussion occurred regarding how and when it would be used and the rules and consequences that came with using an online blog. Secondly, students and parents had to both sign a permission slip to acknowledge that we were going to be using a class blog for homework and they needed to adhere to the rules or they would be removed from the site. There were no warnings given for misuse of the blog - one mistake and they were off for the remainder of the year. If parental consent was not given, the writing task was simply completed in the students homework book.
My class use an online blog website as part of their homework writing tasks. When first creating this online blog I needed to ensure that it was completely private and no one except students in my class could access that blogs. Following this establishment, I needed to introduce the program to my class in a safe and responsible way. Firstly, students and parents/carers were shown the website and a discussion occurred regarding how and when it would be used and the rules and consequences that came with using an online blog. Secondly, students and parents had to both sign a permission slip to acknowledge that we were going to be using a class blog for homework and they needed to adhere to the rules or they would be removed from the site. There were no warnings given for misuse of the blog - one mistake and they were off for the remainder of the year. If parental consent was not given, the writing task was simply completed in the students homework book.
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Above is a copy of the permission slip used for Kid Blog that required signing by both parents and students before access to the site was given.
Above is a copy of a student's online blog explaining why she would be a good student leader.
*Names have been removed for privacy.
*Names have been removed for privacy.
Students were encouraged to provide feedback to other students on their blogs. The online communication above shows one student commenting on another student's blog responsibly and ethically as outlined in the permission slip and as demonstrated in class.
*All names have been removed for privacy.
*All names have been removed for privacy.
Another online program that I use in my classroom is Edmodo. Edmodo is closed network just for my class. It acts as a platform where the students can communicate with each other and myself. As Edmodo is a social networking type site, there are a lot of rules and regulations that I must establish with my class before adding students to the site. Once again, the site is shown to the class and the reasons for its use are demonstrated to both students and parents (homework questions, in class tasks etc). Following this, a permission slip is required to be signed by both parents and students. Once this has been done, students are added to the site. Initially student profiles are set to 'read only'. This means I can write to them and they can view this but they are unable to publish anything to myself or to the class. Once this has been implemented for a couple of weeks and students are in the habit of checking their messages, I allow them to post to the site. There are very clear rules and consequences that go with Edmodo and in my experience not a single student has broken these rules for fear of being removed. Students have the capability of replying to each others comments and an in-class task is always used to demonstrate how this works initially.
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Above is a copy of the permission slip used for Edmodo that required signing by both parents and students before access to the site was given.
Above is a screenshot of my Edmodo thread with my class. You can see that it is used for me to post reminders to the class, for students to ask questions directly to me and for students to remind other students of different things.
I enforce strict rules regarding correct spelling and grammar when typing on Edmodo. In the screenshot above, you can see a student making a mistake and then correcting it herself in the following comment. The students are also very good at correcting each other's mistakes very politely.