WHY IS STANDARD FOUR VALUABLE?
By providing and maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment in my classroom, I am able to create a classroom environment designed for positive feedback/encouragement and engagement, organised classroom activities and a safe and supportive working environment for ALL. As a graduate teacher, I strive to create an environment to meet as many needs as possible, to ensure the physiological needs of the students have been met. This will then provide an ideal learning environment for learning to occur, in which students can remain focused for the majority of the time required. Normally, my classroom will be a mixture of transformative and authentic. There are specific areas within the classroom with toys, teddy bears, bean bags and pillows, where students are able to access during designated classroom activities. However, the students are spend most of their learning time grouped at their own tables as part of a designed seating plan (which best suits the students and teacher). As a future teacher, I understand that I am responsible for conducting classroom lessons in which suit the needs of all students in my classroom, with an environment that is inclusive, respectful, safe and supportive at all times.
STANDARD FOUR - SITUATION, ACTION & OUTCOME
INTEGRATED STANDARDS MET: 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 2.1, 3.1, 3.3, 3.4, 3.7, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 5.1, 5.2, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3
4.1 - Support student participation
Identify strategies to support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities.
4.2 - Manage classroom activities
Demonstrate the capacity to organise classroom activities and provide clear directions.
4.3 - Manage challenging behaviour
Demonstrate knowledge of practical approaches to manage challenging behaviour.
4.4 - Maintain student safety
Describe strategies that support students’ wellbeing and safety working within school and/or system, curriculum and legislative requirements.
4.5 - Use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically Demonstrate an understanding of the relevant issues and the strategies available to support the safe, responsible and ethical use of ICT in learning and teaching.
Action Plan - Moving Forward
- Certainly as a graduate teacher there are always things we can improve upon. I believe I am pretty confident in my management of the classroom, however, this is a fundamental part of the job of a educator. Personally, I think that there can never be enough development done within this area and is something I would like to spend some more time on developing. The Department of Education provides helpful development days in which focus on Classroom Management Skills. I intend to enrol in some of these workshops in order to develop my understanding and confidence within this area of the teaching profession.
- It is crucial that I continue to establish and provide a safe and supportive learning environment that values and welcomes diversity. I will continue building strong relationships with students and parents and always be inclusive to different cultures, backgrounds and students with differing needs and abilities. As a teacher, it is incredibly important to ensure that each student is respected and treated fairly and equally and will continue to ensure this is occurring within my future classroom/s.
- Within the school I will be based at, I will continue to approach other well established teachers, as other teachers within the school could offer opinions or tips on how to create and maintain an effective learning environment. This process would give me some useful insights which I can take into my own classroom and improve my approach to maintaining a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for all.