Animation!

This week in Digital Technologies we were learning about the art of animation. I would consider myself to be quite a crafty, creative person so for me this really got me excited and I wanted to jump right in and get started. After those initial feelings, I started to worry that maybe we wouldn’t have […]

This week in Digital Technologies we were learning about the art of animation. I would consider myself to be quite a crafty, creative person so for me this really got me excited and I wanted to jump right in and get started. After those initial feelings, I started to worry that maybe we wouldn’t have enough time to create an animation as 1 – I had never actually created an animation before so I didn’t know what kind of time frame it would take and 2 – I was feeling a bit wary of the resources we had available to us.

Today’s task was to create an animation of anything we wanted. This was an individual task however we were allowed to work in pairs if we wanted to and I thought that by working with another individual, in this case then two heads were better than one. Jarvis (2015, p.89) states that ”animation involves the stringing together a sequence of static images, generally so that they appear to move.” Having never strung any images together before in order for them to appear as though they were moving, I was still feeling a little apprehensive about the task.

Firstly, we began to explore the app ‘Puppet Pals’ which gave us some depth and knowledge into how an animation app works and the types of features and tools it has to allows us to create an animation that stood out and worked well. In this app we were to create a short animation based on a classic fairytale. It had to include voice recordings, movement from the characters, the characters changing size and also have a structure – a beginning, middle and an end. This short 10 minutes exploring the app put me at ease as it showed me how animation worked and the different features that could be used to create a strong animation.

Since the start of this module on digital technologies, it has left me feeling excited as a student teacher due to the amount of technology that is out there as a prospective teacher to be able to use with my future pupils. Reflecting back on my own time as a primary school aged child, there were nowhere near half the amount of fun and valuable resources that there are now in my educational journey and the thought of being able to use them while I was at school I know that not only me but my friends and peers would have had a great time using them. This simply just evidences how quickly the times move and how fast paced the development in technology has become. As suggested by Beauchamp, (2012) ICT allows pupils to ”achieve something that would be very difficult or even impossible to achieve in any other way.” Reflecting back on my first year school experience placement, I came across numerous children who all had their own individual learning style and watching them create or succeed through the use of digital technology was evidencing just how important the use of this tool is in the classroom. Furthermore, Beauchamp states that ”e-Inclusion aims to use digital technologies to minimise the problems that pupils with learning difficulties experience.” By giving all children in primary schools the same opportunities across their educational journey but in particular through access to technology, we are closing in on the gap of problems that pupils who have learning difficulties can experience.

After exploring puppet pals, my partner and I began to create our own props and scene for our own animation. We worked collaboratively and worked within our allocated time to create a short animation using small wooden characters who were school pupils, and a pink bendy character who was the class teacher. I created a backdrop by simply drawing and colouring a school classroom and by one of us recording and the other moving the characters in order for us to create a series of stills and frames, once put together they created our short animation. We added features including a clock which we moved in most frames to give the idea of time going by and changing some of the characters to represent different emotions during different parts of the scene. Once we completed our recording, we enjoyed looking back on the final piece and were really pleased with it. It is a great way for children to use their creative and cognitive skills along with their patience and persistence in order to create a piece of work that is effective, fun and created animations to a high standard. The tutorials and Moving Image Education website provided a lot of helpful hints and tips in order to produce a great animation despite it being my first time using and creating with this resource.

Having completed our animation and after watching it back, it gave me a sense of achievement as I was worried at the beginning having never made an animation before and not being sure of where it would fit into the classroom. However, after looking through the Scottish Education Experiences and Outcomes, it became a lot clearer that what we created linked to certain aspects of these, and in a classroom this type of technology would be an effective tool across many areas of the curriculum, such as:

I have the opportunity to choose and explore a range of media and technologies to create images and objects, discovering their effect and suitability for specific tasks. EXA 1-02a

I regularly select subject, purpose, format and resources to create texts of my choice. LIT 1-01a/2-01b

I enjoy exploring events and characters in stories and other texts and I use what I learn to invent my own, sharing these with others in imaginative ways. LIT 0-09b / LIT 0-31a

Animation could be used in a variety ways through a variety of areas in order to enhance pupils learning whilst supporting it at the same time. Despite my set backs at the beginning, throughout the course of creating the animation I found it to be a great task to collaborate on and a resource that I definitely would consider to be fun and educational for children across all levels at primary school. As suggested by Beauchamp (2012, p.66) ”ICT equipment is part of pupils’ everyday life, so should be part of their everyday play.” This type of technology tool would be an ideal resource to incorporate into a child’s everyday play as it encompasses a variety of skills and educational aspects that only impose positive aspects on the child.

References

›Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary Classroom: From Pedagogy top Practice. Pearson.

Education Scotland (2004) – Curriculum for Excellence; Experiences and Outcomes [Online] https://education.gov.scot/scottish-education-system/policy-for-scottish-education/policy-drivers/cfe-(building-from-the-statement-appendix-incl-btc1-5)/Experiences%20and%20outcomes [First Accessed on 22 February 2018]

›Jarvis, M. (2015) Brilliant Ideas for Using ICT in the Classroom: A Very practical Guide for Teachers and Lecturers. Routledge.

 

Movie Making 13/02/2018

When I realised today we would be making our own movies, I was quite excited at the prospect and had a few ideas float around in my head of what I thought would work well. Working in a group, we were given the task to create a short movie, using the iMovie app on an […]

When I realised today we would be making our own movies, I was quite excited at the prospect and had a few ideas float around in my head of what I thought would work well. Working in a group, we were given the task to create a short movie, using the iMovie app on an iPad. The product was to be centred around the topic of ‘Internet Safety’ and be appropriate to view by primary school children which also gave a clear message to it’s audience.

Once we got our group, we came together and brainstormed, we collaborated effectively which resulted in us combining a few of our ideas together and came up with the idea to create a short film based on a popular young wizard and his friends – but with a twist. We all had various roles in the group; actor/actress, visual technician, head of wardrobe, runner and producer to name a few. The role I undertook myself was that of one of the main characters – Hairy Snotter. Miss Snotter was a young witch who was invited to a meeting place to meet with one of her friends. Little did she know that by talking to her ‘friend’ online she was actually being targeted by a stranger posing to be her friend and in fact almost landed herself in a lot of trouble. Thankfully her friend Mermione came to the rescue and advised Hairy to get rid of the imposter by casting a spell on him. Once they worked their magic on the imposter, we came out of character to inform the audience on the importance of staying safe online and advising them on where they can seek more help and information about keeping themselves safe online.

We centred our movie around cross-curricular experiences and outcomes. These touched on areas such as Health & Wellbeing, Literacy and Technology:

As I listen or watch, I can identify and discuss the purpose, main ideas and supporting detail contained within the text, and use this information for different purposes. LIT 2-04a

I listen or watch for useful or interesting information and I use this to make choices or learn new things. LIT 0-04a

To help me develop an informed view, I can distinguish fact from opinion, and I am learning to recognise when my sources try to influence me and how useful these are. LIT 2-08a

I can communicate clearly when engaging with others within and beyond my place of learning, using selected resources3 as required. LIT 1-10a

I can explore and experiment with digital technologies and can use what I learn to support and enhance my learning in different contexts. TCH 1-01a

I can explore online communities demonstrating an understanding of responsible digital behaviour and I’m aware of how to keep myself safe and secure. TCH 2-03a

I understand that there are people I can talk to and that there are a number of ways in which I can gain access to practical and emotional support to help me and others in a range of circumstances. HWB 0-03a / HWB 1-03a / HWB 2-03a / HWB 3-03a / HWB 4-03a

Our message to the audience was clear – you cannot be too careful when using the internet. You may think you know who you are talking to and feel like you can trust the person at the other side of the screen. However, the internet can be a very dangerous place and can cause hurt and serious harm to those who choose to use it.

As a group we all had great fun creating our mini movie. There were great laughs and enjoyment throughout the time we were in character and out of character and used various props, settings and visuals to create an effective movie which would be memorable for the right reasons. When it came to using the iMovie app it was a brilliant resource that allowed us to put together snippets of video clips and stills we had created and piece them together in a way that produced a great end result. The tutorials we viewed individually prior to starting our movie were very useful as it gave us a valuable insight into the features and tools that were available to us and which gave our movie the important finishing touches.

Crating the movie was all fun and games yes, but remembering the reason why we were dong it left quite the impact on me being a mother and also a student teacher. Being an adult and being responsible for the safety of my own child and pupils now and in the future, creating a short movie reminded me of just how scary and dark the internet can be and that it can suck in the most vulnerable and trusting of children and have terrible outcomes. It is of great importance to educate our children on the importance of using the internet safely and effectively both in and out of the classroom and ensuring they are aware of what they should and should not be doing online. It is also vital to ensure children know they can seek advice and help from trusted adults such as their parents/carers or teachers regardless of how much trouble they might think they are in or if they feel they are being targeted in any way whatsoever.  As stated by Simpson and Toyn (2012), ”If we can educate children that they always have an adult they can seek support from, we can help keep children safe online”.

Using the iMovie app in today’s class certainly demonstrated and evidenced that it would also be just as an effective tool for children in the classroom as it was for me as an adult learner. The iMovie app would allow children to develop their skillset in technology and other areas of the curriculum by allowing them to work on their own project or movie as an individual or as part of a team. It can be from as simple as taking the iPad out to film a simple literacy task such as recording items they can see in the classroom or playground that begin with a certain sound or letter, to interviewing peers or members of staff in their school as part of their IDL topic or for research on a class project. iMovie can give children the opportunity to be autonomous and create something that maybe otherwise they wouldn’t be able to create through writing, talking or drawing. iMovie allows for children to show off their creative talents and witness their end result by viewing their finished product and feeling a great sense of achievement.

Beauchamp (2012) suggested that “…the most successful schools… in terms of e-safety ensured that pupils knew what to do when things went wrong”. By teaching our future generation about the safe use of the internet, we are ensuring our children and pupils are set in good stead for a future where they will be engulfed by technology, the internet and social medias. Children take chances and make mistakes. They are testing their own boundaries and their parents and teachers. However, by implementing e-safety in primary schools we are making our children and young learners know that it is important they ask for help and advice when it comes to the internet and to trust the adult they know and can see, not the person behind the keyboard.

Overall, today was a great success. I found using the iMovie app enjoyable and it is certainly a resource I will be looking to use in my own classroom in the future. I found it to be particularly effective around today’s topic and can only imagine the other types of awareness can be raised through the use of one digital technology tool in the classroom.

References

Beauchamp, G. (2012) ICT in the Primary Classroom: From Pedagogy top Practice. Pearson.

Scottish Government (2008) The Curriculum for Excellence [Online] Available at: http://www.education.gov.scot/Documents/all-experiences-and-outcomes.pdf [First Accessed 13 February 2018]

Simpson D., Toyn M. (2012) Primary ICT Across the Curriculum. Sage

 

 

Programmable Toys (16/01/2018)

Today in our second class of Digital Technology we were introduced to the concept of programmable toys, with the main focus in particular on Bee-Bot. I had prior experience of using this programmable toy as we had previously undertaken a lesson in Semester 1, which introduced us to the unit, gave us an understanding on […]

Today in our second class of Digital Technology we were introduced to the concept of programmable toys, with the main focus in particular on Bee-Bot. I had prior experience of using this programmable toy as we had previously undertaken a lesson in Semester 1, which introduced us to the unit, gave us an understanding on how it works, areas in the curriculum in which we can utilise it whilst interlinking Curriculum E’s and O’s across the three early level/primary school levels – early, first and second. My first experience using Bee-Bot I thoroughly enjoyed, as it gave me my first proper experience of getting hands on with this type of programmable toy and made me feel excited at the prospect of using it in the classroom with pupils. We had created a game which focused on literacy outcomes, whereas today we focused on numeracy and chose a first level outcome in which as a group we to structured an activity around.

As suggested by Janka (2008, P.2), ‘The curriculum introduces programmable toys as a good example for developing knowledge and understanding of the contemporary world”. Being able to integrate technology into the classroom I feel is important as it provides young learners with having experiences of technologies that surround them consistently. Furthermore, the National Centre for Technology in Education (2012, p1) states that the use of floor robots impose a variety of benefits on young learners. These benefits include: Developing skills such as logical sequencing, measuring, comparing lengths, space orientation and expressing concepts in words; encouraging group interaction, collaboration and conversation swell as providing a vehicle for the introduction of key concepts to young learners in an easy and friendly way.

The first level outcome which we used as a framework for our Bee-Bot activity was MTH 1-17a; ‘I can describe, follow and record routes and journeys using signs, words and angles associated with direction and turning’. We chose to base the theme of our activity on worldwide flags and famous landmarks, with direction and navigation being the prominent focus. We created brightly coloured images on the activity mat along with a set of questions that gave instructions to the participants. Bee-Bot required to be programmed to reach the specific destination along with a set of directions for each question tone recorded by those pupils in participation.

Overall, I felt we produced a brilliant resource which could easily be adapted to allow early and second level pupils to also use this is a learning aid. The use of the Bee-Bot today highlighted the importance of making activities intriguing and fun whilst eliminating the potential of repetition. Bee-Bot is a format of digital technology that if I am able to have access to, I will certainly endeavour to use in my future career as a rimy educator. I feel that it is an exciting and autonomous piece of equipment which brings children together in their educational journey to work as part of a team and also promotes their creativeness if they wanted to produce their own game or resource for the floor bot and also develops their problem solving and critical thinking skills. I look forward to seeing what next week brings in Digital Technology as I felt today’s lesson and activity was of great benefit to me as a prospective teacher.

 

Placement Reflection

I very much enjoyed my two weeks on placement. It felt very natural to be within a school in a teaching role and I could very much see myself doing this job one day. My school was quite small- 150 pupils approx. and had quite a mixed catchment. Due to this I saw a range […]

I very much enjoyed my two weeks on placement. It felt very natural to be within a school in a teaching role and I could very much see myself doing this job one day. My school was quite small- 150 pupils approx. and had quite a mixed catchment. Due to this I saw a range of behaviours, which I think is actually beneficial as I saw many different techniques to manage this behaviour throughout the school.

The whole experience really allowed me to see exactly what a large amount of work is done by teachers both before children arrive and also after they leave at the end of the day.

My feedback was all very positive which made me feel much more confident within the classroom setting. The experience also allowed me to see different styles of teaching, and I feel I will take away the ones I liked the best and use them myself.

The teachers and support staff were all very kind and welcoming and made me feel like I was a help by being there rather than an additional bit of work for them. It gave me a real opportunity to interact with a wide age range of children as the Deputy Head Teacher had made us up a timetable so that we had a whole school experience. Despite the fact that I was not in one class for the whole 2 weeks, I feel that I still managed to create some good bonds with the children, and managed to remember most names- an achievement for me! Being in different classes was an advantage because I feel I had a lot of opportunities to be able to fill out my placement tasks. The teachers in the school also seemed more than happy to answer any questions I might have, and shared their lesson plans and general experience with me. Due to this, I feel that this experience really has been invaluable.

 

1st year placement experience

I have just finished my first two week placement block during my time in the BA programme at UWS. Having spent most of last year in a Primary 1 class it was amazing to get back into the classroom and working with children again. This year I was in a small multi-composite school with 2 […]

I have just finished my first two week placement block during my time in the BA programme at UWS. Having spent most of last year in a Primary 1 class it was amazing to get back into the classroom and working with children again. This year I was in a small multi-composite school with 2 classes, one of Primary 1-4’s and the other with Primary 5-7’s.

Prior to placement I was unsure how I would feel about teaching in a multi-compsite class as I imagined this would be a lot more difficult than having a class all of the same ages however I absolutely loved it. There were varying abilities within the classroom however with there only being 9 children in Class 2 the different abilities in the classroom were able to be so well catered to. In an average class of 20-30 children, they would all be in the same year group, however the range of abilities would be just as vast with a higher pupil to teacher ratio.

Having experienced a small window of time within this village school, the range of activities the children can partake in is incredible and the sense of community and family in the school is amazing. Every member of staff worked so well together and really cared for each child, their wellbeing and their successes. The school had a community kitchen which the children cooked a new recipe in each week, this was so great to see the school introducing a love of cooking to the children and providing them with a life skill.

I have learned so much from my time in placement and it has given me so many great ideas that I hope one day I can carry out in my own classroom. As well as ideas for the future it has also given me an insight into particular areas of strength and areas for improvement in my own practice.

I believe a strength I have is quickly building up a rapport with each child. This is so vital as if children have a good relationship with you the will learn so much more from you and enjoy working and learning alongside you. I really enjoy getting to know each child, their strengths, areas for developments, likes and dislikes and using this to alter my own practice. Some people often forget that children at Primary are still so young an need to be nurtured and form positive relationships with staff within the school.

Although I really enjoyed working with the older children this did make me aware of an area of personal development. As some of the mathematics was at a much higher level I first had to understand this before I could explain it to the children. A few times I found myself getting stuck when trying to explain different maths aspects to the children as I didn’t have a good enough understanding in the first place in order to then simplify this and explain in necessary depth to the children to ensure they understood. I spoke with the class teacher about this and in mathematics at university we spend time each week going through various maths concepts and so I am confident that with putting extra work into my mathematics by the time I am next working with older children I will ensure I have the relevant knowledge to be confident helping every group of children with their mathematics.

 

Importance of Self-Evaluation

Both mine and Shannon’s thoughts on the strengths and areas for improvement of the student teacher in the video were similar. We noted that although he mostly had an open and positive body language. He got down to the children’s level for storytelling and made eye contact with a boy he was asking a specific […]

Both mine and Shannon’s thoughts on the strengths and areas for improvement of the student teacher in the video were similar. We noted that although he mostly had an open and positive body language. He got down to the children’s level for storytelling and made eye contact with a boy he was asking a specific question to. However, he also had some closed body language also. For example I noticed he crossed his arms and Shannon noted he put his hand under his chin a lot- as though bored or disinterested in the lesson.

Nothing in the videos or my partners comments particularly surprised me. However, I did find the fact that the teacher in the last video recorded her class lessons quite interesting. I think this would be quite a good way of  being able to fully reflect on your practice as you can watch it back and take notes on anything you would do differently next time.

I didn’t find the tasks too challenging, although I think that when I am actually on placement I might find it more difficult. This is because I will have to assess a peer that I know and do not want to offend. I think that I will have to work to find the best way of giving my opinion without it sounding too critical.

I am looking forward to placement, but I am also a bit nervous to be going out. I am excited to find out what the school, pupils, and my mentor are like and to be in the environment I will be in when I qualify and have my own class in 4 years.

The importance of self-evaluation

After watching the videos and completing the observation checklist myself and Emily discussed what we had both taken from the videos. We had both noted similar points in regards to body language, the teacher had mainly open body language, he got down to the children’s level when speaking to them and sat with them at […]

After watching the videos and completing the observation checklist myself and Emily discussed what we had both taken from the videos. We had both noted similar points in regards to body language, the teacher had mainly open body language, he got down to the children’s level when speaking to them and sat with them at their tables which seemed to provide a more inclusive and accessible learning experience for the children.  We both noted at times he did however appear to close himself for from the children with his body language however we both had a different example of this. I noted that he often put his hand, in a fist, up to his chin which could come across as boredom, Emily noted he sometimes crossed his arms, another sign of closed body language. We both found that he spoke at an adequate volume and pace however at times, as the lady who was assessing him at the end of the video pointed out sometimes standing up in certain situations would gain him more attention form the children so he could start his lesson quicker.

 

I found the idea of the teacher videoing herself fin the Bill Gates video surprising. However, after listening to her talk about this being her tool of self-reflection I think it is a really great way to self-assess, look at your own body language, voice, tone, every part of your teaching and the engagement of the class in different aspect so you can then reflect and improve on this for future lessons.

I enjoyed this task and as it was a video online I did not find it too difficult however it will be much harder within a classroom setting with children and assessing a peer as everybody wants to give positive feedback however on some occasions constructive feedback is also necessary for your own and your peers own progression in teaching.

I am really looking forward to placement and can’t wait to be back in the school environment and learn from both the children and the teachers/ all the staff in the school. I am a little nervous about all the placement tasks we have to do and ensuring these are all done to a high quality however I am sure there will be plenty of opportunity for observations in all the various areas.

Reflections on Placement

Introduction The week starting 31st October to Friday 4 November I was on a week-long placement at a local primary observing various teachers throughout the school. Through observing teachers from up and down the school I was able to get an insight into the different tasks and challenges that the teachers faced and how to think on your feet when you are … Continue reading Reflections on Placement

Introduction

The week starting 31st October to Friday 4 November I was on a week-long placement at a local primary observing various teachers throughout the school.

Through observing teachers from up and down the school I was able to get an insight into the different tasks and challenges that the teachers faced and how to think on your feet when you are faced a situation you didn’t expect to be faced with.

I learned a great deal while I was on placement. I learned that no two school days are the same and that no matter how much you prepare for something you need to be able to adapt to the situation you are in.

Area of Strength

I believe that one of my areas of strength is that I am able to speak in front of a large group of people without any major issues. As a result of doing drama at school and outside of school I have grown more comfortable with communicating with a big audience. Throughout the week there were various situations where the teacher would leave the room or would be focusing on another task and I would speak to the class about the task they were doing. I spoke confidently to the class so they knew that even though I wasn’t their teacher they still had to listen to what I was saying.

I believe that being able to communicate with a large group of people is very important especially for a teacher because communicating with your class is at the centre of everything you do as a teacher.

Area for Improvement

After looking back on my week long placement I think an area that needs to improve for me is that I must try and not use any slang terms whilst I am in the classroom. For the majority of the placement I was able to not use any slang terms in the classroom however there would be times where I would lose my concentration and slip up. The pupils would be coming in from their playtime and would say hi to me and I’d accidently respond with ‘awright’ instead of hi. Or I would say ‘naw’ and other terms like that.

Action Plan for Improvement

In order to try and avoid using slang terms in the company of pupils I will involve myself in different situations where I come in contact with pupils. I will go to the after school care where I completed my work experience. This will allow me to not only get feedback from the pupils at the work experience but it will also allow me to try and replicate the situation of being in the classroom and interacting with the pupils.

Conclusion

This placement was very beneficial to me. It reinforced my belief that becoming a primary teacher is the path that I should choose. It also gave me an insight into what it is like being a primary teacher and what sort of challenges a teacher faces every day and how stressful the job can be at times. It allowed me to evaluate what my strengths are and what I needed to do to improve myself. The placement has me looking forward to continue the course and prepare me for the placement I will have next year.

Target: 3.2.2 Develop positive relationships and positive behaviour strategies.

3.2 Classroom Organisation and Management Target: 3.2.2 Develop positive relationships and positive behaviour strategies. Rationale: “Pupil-teacher relationships are a vital part of the effective teaching/learning cycle” (Lawrence, 2009, p.60). “[T]eacher-student relationships characterized by empathy, warmth, congruence, and trust are strong … Continue reading

3.2 Classroom Organisation and Management

Target: 3.2.2 Develop positive relationships and positive behaviour strategies.

Rationale:

“Pupil-teacher relationships are a vital part of the effective teaching/learning cycle” (Lawrence, 2009, p.60).

“[T]eacher-student relationships characterized by empathy, warmth, congruence, and trust are strong predictors of success” (Rogers, Lyon & Tausch, 2013, p.119).

The relationship between teachers and pupils is vital because of the inter-personal nature of teaching. Therefore, I wish to develop my skills over the next six weeks in exploring ways to enhance relationship and foster the most effective learning culture possible.

 

Professional Actions:

  • Demonstrate care and commitment to working with all learners;
  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of wellbeing indicators;
  • Show awareness of educational research and local and national advice, and demonstrate ability to use a variety of strategies to build relationships with learners, promote positive behaviour and celebrate success;
  • Apply the school’s positive behaviour policy, including strategies for understanding and preventing bullying;
  • Know how and when to seek the advice of colleagues in managing behaviour;
  • Demonstrate the ability to justify the approach taken in managing behaviour.

 

Action Plan

Week 1

  • Purposefully engage in relationship-building dialogue with every pupil in the class;
  • Access and understand the school’s positive behaviour policy;
  • Read and reflect on Chapter 7 of Kyriacou (2009).

Week 2

  • Revise the Wellbeing Indicators material from the 2015 lectures;
  • Revise Government policy and documentation on GIRFEC and the Wellbeing Indicators;
  • Plan to promote each of the Wellbeing Indicators during this placement during Week 3.

Week 3

  • Promote each of the Wellbeing Indicators as per Week 2 plans;
  • Reflect on the implementation, and consider next steps;
  • Discuss experience with class teacher.

Week 4

  • Reflect on educational research on celebrating success;
  • Reflect on local and national advice on celebrating success;
  • Embed a success-celebrating opportunity into at least one class lesson this week;
  • Reflect with learners and the class teacher on the effectiveness of this experience.

Week 5

  • Ensure I know the 4 R’s of behaviour relevant to the class;
  • Revise Claire’s behaviour lecture from Feb 2016;
  • Reflect on educational research on promoting positive behaviour;
  • Reflect on local and national advice on promoting positive behaviour.

Week 6

  • Undertake the Behaviour Checklists available on Moodle;
  • Reflect on Chapter 8 of Kyriacou (2009) & Unit 3.4 of Arthur & Cremin (2010);
  • Justify the behaviour management approached I’ve used during this placement.

 

Reflections

Week 1

  • I spoke to every pupil one-to-one over the course of the week, except one who was absent. Pupils responded positively to this and were very willing to engage in conversation. I was particularly conscious of doing so after any sanctions were required.
  • I discussed the positive behaviour policy with the class teacher. Though the threat of sanctions is sometimes necessary, the classroom operates a much more effective positive reinforcement strategy. I was able to use this effectively during the week to reward effort and behaviour, individually and collectively. Pupils responded very well to this and engaged with me at the same level as the class teacher in this respect.
  • Kyriacou (2009) discusses:
    • Two aspects of positive relationship being acceptance of authority and mutual respect and rapport. The former was encouraged this week through point 2 above, and also from my taking on classroom organisation duties from the class teacher, such as the register, dinner money collection, and so on. Over the course of the week I felt I became much more established as an authority figure. The latter was developed through informal conversation through point 1 above.
    • Authority is split into status, competence, control over the classroom and control over discipline. I feel I developed in all of these areas:
      • Status – I consider myself to have appeared relaxed and self-assured; I exercised the rights of status by moving around, initiating and terminating conversations etc.; I communicated in a way that suggested I expected my will be adhered to.
      • Competence – I demonstrated a sound knowledge of everything I taught; I feel I was enthusiastic and interested about my lessons; the activities relating to my lessons were effective (based on engagement of learners and evidence of learning).
      • Classroom control – This was generally improving over the course of the week. I was able to silence the class when I was speaking, moreso when this was more frequent and I had a purpose in mind; I minimised disruption; I made decisions and stuck to them.
      • Discipline control – Based on the advice of the class teacher I was firm with pupils we identified as ‘testing’ my authority; I occasionally threatened sanctions where necessary but there was no need to impose them; I was able to use eye contact and gesture to manage behaviour.

Week 2

  • I noted, from the 2015 series of lectures, that the Wellbeing Indicators are “fundamental” to GIRFEC “to support a holistic view of the child[‘s]… progress” (Scottish Government, 2014a), thus this is an essential area to focus on.
  • I further noted that “health and wellbeing are now seen as key responsibilities of all educators across the curriculum, along with literacy and numeracy” (Axford, Blyth & Schepens, 2010, p.5), therefore I should be well-placed to establish positive wellbeing behaviour with literacy and numeracy as core elements of my placement remit.
  • My review of Scottish Government policy showed that the indicators must be satisfied in order for a child to achieve the four capacities. This again underpins the need for holistic assessment (Scottish Government, 2010).
  • Within the school’s own policy, I noted:
    • The school is part of the ‘Nurturing North Ayshire’ scheme, with a focus on inclusion. Wellbeing needs by using a nurturing approach is the responsibility of all staff, supported through:
      • Nurture: with values promoted in school where children can say ‘We are listened to, ‘We know we are valued’, ‘We belong’.
      • Rights Respecting Schools: with the positive behaviour strategy tied to UNESCO UHCRC materials;
      • Restorative Practice: building and maintaining relationships and repairing the harm of wrongdoing.
    • The school is currently focussing on ‘Nurtured’ and ‘Included’ as these are areas their audit indicated they need to work on (Whitehirst Park Primary School, 2015).
    • The local authority defines the Wellbeing Indicators as “a common language to describe a child’s needs and identify concerns. These are designed to encourage practitioners to think about a child holistically and not just focus on one area of their functioning” (North Ayrshire Integrated Children’s Service Partnership, 2012).
  • The following elements of the Wellbeing Indicators will be embedded into my Week 3 teaching – [taken from Scottish Government (2014b)].
    • Safe: does not experience bullying behaviour or discrimination by peers or adults at school; does not experience bullying behaviour or discrimination in the local community; adopts safe practices and acts responsibly in potentially high-risk situations [from discussion in the novel study];
    • Healthy, Included and Respected: has emotional and developmental needs which are not neglected; has a well-developed sense of self-esteem and self respect; has a well-developed sense of identity and belonging; feels loved and trusted [through check-in session];
    • Achieving: Is a successful learner, confident individual, responsible citizen and effective contributor; is developing independence or autonomy; literacy and numeracy skills are developing; all children and young people have an entitlement to a curriculum which they experience as a coherent whole, with smooth and well paced progression through the Experiences and Outcomes [throughout, with opportunities for personalisation and choice, contributions and progression);
    • Nurtured: feels loved and trusted; has emotional and developmental needs which are not neglected; receives regular praise and encouragement [via check in and deliberate opportunity to praise all learners through two stars and a wish];
    • Active: is as physically active as his or her capacities permit; responds positively to physical challenges in recreational and play-related settings [through active Numeracy & Mathematics lesson];
    • Responsible: follow simple rules and instructions and begin to internalise them [through reinforcement of positive behaviour policy]
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