The values workshop taught me how your mood and behaviour can negatively or positively impact children, their behaviour and learning.
The activity we done consisted of us being split into four groups and being given a pack of resources. We each received a different amount of resources and were all treated differently. Group one received the most resources and a ‘teacher’ with a positive and friendly attitude. Group two received slightly less resources and were treated slightly worse and so on until you got to group four who received very little resources and were treated very unfairly by the teacher.
I was in group four for this activity and we could tell immediately that we were being alienated by the teacher; firstly, because we had much less to work with than the other three groups and because the teacher was very hostile, uninterested and at some points rude towards us. Ths then caused us to become uninterested in the task that he had set us, and we began turning it into a joke. We noticed the praise he was giving other groups and continued to ignore us or say negative comments toward out work. We became more and more hurt as the activity continued causing us to feel very demotivated and worthless.
It then came the time to present and the teacher was uninterested in out presentation, his body language conveyed this. He didn’t look at us while we presented, he was working on his laptop, he had his arms folded and he began talking to another member of the class as well. This was a stark contrast to group one who receive lots of praise and thumbs up. He was engaged in their presentation showing enthusiasm and encouragement throughout. He also gave them positive feedback at the end and scored them 8/10 while only giving us 2/10.
At the end when everyone had been made aware of what was going on it was interesting because one girl in my group asked the class if anyone had noticed that our group had been treated differently and the consensus was no. That shows me that this could have happened not just while I was at school but in everyday life; if you are in group one you aren’t going to notice the people in group four.
This activity really opened my eyes to how your attitude and behaviour as a teacher can change the way a child learns and the way they feel about themselves. Even us as adults pertly aware of what was going on still were left feeling demotivated and confused. This will make me more conscious of the way I behave in class, for everything from my tone of voice to my body language to the way I speak.
