EXAM ED 4238 Understanding and Managing Adolescents

Question 1:

William Glasser bases his management of children in the classroom on the meeting of their basic drivers which are the needs for:

1. Survival (food, air, water, shelter, clothing, personal safety)
2. Belonging/ connecting/ love
3. Freedom/ responsibility
4. Power/ significance (self respect and respect from others)
5. Fun/ learning

To ensure that these five driving needs are met by a class of year 9 students and thus allow effective learning to take place, to start with, i would act like a leader, and not a boss. My ultimate goal would be the full expression of potential in each and every one of my students.

For this to happen meeting the needs of the more basic drivers to pave the way for the realization of the 'higher'ones is the first step.

Ensuring the survival aspects are taken care of. In a year 9 class, this should mostly be covered, however 15 year olds are sometimes homeless, without another to care for them, even living on the streets.

To foster the sense of belonging and connection in the classroom, i would create a nurturing atmosphere ...A physical environment of warmth, creativity, comfort and interest. This can be acheived with some coloured cloth or even painting the walls if funding allows. Some images that inspire. A natural outlook. Set desks in a circle, representing equality and open communication. Create a space designed for comfort.

Glasser defined Seven Caring Habits (that i would adopt and instill in my class) which are: Supporting, encouraging, listening, accepting, trusting, respecting and negotiating differences. He also defined Seven Deadly Habits(that i would avoid and encourage my class to seek alternatives to) which are: criticizing, blaming, complaining, nagging, threatening, punishing, bribing or rewarding to control.

I would also introduce the Glasser developed classroom management plan to create safety and accountability. This is based on the class meeting as a means of developing classroom discipline. Rules are discussed and agreed upon at the beginning of a group being together, as are the consequences for misbehaviour. Students are accountable not only to the teacher, but also each other, and ultimately themselves. This can be handled in a group, though significant skill would be involved in this facilitation role. In private, (or in group if up to it) questions can be asked such as? "What choices did you have? Why did you make that choice? Did you like the result? What have you learned?" This is coming from a place of caring and connecting, rather than disconnecting and punishing.
In a group, problems can be defined and solutions sought.

This approach to classroom management and discipline also fosters a sense of power and significance. People are encouraged to voice their thoughts and opinions, and are listened to. Negative behaviour is met with assistance to make better choices in the future. This is real power- being self aware and self reflective...Taking control of what is available to us (when someone shows us) ie our thoughts and our actions. Individual students really can take the credit for managing a successful class.

As far as schoolwork goes, all efforts should be made to make any work done useful and relevant. For example, a year 9 student is often at a very idealistic stage. Perhaps letters can be written to ministers; forms of alternative energy and greater green-ness can be researched with the real possibility of implementation. On a project like this, perhaps an alternative energy engineer could be brought into the class to act as mentor and technical assistant. Meeting real people with real work opens up real possibilities. Recently a group of three boys from Mullum high who have difficulty with English instead helped organise and hosted a forum for indigenous and non-indigenous peoples from around the world. They promoted their event, were in the newspaper, and received admiration and respect for taking responsibility for bringing to the community such an important event.

I think it is a natural side effect of positive motivation and attitude, group work, mutual respect, working hard to acheive meaningful goals and being in a place where one can let down one's guard and express oneself- that laughter and fun will occur. The meeting of Glassers drivers, combined with responsible adherence to academic standards, would allow a high level of student motivation and thus allow effective learning to take place.



Question 2.


The best classes are those where the students are motivated to learn. Such lessons have included in their structure the best learning theories as described by such cognitive theorists as Piaget and Vygotsky, Blooms and Gardener; and Educational Psychologists such as Maslow, Dreikers and Glasser...Not to mention other contributions such as Attribution Theory etc.

How i would structure a lesson based on the understanding of these contributions to engage students in their learning is firstly choose a structure for the lesson. Gagne's nine events of instruction or more likely i would use the more constructivist method of Merrils Four Phases.

A class based on this method would begin with the introduction of a problem.
As i am to be a Visual Arts teacher, the example i will use is that of an ugly wall in the school that is grey concrete and often graffitied with derogitory remarks.
The fact that the class will be responsible for beautifying the wall and making a permanent installation in the school should be very motivating and in the longer term provide a great deal of esteem from both self and others(Recognised as very important by Maslow and Glasser). This project is in alignment with Gardeners recommendations- students undertaking Visual Arts will be working in the field of that intelligence, doing real work, in an apprenticeship kind of relationship with the teacher.
I would also explain the context of timeframe... that this project will span a whole term, and involve planning, preparation and execution of the final design. Todays lesson will involve learning about the mosaic technique we will use, and making a small practice mosaic.

First stage: activation of prior experience.

I will have a slide projector set up and show examples of mosaic murals,as well as other objects that have been mosaiced. I will ask students if they have ever done mosaic work or seen any mosaic murals themselves. (around here there is some public mosaic art. ) This puts students in a real life context, and helps to anchor them in their zone of proximal development (Vygotsky)

Second stage: demonstration of skills

I will show a series of slides that give step by step instruction on the process.

Third stage: application of skills

Each student will have all the materials needed to make their own mosaic (preparation done before the start of the class)We will scaffold our way through the making stage, with me demonstrating and assisting with specific techniques.
Students make their own mosaic, the intention being to familiarize students with the basic techniques. During this third stage, there could also be informal discussion about what the mural could be about...This will give some ideas for the next phase which is design.

Forth stage: integration of these skills into real-world activities

Explain the next stage which is the designing of the mosaic mural. That is enough content for one class....Direct students to spend some time observing the wall in point, and sketch ideas in visual arts diary, along with any thoughts about what may be relevant images for that setting.

I would think that students would be very engaged in this lesson, and excited to learn too. They are engaged in solving real problems, they are building on their existing artistic abilities and observations; and learning new, relevant techniques. They have a wonderful project to look forward to.




Question 3.

Bullying is a problem in many schools and classes. Using the restorative justice model to deal with an incident in class where a student is being pushed, name called and excluded from the group, my approach would be to first choose which particular method of restorative justice is called for in regard to the particular situation, and resources available.

It would really depend on the severity of the bullying and how long it had been going on. If a relatively new behaviour, and not strongly violent, then i would first facilitate the 'No Blame'approach, as this keeps the members of the conference inside the school. If the bullying was more ingrained and violent, i would use the Community Conferencing approach, which brings parents/carers into the talks, and more strongly emphasises the gravity of the offence.

I would report the incident to the school principle, and there may already be a restorative justice program within the school. Maybe someone has had training or there are funds to bring a specialist in. In any case, the support of the school in using this approach would be fundamental. Restorative justice approaches are about using incidents of misbehaviour as opportunities for learning. Offenders can reflect on their behaviour and attitudes to others. Empathy and respect can be generated, as well as facing up to the offences committed and sincere apology.
These values may go against the values of a school (though hopefully not) where punishment, blame and exclusion are the traditional ways of dealing with misbehaviour.

The following steps on how to carry out the 'No Blame'technique are taken from the website
http://www.bullyingnoway.com.au/ideasbox/things-work/info-manage-2-1.shtml

1. Meet the victimised person to provide support, explain the proposed process and collect material on the impact of the bullying or harassment.

2.Consult with teachers who know the peer group well to establish a balanced group consisting of the main perpetrator and supporters, friends of the victimised person, and two assertive peers who have not attempted to prevent the bullying or harassment.

3.Convene a structured meeting of this group (without the targeted student present) to develop shared responsibility without blaming, to elicit suggestions for solving the problem, to encourage shared action and to establish a subsequent meeting (possibly in a week) to discuss progress. (Note: The victimised person does not attend this group meeting.)

4.Support the victimised person through daily meetings to check progress.


As a follow up from dealing with this particular incident, I feel that the situation would not have occured in the first place if there had been a higher level of awareness. I would seek to implement a program such as the New Zealand Kia Kaha curriculum- a whole school participation that is aimed at creating safe environments.

http://www.police.govt.nz/service/yes/nobully/kia_kaha/communities.html

This program has a series of lessons especially designed for different age groups(starting pre-school age and going through to years 11 and 12). The high school program for Years 9-10 consist of four lessons. In the first one, the students themselves define bullying and know that it is unacceptable. In the second lesson students analyse behaviours and feelings associated with a bullying situation and explore positive strategies. During the third lesson students can identify and practise strategies to manage bullying; and in the fourth lesson students identify the characteristics of healthy groups or relationships and what it feels like being part of these.

To me this whole approach seems extremely enlightened. The program has been developed by educational police officers, and is carried out by specially trained educational officers. The program is basically teaching emotional intelligence, and making a stand for peaceful environments where there is high level of respect and acceptance of difference. The designers of the course understand that bullying is a community issue, and that for there to be change, there needs to be a change in the whole culture of a school community- even better the wider community. .

This particular resource is available only if taken on by an entire school. From the principle to administrative staff, students and teachers. This ensures a shift in the whole culture of the school. The downside is that perhaps the school principle would not take something like this on, or there may be a lack of funding....In which case I would be informally applying these lessons in my own units of work.

In Australia, there are restorative justice programs that have been trialed. These started in Queensland where one teacher each from 75 different schools were trained in restorative techiques. The trial went well, though the queensland department of education did not keep up it's financial support . There was subsequently little success due to the resource-intensiveness of the model, and the need for cultural change in dealing with behaviour managment.


Question 4.

My fundamental ideas about the nature of education and classroom management.

When i think about children, i see (must have visual intelligence)incredible beauty and innocence. Children are a precious gift, and i feel very strongly that childhood is a very special time that needs to be respected and honoured.

Being a mother, and member of a community where there are lots of kids, i have experienced the wise old saying that "children are the best teachers" to be true. They certainly don't use constructivist techniques on us adults- no scaffolding there- it's straight in the deep end and sink or swim.!! This state has become the lower end of my zone of proximal development! Though in all honesty i must say that studying Dreikurs and Glasser has helped enormously in my attitude of being a teacher leader, and not a bossy victim.!

Some of my most satisfying times of being a parent or carer have been organising activities for groups of children to do, and joining them in doing it. Usually a craft activity where we can all sit together and get absorbed making fairy gardens out of coloured wax or clay for example. Sometimes there is a little silence, though invariably children will start to talk about all kinds of very interesting things. Being an attentive listener, having heartfelt care for the children, asking guiding questions, offering much support and nurturing their self-esteem seems to come naturally. It is very satisfying, and seems satisfying for all involved.
For the children i can see that from the simple act of making, they have acheived something great and are mostly proud of their efforts. For the more needy ones, it is very special for them to have quality time with a caring and respectful adult, and their self-esteem seems to flourish. They also seem to have so much more love and respect, and less inclination to misbehave.

My natural inclinations seem to resonate with Glassers theories, this fundamental attitude of equality and respect, empowerment and living out our potential.

I believe Education in a wide range of area's is crucial as a foundation to living life. Academically, socially, personally etc. I am glad to see that the education system seems to be evolving from what it was like when i was in school; and certainly a very different experience for example my mother who suffered countless humiliations such as being beaten by nuns for wearing the wrong underpants.!!!
Perhaps one reason for this is taking on Outcomes Based Education, and State standards.

To effectively manage large groups of children or adolescents, and give them a quality education I am also of the belief that it is important for teachers to be very well trained- and committed to their own on-going training.

To summarise, Education is best carried out with love, care, respect, high expectations, acceptance, patience and tenacity- not to mention excellent planning!. Classroom management is best managed by making lessons fun and interesting, practical and relevant. Classroom dynamics are best developed to acheive a high level of emotional intelligence, allowing much greater student autonomy and participation in decision making and behaviour management.