UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING ADOLESCENTS EXAM

1. HOW TO ACT IN A CLASSROOM TO ENSURE GLASSER'S 5 DRIVERS IN YEAR 9 STUDENTS ARE MET AND THUS ALLOW EFFECTIVE LEARNING TO TAKE PLACE

Ah Year 9s, bless them in their socially, emotionally challenged ways and heightened sexual awareness phase. One must definitely have one's sense of humour intact and be switched on to what they're switched onto. Yes, learning needs to be fun, culturally relevant and social so that students feel connected and a sense of belonging.

It is vital to establish class rules. These can be devised by both teacher and students, again to foster a feeling of being part of a group and having responsible input into school life. The KISS method is advised (Keep It Simple Sweetheart) and phrase expectations in the postive, e.g. keep noise level to a minimum, respect each other.

One could do well to adopt Glasser's 7 caring habiits (supporting, encouraging), listening, accepting, trusting, respecting, negotiating differences) and incorporate into class rules the avoidance of the 7 deadly habits (criticising, blaming, complaining, nagging, threatening, punishing, bribing/rewarding o control).

Students should also be involved in deciding consequences so they may gain an understanding of logical results for inappropriate behaviour, feel involved in the process and adopt ownership for their actions and class rules. Students can be taught to be responsible for their own behaviour and to be able to personally control themselves

An interesting, well planned and enthusiastically presented lesson will help to provide structure and motivation, therefore keeping students on track. Give explicit instructions on what, how, why, when an activity is to be achieived. Cooperative learning strategies such as group based projects allow students to work, acheive and evaluate as a team which provides for deeper learning.

Asking for students to talk or write about their own interests, likes and dislikes, helps inform the teacher on how to make content accessible and relevant and tasks satisfying and fun. A teacher of year 9 needs to have many interesting and challenging activities in order to keep the momentum going so students may not utter those three unmagic words "This is boring". Students can choose their own learning objectives which helps them self-regulate and take on the responsibility to commit to working towards those objectives.

Adolescents need to be given a sense of freedom and with it, a sense of responsibility. They should be given oppprtunities to give feedback about their lessons and give suggestions which may then be followed through. Discussion time may also reveal misunderstandings that can be cleared up (e.g. S: why do I have to learn G scale it's so boring? T: the melody in that song you want to learn is based on that scale so you will know all the notes).

Encouraging students for their efforts is important so that students feel recognised, accepted and have a sense of belonging.
It is necessary to praise the deed not the doer.


2. HOW TO STRUCTURE A LESSON SO THAT STUDENTS ARE REALLY ENGAGED IN THEIR LEARNING AND THE UNDERPINNING MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES

Structure is the key! Have the lesson well prepared with motivational factors woven in. An exciting, interesting, novel start to a lesson can help gain students attention (Gagne) and arouse their interest. A good beginning also includes explicitly stating what the lesson will be about and what students are required to complete by the end of it. The lesson topic may also be related to the subject's "bigger picture".

Who am I teaching? Consider the poplulation, a generation Y mob capable of multitasking in a modern technological age. Material should be socially relevant and connected to school culture, or "habitus" (Durkheim).

Lessons can incorporate some degree of computer technology so that students gain ongoing skills and confidence in this area through awareness of cyber networking and digital learning. Connectivism, as proposed by Durkheim and Siemens, recognises that effective planning addresses different domains of learning and e-learning can provide important integrated experiences.

Students need to be encouraged, gain a sense of subject relevance, think that a task is worth doing and assured they can complete it (value and expectancy variables were found to motivate students by Pintrich and Degroot 1990). The latter researchers also advocate helping students explore a personal connection to work. This can be incorporated into the lesson by group discussions with well chosen questions and individual coaching.

Use time management wisely, in estimating task/project time, and balancing teacher centred and student centred learning.

A lesson can be structured to ensure the basic 5 needs are met (Maslow, Glasser):
Survival: make sure the learning environment is safe, comfortable and conducive to learning
Love, belonging, acceptance: foster a sense of belonging and respect via modelling behaviour, groupwork and class made rules. Also make it known that it's ok to make mistakes (Turney). Work on nurturing and deepening relationships between students, and teacher and student.
Power, recognition: Set acheivable yet challenging goals and create opportunities for positive or constructive student and teacher feedback
Freedom: Include many opportunities for choice, such as choosing one's own objectives
Fun: Aha! make the activities fun and interesting. Have a sense of humour and be entertaining.
(These qualities also relate to those of expert teachers, Hattie)

To ensure that tasks are developmentally appropriate one can refer to Piaget:is the student still in concrete operational or formal operational and capable of abstract thought? what are their current schemes of knowledge and how can they be built upon/modified? Create culturally relevant social learning situations such as initiating a discussion revolving around the students interests in relation to the topic.

Consider students' prior knowledge and existing skills and the zone of proximal development can then come into play (Vygotsky). Also cater for different intelligences (Gardner) and learning strategies and use Bloom's taxonomy to identify
key questions and structure activities.

Jigsaw is a great groupwork strategy where students can connect and work with some autonomy. Unusual, challenging tasks that stimulate curiosity can be undertaken (Smith and Ragan).

Throughout the lesson, the teacher can model enthusiasm, passion and a "we can do this" attitude, foster an atmosphere of fun and self worth and stimulate intrinsic motivation. Strategies include presenting unfamiliar examples, novel situations and case studies and encouraging students to be pleased with the acheivement of a step, a task (the yippee! factor), or praising their efforts.

Brophy theorised that teachers need to view themselves as active socialisation agents who can stimulate and motivate students to learn and Kounin says to keep the momentum going by smooth transitions between the introduction, activities and closure.

Strong, Silver and Robinson developed the SCORE method: success, curiosity, originality and relationships with energy. By clearly stating or showing what is to be acheived and how, along with an expectation of mastery (Hattie) students can feel successful once they've completed a task. Arousing curiosity can be done by presenting incongruous material and connecting subject matter to student's personal lives. Also, Tony Ryan devised Thinkers Keys designed to motivate and engage students, such as asking a ridiculous question, brainstorming, considering the reverse and what if? Originality comes from encouraging students' self expression and relationships obviously from partner work and group work.

Incorporate questions, breaks and surprises, address lulls in attention and application in a firm and friendly manner and give immediate feedback.

Provide adequate closure by critically reflecting on the process and what has been acheived (such as related to Bloom's Taxonomy). Give pointers for the future, perhaps a taster for what is to come next time or a reminder about work that needs to be completed.


3. HOW TO USE THE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE MODEL TO DEAL WITH AN INCIDENT IN CLASS WHERE A STUDENT IS BEING PUSHED, NAME CALLED AND EXCLUDED FROM THE GROUP

Identify the issues by being an active listener to clarify what has happened and, without blame, find out who is involved.

Restorative justice aims to develop empathy and a shared concern for others. I would ask the "victim" if it's okay to deal with the situation with the class/group and for her/him to support and have faith in this process. I would ask all those involved to consent to solving the problem without blame, interrogation or labeling.

There are four main, non punitive measures and in this case, a formal apology would seem appropriate.

Make the issue inclusive by bringing everyone together and respectfully help students understand the importance of group harmony through questions and open discussion. This might include how do you like to be treated by others, what do we need in place to feel safe and accepted and therefore able to get on with learning, and an exploration of the concept of expect respect.

Refer to school policy and basic human rights on physical safety and boundaries and what is unacceptable behaviour.
Ascertain that the students have a problem to be solved and that perpertrators need to specifically name it to the offended person. Persons responsible for the bullying would be asked to name a time to make a formal apology.

The student/s making the apology are then asked to name their specific offence, explain why it was committed and that it was out of character and won't happen again. The victim needs to be assured that it wasn't meant to be taken personally and shown genuine regret for the behaviour.

As the teacher, encourage the students to understand the situation and have the confidence and courage to communicate authentically and impart a heartfelt apology.


4. MY FUNDAMENTAL IDEAS ABOUT THE NATURE OF EDUCATION AND CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

It's all about fun, freedom and self expression! As my area of specialisation is music these factors can easily come into play. We can all have a good time and learn cognitively, musically, intuitively, socially, spiritually. I am blessed to work in a progressive school that encourages individuality and recognises the value of creative expression.

My background in music therapy contributes to my view as perceiving a positive relationship with a student as priority. I am interested in helping build self confidence and facilitating appropriate social behaviour while meeting educational needs and requirements. Discipline is derived from disciple and I see myself in service to the young people I work with and their wellbeing.

I find learning and teaching a constant cycle. As a teacher I am always learning and get a buzz from seeing kids grow in their understanding, skills and personalities. By feeling my own joy of learning and participating in group activities I can appreciate the simple yet effective ways learning can occur.

Studying this Dip Ed has rekindled my joy of learning and using my brain. I am still developing my style, but so far I am particularly inspired by what it takes to be an expert teacher according to hattie's findings and happily recognise some of those qualities in myself, such as a passion for my subject and an ability to improvise, and I aspire to develop in other areas.

Ideally I love to be organised and appreciate the value of planning. Within structure freedom can be created. I enjoy the challenge of "winging it" or having to improvise due to unforseen circumstances, or being able to immediately accomodate the students' interests and suggestions (I don't like that song/it's too hard, can we do this one?).

Finding the humour and the joy and connecting with each other are important ingredients for learning and teaching. I find Glasser interesting as he developed a therapeutic approach for adolescents that emphasises quality relationships and the here and now. Self awareness and self responsibility are also important qualities to foster in an educational setting that are also important qualities for life.

Music itself is a motivator and provides structure that can attribute to classroom management. It's great if musical activities are well chosen and serve to keep students involved and interested. Of course there will always be behavioural disturbances and I enjoy seeing how other teachers maintain group cohesion. Effective strategies I have used include counting backwards from 5 or 10 so that students are on task by zero and counting in to indicate the music is to begin (and the chatting therefore needs to stop).

I recognise that not all methods work every time and it is important to be adaptable and intuitive as to what the situation needs. Looking at Dreikurs' democratic theory, to avoid giving attention to attention seekers, except for acknowledging appropriate behaviour is good idea but not always easy in practice. However to address the situation immediately instead of allowing a lesson to be continually disrupted is essential practice. To remember to respect the disruptive student while attempting to remedy the situation is important.

While it's great to be able to stay calm in all situations, I feel that sometimes a student, particularly a repeat offender, needs a short sharp rebuke, perhaps followed by an indication from the teacher that she/he is still loved an accepted. Mostly I gravitate towards Glasser and the Pain model for discipline guidance. I find particularly helpful Glasser's caring and deadly habits.

Personally I derive much of my inspiration and ideas from my drama training, from two teachers in particular. My favourite rule from those days is "Love yourself no matter what".