Jenny Neville Teaching Portfolio

Professional Practice: Standard Four

Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments

Teaching standard 4.2:

Manage classroom activities: Demonstrate the capacity to organise classroom activities and provide clear directions:

The value and benefit of being organised has never been more apparent to me than now. Without thorough consideration and planning, I can only imagine how much more challenging my prac would have been; easily becoming a hindrance rather than an inspiring and fulfilling experience. To effectively manage classroom activities, it requires work and effort well beyond the classroom. Not only do logistics, lesson resources and sequence need to be considered a whole range of factors, both planned and unplanned work together to make a lesson successful with students on task and a classroom a buzz with learning.

Working to concisely and clearly explain tasks, so students know exactly what was expected of them both academically and behaviourally was a focus of my practicum. Thinking of lessons, considering sequences, weaving in activities and matching suitable resources to them, consumed a lot of my time; however it really paid off, not just in maximising student learning in subject areas but how it assisted each day to flow relatively smoothly. Managing a classroom is hard work, skills such as time management, behaviour management and self management, heavily influence whether a class is well managed and productive or not. A balance of all these factors is more easily achieved by having a clear learning intent. It also makes it easier to plan for lessons and instruct the students, directing them in achieving the short or long term goal of the activity.

Another benefit of thorough planning and organisation is that it allowed me to be fully present in the classroom. By this I mean that I could completely focus on the students and what was unfolding in the classroom, allowing me to work with unexpected situations, such as a tricky question from a student or inappropriate behaviour, more openly and flexibly. Clearly stating instructions and strongly linking tasks to background knowledge meant the students could be on task sooner and I was free to help those who needed assistance. The same can be said for behaviour. Clearly outlining and modelling how to act responsibly means there is no confusion surrounding expectations; expectations of how to treat one another and how to behave whilst at school. An example of how I organised classroom activities and provided clear instructions is demonstrated by the History activity I designed about ancient Rome. In accordance with the Australian Curriculum Outcomes ASDSEH038 and ACDSEH039  the students were required to investigate element of life in ancient Rome. The programmed activity was intended to take 3 weeks to complete and was composed of many steps, involving both collaborative and individual work, concluding with each group presenting their research and a quiz to the class.

I first introduced daily life in ancient Rome by getting the students to visualise and share what they thought ancient Rome was like (clothing, building, society, schools etc.). This successfully tuned them into inquiring deeper about ancient Rome, asking questions which in turn would guide their research. The full task was then thoroughly explained and groups were allocated. Each student then received their own instruction sheet along with a marking rubric which was intended to guide their projects progress. There was a high level of group work required in this project and the groups managed and directed their research well. Besides helping to achieve curriculum outcomes, collaborative group activities work on other levels, such as social and help students build their interpersonal and social skills, all the while encouraging positive behaviour towards each other. Being actively involved in lessons, means I can address antisocial behaviour as it arises, dealing with it instantly and appropriately.

The nature of the project saw groups progress at different rates and undertake research in different ways. In order to manage the students during such a project, required me to move about the class from group to group, offering assistance where needed, or pop a question to gently prompt them in the right direction. There were questions to answer, learning to observe, perspectives to offers and individuals to help. The end result was a rich array of students research. The groups presented well, with each student voicing their findings. The quiz at the end of each group's presentation was as entertaining as it was informative. The students enjoyed the excitement of both asking the questions and showing their knowledge answering them.

Another example of managing class activities was the animations the students created as part of Technology and Enterprise. Tying in with their English myth studies, the students were to make a stop motion animation using plasticine, cardboard, props and a camera and movie make on the computer to edit it. This required clear instructions, along with continual guidance throughout to ensure activities  were undertaken safely and supportively. In order to produce a short animation the process was extensive, starting with a script, then story board, prop and character creation, filming, editing and finally viewing (which was done with popcorn and fruit smoothies!). The results were great, as was watching the students work together to create their animation. They collaborated well, drawing on each other's different skills and strengths; with many bringing in knowledge they had developed outside the school environment such as ICT skills into the classroom, which is a great  opportunity. It is fair to say that we all learnt a lot throughout this project, well beyond classroom management.

The projects required a lot of detail to mark based on the rubrics I complied, however such detailed assessment was representative of the level of work the students produced and amount of effort they exhibited.The combination of clear instructions, ongoing assistance, background teaching  and scaffolding made the insight into daily Rome and Myth animations a success on many levels. The students increased their historical knowledge about ancient Rome, built on their group skills, strengthened their ICT and research skills, expressed themselves creatively and most of all had a lot of fun!

An aspect of classroom management that I hadn't really considered before was what to do when a student is absent. How can I properly inform them of important work they missed whilst still providing clear instructions and carrying on with the lesson sequence for the rest of the class? To further develop this standard in my teaching practice the implementation of a more efficient system to help keep students who were absent up to date is needed. Whether this is through a web blog with worksheets attached as PDF’s, or a daily work tray which they have to check upon their return, an efficient system will mean students are up to date, aiding in better classroom management and directions for all students and reduce creating gaps in students’ knowledge. I plan on implementing a system when I have my own class, I look forward to seeing what system works best and are easy to maintain.

Despite becoming a lot more confident in my design and delivery of instructions, I feel that there is always room for improvement when it comes to expressing oneself. By offering clear learning intents with clear instructions, students are given the best chance to understand tasks, with little room for misinterpretation and more time to engage with each other and their learning. Other ways to enhance my classroom management and use of time is to be prepared as much as possible in advance for future lessons. Despite 98 % of the time having all that was required, I often spent time sourcing resources, and photocopying etc. in the morning. To be more efficient and have things ready at least the day before would add to my presence in the classroom and success of lessons. I am confident that with practice and immersion in a classroom, management of will only become more natural. The greater number of classroom environments I get to work in, the more expertise I have to bring to each classroom, capably managing a class and its students effectively and appropriately.