What kind of teacher do I want to be and why?

University Degree Education and Teaching

Martin Fitzwater Year 1 BEd English

A teacher who is committed to ensuring that children can achieve their full educational potential and that can establish fair, respectful, trusting, supportive and constructive relationships with them is the kind of teacher I want to be. I want my students to demonstrate positive values and behaviour.

Whilst on my school placement, it was made clear that an effective teacher should have teaching, learning and behaviour management strategies in place. It was important for me to learn them, for example, a popular strategy, used actively in the classroom, was a behaviour management tactic, if the children were becoming too loud whilst supposed to be working quietly, the teacher would clap a rhythm, the children instantly recognised this and clapped the rhythm back; the children settled immediately and began to work quietly- this helped children learn, all the children knew what the teacher was asking when she clapped. I suppose one can say that this helped children to learn as the tactic was able to refocus children and that they then got back to their work; hopefully learning was taking place. Another example of good, effective behaviour management was, when a child had been naughty and had been asked to behave, if that same child carried on and misbehaved their name went on the whiteboard, which indicated that, that child had lost five minutes of their break time. If the same child persisted with the bad behaviour, a small ‘dot’ was placed next to their name, indicating that they had lost their whole break time. If the child still carried on with the unacceptable behaviour, after being told twice to stop, the child would be sent out of the classroom to another class- usually the child took a book to read. It rarely got to the stage where a child was sent out, as each child usually settled down after realising that they had lost their break time. There were no children who suffered from extreme behaviour issues in my class, so a simple name on the board was usually sufficient enough to bring them back in line. Behaviour management does not necessarily have to focus on negative behaviour and how teachers can deter this. By praising children for good work and behaviour, encourages children to continue to work in the same manner. Praise is a powerful tool, children respond to praise in a positive way (Hayes, 2006). I noticed, in my school experience, how much children wanted to give when they saw another child being praised for good work. The teacher often distributed ‘house points’ at the end of the day to children, who had improved on their handwriting; who worked hard at their mental arithmetic, learning a new times table. Grading stamps were used when marking work. The school had a marking policy which consisted of three stamps, one saying: Excellent; second saying: Good; third saying: OK. The teachers marked in a green pen, as red is seen to be a negative colour, often associated with anger or something bad.

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Experienced teachers will plan a variety of teaching approaches that are suitable for the way a child learns, for example, children with learning difficulties or children on the autistic spectrum might need tasks that are set relatively closed -where the task is structured for them and they do not have to invent their own ways of going about it, more able students [gifted and talented] might need tasks that are more open ended, work that may be too easy for them should be made more difficult to stimulate their minds. In my school placement, the classroom was divided into different ability groups; Circles were higher ability, Squares were lower ability. The teacher set different learning objectives to the different abilities, thus ensuring that every student was achieving to their full educational development. Students that use English as an additional language (EAL) are more likely to benefit from visual approaches.

In my own practice I would plan and use interactive strategies such as, children having their own whiteboards; ideal for numeracy lessons, working on multiplication. Children can use the whiteboards to work out an answer then hold the board up when they think they’ve got it right. This encourages group interaction and collaboration. An excellent way of getting children and involved into a lesson was using the interactive whiteboard (IWB), whilst at my school placement, it was fairly straightforward for the teacher to place a learning activity on the board and allow the children to come up to the front of the class, take on the role of teacher, and proceed by completing the task. As the child was using the board and not their workbook- I noticed how the child was not disheartened if he got the answer wrong. The child would simply ask another child if they knew the answer, or if they knew a way of working out the problem to find the solution- by taking on the role of the teacher gave the child a sense of control and power, which turned into a confidence that helped him complete the question, even if he needed another students help.

Kinaesthetic learning is a great way to get children to learn, by making children active; don’t just getting them to read from a book at a desk, gives them the opportunity to think for themselves as well as talking in groups to discuss ideas etc. In my school placement, the Science co-ordinator decided to try a new learning approach with the entire Year Six students. She took them into a large space; the chapel was used in our instance. On the floor the teacher placed large hoops and on the walls different factors that would affect an experiment. She got the year six students into groups, not according to their ability. The idea of mixing up the ability was to see if they would work collaboratively; inclusion. The lesson was very successful; however the teacher wished she had a larger space, so that the children could run around. The teacher suggested that kinaesthetic learning was a far better way for children to learn, as it got them out of the particular, mundane routine they faced each morning (Eaude, 2008).

In order for children to learn effectively, they should be placed in a safe learning environment. Young children require space, indoors or outdoors, where they can be active or quiet, and where they can think, dream or watch others, ‘An appropriate environment is key both to safety and to effective learning and development.’ (DfES, 2006). I would want to provide a safe learning environment to my students. In order for my students to have an ideal learning environment, I would make sure that I have enough, up to date, resources at my disposal. It is important to a child’s learning that they have resources to work with (Brighouse and Woods, 1999).

I want to be a well organised teacher who has the ability to achieve a good lesson plan. Planning is a vital task all teachers have to undertake. Teachers have to teach to the National Curriculum (NC), they also work to the framework; teachers are able to create lesson plans from the framework. A teacher should plan for progression across the age and ability range for which they are trained and demonstrate secure subject/curriculum knowledge (Kendall-Seatter, 2005). In my school experience, I had to construct a lesson that was going to be observed, it was imperative that I completed a well structured, detailed plan. The plan had to include differentiation, which detailed how I was going to adapt my lesson to cater for the different abilities the classroom included. I also had to include a plenary; I referred back to my learning objectives, making sure all the students had achieved it. Another key attribute that a teacher needs to possess is the ability to mark effectively and give positive yet constructive feedback. I had the opportunity, in my school experience, to take home the children’s literacy books. I marked the work that I had been, actively, involved in. During the literacy lesson, I made sure I offered help and advice to all the students, as English is my specialist subject I found that I had a secure knowledge and understanding of the subject.

In order to see if children are learning and progressing, teachers are given the opportunity to monitor and assess. I want to be the kind of teacher that monitors and assesses children on a frequent basis; I feel that it is important for children to know where they are academically and to communicate with them to see if there is anything we, as teachers, could do to help if they are under achieving.

I want to be the kind of teacher that, the children respect and would easily approach me if they needed to talk. I strongly feel that a teacher’s role is not one to stand and dictate a lesson, we are a leading figure of stability, and we provide a safe haven for students on a daily basis. Most children spend a quarter of their time in school and it is our responsibility to care for and protect each child. Teachers need to remember Every Child Matters (ECM) the five steps help us to maintain our duty to children. As a teacher I want to be able to communicate effectively with children, young people, colleagues, parent and carers. I will recognise and respect the contribution that colleagues and parents can make to the development and well-being of children; making sure they reach their attainment levels.

I recognise that schools cater for children with special educational needs (SEN). I want to be a teacher that will offer these children constructive support, to do this effectively I need to make myself approachable and trusting. I am aware that some children suffer from Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD); I understand, from personal experience, how to deal with such children. Their learning capabilities are sometimes much higher than those who do not suffer. Teachers often find it easier to disregard these children by sending them out of a class when they are being disruptive, this is not acceptable, yes it’s fair to argue that children with ADHD affect the learning of other children, but if a teacher is able to manage the behaviour effectively then the class can work in harmony. Dr Sheheryar Jovindah (2005) states, Two thirds of primary school teachers struggle to understand and manage ADHD behaviour because of a lack of training.
The study, presented at the annual conference of Royal College of Psychiatrists' Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, surveyed teachers from six primary schools in Plymouth.
The research showed that most teachers had very little understanding of the genetic origins of ADHD, with only about 7% agreeing that it was a genetic disorder.
The majority of teachers were also found to have limited understanding about the use of stimulant medication to treat ADHD, and about whether or not ADHD is being over-diagnosed.
Worryingly, only 35% of teachers had received any training in understanding or managing ADHD behaviour. This is despite teachers playing a vital role in helping to diagnose and manage ADHD.
However, the study did show that teachers who had received training were more likely to work in partnership with parents. This finding suggests that training for teachers could help create a more positive learning environment for children displaying ADHD behaviour.

To conclude, I don’t want to be accepted as a good teacher, I want to be accepted as a great teacher.

Bibliography

BRIGHOUSE, T. and WOODS, D. 1999. How to improve your School. London: Routledge

EAUDE, T. 2008. Children’s Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development, second ed. Exeter: Learning Matters LTD

HAYES, D. 2006. Primary Education: The Key Concepts. Oxon: Routledge

JAMES, C., CONNOLLY, N.,DUNNING,G. and ELLIOTT, T. 2006. How very effective primary schools work. London: SAGE Publications

JOVINDAH, S. 2008. Royal College of Psychiatrists' Faculty of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Annual Residential Conference, 17-19 September 2008, Britannia Adelphi Hotel, Liverpool

KENDALL-SEATTER, S. 2005. Primary profession studies. Exeter: Learning Matters LTD.