Assignment 1, Decision Making Task, Lauren Cox, 211303813, Epp406

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Assignment 1
Lauren Cox
211303813
EPP406
Word Count: 1658









Assignment 1, Decision Making Task, Lauren Cox, 211303813, Epp406

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During 2014 I have been lucky enough to complete two teaching professional experiences that
were both 10 days long at a school in Ballarat. This school is a public school and only caters for
year eleven and twelve, Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) students. During my teaching
rounds I have particularly been working in the areas of psychology and media, teaching year
eleven students. I have had a diverse range of students over the two rounds; however one
student in particular in my journal stood out to me. I am referring to this student as Student S
(refer to appendix 1) in my journal as I feel it is necessary to keep a students confidentiality.
This student began in my class as quite a rude student and then after dealing with her over my
two rounds I have noticed differences in her behavior. I have also decided to look into the issue
of the use of mobile phones in my classroom, as this is initially where the incident with Student
S stemmed from. When you are a teacher it is important to analyse situations in the classroom
for not only your growth as a teacher but to also benefit your students, in terms of your
understanding towards them. I have chosen to look into David Tripps(1993) other point of
view thinking strategy in terms of analyzing Student Ss behavior, and also the use of mobile
phones in the learning environment. (Appendix 1)

According to Tripp (1993) every situation has two points of view, and it is important that we
deliberately seek out other views. According to the other point of view perspective there are
two steps to take when analyzing a situation. The first one being to analyse what I would
believe to be the other persons view and then following through to see what this view is in
reality(Tripp,1993). I feel that I could use this type of analysis to determine both situations that
are spoken of in Appendix one. First I would like to start with students in my class using their
mobile phones. My interpretation of this behavior is that the students dont want to listen and
generally have a small addiction to their use of phones. The reasoning to my predictions in this
situation is that I too am a student, and use a mobile phone. Often I feel like my brain needs a
break from the content I am studying and I have been guilty in the past of looking at my mobile
phone in class. Technology seems to be becoming an addiction for young people and maybe
this is why they cannot go a few minutes in the class without looking down at their phones and
clearly not paying attention (Griffiths,2013). I have not been able to speak with every student
about this, and not every student does it. I think during my next teaching round I would like to
ask the students why they use their phones and maybe even tell them why I think they are
using it, So then both my, and the students perspectives will be out in the open. Student S has
managed to help me identify why she has been using a mobile phone in the classroom.
Therefore I can use the second step of the other perspective analysis to understand one of my
students. Student S has explained that she has family issues at home and the reason she was
Assignment 1, Decision Making Task, Lauren Cox, 211303813, Epp406

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using her phone was due to family members contacting her during class about these issues. It
was much easier to deal with this situation once I understood where this student was coming
from. Student S also presented other issues besides using her mobile phone, She also made
very rude comments behind my back after me telling her to stop using it. She often showed up
to class with no equipment to take notes and lacked participation in the classroom. Initially I
thought this student simply didnt like me or the subject I was teaching her. I thought she
thought she was too good for my classroom. However after speaking with this student it turns
out she in fact does like the class and even admitted to me at one stage that she didnt have
many friends in that class and didnt feel comfortable. She also was finding it hard to come to
school in general as she couldnt find the time to see her sick relatives whilst supporting herself
out of home and studying. I felt much more sympathetic to this student once I found out the
other point of view and therefore offered to help her catch up with her studies. (appendix 1)

From undergoing this experience in my classroom and undertaking two different perspectives
on this, It has definitely helped me to shape my identity as an up and coming teacher. There are
several key things that I have learnt from these experiences. The first thing would be that some
of the students at this school are coming from quite harsh backgrounds and I am now much
more aware of the reasoning to why these types of behavior are occurring from students in the
psychology class. Often teachers can forget that the students personal life can truly interfere
with their studies. This real life experience with students confiding in me has made me realize
the type of teacher I would like to be. I would like to demonstrate care as a teacher. I think that
listening to students and going the extra mile to find out if they are struggling can really form a
trust between you and your students. When there is a trust it is easier to then relate to your
students and help them to contribute to their own learning, as they start to realize that you are
doing out of care, rather than just doing your job. I also would like to give my students
strategies to work around their own home situations and establish a studying style that truly
suits them. Often these students are coming from backgrounds that lack support, so becoming
independent learners is a great option for them. The situation where students continually use
mobile phones in my classroom has influenced me to tell my students how I feel about them
doing this and trying to get to know their reasoning behind using their phones. I dont believe it
is appropriate using a phone in my classroom, However I think I have now thought of some
good strategies such as strong communication to stop this from happening. Overall, I feel that
these experiences helped me to understand where students were coming from, and what their
perspectives may be. I want to show understanding towards issues and be able to offer my
students advice that will support their future goals and their needs outside of school.

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In terms of improving as a pre-service teacher I would like to address one of The Australian
Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL,2014) standards. The standard I have
chosen, and an explanation to why I think I should address this standard are as follows;
Standard 7.1 Meet professional ethics and responsibilities: Understand and apply the
key principles described in codes of ethics and conduct for the teaching
profession.( AITSL,2014)
I believe that professionally the incident that occurred with Student S was one that needed to
be dealt with on a professional level. In terms of the Victorian teaching profession code of
conduct ( Victorian institute of teaching (VIT),2008) The three main values the code of conduct
and the code of ethics address are Integrity, Respect and Responsibility ( VIT 2008). I believe
all three of these values have been demonstrated and could be improved on in terms of
Student S. In regards to acting in the best interest of the student ( VIT,2008) I can see that I
started to demonstrate this when I offered Student S extra time to catch up and extra help in
relation to how she learns. I feel I will address this more throughout my next teaching round
and apply it to other students, by interviewing them and trying to help them to prepare for
independent learning in year 12. In terms of providing quality teaching ( VIT ,2008) I also
believe this is something I can address on my next professional experience and try and get my
students more engaged with the content so maybe this will influence them to attend my class
more frequently and stay off their phones a little longer. The main ethical code of conduct I
have addressed in the past and would like to keep expanding is the respect that occurs
between me and my students. I would like to continually show my care for their learning and
continue to treat students fairly. I think showing this little bit of extra help, and running the
extra mile will really enhance the repore I have with students on a professional level. I want
students to feel comfortable with me as their educator and build a trust that also contributes to
their passion for coming to my class and taking interest in the subject I am teaching.

I have identified two main issues occurring from my previous professional experiences this year.
One incident involving Student S ( appendix 1) who was a student that was very rude in the
classroom and the other incident involving the use of mobile phones in my classroom which is
one of the issues that was related to Student S in the beginning. These issues have helped me
to address some key skills in my learning as a pre service teacher. Mainly I have learnt the
importance of repore and respect with your students. I am now beginning to think about the
other perspective (Tripp,1993) that may be associated with a students behavior. These
experiences have helped me to identify key outcomes I may want to readdress on my upcoming
professional experience.

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References

Australian Institute for teaching and school leadership(AITSL) 2014, Australian Professional
Standards for Teachers AITSL and Australian Federal Government, retrieved 2/8/14,
http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers/standards/list


Griffiths, M,2013, Adolescent mobile phone addiction: A cause for concern?, Education and
Health, volume 31r, no 3, retrieved 4/8/14, academia.au

Tripp, D. (1993). Critical incidents in teaching: developing professional judgement. London; New
York: Routledge.

Vistoria Institute of Teaching ( VIT), 2008, The Victorian Teaching Profession Code of
Conduct,VIT, retrieved 4/8/14 <
http://www.vit.vic.edu.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Code-of-Conduct-June-2008.pdf













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Appendix 1: journal entries

Class: yr 11 psych
Todays class went well however, I am having trouble in the class with the use of mobile phones. The
kids in this class can not go for 5 minutes without looking at them. This is disrupting my teaching
experience and I am unsure whether to confiscate phones and cause an up rise or to simply tell them
off. There are 2 particular students in which this is occurring with. One is a girl who keeps giving me dirty
looks every time I tell her off this is an issue I must speak to my teacher about as this girl is consistently
rude to me.
Class yr 11 psych:
Today my teacher mentor actually took the girl- I will name S for privacy reasons. My teacher took her
aside and asked her what her problem was and why she wouldnt listen and why she was consistently on
her phone. Turns out there are some issues going on in her family that she needed to use her phone for
in class. Not sure if this is truthful or not. This student also does not turn up to class very much which
means there could infact be problems happening at home.

( second placement)
Class yr 11 psych:

Great start back I have learnt some students have dropped out of my class but there are some new ones
in there too. Student S has not been turning up and has missed the first 2 sacs. I went to student teacher
interviews during a time I was not on placement ( I came in voluntarily) and this student showed up by
herself to PTI. She explained to Bec and I that she was having trouble keeping up with everything and
that she lives out of home and isnt coping with VCE. She doesnt know if she can make it to class
frequently and her family member that she is close with is in hospital so she has been visiting regularly.
This student is one that has obviously been having trouble from the start of the school year and has
explained she doesnt have many friends at the school. I have offered this student some spare time and
asked her to see me in her spares so she can catch up and hopefully pass the SACs.
Class yr 11 psych:
Student S has come to my office and we have gone through sections of the text that she needs to cover.
I have tried my hardest to fit a large amount of content into an hour. I have simplified it and have given
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her a few mnemonic devices for her to use when she goes home. I hope this helps this student and she
tries to come to class. She has told me she aims to be a nurse when she leaves school.
Class yr 11 psych:
Todays class went fantastically. I managed to cover all aspects of content.. The students did a debate in
class today on a topic I came up with. This isnt usually a typical activity that Bec does but I thought I
would give it a go. This group of students absolutely love working in groups and reacted really well to
the debate. They requested to do another one because we dont usually do debates in psych because its
so fact based. Students were all well behaved took them awhile to get their ideas together but went well
once I assisted and helped them to use their text to support their arguments. I noticed student S didnt
show up today which was ashame after she came to see me.
.. Bec saw student S today and told her I was disappointed that she didnt come to class so this student
came and apologized and explained the situation to me. I felt quite happy that this student cared
enough to come and apologize and I told her I would appreciate if she came more because she certainly
has potential in this subject.