Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments

Clara Dziedziczak – 18319297

Assessment 2 - Student Behaviour and Wellbeing

Part B: Personal Reflection
I believe good teaching is about knowing your students and genuinely caring for them, as
well as personally constantly learning and growing as a teacher to adapt to changes in
classrooms and teaching climate. I believe classrooms should be places where students are
in the centre of their learning and have a level of control and responsibility over their
learning. Classrooms should be equipping students with the skills to be successful in the real
world, where the learning is practical and relevant to them and they are able to think
critically about information given to them.

Good communication between teacher and student is vital in creating a positive classroom
climate by ensuring that the students’ needs are heard and understood. Good
communication provides a way for both the teacher and student to show respect to one
another by fostering an environment that is open, honest and caring. Positive learning
environments can be influenced by a teacher’s personal beliefs. These beliefs may have an
negative effect towards particular groups of students and how. This may create an unhelpful
or hostile learning environment for students. It is important as a teacher to have the respect
and trust of your students to have an orderly, productive and positive classroom. Rules need
to be established from the beginning to ensure that students are showing respect to the
teacher as well as to their fellow classmates. I believe that students need to feel as though
their concerns are heard and that they are addressed by the teacher. This would be
achieved though fair rules being established and enforced by the teacher, ensuring that
consequences for misbehaviour are articulated to students and are fair for the particular
behaviour demonstrated.

In planning my teaching program I would make sure that there is a high level of engagement
for students to stay focused and interested in the class work as well as keeping the content
of the lesson challenging and relevant. Consideration will also be taken to ensure there are
opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning as well as strategies to evaluate
student learning. Assessment is important to ensure that students comprehend the lesson
content and the teaching is effective and pitched at the correct level. I will aim to develop all
3 types of assessment, that hope to asses a student’s prior learning and knowledge, as well
as ways of demonstrating their learning as the lesson progresses, to make sure that they are
grasping key concepts before moving on to other content. For a visitor entering my
classroom I would want them to firstly feel safe and also inspired to learn. I would want the
room to look well organised with students proud of the work that they have produced that
is displayed around the room. I would like visitors to see that students are engaged and
interested in the work as well as being respectful of their peers and assisting one another in
their learning.

I believe that student’s best learn through having some level of control over their learning
and when the content is relevant to their lives. I will use strategies that help make the
 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments
Clara Dziedziczak – 18319297

content relevant to students and interactive so that they are able to learn by doing and
applying skills and knowledge to different contexts.

In terms of behaviour management I think that interventions utilising the goal centred
theory aims to help students recognise and be aware of their behaviour and would help in
identifying the underlying problem and attempt to rectify it before it gets worse. I also
believe that encouraging students when they are showing positive behaviours is very useful
to motivate and guide students to more acceptable behaviours and responses.
In practice I would need to be very aware of student behaviours and ensure that I knew my
students well In order to identify problem behaviours and the cause of the misbehaviour. I
would ensure that I do not immediately discipline the problem behaviour and draw
attention to it, but encourage positive behaviours instead.

If intervention for behaviour management is needed, I believe that there is not one single
approach that will work effectively for every student. When approaching behaviour
management it is firstly important to know the students that you are teaching and their
particular behaviours and motivations behind the behaviour. In behaviour management,
punishments and consequences should be fair and desirable behaviour should also be made
clear so that students know what is acceptable and required of them. It is also important to
make students aware of their own behaviours and the affect that this may have on their
peers and the class. In implementing punishments or consequences it is important to be fair
and consistent in doing so to ensure students are well prepared for what is coming.

In line with this thinking, I will come up with a number of different practical strategies in
order to make students become aware of their misbehaviour; I would also have a number of
different options for positive reinforcement and have prepared a number of strategies that
are designed to elicit behaviour change.

I will also aim to encouraging lifelong learning in students and make them excited to learn
and inspired to keep on learning outside the classroom. This will be achieved through taking
in to consideration the emotions of students. By doing this as this learning can be facilitated
in students, through fostering and developing social competencies in students so that they
are able to succeed in life as well as in school. This can also be helped by developing good
relationships between parents and teachers which can aid in setting expectations and
additional support and encouragement for student learning.

I believe professional reflexivity is important to my teaching because it is imperative to

always be personally learning and being able to adapt to different situations as a teacher. It
is important to critically look at own practice, to ensure that the strategies being used are
actually effective. As a consequence of this belief, I will endeavour to keep a journal or diary
of my personal successes and failures in teaching and engage in conversations and debriefs
with other teachers to evaluate my own teaching practice and share what works for me and
gain an insight into what works for other teachers as well. Having a mentor teacher or
another more experienced teacher in the school to chat to and bounce ideas off would be a
helpful thing to also have.
 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments
Clara Dziedziczak – 18319297

Acknowledgements
Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Slee, J. (2014). Classroom management: Creating positive learning
environments (4th ed.). South Melbourne, Australia: Cengage

Freeman, J., Simonsen, B., McCoach, D. B., Sugai, G., Lombardi, A., & Horner, R. (2016). Relationship
Between School Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports and Academic,
Attendance, and Behavior Outcomes in High Schools. Journal of Positive Behavior
Interventions, 18(1), 41-51. doi:doi:10.1177/1098300715580992

Wheeler, J. J., & Richey, D. D. (2010). Behavior management: Principles and practices of positive
behavior supports. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall.

My high school PE Teacher

https://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers
 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments
Clara Dziedziczak – 18319297

Developing your philosophy of classroom

management
John De Nobile
School of Education, Macquarie University
With adaptations by Roberto H Parada, School of Education, University of Western Sydney

This resource consists of a series of linked activities chapter-by-chapter to Lyons et al.

Classroom Management: Creating positive learning environments 4E. These activities enable
you to progressively work on and develop your own philosophy, plan and style of classroom
management.

A classroom philosophy, simply put, is a statement of what you believe about how to best
manage a class and how you will go about achieving that vision. This resource will help you
build it bit by bit. Complete the activities linked to each chapter of the text and by the end
of chapter 10 you should be able to bring your work together to form your classroom
philosophy.
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(Week 1) Chapter 1: Modelling classroom management

In this chapter you have gained a small insight into the hectic world of teachers starting out,
and have been exposed to the bases of a good classroom management plan through the
Lyford Model. The following activities are designed to get you thinking about your own
model of teaching and classroom management.

1.1 What is a ‘good teacher’? Think about the teachers from your days in primary and
secondary schooling. What qualities did they have that made them ‘good’? Make a list
in the box below.

Fair, kind, assisting and furthering learning, caring, confident, knowledgeable and
approachable.

1.2 Using the Lyford Model as a starting point, what do you think are the key considerations
when a teacher is planning their strategy for classroom management? After making
some rough notes, pick out the most important ones and list them below.

- Knowing students
- Having a number of strategies
- Being reflexive
- Knowing school policies and procedures

1.3 With your responses to the last two activities as a source of ideas, complete the
sentence in the box below.

I believe good teaching is about knowing your students and genuinely caring for them and
constantly learning and growing as a teacher and adapting to changes in classrooms and
perspectives.
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(Week 2)Chapter 2: Classroom management theory

In this chapter you have been introduced to some theories of behaviour/classroom
management. More are presented in the online companion. Some of these might have
caused you to react in some way, either negatively or positively. Of the ones you developed
a positive feeling about, was there a particular theory that stood out? Was there a theory or
approach that you felt might fit your view of how children should be treated and how
teaching happens? Think about this before responding to the activities.

2.1 In the box below, list the theories that you think are ‘not for you’ under the heading
‘Not me’, and the theories that you think are more favourable under the heading ‘More
like me’.

Not me More like me

Assertive discipline Goal Centred Theory
Applied behaviour analysis Choice Theory
Cognitive behavioural theory

2.2 Now take a closer look at the theories you placed in the ‘More like me’ column. Read
the suggested readings provided in this chapter and the online companion. Get to know
the theories more intimately. Use this new knowledge, specifically the key philosophies
behind the theories (or theory), to develop your own statement of belief about the sort
of places classrooms should be. Complete the following sentence and perhaps add
another to accompany it.

I believe classrooms should be places where students are in the centre of their learning and
have control over their learning. Classrooms should be equipping students with the skills to
be successful in the real world where learning is practical and relevant to them.
 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments
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(Week 3)Chapters 3 & 6: Relationships, communication & Professional

reflexivity
Effective communication is a key component of effective classroom management, and
quality teaching depends on it. This chapter describes some very useful skills for dealing
with inappropriate student behaviour in a non-confrontational and positive way. Being
aware of non-verbal cues will lead a teacher to be more sensitive to how their messages are
being received as well as how to send messages and provide feedback more effectively.
Active listening allows teachers and students to interact with minimal interference from
underlying emotional factors. I-messages provide the teacher with a tool to convey to
students how their behaviour is affecting the class in a non-submissive, informative and
positive manner.

Teaching philosophies often describe the way a teacher will interact with their students and
this, in turn, provides a window into the classroom climate that a teacher is trying to
establish. The following activities should help you to identify your preferred way of
communicating with the class generally as well as in dealing with inappropriate behaviour.
After completing them you should have a better idea of how your classroom philosophy will
describe your communication style in the classroom.

3.1 After reading this chapter and doing some of your own follow-up reading, list in the
boxes below which communication methods you are most attracted to, and which ones
you have not tried but would not mind practising to see if they might work for you.

My preferred communication style Things I’d like to try out

Active Listening Open questioning
Facial expressions and gestures I-Messages
Negotiating

3.2 You will need to pre-empt the communication paragraph in your philosophy with a
sentence or two underpinning or justifying it. Using your readings of the chapter, in
particular the Relationships and communication, Interference, Communication process
and Non-verbal communication sections, complete the sentence in the box below. You
might need to add a second or even a third sentence.

I believe that good communication between teacher and student is vital to a positive
classroom climate because good communication ensures that the students needs are heard
and understood. Good communication provides a way for both the teacher and student to
show respect to one another, fostering an environment that is open, honest and caring.

3.3 To complete your paragraph on communication you will now need to identify the key
strategies you will use. Take another look at the lists in 3.1 and pick the most suitable of
these to complete the section below.
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Therefore, I will try and utilise open questioning techniques to gain more of an insight into
students problems and understand more completely what it is that their issue is and what
they require help or assistance with.

This week you also looked at how personal beliefs can help or hinder in your relationships
and communication with students.

3.3 Briefly outline your understanding of how beliefs can help or hinder your ability to
create positive learning environments:

Teacher personal beliefs affect the way we create Positive Learning Environments by
influencing our perspectives and behaviours towards particular groups of people by our own
preconceived ideas, bias or prejudice that we may towards particular individuals which may
create an unhelpful or hostile learning environment for students.

Chapter 6: Professional reflexivity

The last of the four positive practices is professional reflexivity. Good teachers reflect on
what they do frequently, during lessons as well as afterwards. Examining how well things
worked, or how things didn’t work as well as planned, helps teachers to inform their future
teaching and consequently improve their practice. This chapter discusses at length an action
research model that can be used to encourage professional reflexivity. There are, of course,
other models to consider as indicated in the reference list at the end of the chapter.

Your teaching philosophy should describe how and for what purpose you might engage in a
cycle of professional reflexivity, be it through critical analysis using various perspectives or
an action research model, or both.

6.1 Why should teachers engage in professional reflexivity? By reading this chapter you will
get a clear idea about the benefits of reflection on and in action. Once you have given
this some thought and done some further reading, complete the following sentence.

I believe professional reflexivity is important to my teaching because it is imperative to

always be learning and being able to adapt to different situations as a teacher rather than
taking the same approach every time which may be ineffective. It is important to critically
look at own practice

6.2 Having thought up a justification for it, how will you go about engaging in reflection
about your practice in your teaching career? Once you have thought this out, think of
some practical and achievable ways you can engage in professional reflexivity and
complete the next sentence.

As a consequence of this belief, I will endeavour to keep a journal/diary of my personal

successes and failures in teaching and engage in conversations and debriefs with other
teachers to evaluate my own teaching practice and share what works for me and gain an
 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments
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insight into what works for other teachers as well. Having a mentor teacher or another more
experienced teacher in the school to chat to and bounce ideas off would be a helpful thing
to also have.
 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments
Clara Dziedziczak – 18319297

(Week 4)Chapter 4: Classroom organisation and Curriculum, assessment and

pedagogy
Classroom management is not just about managing behaviour. At the heart of teaching and
learning are the curriculum taught, the pedagogy used and the assessment designed to
measure how well that curriculum was taught and how well the pedagogy worked. This
chapter takes you through these three areas one at a time.

The next part of your teaching philosophy will be about how you will deliver curriculum and
assess student achievement/growth. After reading this chapter, please reflect on the
following:
 What will you take into consideration when planning your teaching program?
 How will you know what to teach and where to start?
 What are the many ways in which your students could demonstrate achievement other
than tests and quizzes?
 What teaching approaches will you use and what philosophical views will your
pedagogies reflect?

4.1 Using the PIR Cycle as a stimulus, explain how you will go about planning your teaching
program in the box below.

(Pg 68-69)
In planning my teaching program I would need to ensure that there is a high level of
engagement for students to stay focused and interested in the class work as well as keeping
the content of the lesson challenging and relevant. Consideration should also be taken to
ensure there are opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning as well as
strategies to evaluate student learning too.

4.2 Why is assessment important? What types of assessment will you develop and why?
Answer these two questions below.

3 types of assessment: Pre- or baseline assessment, Formative assessment and summative

assessment. Assessment is important to ensure that students comprehend the lesson
content and the teaching is effective and pitched at the correct level. I will aim to develop all
3 types of assessment, that hope to asses a student’s prior learning and knowledge, as well
as ways of demonstrating their learning as the lesson progresses to make sure that they are
grasping key concepts before moving on to other content.

4.3 Pedagogy refers to how you will teach the curriculum. Usually, the type of pedagogy
you implement is influenced by a basic belief about how student’s best learn. After
considering your pedagogical approach and strategies, complete the sentences below.

I believe that student’s best learn through having some level of control over their learning
 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments
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and when the content is relevant to their lives.

Therefore I will use strategies that help make the content relevant to students and
interactive so that they are able to learn by doing and applying skills and knowledge to
different contexts.

Chapter 5: Classroom organisation

As explained in this chapter, there are several dimensions to classroom organisation. Each of
these put together become the manifestation of your classroom culture. Your classroom
culture is, simply put, the way your class operates and incorporates:
 rules and procedures
 organisation of the physical space.

It is now time to think about how your teaching philosophy will describe these two aspects
and explain them in terms of an overarching set of beliefs or approaches. After reading this
chapter, complete the next two activities.

5.1 What values do you hold as important to establishing an orderly, productive and
positive classroom? Answer this question below, then list the key rules/expectations
you think flow naturally from those values and which you want to stress in your class.
Complete the section by explaining how rules and consequences will be established in
your classroom.

In order to have an orderly, productive and positive classroom, I believe it is important as a

teacher to have the respect and trust of your students. I believe that rules need to be
established from the beginning to ensure that students are showing respect to the teacher
as well as to their fellow classmates. I believe that students need to feel as though their
concerns are heard and that they are addressed by the teacher. Rules would be enforced by
ensuring that consequences for misbehaviour are articulated to students and are fair for the
particular behaviour demonstrated.

- Respectful
- Kind
- Patience
- Encouragement

5.2 What should your classroom look like to visitors entering it. Why? Think about this then
answer the question and explain how you might organise:
 seating
 classroom space (displays, colours, furniture, etc).

For a visitor entering my classroom I would want them to feel safe and inspired to learn, I
would want the room to look well organised with students proud of some of the work that
they have produced that is displayed around the room. I would like visitors to see that
 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments
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students are engaged and interested in the work provided to them as well as being
respectful of their peers and assisting one another in their learning.

Depending on the class the students would be seated in groups of tables, to allow
collaboration and sharing of learning. The space would look inviting and like a place where
students are inspired to do their best work and stay on task. Being in the science faculty
there would be displays of student work and diagrams that students can refer to on the
walls of the room.

(Week 5).Chapter 7: Interventions & Evaluation

Interventions bring the focus of your philosophy back to the behaviour management aspect
of classroom management. The first part of this chapter explains intervention as something
that is done to one or more aspects of the classroom milieu to improve a situation that is
getting out of hand (or has the potential to), usually as a result of inappropriate behaviour
that threatens the stability of the learning environment. The chapter presents approaches
to intervention according to the three theoretical orientations introduced in chapters 1
and 2.

7.1 After reading this chapter ask yourself the following questions and record your answers.

Which approach am I most Why? How would I use this in

comfortable working with?
(You can chose more than 1)
Interventions using the Goal
centred theory
I think that interventions
utilising the goal centred
theory aims to help students
recognise and be aware of
their behaviour and would
help in identifying the
underlying problem and
attempt to rectify it before it
gets worse. I also believe
that encouraging students
when they are showing
positive behaviours is very
useful to motivate and guide
students to acceptable
behaviours and responses.
practice?
In practice I would need to
be very aware of student
behaviours and ensure that I
knew my students well In
order to identify problem
behaviours and the cause of
the misbehaviour. I would
ensure that I do not
immediately discipline the
problem behaviour but
encourage positive
behaviours.
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Applied Behavioural Analysis Applied behavioural analysis In my practice I think that

has a huge body of research
behind it and supporting its
benefits for changing
behaviour. There are also a
number of strategies that are
able to be implemented
which may be implemented
in order to change behaviour
in students
before I utilise ABA in a
classroom I would need to
be a lot more familiar with
the research surrounding it
and ensure that I am familiar
with the different strategies
for reinforcement and
correction. I would ensure
that progress is monitored
for individual students and if
it is being effective or not.

7.2 Did you list more than one approach? If so, how might the two (or more) approaches
work together as a behaviour management strategy (or sequence of strategies in a
plan)?

Multiple approaches are able to work together as a management strategy to have a variety
of different approaches to draw from to affect behaviour change in students. Many of the
strategies may be able to work well together and complement particular areas. Some
students may not be as responsive to particular interventions and may require trial and
error with a number of different strategies to be effective in altering adverse behaviour.

7.3 Having thought through the approaches and how you would apply them, it is time to
nail down your intervention strategy. First, write about the approach (or approaches)
you believe will work best and why.

If intervention for behaviour management is needed, I believe that there is not one single
approach that will work effectively for every student. When approaching behaviour
management it is firstly important to know the students that you are teaching and their
particular behaviours and motivations behind the behaviour. I believe that in behaviour
management, punishments and consequences should be fair and desirable behaviour
should also be made clear so that students know what is acceptable and required of them. It
is also important to make students aware of their own behaviours and the affect that this
may have on their peers and the class. In implementing punishments or consequences it is
important to be fair and consistent in doing so to ensure students are well prepared for
what is coming.

7.4 Now write about how you would put the above into practice.

In line with this thinking, I will come up with a number of different practical strategies in
order to make students become aware of their misbehaviour, I would also have a number of
different options for positive reinforcement and have thought through some various
strategies that are designed to elicit behaviour change.
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Clara Dziedziczak – 18319297

7.5 Having written an overview of your intervention plan, go back to your earlier
statements, particularly your responses to 1.3, 2.2, 3.3 and 5.1. In light of 7.3 and 7.4 do
you need to modify any of these? If so, make the changes now.

This week we also discussed the importance of considering evaluation for interventions

7.6 Briefly outline below how you would go about documenting and monitoring an
intervention with a student(s) or class for effectiveness.

Taking into consideration the need to have objective measures of effectiveness of an

intervention I will monitor student progress in the following ways; by keeping a record of
particular strategies tried and the outcomes of these strategies through the use of a
dedicated diary to document.
 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments
Clara Dziedziczak – 18319297

(Week 6) Chapter 8: Stories from the field (Personal Reading)

In this chapter there are 10 stories where teachers and others describe an aspect of their
experience with classroom management in the real world. The online companion website
presents even more. To complete the activity below please read between three and five of
these. They will provide you with a variety of models of practice in classroom management
and might trigger new ideas to include in your philosophy of teaching.

8.1 After reading some of the case studies (E.g., 8 in the text Lisa, 9 Andrew, 10 Wendy and
16, 19, 20 etc online), what would you add about aspects of your classroom
management that have not been mentioned so far in your philosophy? Add these in the
box below in rough draft form. You can refine them later in 10.1.

After reading the case studies there are a number of things that I would add in terms of my
classroom management that I had not initially thought of as well as a number of things that
some of the teachers said that resonated with me. With Lisa’s case study, I really liked her
approach of breaking down the “us and them” mentality, and making students responsible
in some aspects of their learning, allowing them to identify when they have had successes
and reflect on that feeling of doing well.
With Andrew’s case I like his idea of a voluntary time out card that he utilised for students
that had anger issues. I think that it is important to have a number of different strategies
ready to engage and cater for students with a range of different difficult behaviours. I think
this is going to be something that I will need to definitely prepare ahead of time and try out
with a number of different students.
Wendy raised a number of interesting points in her story too. She discussed the importance
of the little things done by the teacher with aid in a positive classroom. Things such as the
tone used with different students as well as how instructions are given and how work is
differentiated for different students. The small things such as these things can sometimes
make all the difference and may be overlooked when there are a million other things going
on in the classroom, so I definitely think they are things worth remembering.
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(Week 7) Social Emotional Learning in Schools. Cohen, J. (2006) & Zins, et al

(2007).
Social and Emotional Learning brings your attention to focus efforts on promoting students’
social and emotional competencies. Many leaders in the field underscore the importance of
skills-based teaching and learning to properly address this important facet of teaching the
whole child.
8.1 After reading Cohen and Zin and reflecting on the lecture content what would you add
about aspects of your classroom management that have not been mentioned so far in
your philosophy? Add these in the box below in rough draft form. You can refine them
later in 10.1.

Encouraging lifelong learning

Taking in to consideration the emotions of students – as this can facilitate or hinder learning
in students. By fostering and developing social competencies in students they are able to
succeed in life as well as in school.
Developing good relationships between parents and teachers – make expectations and
additional support and encouragement for student learning.

(Week 8) Principles of Behaviour Modification. Zirporli T.J. (2012). Ch10 and

Killu, K. (2008)

This week we looked at fundamental aspects of behaviourism and learning. Ziporli and Killu
provide examples of the application of such theory and research to classroom management
and behaviour change. Important concepts such as reinforcement, functional purpose of
behaviour and behaviour shaping are discussed

7.1 After reading Ziporli and Killu and reflecting on the lecture content what would you add
about aspects of your classroom management that have not been mentioned so far in
your philosophy? Add these in the box below in rough draft form. You can refine them
later in 10.1.

Having different reinforcers prepared for students to pick and to use in different situations
i.e. tangible, social or choice of activities.
Contracts for behavioural expectations and consequences in difficult students.
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(Week 9) Chapter 9: Your theory into practice

Early in the chapter you are asked to write up a statement of your theoretical approach to
classroom management. You should read the rest of the chapter, as it takes you through the
steps of constructing a philosophy of teaching. You already started this process in activities
relating to chapters 1 and 2, but now you have a chance to refine it by altering your
responses in 1.3 and 2.2. This may require changes to sentences or even some considerable
rewriting, but as the authors say, if a job is worth doing, it is worth doing it well.

9.1 Now that you have reviewed your overarching philosophy and settled, more or less, on
your approach to teaching and classroom management, it is time to combine the bits
that you have been working on into your first (draft) teaching philosophy. It is simple
now. All the hard work has been done. Simply cut and paste your responses in the order
suggested below, into the box.

Cut and paste in the following order leaving a line space between each section:
1.3 > 2.2 > 3.2 > 3.3 > 5.1 > 5.2 > 4.1 > 4.2 > 4.3 > 7.1 > 7.3 > 7.4 >8.1> 6.1 > 6.2

My personal reflection/teaching philosophy (Draft 1)

I believe good teaching is about knowing your students and genuinely caring for them and
constantly learning and growing as a teacher and adapting to changes in classrooms and
perspectives.

I believe classrooms should be places where students are in the centre of their learning and
have control over their learning. Classrooms should be equipping students with the skills to
be successful in the real world where learning is practical and relevant to them.

I believe that good communication between teacher and student is vital to a positive
classroom climate because good communication ensures that the students needs are heard
and understood. Good communication provides a way for both the teacher and student to
show respect to one another, fostering an environment that is open, honest and caring.

Teacher personal beliefs affect the way we create Positive Learning Environments by
influencing our perspectives and behaviours towards particular groups of people by our own
preconceived ideas, bias or prejudice that we may towards particular individuals which may
create an unhelpful or hostile learning environment for students.

In order to have an orderly, productive and positive classroom, I believe it is important as a

teacher to have the respect and trust of your students. I believe that rules need to be
established from the beginning to ensure that students are showing respect to the teacher
as well as to their fellow classmates. I believe that students need to feel as though their
concerns are heard and that they are addressed by the teacher. Rules would be enforced by
ensuring that consequences for misbehaviour are articulated to students and are fair for the
particular behaviour demonstrated.
 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments
Clara Dziedziczak – 18319297

- Respectful
- Kind
- Patience
Encouragement

For a visitor entering my classroom I would want them to feel safe and inspired to learn, I
would want the room to look well organised with students proud of some of the work that
they have produced that is displayed around the room. I would like visitors to see that
students are engaged and interested in the work provided to them as well as being
respectful of their peers and assisting one another in their learning.

Depending on the class the students would be seated in groups of tables, to allow
collaboration and sharing of learning. The space would look inviting and like a place where
students are inspired to do their best work and stay on task. Being in the science faculty
there would be displays of student work and diagrams that students can refer to on the
walls of the room.

In planning my teaching program I would need to ensure that there is a high level of
engagement for students to stay focused and interested in the class work as well as keeping
the content of the lesson challenging and relevant. Consideration should also be taken to
ensure there are opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning as well as
strategies to evaluate student learning too.

3 types of assessment: Pre- or baseline assessment, Formative assessment and summative

assessment. Assessment is important to ensure that students comprehend the lesson
content and the teaching is effective and pitched at the correct level. I will aim to develop all
3 types of assessment, that hope to asses a student’s prior learning and knowledge, as well
as ways of demonstrating their learning as the lesson progresses to make sure that they are
grasping key concepts before moving on to other content.

I believe that student’s best learn through having some level of control over their learning
and when the content is relevant to their lives.
Therefore I will use strategies that help make the content relevant to students and
interactive so that they are able to learn by doing and applying skills and knowledge to
different contexts.

I think that interventions utilising the goal centred theory aims to help students recognise
and be aware of their behaviour and would help in identifying the underlying problem and
attempt to rectify it before it gets worse. I also believe that encouraging students when they
are showing positive behaviours is very useful to motivate and guide students to acceptable
behaviours and responses.
In practice I would need to be very aware of student behaviours and ensure that I knew my
students well In order to identify problem behaviours and the cause of the misbehaviour. I
would ensure that I do not immediately discipline the problem behaviour but encourage
positive behaviours.
 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments
Clara Dziedziczak – 18319297

Applied behavioural analysis has a huge body of research behind it and supporting its
benefits for changing behaviour. There are also a number of strategies that are able to be
implemented which may be implemented in order to change behaviour in students.

In my practice I think that before I utilise ABA in a classroom I would need to be a lot more
familiar with the research surrounding it and ensure that I am familiar with the different
strategies for reinforcement and correction. I would ensure that progress is monitored for
individual students and if it is being effective or not.

If intervention for behaviour management is needed, I believe that there is not one single
approach that will work effectively for every student. When approaching behaviour
management it is firstly important to know the students that you are teaching and their
particular behaviours and motivations behind the behaviour. I believe that in behaviour
management, punishments and consequences should be fair and desirable behaviour
should also be made clear so that students know what is acceptable and required of them. It
is also important to make students aware of their own behaviours and the affect that this
may have on their peers and the class. In implementing punishments or consequences it is
important to be fair and consistent in doing so to ensure students are well prepared for
what is coming.

In line with this thinking, I will come up with a number of different practical strategies in
order to make students become aware of their misbehaviour, I would also have a number of
different options for positive reinforcement and have thought through some various
strategies that are designed to elicit behaviour change.

Encouraging lifelong learning

Taking in to consideration the emotions of students – as this can facilitate or hinder learning
in students. By fostering and developing social competencies in students they are able to
succeed in life as well as in school.
Developing good relationships between parents and teachers – make expectations and
additional support and encouragement for student learning.

I believe professional reflexivity is important to my teaching because it is imperative to

always be learning and being able to adapt to different situations as a teacher rather than
taking the same approach every time which may be ineffective. It is important to critically
look at own practice

As a consequence of this belief, I will endeavour to keep a journal/diary of my personal

successes and failures in teaching and engage in conversations and debriefs with other
teachers to evaluate my own teaching practice and share what works for me and gain an
insight into what works for other teachers as well. Having a mentor teacher or another more
experienced teacher in the school to chat to and bounce ideas off would be a helpful thing
to also have.
 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments
Clara Dziedziczak – 18319297

(Week 9) Chapter 10: Contemporary issues (Personal Reading)

This chapter describes some of the current issues and trends that schools and wider school
systems are dealing with. After reading the chapter, you should consider if any of these
movements require ‘presence’ in your teaching philosophy. For example, once you have
visited the AITSL website and examined the national teaching standards, do you feel the
need to address any of these standards in your teaching philosophy? After reading about
time outs, exclusion and expulsion, do you feel your classroom management intervention
approach needs to change or is it OK as it is? These are just two example of areas where
wider issues that teachers might want to address in their philosophy.

Ask yourself these questions after reading your draft philosophy from 9.1:
1 Have I covered everything I want to cover in my philosophy and if not, what do I need to
add? This might be from chapter 10, but don’t forget about things you might have
written in 8.1. Now is the time to consider how they will fit into your draft.
2 Does the philosophy read right to me? If not, then make your changes. Move sections
around if you feel they sit better.
3 Do I need an opening quote/sentence and do I need a conclusion to round things off? If
so, jot down some rough notes.

10.1 After considering questions 1, 2 and 3 above, edit your teaching philosophy. It would
be a good idea to leave the draft you had in 9.1 alone, cut and paste that here and
make the changes here just in case you need to refer back to your original draft.

My personal reflection/teaching philosophy (Draft 2)

I believe good teaching is about knowing your students and genuinely caring for them, as
well as personally constantly learning and growing as a teacher to adapt to changes in
classrooms and teaching climate. I believe classrooms should be places where students are
in the centre of their learning and have a level of control and responsibility over their
learning. Classrooms should be equipping students with the skills to be successful in the real
world, where the learning is practical and relevant to them and they are able to think
critically about information given to them.

Good communication between teacher and student is vital in creating a positive classroom
climate by ensuring that the students’ needs are heard and understood. Good
communication provides a way for both the teacher and student to show respect to one
another by fostering an environment that is open, honest and caring. Positive learning
environments can be influenced by a teacher’s personal beliefs. These beliefs may have an
negative effect towards particular groups of students and how. This may create an unhelpful
or hostile learning environment for students. It is important as a teacher to have the respect
and trust of your students to have an orderly, productive and positive classroom. Rules need
to be established from the beginning to ensure that students are showing respect to the
teacher as well as to their fellow classmates. I believe that students need to feel as though
their concerns are heard and that they are addressed by the teacher. This would be
achieved though fair rules being established and enforced by the teacher, ensuring that
 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments
Clara Dziedziczak – 18319297

consequences for misbehaviour are articulated to students and are fair for the particular
behaviour demonstrated.

For a visitor entering my classroom I would want them to firstly feel safe and also inspired to
learn. I would want the room to look well organised with students proud of the work that
they have produced that is displayed around the room. I would like visitors to see that
students are engaged and interested in the work as well as being respectful of their peers
and assisting one another in their learning. Depending on the class the students would be
seated in groups of tables, to allow collaboration and sharing of ideas. The space would look
inviting and like a place where students are inspired to do their best work and stay on task.
Being in science classrooms there would be displays of student work and diagrams that
students have made that they can refer to on the walls of the room.

In planning my teaching program I would make sure that there is a high level of engagement
for students to stay focused and interested in the class work as well as keeping the content
of the lesson challenging and relevant. Consideration will also be taken to ensure there are
opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning as well as strategies to evaluate
student learning. Assessment is important to ensure that students comprehend the lesson
content and the teaching is effective and pitched at the correct level. I will aim to develop all
3 types of assessment, that hope to asses a student’s prior learning and knowledge, as well
as ways of demonstrating their learning as the lesson progresses, to make sure that they are
grasping key concepts before moving on to other content.
I believe that student’s best learn through having some level of control over their learning
and when the content is relevant to their lives. I will use strategies that help make the
content relevant to students and interactive so that they are able to learn by doing and
applying skills and knowledge to different contexts.

In terms of behaviour management I think that interventions utilising the goal centred
theory aims to help students recognise and be aware of their behaviour and would help in
identifying the underlying problem and attempt to rectify it before it gets worse. I also
believe that encouraging students when they are showing positive behaviours is very useful
to motivate and guide students to more acceptable behaviours and responses.
In practice I would need to be very aware of student behaviours and ensure that I knew my
students well In order to identify problem behaviours and the cause of the misbehaviour. I
would ensure that I do not immediately discipline the problem behaviour and draw
attention to it, but encourage positive behaviours instead.

If intervention for behaviour management is needed, I believe that there is not one single
approach that will work effectively for every student. When approaching behaviour
management it is firstly important to know the students that you are teaching and their
particular behaviours and motivations behind the behaviour. In behaviour management,
punishments and consequences should be fair and desirable behaviour should also be made
clear so that students know what is acceptable and required of them. It is also important to
make students aware of their own behaviours and the affect that this may have on their
peers and the class. In implementing punishments or consequences it is important to be fair
and consistent in doing so to ensure students are well prepared for what is coming.
 Pedagogy for Positive Learning Environments
Clara Dziedziczak – 18319297

In line with this thinking, I will come up with a number of different practical strategies in
order to make students become aware of their misbehaviour; I would also have a number of
different options for positive reinforcement and have prepared a number of strategies that
are designed to elicit behaviour change.

I will also aim to encouraging lifelong learning in students and make them excited to learn
and inspired to keep on learning outside the classroom. This will be achieved through taking
in to consideration the emotions of students. By doing this as this learning can be facilitated
in students, through fostering and developing social competencies in students so that they
are able to succeed in life as well as in school. This can also be helped by developing good
relationships between parents and teachers which can aid in setting expectations and
additional support and encouragement for student learning.

I believe professional reflexivity is important to my teaching because it is imperative to

always be personally learning and being able to adapt to different situations as a teacher. It
is important to critically look at own practice, to ensure that the strategies being used are
actually effective. As a consequence of this belief, I will endeavour to keep a journal or diary
of my personal successes and failures in teaching and engage in conversations and debriefs
with other teachers to evaluate my own teaching practice and share what works for me and
gain an insight into what works for other teachers as well. Having a mentor teacher or
another more experienced teacher in the school to chat to and bounce ideas off would be a
helpful thing to also have.

Ready to roll …
Now that you have made the changes, read it to yourself. How does it read now?
If you are happy with the result, you have your first teaching philosophy. Congratulations!
You have done it! Now it’s time to prepare your final submission. Look at the Unit Learning
Guide and now write your own personal reflection and philosophy Ability to clearly and
coherently reflect on specific learnings in this unit and their implications for their personal
philosophy in relation to the management of student’s challenging behaviour, learning and
wellbeing in a positive learning environment.

Into the future!

However, please be aware that your philosophy may well change as you gain experience in
teaching and are exposed to other ideas from your ongoing professional development, your
interactions with peers and other sources of inspiration. It will be an interesting task for you
to go back to this philosophy you have just completed in 10 years’ time and compare it to
the one you have then. Will it have changed much? How have your approaches evolved?
What kind of teacher have you become?