Whilst critically reflecting on my first week of professional experience it is evident that the teachers surrounding me have a wealth of knowledge and experience. Through observing and talking to teachers at Sunshine High School it has become apparent that the hidden curriculum is operating in the school and may be just as important as the official curriculum, especially in the younger years. This is because the teacher needs to be respected before the students will listen and comply with classroom rules, which is needed to allow a positive learning environment to be established and content learning to occur. Thus, during debriefs with my cooperating teacher we have come up with a number of strategies I will be using and expectations I will be setting for one class in particular, at the beginning of the lesson next week. The lessons I have taught this class so far have been on tennis and have ran quiet smoothly as the class had already learnt the skills of hitting forehands, backhands and serving and wanted to listen so they could get into the singles tournament quickly. I am starting touch football with this class this week and feel I need to set my expectations for the students at the beginning of the lesson, as we will be on the fields and in a less structured environment.
I think I have used some aspects of the NSW Quality Teaching framework during my lessons this week. For example: Year 8 European Handball, lesson 3. I integrated higher-order thinking into this practical lesson by using a physical conundrum as a part of the warm-up. The idea was to warm up the students minds by using a problem solving activity that incorporated team work and tactical thinking, which is also used in a game of European Handball. The students enjoyed the activity but if I were to do it again I would split the class into three or four groups rather than two, so that more students would have an input into the solving of the problem, thus, increasing inclusivity.
Hi, thanks for your week 1 reflection. It is good to see you applying the concepts of critical pedagogy—through your mention of the hidden and official curriculums—good work! I am intrigued by the comment you made: "This is because the teacher needs to be respected before the students will listen and comply with classroom rules, which is needed to allow a positive learning environment to be established and content learning to occur." Could you expand on what you mean by "the teacher needs to be respected...comply with classroom rules..." How do you define/view respect in the secondary classroom?
ReplyDeleteWhat I mean by "the teacher needs to be respected before the students will listen and comply" is that without respect the rules are not followed. For example, one of the expectations I have set/behaviour management strategies I have implemented with Year 8 is that when I blow my whistle twice it means come in, sit down, place any equipment you have on the ground and stop talking. Students need to respect these expectations and try to meet them for a positive learning environment to be established. Without this expectation/rule, my instructions have to be repeated numerous times, the class has to be stopped to re-explain instructions and those students who are doing the right thing start getting annoyed that the students who are not doing the right thing are not getting punished. thus, creating a negative learning environment. Students need to understand/respect the fact that if they do not follow the set rules, consequences will occur. I define respect in the secondary classroom as students complying to set school rules, acknowledging that breaking these rules will result in consequences.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that clarification, Amanda. I am interested in the word 'complying'; it has many different connotations. I understand the need for safety principles to be adhered to, especially in practical subjects like HPE. Do you think compliance means different things in different contexts? As a history teacher, for example, 'complying' to me does not always mean respect or something that is even desirable.
ReplyDeleteHeather S
Yes, it sounds like complying does mean different things in different contexts, maybe I shouldn't have used that word. I just think that in practical lessons of HPE the teacher needs to have set expectations and structure for the lesson and students need to follow the these set rules, to be productive. It may be alright or even beneficial during classroom lessons for students to go off track and for the lesson not to follow the intended plan. But on an open field I believe set rules and structure are needed, at least for the first few lessons of a new unit, when the fundamentals are being learnt.
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