Personal reflection.

My personal teaching philosophy has been developed explicitly throughout the course of
this unit. Whilst it was interesting to picture what theories and practices I would like to
implement in the classroom, it was quite different putting them into practice. One thing I
did know for certain going into my first professional experience was that I wanted to use a
pragmatic approach to the various theories that have been covered in the unit.
Lyons and Ford (2015, p. 21) highlight this as meaning: ‘…changing or shifting theoretical
alignment and practices, depending upon the nature of your class and school.’ I think having
this kind of approach will give me greater flexibility in terms of my approach to different
situations, as I will be able to pick and choose between the various frameworks and theories
that exist (Lyons and Ford, 2015). I strongly believe that being held to one theory alone will
not assist your management of behaviour in the classroom, and this fluid approach is a more
effective way to ensure they you are dealing with various situation in an effective manner.
I believe good teaching is about being able to effectively portray your enthusiasm for the
subject to your students. If you can do this, then students with have a greater sense of
belonging in the classroom, as they feel as though they have a greater connection to it. If
you can make the subject more interesting to the students they are more likely to succeed.
Communication method is also another central aspect to my personal philosophy. I believe
in building a rapport with my students once there has been a basis of respect established. I
think using humour in the classroom is a great way to effectively convey information, as well
as making the content more engaging and enjoyable. Lyons and Ford (2015, p. 44) highlight
the importance of effective communication in idea that: ‘…we teach appropriate behaviour,
language and social competence that we expect in the classroom…”. This is important to
note as not only are we communicating with students on a personal level, but we are also
modelling how effective communication is handled. If you are not modelling this in an
effective manner then there is a greater chance of student misbehaviour in the classroom.
I believe the use of proximity and positioning are very important to my own personal
communication style. This was not only effective for improving my communication with
students, but also used as a behaviour management strategy. Whilst I was on my
professional practice I would often use proximity to show students I am waiting for them to
stop engaging in inappropriate behaviour. Positioning was very useful within my year 7 and
8 classes, where I would often kneel next to students to ask if they needed assistance. I
found this was useful for those students who were too shy to ask their questions in front of
the whole class, with this they could ask the question without feeling embarrassed or
intimidated by my presence.
The one thing I believe to be most important in creating orderly, productive and positive
classroom is the implementation of expectations. This was something I had to implement on
my first professional practice with my year 9 class, after a chaotic and eye opening first
lesson. After this, I implemented 3 main expectations: Respect, Don’t talk over others as
well as try your best. These were the 3 major things I wanted to improve upon within each
classroom, after the events of the first lesson. Once these expectations were established
with the students I would often refer to them to remind them if their behaviour was
matching the expectations that had already been set. For the most part it was fairly
successful, though the students would still often interrupt each other which was a concern
within the classroom. I would like to continue using expectations within the classroom for
my second professional practice as I believe it establishes a sound basis for understanding
between myself and the students, though I would most likely alter each expectation to be
more specific.
Within the classroom setting if I did need to implement behaviour manage, I believe that I
would first try and identify where the behaviour is coming from. If I can understand why the
student is behaving in the manner they are I will be able to defuse the situation more
effectively. This would be assisted by using the Jeffrey Wragg’s model as students may be
able to be directly how they are feeling in each situation if they have a sound understanding
of social and emotional literacy. By educating students on social and emotional literacy we
would be assisting their ability to manage their emotions in a more effective manner, along
with maintaining positive relationships (Greenberg, et al., 2003). This could be implemented
in the classroom setting using cue cards which would allow the students to effectively
demonstrate how they are feeling at any given time.
In the future, I would like to expand upon my professional philosophy. Between now and my
second professional practice I will have time to reflect upon my experiences and assess what
I would change to better suit the situations I am in. This reflection will allow be to see the
areas that I need to improve upon in my classroom manage, as well as identifying areas of
strength. To assist this, for my upcoming professional practice I will keep a journal with me.
In this I can note down any aspects of the lesson which were of concern, as well as which
aspects went well. This will be extremely powerful in assisting me in the reflection process.

References
Greenberg, M. T., Weissberg, R. P., O'Brien, M. U., Zins, J. E., Fredericks, L., Resnik, H., &
Elias, M. J. (2003). Enhancing school-based prevention and youth development through
coordinated social, emotional, and academic learning. American Psychologist, 58(6-7), 466.
Lyons, G., & Ford, M. (2015). Classroom management. Retrieved from
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com
 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.
(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.

The good teacher I had throughout my schooling were the ones that I believe put the effort
into getting to know you as not only a student, but also as a young adult. They also put
great effort into the lessons they prepared. As a specific example my history teacher was
really enthusiastic about the subject in general, and this really imparted a love for history
in myself.

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.

You should first consider your own teaching philosophy when engaging in the thought of
creating a management plan. Carefully considering your own personal philosophy will give
you a better understanding of which model to use. If using the Lyford model you must be
careful to choose actions that will increase the belonging of the students within your
class.

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 … Being able to effectively portray your enthusiasm for
the subject to your students. If you are able to do this then students with have a greater
sense of belonging in the classroom, as they feel as though they have a greater
connection to it. If you can make the subject more interesting to the students they are
more likely to succeed.
(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

Choice Theory, Goal centred theory Assertive Discipline, Cognitive behavioural
theory, applied behaviour analysis

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 and their teachers share a mutual
respect for each other’s rights. Being able to see where students need assistance within
the classroom is an effective way on managing behaviour.
(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

Open questioning, the use of proximity and Framing reactions in a positive manner.
positioning. Active listening. I-message.

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 … it builds the basis for understanding and empathy between
both parties. Communication is something that is done constantly within the classroom,
and therefore you must be aware of how what you are saying is affecting the students.
Through effective communication you are providing students with the knowledge of how
to communicate effectively themselves. It is a two-way process.

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.
 Therefore, I will …Improve upon my use of proximity and open questioning. These are two
things I noticed to be very effective whilst I was on my professional practice.

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 …
either promoting or denying certain actions and abilities of your students. For example, if
you believe that your students should sit still and be silent throughout the course of the
lesson then you will most likely not want them to discuss with each other. Whilst this is a
simplification it servers to show how beliefs and attitudes may affect the classroom
environment.

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 will allow me to

see the areas of improvement that need to be addressed. If you have a close mind about
the mistakes that you are making you will never improve, and your relationship with your
students will only become more negative. By having an open mind, and being reflective of
your position in the classroom you will be much more likely to improve as a teacher.

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 … keep a journal with me at all times. This doesn’t
have to be completed after every lesson, but it would be useful in noting down specific
things that need to be addressed in each classroom. You may want to note down a
student’s reaction to something that you said, or anything other small aspects like that
which will help you to effectively reflect.
(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.

Firstly, you would have to have an understanding of what the students are to learn. This
can be achieved through a close inspection of the syllabus dot points and the ‘students
learn about’ and ‘students learn to’ sections. Formative assessment and observation
would be central to this process as it would give you an opportunity to see where
students are located and where they need areas of improvement. The use of assessment
tasks would also be of key concern for myself as teacher, as well as the students as you
want to effectively test their understanding, but also challenge their knowledge of the
content. Finally, you would have to review any changes that were made to ensure they
are benefitting the students understanding of the teaching program and its content.

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

Assessments are important in gauging how students are finding the unit of work that they
are studying. I do not think that assessments should be viewed as only useful in gauging
student’s talent, as they can also be indicative of other issues within the unit of work. I
would like to implement forms of formative assessment as I believe these would be useful
in determining the genuine level of students understanding.

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 students best learn. After
considering your pedagogical approach and strategies, complete the sentences below.
I believe that students best learn through … Engaging course content. This is especially
present in my subject area of history where there can be a lot of rote learning, and
learning from textbooks. If you are able to effectively engage students in the classroom
they will be more likely to succeed.

Therefore I will use … The use of visual aids and PowerPoints to assist in gaining
engagement in the classroom. By moving away from purely textbook work, they will
hopefully be more like to be engage and in turn, achieve better results.
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.

The one thing I believe to be most important about maintaining orderly, productive and
positive classroom are expectations. I think the 3 most important expectations in a
classroom are Respect (not only for the teacher, but also the students), Don’t talk over
other students and to always try your best. The values stress that students should not
only respect myself as a teacher, but also each other. Having a mutual respect will allow
both students and the teacher to have a more effective relationship in the classroom
setting.

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).

The classroom should look like a space for learning. The seats should be arranged in a U
shape, facing the front so that all students can see the whiteboard or the projector. The
room should be bright, and because it is a history classroom there should be many
historical posters and pictures on the wall to foster engagement. Each student should
have available resources in the classroom and this would involve having spare books and
stationery to ensure that they are all prepared to work through each lesson.
(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 Jeffrey
Wragg’s ‘Talk sense to
yourself’ program
This approach relies on
student’s self-regulation of
emotions and judgements.
If you can effectively
communicate to students
how to manage and identify
their own emotions then
they are more likely to be
able to deal with them
effectively.
practice?
This would be put into place
using the temperature scale
and cue cards outlined in
the approach. Within a
classroom setting a student
will be able to communicate
to you how they are feeling
and therefore you can
identify an appropriate
response.

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)?

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 … I should first try and
identify why they are behaving in that way to begin with. This would be assisted by using
Jeffrey Wragg’s model as the student may be able to tell me directly, if they have the
social and emotional skills to do so. After I have used this to identify why they are acting
the way they are I can try to get them back onto task they are meant to be completing.

7.4 Now write about how you would put the above into practice.
 In line with this thinking, I will … This could be put in practice by taking time to train the
students to effectively be able to recognise their emotions. This could be done through
breathing exercises or the use of cue cards which demonstrate how the student is feeling
at any given time. Once this has been established they will have a better chance at
communicating effectively how they are feeling.

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 … You could measure
how many times a student becomes off task or disruptive throughout a given period. This
would be fairly easy to measure and it would be effective in demonstrating if your
approach is having success.
(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.

One thing that the stories reminded me of in terms of my own experience is the
importance of other aspects of teaching that you do no consider going into the
experience. This was mainly noted in the small things of classroom management, like
getting students to past resources in their books before moving on with the next section
of the lesson. All of these small things are important in preparing students for the higher
levels of education and they are rarely discussed.
(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.

Incorporating aspects of social and emotional learning would be very useful in the
classroom setting. If students are able to identify how they are feeling in a given situation
it would make dealing with that situation effectively much easier. It is also extremely
important in the implementation of a good basis of communication between the students
and the teacher.

(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.

These aspects are important as they underpin some of the behaviours that may be
displayed by students themselves. If you can reinforce positive behaviour in the classroom
you can minimise the negative behaviour that may be present. Behaviour shaping follows
on from this, as if you can promote positive behaviour and remove the negative it would
lead to a much more positive classroom environment.
(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 … Being able to effectively portray your enthusiasm for
the subject to your students. If you are able to do this then students with have a greater
sense of belonging in the classroom, as they feel as though they have a greater
connection to it. If you can make the subject more interesting to the students they are
more likely to succeed.

I believe classrooms should be places where … Students and their teachers share a mutual
respect for each other’s rights. Being able to see where students need assistance within
the classroom is an effective way on managing behaviour.

I believe that good communication between teacher and student is vital to a positive
classroom climate because … it builds the basis for understanding and empathy between
both parties. Communication is something that is done constantly within the classroom,
and therefore you must be aware of how what you are saying is affecting the students.
Through effective communication you are providing students with the knowledge of how
to communicate effectively themselves. It is a two-way process.

Therefore, I will …Improve upon my use of proximity and open questioning. These are two
things I noticed to be very effective whilst I was on my professional practice.

The one thing I believe to be most important about maintaining orderly, productive and
positive classroom are expectations. I think the 3 most important expectations in a
classroom are Respect (not only for the teacher, but also the students), Don’t talk over
other students and to always try your best. The values stress that students should not
only respect myself as a teacher, but also each other. Having a mutual respect will allow
both students and the teacher to have a more effective relationship in the classroom
setting.
The classroom should look like a space for learning. The seats should be arranged in a U
shape, facing the front so that all students can see the whiteboard or the projector. The
room should be bright, and because it is a history classroom there should be many
historical posters and pictures on the wall to foster engagement. Each student should
have available resources in the classroom and this would involve having spare books and
stationery to ensure that they are all prepared to work through each lesson.

Firstly, you would have to have an understanding of what the students are to learn. This
can be achieved through a close inspection of the syllabus dot points and the ‘students
learn about’ and ‘students learn to’ sections. Formative assessment and observation
would be central to this process as it would give you an opportunity to see where
students are located and where they need areas of improvement. The use of assessment
tasks would also be of key concern for myself as teacher, as well as the students as you
want to effectively test their understanding, but also challenge their knowledge of the
content. Finally, you would have to review any changes that were made to ensure they
are benefitting the students understanding of the teaching program and its content.

Assessments are important in gauging how students are finding the unit of work that they
are studying. I do not think that assessments should be viewed as only useful in gauging
student’s talent, as they can also be indicative of other issues within the unit of work. I
would like to implement forms of formative assessment as I believe these would be useful
in determining the genuine level of students understanding.

I believe that students best learn through … Engaging course content. This is especially
present in my subject area of history where there can be a lot of rote learning, and
learning from textbooks. If you are able to effectively engage students in the classroom
they will be more likely to succeed.

Therefore I will use … The use of visual aids and PowerPoints to assist in gaining
engagement in the classroom. By moving away from purely textbook work, they will
hopefully be more like to be engage and in turn, achieve better results.

Interventions using Jeffrey Wragg’s ‘Talk sense to yourself’ program. This approach relies
on student’s self-regulation of emotions and judgements. If you can effectively
communicate to students how to manage and identify their own emotions then they are
more likely to be able to deal with them effectively. This would be put into place using the
temperature scale and cue cards outlined in the approach. Within a classroom setting a
student will be able to communicate to you how they are feeling and therefore you can
identify an appropriate response.

If intervention for behaviour management is needed, I believe that … I should first try and
identify why they are behaving in that way to begin with. This would be assisted by using
Jeffrey Wragg’s model as the student may be able to tell me directly, if they have the
social and emotional skills to do so. After I have used this to identify why they are acting
the way they are I can try to get them back onto task they are meant to be completing.
In line with this thinking, I will … This could be put in practice by taking time to train the
students to effectively be able to recognise their emotions. This could be done through
breathing exercises or the use of cue cards which demonstrate how the student is feeling
at any given time. Once this has been established they will have a better chance at
communicating effectively how they are feeling.

I believe professional reflexivity is important to my teaching because … it will allow me to

see the areas of improvement that need to be addressed. If you have a close mind about
the mistakes that you are making you will never improve, and your relationship with your
students will only become more negative. By having an open mind, and being reflective of
your position in the classroom you will be much more likely to improve as a teacher.

As a consequence of this belief, I will … keep a journal with me at all times. This doesn’t
have to be completed after every lesson, but it would be useful in noting down specific
things that need to be addressed in each classroom. You may want to note down a
student’s reaction to something that you said, or anything other small aspects like that
which will help you to effectively reflect.
(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 … Being able to effectively portray your enthusiasm for
the subject to your students. If you are able to do this then students with have a greater
sense of belonging in the classroom, as they feel as though they have a greater
connection to it. If you can make the subject more interesting to the students they are
more likely to succeed.

I believe classrooms should be places where … Students and their teachers share a mutual
respect for each other’s rights. Being able to see where students need assistance within
the classroom is an effective way on managing behaviour.

I believe that good communication between teacher and student is vital to a positive
classroom climate because … it builds the basis for understanding and empathy between
both parties. Communication is something that is done constantly within the classroom,
and therefore you must be aware of how what you are saying is affecting the students.
Through effective communication you are providing students with the knowledge of how
to communicate effectively themselves. It is a two-way process.

Therefore, I will …Improve upon my use of proximity and open questioning. These are two
things I noticed to be very effective whilst I was on my professional practice.
The one thing I believe to be most important about maintaining orderly, productive and
positive classroom are expectations. I think the 3 most important expectations in a
classroom are Respect (not only for the teacher, but also the students), Don’t talk over
other students and to always try your best. The values stress that students should not
only respect myself as a teacher, but also each other. Having a mutual respect will allow
both students and the teacher to have a more effective relationship in the classroom
setting.

The classroom should look like a space for learning. The seats should be arranged in a U
shape, facing the front so that all students can see the whiteboard or the projector. The
room should be bright, and because it is a history classroom there should be many
historical posters and pictures on the wall to foster engagement. Each student should
have available resources in the classroom and this would involve having spare books and
stationery to ensure that they are all prepared to work through each lesson.

Firstly, you would have to have an understanding of what the students are to learn. This
can be achieved through a close inspection of the syllabus dot points and the ‘students
learn about’ and ‘students learn to’ sections. Formative assessment and observation
would be central to this process as it would give you an opportunity to see where
students are located and where they need areas of improvement. The use of assessment
tasks would also be of key concern for myself as teacher, as well as the students as you
want to effectively test their understanding, but also challenge their knowledge of the
content. Finally, you would have to review any changes that were made to ensure they
are benefitting the students understanding of the teaching program and its content.

Assessments are important in gauging how students are finding the unit of work that they
are studying. I do not think that assessments should be viewed as only useful in gauging
student’s talent, as they can also be indicative of other issues within the unit of work. I
would like to implement forms of formative assessment as I believe these would be useful
in determining the genuine level of students understanding.

I believe that students best learn through … Engaging course content. This is especially
present in my subject area of history where there can be a lot of rote learning, and
learning from textbooks. If you are able to effectively engage students in the classroom
they will be more likely to succeed.

Therefore I will use … The use of visual aids and PowerPoints to assist in gaining
engagement in the classroom. By moving away from purely textbook work, they will
hopefully be more like to be engage and in turn, achieve better results.

Interventions using Jeffrey Wragg’s ‘Talk sense to yourself’ program. This approach relies
on student’s self-regulation of emotions and judgements. If you can effectively
communicate to students how to manage and identify their own emotions then they are
more likely to be able to deal with them effectively. This would be put into place using the
temperature scale and cue cards outlined in the approach. Within a classroom setting a
student will be able to communicate to you how they are feeling and therefore you can
identify an appropriate response.
 Incorporating aspects of social and emotional learning would be very useful in the
classroom setting. If students are able to identify how they are feeling in a given situation
it would make dealing with that situation effectively much easier. It is also extremely
important in the implementation of a good basis of communication between the students
and the teacher.
These aspects are important as they underpin some of the behaviours that may be
displayed by students themselves. If you can reinforce positive behaviour in the classroom
you can minimise the negative behaviour that may be present. Behaviour shaping follows
on from this, as if you can promote positive behaviour and remove the negative it would
lead to a much more positive classroom environment.

If intervention for behaviour management is needed, I believe that … I should first try and
identify why they are behaving in that way to begin with. This would be assisted by using
Jeffrey Wragg’s model as the student may be able to tell me directly, if they have the
social and emotional skills to do so. After I have used this to identify why they are acting
the way they are I can try to get them back onto task they are meant to be completing.

In line with this thinking, I will … This could be put in practice by taking time to train the
students to effectively be able to recognise their emotions. This could be done through
breathing exercises or the use of cue cards which demonstrate how the student is feeling
at any given time. Once this has been established they will have a better chance at
communicating effectively how they are feeling.

I believe professional reflexivity is important to my teaching because … it will allow me to

see the areas of improvement that need to be addressed. If you have a close mind about
the mistakes that you are making you will never improve, and your relationship with your
students will only become more negative. By having an open mind, and being reflective of
your position in the classroom you will be much more likely to improve as a teacher.

As a consequence of this belief, I will … keep a journal with me at all times. This doesn’t
have to be completed after every lesson, but it would be useful in noting down specific
things that need to be addressed in each classroom. You may want to note down a
student’s reaction to something that you said, or anything other small aspects like that
which will help you to effectively reflect.

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?