Classroom Behaviour

Introduction

In reflecting on my behaviour in class, I took a score on the Teaching Practice Inventory (TPI) to see my approach in terms of the five perspectives to teaching: Transmission, Apprenticeship, Developmental, Nurturing, and Social Reform. My dominant approach was Nurturing followed by Transmission. The other three perspectives were similar (Pratt et al., 2001, p. 1).

In terms of nurturing, effective teaching takes a long-term effort, intense effort, and persistence of caring and trust, using the heart and the head. My behaviour encompasses succeeding at learning if I give it a good try and do not give up.? My achievement is a product of my ability and effort, and I must support my students' performance and success as a teacher, facilitator, tutor, and instructor. I do not sacrifice self-efficacy or self-esteem for achievement. Hence, my learning assessment considers my students' growth, progress, and absolute achievement (Pratt et al., 2001, p. 3).

On Transmission, compelling teaching requires a focused commitment to the subject matter and content. As a teacher, I must master my subject to present multiple representations of the content, aligning with the learning objectives of an inclusive program. I need a prominent learning goal and how the process can be delivered through well-structured and organised instructional plans for my students. My students can follow each step and achieve learning outcomes through formative and summative assessments (Pratt et al., 2001, p. 3).

This reflection also informed me of the educational interventions required for emotional and behavioural disorders affecting students' academic needs. I will elaborate on my behaviours in offering peer-assisted learning strategies, class-wide tutoring, and self-management interventions. I believe these have influenced my behaviour in recognising the effectiveness of increasing student engagement and intrinsic motivation to achieve the learning outcomes? (Lane, 2007).

Emotional and Behavioural Disorder

From my readings, Emotional and behavioural disorder (EBD) is a disruptive behaviour and social skills deficit resulting in poor academic progress. EBD can influence students' behaviours on their learning problems or influence students' learning problems on their behaviours (Sutherland et al., 2008). EBD is an inability to learn not due to intellectual sensory or health factors; it is an inability to maintain satisfactory relationships, appropriate behaviours, or having feelings of pervasive mood of depression or unhappiness and physical symptoms of fear. The behaviour could be chronic, unacceptable, or extreme; the abbreviation CUE reminds me that C stands for chronic, U is for unacceptable, and E is for extreme behaviour (Cara, 2021).

Affecting students positively or negatively

My ability to provide explicit and quality instruction, such as frequently asking students whether they understood the instructions and being able to repeat what needed tasks must be done progressively. Once students have responded favourably to demonstrate what they need to do, I will generally offer praises and use positive affirmation with words like "well done, very good, excellent, awesome" (Sutherland et al., 2008). In evaluating how to manage EBD students, a functional behavioural assessment (FBA) can be added to the student individualised education plan (IEP) for me to target specific behaviours. I might also use a positive behavioural intervention plan or a school comprehensive support plan for positive behavioural intervention. Depending on the severity and the type of EBD, a consultant teacher or school occupational therapist can sometimes provide individualised work and behaviour management to address transition within the IEP. I sometimes use resource rooms or self-contained classes to introduce work-study programs to engage my students and equip them with vocational skills outside school. The main objective of this activity lesson is to assist students with IEP to be as independent as possible. Students with prolonged emotional and behavioural disorders might need medication, and a school psychiatrist will be engaged to administer appropriate medications with the student's family support, depending on the severity of the disorder (Cara, 2021).

I offer better instructional engagement and opportunities to respond to the students. My classroom instructional plans typically include proactive behaviour to acculturate differentiated learning. This helps me with better academic engagement with students and reduces problem behaviour. I also set class rules, clear explanations, and routines. I taught rules to create a positive learning environment, such as the type of classroom organisation to promote learning, the design of clear expectations, the use of positive systems to reinforce excellent and appropriate behaviour, pacing my instructions to offer opportunities for student responses and moving frequently in the classroom (Sutherland et al., 2008).

Conclusion

I have thoroughly enjoyed this reflection on my classroom behaviour. It has offered me so much to reflect on, especially my behaviour in teaching students with emotional and behavioural disorders. I realized that some causes of EBD could be genetics due to brain disorders that cluster within families, showing a genetic disposition. There could also be brain damage caused by an injury or infection to the brain due to poor nutrition and exposure to toxins. The other factor could be child maltreatment through malnutrition, aggression, and physical and emotional abuse in their environment. My understanding and behavioural actions have been greatly enhanced through this learning as I continue researching how to be a better educator with learners suffering from emotional and behavioural disorders (Cara, 2021).

References

Cara. (17 Feb, 2021). Overview of Emotional Behavioral Disorders [YouTube]. Retrieved 20 July, 2021, from https://youtu.be/pZHaTRcmc70

Lane, K. (2007). Identifying and supporting students at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders within multi-level models: data-driven approaches to conducting secondary interventions with an academic emphasis. Education & Treatment of Children, 30(4), 135-164.

Pratt, D. D., Collins, J. B., & Selinger, S. J. (2001). Development and Use of The Teaching Perspectives Inventory (TPI). AERA, 1-9.

Sutherland, K. S., Lewis-Palmer, T., Stichter, J., & Morgan, P. L. (2008). Examining the influence of teacher behavior and classroom context on the behavioral and academic outcomes for students with emotional or behavioral disorders. The Journal of Special Education, 41(4), 223–233.

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