Week+2



As we found our feet in week one; the discussion points raised in our second lecture were aimed at giving us an incite in how to deal with different students with different learning abilities. Our guest lecturer Ray Lewis raised several interesting points that I for one hadn't yet considered when entering the classroom. He explained that we need to educate the students to become individually and also communally resposible. This was a point that I was fascinated by, as it openly showed me that by empowering the students and teaching them to be resposible for themselves and eachother the the classroom can develop into a more streamlined learning environment. One where the children will feel responsible to assist in their peers learning and help them in time of difficulty, should the teacher not be available. We also heard how Ray had identified through his research 4 different types of students which were;

A - These students are managed by a normal curriculum and basically manage themselves B - Managed within the classroom, who are occasionally distracted or disruptive without having to be isolated C - Managed out of class, who need to be isolated as they don't respond in a group environment D - Not Managed, these students seem unmanageble no matter what methods are tried

I found however what Ray discussed next to be very, and perhaps most useful when I'll be moving into the classroom environment. He discussed the different powers that we will have as teachers and how they can be adapted to deal with the types of students above. **//Legitimate Power//**, which is the role related power and Ray gave us the example of the policeman pulling him over for an blood/alchol reading. **//Expert Power//**; Surgeons was given as an example as they possess knowledge that most people don't. **//Referent Power//**, which is power built on the basis of relationships and your personal friends have this power. **//Coercive Power//** which allows people to getting their point across by highlight potential punishments should one not adhere. Finally we heard about **//Reward Power//** which is based on recognition and allows people to relate to a sense of achievement whether it be tangible or intangible.

What I have been able to take from this lecture and tutorial was that we are all different in terms of our learning styles and abilities and this is what we will be confronted with as teachers. By being made aware of the different methods of power we have, we will ultimately with time and experience be able help children develop and learn by identifying their areas of difficulty and how to overcome them.

Jake Gordon 10/03/09 [|BecBeed] Thanks Jake, you have constructed a really great reflection for week 2 of Issues in Education. Continuing on from our Week 1 debuts into this course I know that we are all enjoying the course and developing professional relationships among ourselves.

Following Ray's outstanding and deeply informative lecture we went to the workshops and discussion groups laughing and buzzing about the powers and examples that were used to enable us to dissect the meaning of each. The activity in the tutorial was insightful and challenging. Each group were given the task of creatively and actively exploring an issues that was discussed in the lecture. My group focussed on the powers and used examples in the classroom .We wanted to allow the group to get a realisic feel for these powers and how they relate to the classroom environment. We created 5 skits where there was a different teacher in each and after the scenarios were acted out the teacher would freeze the group and explain the power and rehash on the lecture notes.

As a group this was a highlight in the Issues in Education class as we were able to be creative on what we learnt and also acquire knowledge from watching the other groups perform and coherse on their chosen topic s

Although this is only the 2nd week of 'Issues in Education', I feel that the content that was covered by Professor Ray Lewis is undoubtedly going to be some of the most invaluable information that I am going to have as a future teacher. The ideas and research that he presented on classroom management and child behaviour provided me with a framework from which I can start to think about how I would handle particular circumstances within my own classroom. I feel that it is important for me to set my expectations of the students as early as possible and also discuss with the children what they believe to be acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. This way I hope they feel that they are having a valuable input into the environment in which they are going to be learning. It is impossible to say that no matter what expectations you set that you won't have any students who fall into the C or D category of students, but it may help in identifying who they are and start influencing the different powers earlier in the school term rather than later. In answer to Brent's question I chose referent (or relationship) power as how I would handle a C student. I do think that it is important that the student realises that there is someone who is genuinely interested in their academic abilities and can foster a relationship with no matter what children in the school yard or other teachers in the office may think of them.
 * Amy McLean**

The tutorial session this week gave me the opportunity to face one of my greatest fears, which is presenting in front of a classroom of my peers. I have always been 'scared' to put myself up on show, however knowing that we are all there for the same reason and to learn from each other made it easier. I really enjoyed watching the presentations and ideas that were presented by each group.

Brent Plowright 12/03/2009 I really enjoyed Ramon Lewis’s lecture on a subject that is no doubt at the forefront of any new teacher beginning their career and that is discipline and controlling the classroom. His article entitled ‘Classroom Discipline in Australia’ (2006, pp.1193-1214) was brilliant in that addressed strategies for dealing with classroom behaviour, once misbehaviour had occurred, rather than strategies for trying to avoid misbehaviour. I feel this is very important as I think no matter how in control of our classroom we are and how much referential power we have, there will always be times when kids act out in class. It was so interesting learning about the 4 types of students (type a, type B, type C & type D) if a little disconcerting that there are those type D kids out there. However, we all knew that these kids existed and I don’t think any of the four of us were under any illusion that they didn’t.

Even more important, interesting and a seemingly integral part of the lecture was the different types of power that relate to the classroom, and the ways in which this power can be used for the benefit of a productive classroom and less stressed teacher. As Lewis asserts even a teacher‘s best planned lesson can be ruined by inadequate responses to students’ misbehaviour (2006, p.1193).

Something interesting I found about the reading is that the behaviour of students is one of the biggest stresses Australian teachers feel they face, however it remains to be seen exactly what kind of strategies and power they are trying to wield. If you are constantly yelling at the kids, coercive power, then of course you are going to get yourself all worked up and in turn stressed out.

Just out of interest what kind of power did you guys pick when the lecturer asked us to choose a power to deal with the type C kid?

I think the fact that he made us picture a student from our past really helped me decide that Referential Power was the way to go. The student I pictured was a big bloke, very loud and he had only moved to the school in his grade 6 year. I pictured him and some of the stunts he used to pull and thought to myself (as we were asked to do) what kind of power could you use to get through to ‘Carl’. Justified power obviously wasn’t working and neither was expert power as he would act up at any time during any class regardless of the subject material. Coercive power wasn’t working as he would happily wander up to the principal’s office or stand outside for a lesson. I ended up becoming mates with ‘Carl’ and actually found him to be a good guy, friendly, loyal and your average kid. So I thought to myself, well, maybe if the teacher had tried to build a relationship with ‘Carl’, saw what a good kid he could actually be and connected with him he could have convinced him to curb his behaviour, at least to a certain extent. As it was however ‘Carl’ continued to play up and get kicked out of class, and that was the way it stayed for grade 6.

Lewis, R. (2006). Classroom Discipline in Australia. In //Handbook of Classroom Management: Research, Practice and Contemporary Issues// (pp.1193-1214). New Jersey, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.

Brent Plowright 12/03/2009

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Names: Brent Plowright Rebecca Beed Amy Mclean Jake Gordon