Case Writing: Middle Years Pedagogy

SHAAN NOBLE S4545101

The people in these real event case studies have been de-identified and fictitious
names have alternatively been used.

EFFECTIVE
Case 1.
Description: When observing a Marine Biology class during placement, students
were busy working on quizzes on their laptops. Johnny told the teacher (Mr Doe)
there wasnt a pH scale in the readings. Mr Doe created the readings himself and
knew there was a scale in there so he replied with lets bet on it. Johnny and Mr
Doe decided they would bet on a sausage roll. As they looked through the
readings thoroughly, they found the pH scale and Johnny and Mr Doe had a laugh
about the sausage roll Mr Doe just won. As Mr Doe walked away, Garry called out
Youre a Jew Sir. Mr Doe kept his cool and told Garry what he said was very
inappropriate and asked him to leave and complete his quiz in the resource
centre. As Garry got up and began to leave the class, Mr Doe thanked him for not
making a fuss as he left.
Commentary: On reflection, I felt Mr Doe handled the challenging situation in a
very calm yet effective way. Not all of the students in the class heard the racist
remark Garry had made and Mr Doe tried his best not to disrupt the rest of the
class whilst reiterating that comments such as those will not be tolerated in his
classroom. Thanking Garry for cooperating when being asked to leave also
seemed to be an effective way of displaying respect within a classroom. Perhaps
Mr Doe can be too friendly with his students, allowing them to push the
boundaries of what is appropriate and inappropriate. I believe you must be
occasionally friendly occasionally strict and occasionally somewhere in-between
but knowing when to be which is what will come with experience. Staying
consistent is the key. By clearly stating what will and wont be tolerated in Mr
Does class whilst still having a strong connection with the students is something
I will use as a teacher. If Mr Doe had made the entire class aware of how
inappropriate comments such as those will not be tolerated in his lesson, the
students may have been disrupted from their work and it might have taken
sometime to regain focus. The school may also consider eliminating racism in the
classroom through exposing, celebrating and educating students about the
diverse cultures, religions and races we share.

Case 2.
Description: During my placement I was taking an elective called Working with
animals. There was one student in my class called Rachel who has been

consistently skipping all of her classes or leaving class once her name was ticked
off the roll. For some reason, she was attending all of my classes and would stay
for the entire duration of the lesson. Despite attending my class, Rachel wasnt
actually completing any of the set tasks. I took time to get to know Rachel,
asking about her interests and attempting to help her begin one of the tasks. The
following week Rachel seemed motivated and excited about the project she had
chosen to work on.
Commentary: After discussing Rachels background with both my mentor and
the student support officer and then researching motivational ideas for an
unmotivated middle years student, I was able to encourage Rachel to become
engaged. Asking for help or advice from a mentor or leading teacher can be
beneficial at any stage of your teaching career and it is something I will continue
to do. Throughout my schooling experience, I found the teachers who took their
time to get to know their students on a personal level were the most successful
and respected educators.
Studies suggest you should get to know your students interests to help you
relate content to the students lives promoting a more engaged atmosphere
and effective learning in your classroom. In future I will continue to take time to
get to know each and every one of my students. I will also consider setting short
term goals for an unmotivated student to achieve within a lesson, showing I
believe in their ability to improve and then celebrate the goals when the student
achieves them.

INEFFECTIVE
Case 3.
Description: In one of the science classes on placement, there were a group of
boys who sat at the back of the room consistently mucking around on their
laptops. This particular day they had decided to Skype each other from either
side of the classroom. Skype is a type of video calling program that uses each
laptops web camera and microphone to allow two people to connect and have a
conversation. The boys were talking into their microphones, making an echo
sound across the room and then laughing - distracting the rest of the class. When
I became aware of this I firmly asked the students what should they be doing
and got them to exit out of Skype. 15 minutes later, as I walked around the room
I noticed the same boys had begun Skyping each other again.
Commentary: As a pre-service teacher on my first 4 week placement I believe I
may have been a little soft or too friendly with my students. In the beginning I
was trying to find the perfect balance of friendly and firm which I had decided
would only come from experience. After further research and experience I found
that consistency was the key. Giving students clear rules and consistently
sticking to them, discourages the students from pushing the boundaries. The
school I am completing my placement with does not believe in teachers raising
their voice at any student in an angry tone. This meant I had to gain the respect
of the students and reiterate what will and wont be tolerated in my classroom in
a calm, approachable manner. After reading up on tone in a teachers voice, I

discovered barking commands or threatening instructions causes students to

tune out, form grudges or ignore them all together. In future I will approach my
teaching with consistency and a soft spoken tone to inspire good listening. The
rules of my classroom will be outlined, will apply equally to everyone and will be
enforced if they are to be broken.
Case 4.
Description: In one of my classes, Greg put up his hand for my assistance.
When I walked over, Greg asked me for some help and then wanted to know if he
had gotten Question 1 of the quiz correct. My first response to Greg was No. As
soon as I said this word, I immediately regretted it as I could see in the students
eyes that I had upset him with the way I approached his question.
Commentary: On reflection, my automated response of No was extremely
direct and had the potential to negatively affect the students confidence to
learn. This was unintentional as I was unaware of how my feedback might impact
or disrupt a students engagement. I decided to research alternate ways to
approach a student with an incorrect answer in order to prevent a similar
circumstance from happening again. Some suggested alternatives to no or
incorrect when a student has the wrong answer include hints or cues, peer
tutoring and explanatory feedback. Often students require several attempts at
understanding a learning topic, therefore valuable hints and cues can assist
students without completely feeding them the answer. Alternatively, reading
through a question together and allowing the student to explain how they got
their answer can help you comprehend where they went wrong and then coach
them in the correct direction. Another approach may involve working through the
question as a class, allowing the student to have the answer explained to them
by one of their peers, promoting a better understanding of the topic. In the
future I will attempt to use an alternative to the words no or incorrect and
instead find a positive substitute to encourage students learning on a day to day
basis.

REFERENCES
https://racismintheclassroom.wordpress.com/what-do-you-do/
http://www.teachhub.com/top-12-ways-motivate-students
http://www.teachhub.com/how-motivate-students-tips-middle-schoolers
http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2011/10/01/speaking-softly-is-aneffective-classroom-management-strategy
https://eduflow.wordpress.com/2014/03/23/consistency-is-key-in-schools/
http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning_design/alternative-feedback/

http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/combating-racism-multiculturalclassroom.shtml