EDFX343 ASSESSMENT 1: LEARNING ENGAGEMENT PLAN.

Student name / number: Kirra Bullman / S00284792

Situational analysis of the class

Manly Vale Public School (Northern Beaches) is a government school and educates years kindergarten to year six (Primary). The specific placement
class I taught was year two. At this school there are 569 students, 292 (51%) boys and 277 (49%) girls. 1% of the school’s population are Aboriginal
and/or Torres Strait Islander. 26% of students can speak a language other than English, and 74% said English is their only language. There are 29
teaching staff, 29.7 full-time teaching staff, 5 non-teaching staff, 4.1 full-time non-equivalent teaching staff. My year two placement class had 27
students in total: 14 boys and 13 girls.

There are a variety of students in this year two class, who each have diverse needs. There was one student with a hearing impairment, which the
teacher and I wore an assistive hearing device while teaching to ensure she could hear from all areas of the classroom. There were two learning
support students who had one-on-one support throughout heavy loaded lessons, for example introducing Mathematical concepts and Literacy. These
students often worked closer to the classroom teacher throughout other lessons, and these lessons were always scaffolded and personalised for
them. There was one student who spoke another language (French); however, English was their first and primary language. There are three learning
support staff within this school. For this class in particular, they had one female who would work closely with the two learning support students,
minimum three days per week. At times the learning support staff helped other students who may have not necessarily been classified as ‘learning
support’, but needed extra assistance.

All teachers would teach Mathematics, English, Creative Arts (except for Dance, where an external teacher came in), Human Society and its
Environment and Personal Development, Health, and Physical Education. Release from face-to-face learning was only for subjects such as, Library,
Science and Dance. The learning environment was extremely open and large. The classroom allowed students to engage in lessons and learn in any
 space in the room. For example, the tables were whiteboards, there were posters all around the walls and there were also a variety of areas for
different subjects, thus allowing students to delve deep into lesson content. The inclusive classroom supported students in their engagement levels
and enjoyment while learning.

(Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2018).

Rationale

My professional teaching philosophy best aligns with Joseph Kaplan and Jane Cart Cognitive Behavioural theory, William Glasser’s Choice Theory and
Rudolf Dreikurs’ Goal Centered theory. On placement, I learnt a lot about behavioural management and strategies that best improve interactions within
the classroom between myself and the students, and students with their peers. Prioritising my relationship with the students and understanding who
they are, what they enjoy and how they respond to certain situations in class was crucial in gaining their trust and engagement. (Henley, Appanna,
Stanley-Clarke, Leng, & Henley, 2022). Using the syllabus and the teaching standards as the foundations of my lessons and applying my own personal
philosophy to them is going to increase positive behaviour and engagement. I have an extremely positive approach to classroom management and
believe it is all about guiding them in the right direction, which is when William Glasser’s Choice theory is appropriately used. Leading the students,
instead of controlling them will support in building strong and genuine relationships, as well as giving students the freedom they enjoy at a young age
(Henley, Appanna, Stanley-Clarke, Leng, & Henley, 2022).

I believe that all classrooms should be extremely inclusive and welcoming, thus treating my students as equals and creating boundaries that apply to
every individual is vital when creating this type of classroom. Inclusive classrooms support a variety of diverse needs, such as academic, emotional,
social, physical, mental and any learning difficulties and disabilities. Rudolf Dreikurs Goal Centered theory encourages whole class discussions and
decision making of topics such as rules, classroom jobs and expectations. Supporting the class as a whole creates an open and welcoming environment.
When students feel included, they are more likely to engage in classroom activities and lessons, and less likely to behave inappropriately and disrupt
others and the teacher (Florian, 2012).

Behaviour management is a large part of being a teacher, thus having a well thought out plan to ensure my students are behaving positively and
respectfully will always help in supporting lessons. Joseph Kaplan and Jane Carter’s Cognitive Behavioural theory approach is all about cognitive
training and creating a good routine with students. Applying these routines to all students and creating strong boundaries with which behaviours get
rewarded and which ones are inappropriate is imperative in creating a well-functioning and supportive environment (Clark, & Purdon, 2016). A learning
environment like this gives students confidence in learning and decision making, ultimately making them enjoy their classroom, thus increasing
engagement levels.

My teaching philosophy and approach revolves greatly around the students and their well-being. For me to feel proud about the learning environment I
create, the students must be greatly supported and my understanding on them and their own individual boundaries is just as important as their
understanding on mine. Using the theoretical approaches to guide me through my teaching, alongside the syllabus and teaching standards is crucial. By
strengthening my philosophy and ensuring my classroom and teaching is always inclusive, behavioural management will be significantly easier to
handle. There will be challenging times, however with a strong student teacher relationship and an increase in engagement levels, positive behaviour
will be more likely to follow through.

Teacher actions/strategies Links to theoretical

model/approach and school
/system policies/frameworks
Student engagement - Using positive reinforcement as my first of classroom management strategy. - Positive reinforcement
strategies in the - Asking students what the main classroom rules are, to ensure they remember best links to the Applied
classroom and retain the information. Behaviour Analysis
theory and is seen to
- Understand the content from a variety of viewpoints to ensure all students can
increase classroom
and will understand it. Having well thought out lessons creates stronger
engagement (Gabor,
engagement from the students.
Fritz, Roath, Rothe, &
- Engaging the students in exciting and new classroom reward systems, for Gourley,
example sitting at the teacher’s desk, lucky dips, raffle tickets etc. to encourage 2016). Engagement
positive classroom behaviour. supports active listening
and the overall
enjoyment students have
during school. An
inclusive classroom
creates a safe space for
students, and allows
individuals to contribute
to the class expectations.

- Standard 2.1 is to “know

the content and teach it”
 (AITSL, 2017, p. 3), thus
improving the lesson
quality and developing
student knowledge.

- Greater use of reward

systems and positive
reinforcement in class
improved student and
teacher relationships,
thus strengthening
classroom behaviour and
engagement (Bear, Chen,
Mantz, Yang, Huang, &
Shiomi, 2016).

Student engagement - Engaging students outside of the classroom is a great way for them to enjoy - “Engage in professional
strategies outside of the school more. Using strategies such as lunch time games and equipment can learning and improve
classroom bring enjoyment to their breaks. This is also a great way for them to be more practice” is the teaching
settled during class time, as they have used some energy at recess and lunch. standard 6.2 (AITSL,
2017, p. 12).
- Another strategy is having ‘special’ lunch classes such as Art. At my placement - Useful support and
school they had ‘The Art Shack’ where students were able to come and use opportunities outside of
equipment they would normally not use in a regular lesson. the classroom

- Encouraging extra curricula activities can support positive behaviour for demonstrated stronger

students and give them something to be excited for during school that is not in engagement inside the

the classroom. classroom, due to giving

students the chance to
find a passion in school
other than the classroom
work (Veira, Leacock, &
Warrican, 2014).

- Choice gives individuals

the feeling of freedom,
thus improving their
well-being and outlook
on the situation
(Hamburg, 2013). The
Choice Theory gives
students the power to
control their own
 decisions and choose
what will be best for
them.

- “Understand how
students learn” (AITSL,
2017, p. 1). Learning
about your students and
about their lives outside
of school will enable the
teacher to make their
lessons interesting for
them, ultimately
improving their
behaviour.

Processes implemented - I will create several rules with the class, to ensure that they feel included and - Individuals behave in a
to establish and teach as if they made the classroom and lesson expectations. manner to achieve what
classroom rules - If the class is misbehaving, I will ask them to repeat the rules together, allowing they need, thus creating

them to remind themselves instead of the teacher always giving instructions. goal-centered classroom
rules that includes
 everyone will help
- Depending on the student’s growth and development throughout the year,
engage students in
class rules may change, thus reevaluating and compromising with students
positive actions during
where appropriate will encourage positive behaviour.
lessons (Abramson,
- Using the same rules for each and every student is extremely important, as it
2020).
makes individuals feel equal and included. Favoriting people over others leads
to students feeling singled out. - Treating individuals
equally is a large part of
human rights. In the
classroom, it is extremely
important to use the
same behavioural
management strategies
on the entire class,
otherwise students will
start to notice and push
boundaries more than
before. (Sabol, Ross, &
Frost, 2020).

- It encourages respect,
honesty, and trust, thus
 helping lesson
engagement (Sabol,
Ross, & Frost, 2020).

Strategies used to - When I was on placement, the teacher used Secret Student as a strategy to - Changing thinking
reinforce positive encourage positive behaviour. This is where the teacher picks a student at the patterns and creating a
behavior start of every day and is revealed at the end of the day. If the student as positive routine helps to
fulfilled the classroom and lesson expectations, they are allowed to pick a prize reinforce positive
out of the lucky dip. Throughout the day, this was a great way for the teacher behaviour (Buckley,
to reinforce positive behaviour by saying “I wonder if the secret student is Sheehan, Shochet, &
doing their work quietly?“ for example. Chapman, 2013).

- Another strategy I learnt on placement was to have a ‘student office’. This is - The Cognitive
where a student who has been behaving well throughout the week can sit at Behavioural Theory is the
the teacher’s desk to do their work on Friday. This encourages students to application of practice
behave well in order to receive an exciting reward at the end of the week. and rehearsal, allowing

- In my classroom, I will use the traffic lights to control noise levels. I find this is a reward systems to be

significantly engaging way for students to know what their noise expectations beneficial inside and

are. For example, green means you can chat at a regular level, orange means outside of the classroom

you can talk to the person next to you and red means complete silence. This (Buckley, Sheehan,
 allows the teacher to not always be telling students to be quieter and makes Shochet, & Chapman,
the class feel more independent. 2013).

- Using positive language as well greatly impacted my class when teaching. If I - Children become more
saw a student picking up rubbish, I would announce it in front of the class, for confident within their
example “I love how …... is picking up paper off the floor without being asked”. abilities when
surrounded by positive
language. They are more
likely to engage in lesson
activities and good
behaviour. This has a
large impact on their
emotional well-being
(Shao, Pekrun, &
Nicholson, 2019).

Strategies in place to - If regular classroom behavioural management is not maintaining positive - “Engage parents/carers
support the engagement and behaviour, making an individualised plan to create stronger in the educative process”
management of boundaries for these students is important. (AITSL, 2017, p. 6).
challenging and /or - Getting in contact with their parents and/or carers to ensure there is nothing Getting in contact with
persistent undesired going on in their personal life that is contributing to this behaviour is crucial. the student’s family will
 behaviours in the support improvements
- Asking the principal, assistant principal and/or head of stages for advice is vital
classroom to their behaviour by
in building a supporting team around the student(s).
collaborating in
- Ensuring they do not feel singled out and different from everyone else is
strategies to use both at
important, as I want to support them and still apply the same foundations that
school and at home.
I do to every other student.
- Teachers may need to
look into a different form
of behavioural
management and
become more assertive,
implementing stronger
boundaries and
classroom limitations.

Reference List:

Abramson. (2020). The Contribution of Rudolf Dreikurs to the Theory and Practice of Individual Psychology. The Journal of Individual
Psychology (1998), 76(1), 46–50. https://doi.org/10.1353/jip.2020.0015

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2018). My School: Manly Vale Public School, Manly Vale, NSW. Retrieved from
https://www.myschool.edu.au/school/41273
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Ltd. (2017). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Retrieved from
https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards

Bear, Chen, D., Mantz, L. S., Yang, C., Huang, X., & Shiomi, K. (2016). Differences in classroom removals and use of praise and rewards in
American, Chinese, and Japanese schools. Teaching and Teacher Education, 53, 41–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.10.003

Buckley, Sheehan, M., Shochet, I., & Chapman, R. L. (2013). Towards an integration of the theory of planned behaviour and cognitive
behavioural strategies: an example from a school-based injury prevention programme. Educational Studies, 39(3), 285–297.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2012.728510

Clark, & Purdon, C. (2016). Still Cognitive After All These Years? Perspectives for a Cognitive Behavioural Theory of Obsessions and Where We
Are 30 Years Later: A Commentary. Australian Psychologist, 51(1), 14–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/ap.12200

Dewantari, & Izzaty, R. E. (2018). Effectiveness Assertive Training on Discipline of Learning in Junior High School. COUNS-EDU: The International
Journal of Counseling and Education, 3(2), 57–62. https://doi.org/10.23916/0020180313120

Florian. (2012). Preparing Teachers to Work in Inclusive Classrooms: Key Lessons for the Professional Development of Teacher Educators from
Scotland’s Inclusive Practice Project. Journal of Teacher Education, 63(4), 275–285. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487112447112

Gabor, Fritz, J. N., Roath, C. T., Rothe, B. R., & Gourley, D. A. (2016). Caregiver preference for reinforcement-based interventions for
problem behavior maintained by positive reinforcement. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 49(2), 215–227.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.286
Hamburg. (2013). William Glasser OBITUARY. BMJ (Online), 347. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f6399

Sabol, Ross, E. C., & Frost, A. (2020). Are All Head Start Classrooms Created Equal? Variation in Classroom Quality Within Head Start Centers
and Implications for Accountability Systems. American Educational Research Journal, 57(2), 504–534.
https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831219858920

Shao, Pekrun, R., & Nicholson, L. J. (2019). Emotions in classroom language learning: What can we learn from achievement emotion
research? System (Linköping), 86, 102121–. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2019.102121

Veira, Leacock, C. J., & Warrican, S. J. (2014). Learning outside the walls of the classroom : engaging the digital natives. AUSTRALASIAN
JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, 30(2), 227–244. https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.349

Zoey Henley, Anya Appanna, Nicky Stanley-Clarke, Kunhean Leng, & Lee John Henley. (2022). Strengthening student engagement and
empowering teachers to manage classroom behaviour using social work approaches: A Cambodian experience. Advances in Social Work
and Welfare Education, 23(2), 38–54. https://doi.org/10.3316/informit.571113534471406