Research question:
How can I use the techniques suggested in the literature to explore behavioural issues on my context?
Methodology:
I will use observation techniques (tracking sheets, timed observations, possible video) and my learning journal to monitor my context for a one week period.
This variety of methods will produce some quantitative and some qualitative data.
Day One
From my learning journal:
I'm monitoring my context today and tried using one of the behaviour tracking sheets from Bill Rogers book. It was pretty useless. Hard to use, didn't really record much detail, or even give much of a picture of events. I'll try again tomorrow with a different sheet that I've used before and already know to be helpful. It doesn't inspire confidence in the method when something so basic doesn't work.
Reflecting in my learning journal I decided that the tracking sheet was too focussed on the individual's behaviour and missed any sense of context or group dynamics. It was hard to keep track of one child's behaviour and also carry out my duties. I felt to that there was no way to record my own part in the dynamic. Quick, quiet interventions on my part could often divert and re-direct negative behaviours before they had chance to escalate. It was much harder to do this if I was partly focussing on filling in the chart. The focus on individual behaviour made this a poor choice for my purposes, although it may be a useful technique for working with individuals.
I also filled in the check list from the EBD book about monitoring one's practice
( Howarth and Fisher 2005)
From this I concluded that the main areas I need to work on are:
• My ability to handle personal stress
This seems to be an issue I need to work on. I scored well on all the questions except the one about challenging negative thoughts. This is an area I know I can get into difficulties with already from my personal life. Being aware of it means that when I get into a cycle of negative thoughts I can employed pre-arranged techniques to counter them.
• My dress sense
It's hard to know what to wear as a TA. The formal garb chosen by many female teachers is not all that suitable for someone who may be working with paints, glue, clay, or whose duties may include being willing to sit on the floor to get down to pupil level. There is no agreed staff dress code in the school. The only thing likely to raise eyebrows would be blue denim jeans or low cut tops. I often wear black denims and a casual T-shirt. I am not convinced this has any affect on the way pupils respond to me. I like to look approachable and be comfortable and my dress sense reflects this. I wonder if wearing more formal clothes would have an impact on how pupils perceive me or on my confidence. This might be worth exploring at some point.
Howarth and Fisher suggest that:
"EBD pupils more than any others, are likely to raise your levels of stress by questioning your competence as a teacher."
They then go on to recommend objectively examining one's abilities and making appropriate adjustments to one's behaviour.
Day Two
From my learning journal:
It was easier to use the new tracking sheet today. I mainly used it when the children were on the carpet. It was interesting to see how child A was often the one whose behaviour was noticed by the teacher but he had often been sorely provoked by unseen tormentors. At the root of much of this was the child for whom the method was originally suggest. He has been seen by most staff including me as having improved in his
behaviour recently but this suggests that he may have simply changed his behaviours to avoid detection rather than improving them.
This was a more useful way of monitoring the situation. It interfered less with my capacity to do my job and provided an interesting insight into group interactions which I would otherwise have missed. I need to put more emphasis on monitoring my practice rather than the children's behaviour in isolation. I am considering using video or audio to help me with this.
Also from my Learning Journal:
I have made an audit of behaviour strategies already in place in my context:
• Traffic lights - children's names may be moved up or down between green, amber and red. Children on red at the end of a session lose 5 mins of play.
• Star of the morning or afternoon. Teacher and I choose one child each to receive a sticker and a round of applause.
• Use of egg timers to keep children 'on task'
• Use of consistent, specific, praise for when we 'catch' children doing the right thing.
• use of positive reminder cards
• gentle verbal warnings
• occasional shouting
• use of agreed signals to bring class to silence
• use of learning mentor time as a reward for good behaviour
• Golden Time - choice of positive play activities on Fridays for those who have behaved well all week.
I concluded
• that the traffic light system was no longer in use.
• Star of the morning is highly effective.
• Egg timers also work and some children will now choose to challenge themselves by using one (the start of moving their locus of control?)
• Almost all children enjoy deserved praise but some children with EBD find it disquieting so a simple gesture (thumbs up or a wink) can be more helpful.
• Reminder cards are not being used at the moment as effectively as in the past. I need to re-set targets with certain children and will do that in the next few days.
• Shouting really doesn't work and has to be a strategy of last resort. In many ways it does show children that you have lost control (Gilmour and Dymond 2005).
Day Three
Today I used timed observations to explore the number of times children were on or off task during a one hour period. I made a note of which children were on or off task at 5 mins intervals during the numeracy hour
My conclusions from this were that
• 16 of 18 children stayed on task during the mental starter and plenary
• 5 children found it hard to make the transition to independent work in their books - 3 took more than 5 mins to organise themselves to work.
• the same 3 children needed more than 5 interventions to keep them on task.
• 1 child needed to use a timer to help him stay on task with the reassurance of regular visits from myself each time the timer ran out - this was partly due to a lack of confidence on his part that he understood the tasks. I used repeated, positive, specific praise to bolster his confidence.
Day Four
I was observed by the head teacher and LEA advisor during literacy today as part of a whole school investigation into raising professional standards. I worked with the lowest ability group amongst who some of the worst behavioural issues often arise. (from my learning journal)
Feedback from the observers commented that my group had work well and achieved good results because of
"a high standard of focussed teaching by the TA"..
It was also mentioned that the teacher and myself 'employed a wide range of positive behaviour management techniques when the need arose'. In general the lesson was felt to be 'very good' in the main with some parts being 'good'. The subject matter of the lesson was praised
"It was a joy to see children discussing so enthusiastically a book which they had all obviously enjoyed."
Later I reflected:
I noticed that whilst I was totally focussed on my group some of the top group, who were supposed to be working independently, had strayed off task. There are children in the top group who, despite quite high ability, have very poor concentration and attention span. One of them has in particular needs to regularly be brought back on task. Normally I would have shared this responsibility with the teacher but she had asked me to be very focussed on my group as we were being observed. I was surprised to discover how much easier my group found it to stay on task with my full attention. (from my learning journal)
This seems to me to be a valuable insight. I had not realised how distracting my group found my involvement with other children. It may go some way towards explaining why they like it best when we use the area outside the classroom for group work and often produce better work there.
Also the subject matter is significant here. The book is one that both the teacher and I are enthusiastic about and we were able to share our pleasure in the book with the children. This accords well with Kohl's ideas about opening doors for children into other experiences and the importance of inspirational teaching.
Day Five
I made an audio recording of my literacy group session and then made a tally chart of my use of positive and negative statements.
This showed:
• A ratio of 6 positive statements from me to every negative one.
This compared with the 4:1 ratio ( (Howarth and Fisher 2005). I may have been aware of the recorder at first but I soon forgot it was there. It is possible that even the act of recording may have increased my use of positive statements. A more interesting finding was:
• children responded fastest to specific instructions when combined with a positive statement.
"You have made a really good job of that question X. Look at the next section now and discuss with Y how you could answer it."
achieved a much faster result than:
" You are not doing what I asked Z. You should be talking to A now about the next section"
I also made an environmental audit of the classroom as recommended (Howarth and Fisher 2005 and Gilmore and Dymond 2005). This involved the use of a check list of questions about the layout and use of the classroom.
This showed a 'blind spot'. The child who sits there has concentration, calling out and wriggling problems. He can be seen clearly by neither myself or the teacher. This needs to be addressed. He was moved there to get him away from a child with an EBD statement. However the current situation is clearly unsatisfactory. He no longer interacts with the child there was a problem with but the blind spot is problematic for other reasons. Ideally no child should have to sit there.
The audit also showed that the teacher and I habitually adopt a 'gateway' position. Children leaving the space must usually pass one or the other, sometimes both of us. This can be considered a questionable choice of positioning (Gilmore and Dymond 2005) as it mitigates against a sense of ownership of the space and may make some children feel trapped.
The teacher addresses whole class teaching from the right hand corner - this is dictated by the position of the overhead projector which she uses quite a lot. Whilst she is doing that I often work outside the classroom as I am aware that children can be distracted by watching me.
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