Reflective Essay on Teaching
Introduction
This essay will critically review, evaluate and reflect the experiences of a students work placement at Burton Borough School based in Newport. This was in the role as a Physical Education (PE) teacher.
Different Teacher Communication Styles
This placement experience demonstrated that teaching is a complicated and challenging activity (Naveed, Aftab, Hashmi, Ali, & Junaid, 2019), and plays a significant role in developing a studentís motivation to learn (Varga, 2017). Several studies have highlighted the importance of language and communication in relation to studentsí learning (Lin, Durbin, & Rancer, 2017; Naveed et al., 2019), and their own method of delivery (Charles & Senter, 2005). Research suggests that effective teacher communication behaviour not only creates a good educational atmosphere, but also creates a harmonious relationship between teachers and students (Zhao, 2019). During placement observations of three teachers took place and they all communicated differently.
PE teacher 1 was enthusiastic, knowledgeable, passionate, approachable, displayed empathy (Rogers, 2015), and was firm and fair. He never raised his tone of voice or was aggressive towards the students. This reflected his personality and resulted in the students having a good rapport and a mutual respect with him (Kyriacou, 1997). He demonstrated that he truly cared about their feelings and education, and he also continuously added humour within the classroom. This looked a very effective method of delivery (Gentry, Steenbergen-Hu, & Choi, 2011).
PE teachers 2 and 3 showed identical teaching communication styles, demonstrating good knowledge and energy for the students to learn. They also taught with heavier discipline and continuously reminded students of the schools Behaviour Policy. On one occasion before the trampoline lesson started, students were made aware of the importance of safety considerations when using the trampoline and the possible consequences. This was a positive start from a safety aspect, and for behaviour management this could have been seen as a Proactive strategy to discourage any potential disruption to the lesson (see Heikonen, Toom, Pylt, Pietarinen, & Soini, 2017). A student was not being supportive to his fellow student and was putting him at risk of injury. The placement teacher raised the concern with the student using the divergent technique (see Mosston & Ashworth, 1986) where students solve problems without assistance from the teacher. The student was asked the question, ìwhat would happen if the student fell off the trampoline and fell onto you with that metal sticking outî. The student answered correctly and understood why his behaviour was not acceptable. PE teacher 2 noticed this, asked what had happened with a raised tone, and then sent him immediately to the corner of the room for the poor behaviour. That student played no more part in the PE lesson. It appeared that the punishment given was harsh and increased the students embarrassment. Varga (2017) agrees and states students should be allowed to keep their dignity and should not be communicated to in a belittling manner during discipline. Nevertheless, if this particular student didnít like trampoline they would have seen this as a positive to be allowed to successfully avoid it (Little, & Akin-Little, 2008).
Teachers have different personalities (Naveed et al., 2019), and their teaching styles are related to their individual personality traits. These stern and disciplined actions were related to their individual personality (Zafarghandi, Salehi, & Sabet, 2016).
Effective Lesson Planning
Teacher success is critical to student success and they need to be committed to the learning and development of all students, yet teachers are challenged daily to meet their students’ diverse learning and behavioural needs (Nagro, Fraser, & Hooks, 2019). Lesson planning was a particular stand-out and is a fundamental component (Waring, 1999). It is a vital task all teachers must undertake. Proctor, Entwistle, Judge, and McKenzie-Murdoch, (2005) suggests that ‘No planning can take place without a clear idea, on the part of the teacher, of what the children in the class are going to learn’. Teachers should always plan for progression across the ability range (Kendall-Seatter, 2005).
The lessons were devised considering the national curriculum and planned with great detail, they were based on whether the activity would enable individual and group participation. The planning made sure the teacher who was delivering the lesson knew exactly what the lesson objectives were. The lessons always began with an evaluation of the previous lesson, were well structured, and catered for the different abilities. One example, in a badminton lesson where the aims were to improve the students rally. The teacher had planned the lesson ensuring the students with lower abilities were grouped together, and they had an easier progression to that of the more experienced students. Haynes, Fletcher, and Miller (2008) state that this would not be ideal for student progress because mixed ability classes appear to be more beneficial for lower-ability students. Yet Lentillon-Kaestner, and Patelli (2016) disagrees, they say ability-based groups make sense for individualised learning, especially for lower-ability students.
Behaviour Management
PE classes play a crucial role in adolescent behaviour (Park, Chiu, & Won, 2017), so beginning the lesson on a positive note plays an important role in effective instruction (Cook, Fiat, Larson, Daikos, Slemrod, Holland, and Renshaw 2018). Behaviour management is recognised as one of the most vital skills that a teacher can possess, this is because without control of the children effective learning cannot take place…
We can write this or a similar paper for you! Simply fill the order form!
