Student Handbook

Student &
Teacher
Handbook
A teachers guide to interaction in the
classroom
By Paul Starkey
Contents
Introduction
Preventative Actions
Supportive Actions
Corrective Actions
Conclusion
Introduction
What kind of school plan you make is neither here nor there; what matters is
what sort of a person you are.
Rudolf Steiner
The role of the modern teacher is one

that demands not just an expert of
their respective subject area. They are
expected to be fill a myriad of roles
from counsellor to academic but the
one common denominator is that a
teacher much be someone a child
can trust. The days of the strict teacher
barking knowledge from the front of
the class room while pens furiously
scratch down notes is long gone.
Killen discusses the key

attributes a quality
teacher possess:
Figures 1.1 and 1.2 highlight two

different lists of what a teacher is to a
student. While these lists boast an
extensive amount attributes for anyone
person too not only be mindful of but
also employ them on a daily basis is a
huge undertaking.
Knowledgeable
Enthusiastic
Confident
Effective
Communicator
Committed
Compassionate
Curious
Patient and
Persistent
Willing to Share
and Contribute
Resourceful and
Inventive
Well Organised
Optimistic
Ethical
Fig 1.1
Killen, 2010, p 35-36
Psychology: Applied Teaching on the many roles as an agent in the

socialization of students:
Enhance students cognitive of responsible development

Promote values and attitudes of responsible citizenship
Nurture creative emotional development
Facilitate the development of skills or competences in how to solve
problems, to experiment, to work in teams, to live together and
interact with those who are different
Teach students to learn how to learn and behave in ways that
demonstrate a willingness to put into practice what has been
learned
Fig 1.2
Snowman, Dobozy, Scevak, Bryer, Bartlett, Biehler, 2009, p 64
The teaching profession is a

rich field that offers
opportunities for lifelong
learning; with new and
dynamic strategies as well
as tried and tested theories.
The following attempts to
un-pack some of the ideas
and strategies surrounding
classroom management in
the following three areas:
Preventative, Supportive
and Corrective actions.
Preventative Actions
Maintain Motivation and Attention
If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything around you looks like a nail.
Abraham Maslow
Prevention is often said to be the best cure, and the same

can be said of a classroom; as Charles writes You can
prevent most misbehavior if you treat students sensitively,
provide an interesting curriculum, and use a helpful
teaching style (Charles, 2002, p236). The success to a
positive learning environment is built on some very basic
fundamentals, ones that exist in any positive relationship in
life.
Learn to
read the
class
Wait for
Silence
Establishing a quality learning environment starts with

simple things such as: learning the names of your students;
having a genuine interest in their backgrounds, interests
and stories
-Killen, 2010 p26
It is easy to let imaginations run wild, new teachers may
envision a ravenous horde of teenagers, ready to pounce
on every mistake they make but the truth is, they are just
people. Killen highlights this point perfectly, asking teachers
to develop a genuine interest in their students lives in doing
so, breaking down what can often be called an us and
them mentality. Brady and Scully discuss the idea of rather
than working against students, it is far more beneficial to
work with students. These ideas can be seen in Figure 2.1
(Brad and Scully, 2005, p46)
Make Use
of cues
Give them
Choice
Be
reasonable,
but dont
reason with
them
Use
statements,
NOT
Questions
Use
Repition
Brady and Scullys areas of

assisting teachers to meaningfully
connect to their students
Fig 2.1
Student
Expectations
about
Learnning
Knowledge
of the
Students
Teacher
Creativity
and Flexibilty
Knowledge
of the
Curriculum
(Brad and Scully, 2005, p46)
Set Targets
and time
limits
Use Humour
Put yourself
in thier
shoes
Supportive Actions
Minimising management problems through pre-emptive and effective
classroom management
Nowhere else [but in schools] are large groups of individuals packed so
closely together for so many hours, yet expected to perform at peak
efficiency on difficult learning tasks and to interact harmoniously.
Carol Weinstein
Good Teaching Minimises misbehaviour

o In our experience, misbehaviour doesnt just seem
to occur in schools where students are engaged in
activities that they find absorbing and meaningful.
o If schools are boring places, out of touch with young
peoples interests, their challenges, and the pace of
the rest of the world outside school, then the
classroom will be a place for dissention and disorder,
quelled only by an authoritarian regime.
Changing the
pace of
classroom
activities
Removing
seductive
objects
Interest
boosting of a
student who
shows signs of
off task
behaviour
Non-punitive
time out
Piagets theory of cognitive development

o in his studies of childrens thinking, the theorist Jean
Piaget was interested not so much in what or how
much children know, but in how to they think, how
they see the world around them, and the language
they use to explain what they see
Pg 39, Educational Psychology for learning
and teaching (WEEK 2 LEC 2)
o Piaget taught us to listen to children and to
appreciate the intelligence they bring to the task of
attempting to make sense of their world. Piaget
viewed childrens cognitive development as a
gradual process of change, with new mental
schemes emerging from pre-existing structures. This
view has resulted in a general recognition by
educators that it is the stage of development a child
reached that is important not the age.
Encouraging
the appropriate
behaviour of
other students
Providing cues
for expected
behaviour
Proximity
interference
Peer
reinforcement
o
o
Pg 56, Educational Psychology for learning and teaching (WEEK 2 LEC 2)

PAGE 57, Highlights the weakness in his argument. Could find a second theorist to
back up or criticize his argument.
PAGE 59, Applying Piagets ideas in the classroom
Vygotskys sociocultural theory

o In many ways there was significant overlap between Piagets and Vygotskys
work, but there were also major differences in their ideas, which reflected, in part,
the differences in their social and cultural backgrounds.
o Piaget focused on the individual, paying little attention to the social environment.
In contrast, and largely as a result of the social and political system operating in
the Soviet Union, Vygotskys concern was with learning and development
occurring within a socio-historical and socio cultural context.
Page 60, Educational Psychology for learning and teaching (WEEK 2 LEC
2)
o Vygotsky argued very strongly that the child and the environment interest to
mould cognition in culturally appropriate ways.
o In thinking about the social context in which children learn, Vgotsky identified
what he called the Zone of Proximal Development or the distance between what
children can do by themselves and what they can do with others.
PG 63, Educational Psychology for learning and teaching (WEEK 2 LEC 2)
o One of the most interesting of Vgotskys ideas is that cognitive development is
essentially a social process. Ways of thinking and acting are first acquired through
social interaction and then gradually internalised, or processed silently in the
mind, so that learning proceeds from the outside in
Corrective Actions
Responding to common and chronic misbehaviour
Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them to
become what they are capable of being.
Anecdotal record
keeping
Behaviour
modification
Talking with the

student privately
Long Term
Student SelfMonitoring
Immediate
Short term
Goethe
RelationShip
Building
Breaking the cycle
of discouragement
Strategies:
1. Long Term Strategies
a. Relationship building
b. Breaking the cycle of discouragement
2. Talking with the student privately
3. Short term Strategies
a. Student Self-Monitoring a student directed strategy
b. Anecdotal record keeping a collaborative management system
c. Behaviour modification a teacher directed strategy
Undoubtedly, pro-social behaviour and academic achievement are related. Behaving

in a responsible way may also be critical student characteristic that directly contributes
to learning and academic performance.
o How does behaving in a socially responsible way contribute to achievement at
school? Wentzel suggests three reasons. First, a socially responsible student would
adhere to student role requirements such as paying attention, keeping to the task
and completing work, qualities that are related to academic achievement.
Secondly, socially responsible behaviour can play a role in facilitating positive
social interactions with teachers and peers, which may enhance the learning
process. Thirdly, the motivation underlying socially responsible classroom
behaviour may influence the degree to which sttudnts become engaged in
academic work.
o Pg 244, Educational Psychology Constructing learning, WEEK 1, LEC 2
Glassers Interactionist Approach

o Glasser encouraged the use of regular classroom meetings to deal
democratically with issues that are most relevant to the group: class rules,
appropriate behaviour (of particular class members, as well as the whole class)
and discipline.
o One of the most important features of Glassers discipline plan is his emphasis on
the need for the teacher to give positive attention to students when they are not
breaking the rules: with them Good Morning when they arrive at school, reward
them for their effort, simply acknowledge them in a pleasant manner when they
are around.
o Since 1985 Glasser has adopted a different philosophy to discipline called
control theory. As with reality therapy, the focus in control theory is on the causes
of misbehaviour.
Glasser has advocated in his new theory that discipline problems will not
erupt if schools fulfil powerful student needs for belonging, power, fun and
freedom
Pg 269, Educational Psychology, Constructing Learning.
10
Conclusion
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Student &

The role of the modern teacher is one

Killen discusses the key

Figures 1.1 and 1.2 highlight two

Killen, 2010, p 35-36

Psychology: Applied Teaching on the many roles as an agent in the

Enhance students cognitive of responsible development

The teaching profession is a

Prevention is often said to be the best cure, and the same

Establishing a quality learning environment starts with

Brady and Scullys areas of

(Brad and Scully, 2005, p46)

Good Teaching Minimises misbehaviour

Piagets theory of cognitive development

Pg 56, Educational Psychology for learning and teaching (WEEK 2 LEC 2)

Vygotskys sociocultural theory

Talking with the

Undoubtedly, pro-social behaviour and academic achievement are related. Behaving

Glassers Interactionist Approach

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