Blog Post No.2

One experience that I have had during my 10 week Internship that has led me to take a closer look at my classroom management skills (Element 5) was during a Year 7 Geography class in my first week of Practicum.


It was to be my only my second time taking this class, and for some reason the supervising teacher did not turn up, and there was no substitute teacher to supervise in their place. Most of the time there is a teachers aid who comes along to this class, but they too did not turn up. It was left to me to organise and ensure this class went ahead as I had planned.


The class was quick to line up and entered the room without any hassle. Normally the lesson begins with a prayer, followed by the greeting and the students are seated; but the students, realising that their normal teacher was not present, decided to take their time, talk and ignore me. After giving a verbal warning to the class, they quieted down, prayer was said and they were seated.


I began to take the role, and again talking began, making it hard to hear those whose name I was calling. Again I had to issue a verbal warning to the class, "Year 7, I'm waiting for you to be quiet, you are wasting your time and mine, and that just means you'll be having a lot more homework and your teacher will be told about your behaviour". During the lesson there were ups and downs, and I was forced to write in the diaries of two children, and speak to another after the lesson. Once the period had ended and the class was excused, I was exhasted and I feel that my confidence had been rocked.

Since that lesson, I have taken away a lot of experience, and have incorporated Element 5 and Element 2 of the Professional Teaching Standards. I have been able to better plan my lessons, making room for unexpected situations. Through getting to know my students and their learning style much better, as well as the best approach to discipline, my lessons have been better flowing and much more enjoyable not just for the students, but formyself also.