by Lu Gerlach There is no magical tool to stop undesired behavior, just love for your students. When you don’t like your students, they know. Changing our MindsetMy last year in Dubai, I taught 5th grade with 18 boys and 10 girls. I had some of the naughtiest boys in the grade level. My mom who was a retired teacher was my sounding board. I remember calling her when I found out my class roster in a panicked tone. My mom’s response was priceless. She said, “I know you are receiving some challenging boys, but you must forget what their past teachers have told you. You must love them, set the boundaries, and remember that they are children who are still developing into good humans.” I followed her advice and focused on developing relationships with each child by giving them nicknames, holding regular class meetings, giving them responsibilities, and allowing them to demonstrate agency of their learning. This allowed them to own their mistakes and revisit their behavior. It was one of the best years of my teaching career. The learner profile was a huge part of my journey that year, because I allowed the students to take on many attributes on their own. How do we get to this point? Here are some suggestions that have greatly changed my relationship with my students. Building RelationshipsWe must build relationships with our students in order to get the best out of them. I know many teachers say this is important, but I’ve seen many missed opportunities for growth, because a relationship was not established. What do I mean by relationship? I mean that the child is able to see you beyond the role of the teacher, but as a daughter/son, a student, an artist, a dreamer, and a friend. When we are able to get to this point, we can unlock the magical potential within our learners. Begin slowly with the learner profile through shared experiences through writing prompts, class discussions, and paired sharing. Hold regular class or restorative circle meetings where we address current issues that are an obstacle to the learning. The class openly talks about it in a safe place and the teacher shares their vulnerability. This is a powerful tool that can open up the most reluctant learners. As we become more proficient, we can pose prompts centered around the learner profile, so students can make relevant connections to the attributes. Hold private conferences to gauge where students are at the moment: their needs, fears, hang ups, successes, and celebrations. Have students identify their needs using the learner profile. For example, “I want to develop more conceptual knowledge in fractions and apply them to real-life situations.” Allow students to have a bit more agency during portions of the day: individual or small group work stations can allow for choice and student-driven learning, reflections can be video, audio, blog, journal, etc., genius hour to investigate a passion project, and so much more. Have them identify which attribute they are using while developing agency in their learning. This will make the reflective process a bit easier and more enriching. Behavior GoalsIn my experience, behavior issues become more evident when students are bored or frustrated by the way we are teaching the content. Students act out to deflect the learning they don’t want to do, which heightens our frustration as the teacher. I’ve noticed the times I succumbed to outside pressures and taught according to someone else’s methods, my behavior issues rose exponentially. Here are some possible ways to set behavior goals and get the student back on track with the help of the learner profile attributes. Co-create learner profile behavior goals for a short duration of time. Have students reflect on the areas they see as needing improvement, so there is continued buy in of the process. Allow the student to create the goal length and co-create a success criteria that needs to be met to ensure the goal is achieved. Co-design a learner profile behavior chart that students use to self-monitor progress regularly. The duration is determined by the student (morning/afternoon, daily, every other day, or weekly). In the beginning, students may to to self-regulate more frequently, until they get a handle on the undesired behavior Meet regularly to discuss the progress of the learner profile behavior goals. Allow students to determine the meeting schedule, because this will ensure they are ready to take the next steps. Reflecting on BehaviorWe know that reflection is a vital part of the PYP, but are students regularly reflecting and owning their behavior? There is a simple tool we can use to help students take ownership of their mistakes and make goals for the future.
What did I do? - have students explain the undesirable behavior they demonstrated to someone else. This is a huge part of growing as a young person. Owning our mistakes takes great courage. Why did I do it? - now we are getting to the deeper issue of why the student performed the undesirable behavior. It allows students to self-assess their actions and own their mistakes. What can I do better? - ask students to reflect on alternative actions they can take and align it with the learner profile. For example: Next time, I will be more caring when I speak to others. By completing these strategies above, you will see a reduced number of off-task and disruptive behaviors in your classroom and feel more connected with your students. Are you willing to spend the time it takes to make it happen?
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