Planning Transitions to Prevent Challenging Behavior - Essay Example

 Planning Transitions to Prevent Challenging Behavior This paper is about a review of the articles, “Teaching Children What We Want Them to Learn” and “Planning Transitions to Prevent Challenging Behavior”. The paper summarizes the key points in both the articles and compares and contrasts both with an emphasis on applying the concepts presented in the articles to everyday teaching practices including a section on how I plan to use the methods presented in the articles. Both the articles talk about the ways in which classroom teaching methods can be modified to inculcate a sense of discipline and focus on the desired outcomes of making the kids learn what the teachers want them to learn as well as ensuring that the teaching methods are appropriate for the level at which the kids are studying. At first glance, the articles seem to be different in the kind of content and message that they are sending out to the intended audience. However, on closer look, one can comprehend that the thrust of both articles is about the ways in which teaching methods can be improved to make a difference in the way children are taught. Both articles talk about teachers making decisions in the daily interactions with their wards. The difference in the articles is the way in which each article suggests different methods to achieve the common goal of making the students understand what is being taught and how teachers can be role models for their students. OBJECTIVE SUMMARIES The article about “Teaching children what we want them to learn” concentrates on the different ways in which children pick up things from their teachers by looking up to them as role models as well as imbibing values and qualities from the teachers. The article makes the point about how kids at such an young age are impressionable and hence are prone to look up to their teachers in a manner similar to that they do with their parents and hence the teachers have to extra careful in the messages that they send to the students. These include verbal and non-verbal cues as well as the kind of lessons that the teachers pick for their children every day. This article also mentions the subtle difference between the statements that express a reflective desire to inculcate learning in the children as opposed to expecting the children to learn better. For instance, there is a huge difference in taking personal responsibility as a teacher and ensuring that the children get to learn and thinking about the children as being responsible for their education. One is reflective (as mentioned above) and the other is reactive. A teacher who is reflective is someone who actively pursues the teaching and participates in the process in an interactive manner whereas a reactive teacher is one who merely participates while putting the onus of learning on the children. The article on Transitions is definitely interesting for the way in which it tries to suggest methods to cut down on children behaving in a challenging manner i.e. challenging to the teachers because of their classroom behavior. The transitions that the article talks about are all about engaging children who are resisting learning or use the somewhat coarse term, “troublesome”. The children who have learning difficulties need to be given extra time to learn and adapt to the classroom environment and this can only be done if the teachers actively participate in the process of educating the children. The article makes a clear distinction between learning disabilities and those who exhibit behavior that is challenging in the classroom environment. While the former is about those who need extra attention to help them with the learning in the classroom, the latter is all about the children whose behavior may not be acceptable to the teachers and hence transitions from one activity to the other have to be managed by the teachers. The article suggests a number of practical tips on how to manage the transitions in an orderly and smooth manner. COMPARE/CONTRAST As mentioned in the introduction, the articles appear to be very different on first reading. However, a closer perusal of the articles makes it clear that both of them are about how teachers and their value systems as well as their attitude towards the learning that they impart in the classroom can make a difference to the ways in which the children learn from them. For instance, the article on “Teaching Children” talks about how the belief systems of teachers plays a pivotal role in making themselves as role models to the kids. It is a known fact that children try to imbibe and internalize the teaching that is imparted as well as the verbal and non-verbal cues from the teachers. It is important to realize that kids at that age consider the teachers to be paramount even in comparison with their parents. Hence, there is added responsibility on part of the teachers to ensure that they impart the right values to the children. The above is a key commonality between the two articles and the differences lie in the practical suggestions that the articles provide as ways of ensuring that teachers provide the needed techniques to ensure compliance by the children. The article on Transitions is about how teachers can plan their daily activities in ways that let the children imbibe the right qualities especially when their behavior is challenging from the point of view of discipline and conformity to classroom norms. When we compare and contrast the articles, one is left with a feeling that both articles put lot of emphasis on the teachers being sensitive to the needs of the children and though the articles are from a journal that is about teaching, the added emphasis on making the teachers understand how their belief systems and values directly impact on the children is noteworthy. The articles are an important addition to the existing literature on teaching methods and how the teachers can be good role models for children. SUBJECTIVE APPLICATION If I have to apply the methods suggested in my in-field practice, it is imperative that I embark on a self reflective direction and ensure that there are no conflicts within myself when it concerns my teaching methods and approach. First, I have to be clear on what I want to teach the kids and secondly, I have to present myself as an acceptable role model to the kids. I can only do this if I take full responsibility for my teaching methods and invest on improving the tools and techniques that I use while teaching. I feel that I can make very good use of the tips on transitions that have been provided in the articles and I definitely feel that I can apply them in my daily interactions with the students. The tips for transition that have been suggested are indeed practical and elaborate. Further, the articles are a good mix of how to mix values and other high minded observations with that of hands on approaches like planning the transitions between activities as well as tackling challenging behavior. Though the onus in both the articles is on the teacher, I do feel that with time, the kids can be made aware of their responsibilities as well. This is my observation as I do believe that once the right values are imparted to the students, getting them to take responsibility follows in that the kids might be able to get a notion of what it takes to play their part in the learning process. I have found from my teaching experience that kids often pick up modes of thought and behavior from me in ways that I could not have thought and realized only when I observe them doing things that I have done. This is the subconscious way in which kids imitate the teachers and hence, I do believe that as teachers we have a moral responsibility towards the children. Read More