Standard 4 - create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
4.1 - Establish and implement inclusive and positive interactions to engage and support all students in classroom activities.
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Carbon Cycle Group Task in Year 10 Science
This task was introduced the a Year 10 Science class to familiarise the students with the Carbon Cycle. The students were put into groups to evenly distribute academic and language abilities throughout the groups. One group member at a time, the students were able to view the image below before returning to the group to draw what they could remember. The other group members were given decreasing amounts of time to also view the image and draw what they could remember. At the end of the task, the students were able to see what the other groups had drawn and add any further details to their own diagrams. 
This task allowed students of all abilities to focus on the elements of the diagram which worked best for them. It was also designed to include all group members as the students constantly discussed strategies throughout the task and each group member was asked to view the original image and add to the group diagram.
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Group Practical Work in Year 8 Science
All practical experimental work in Year 8 Science is conducted in pairs. This is to increase the safety of tasks and to ensure all students have to opportunity to participate. This also has two added benefits. The pairs are always chosen for the students to ensure there is even distribution of academic ability in the groups, and that students who are often off task are separated. The Year 8 students are typically highly engaged in practical activities. An example of a practical activity is shown below. 
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4.2 - Establish and maintain orderly and workable routines to create an environment where student time is spent on learning tasks.
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Chromatography Experiment in Year 8 Science
The Year 8 Science students were given a practical task to illustrate the concepts of mixtures. Instructions for this task were given to the students verbally, and in writing. The students were to choose either three black markers, or three brown markers, and test them one at a time by drawing a line at the bottom of a piece of filter paper and placing the strip in either sodium chloride solution, or methanol. The class was put into twelve groups of two and given instructions before being conducting the task. The results below show one group's results. 
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Year 8 Science Observation and Description Activity
To prepare my Year 8 class for recording observations during experiments, we conducted a task to work on their descriptive abilities. To do this, I brought in a bag of various random objects from around my house. I put the students into pairs. One student was to take an object form the bag, and without showing it to their partner they were to describe it in as much detail as possible without telling them what the object was. Their partner was then to try and draw what was being described and then guess what the object was. We then had a class discussion of different ways they might describe their observations during practical tasks. Before beginning, I described the task carefully to the students, ensuring that they understood each step, and what they were required to write or draw. They were all very engaged in the task and were motivated to try the task with more than one object. 
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4.3 - Manage challenging behaviour by establishing and negotiating clear expectations with students and address discipline issues promptly, fairly and respectfully.
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In-Class Behaviour Management
In my current school I have only encountered low-level challenging behaviour, however even this can disrupt a class. The general pattern is that if a student receives three warnings for inappropriate behaviour in class, they will receive a detention with the Head of Sub-School. At each warning I will give specific reasons for why the warning is being given, and why the behaviour is inappropriate. If the behaviour is ongoing or out of character, I will phone the student's parents to discuss the situation and ask if they can provide any context to help support the student's wellbeing at school. |
Behaviour Management Outside Class
In two instances, in-class behaviour management has been insufficient to deal with students who have displayed a lack of motivation and were causing disruptions to the class. In both instances, I spoke to the students shortly after the class about their behaviour and what was expected of them. This had a limited effect on their behaviour and the lack of motivation continued. The next step to dealing with their behaviour was contacting their parents and informing them of the situation. In these conversations I was careful to never blame the student, but said that I was concerned that their behaviour and attitude would reflect badly in their grades, and that we wanted to deal with the issue before it became an ongoing problem. Parental involvement managed to improve the behaviour of one student however, for the other student, it was necessary to involve the Year Level Coordinator. In this meeting, I detailed what had been lacking in the student's work and behaviour, and what I had previously done to try and rectify the situation. This lead to the Year Level Coordinator holding a meeting with the student to discuss their behaviour, and further contact with the parents. |
4.4 - Ensure students’ wellbeing and safety within school by implementing school and/ or system, curriculum and legislative requirements.
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Student Wellbeing
Student wellbeing at my current school is heavily supported in accordance with the National Safe Schools Framework (MCEECDYA, 2011), especially through pastoral care activities. A program called Blokes' World is run during pastoral care time in which the students are engaged in activities focusing on real-world, and other skill development. Through these tasks, the students not only increase their own skill sets, but they are also an opportunity for the teachers and students to get to know each other better, fostering a highly supportive environment. The environment established during pastoral care is in accordance with the school's wellbeing framework and safety policies which advocate building independence, self-worth, self-discipline, and social responsibility in the students. These principles mirror those expressed in the National Safe Schools Framework. References: Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA), 2011, National Safe Schools Framework, Education Services Australia, Carlton South, Victoria. Retrieved from: http://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/national_safe_schools_framework.pdf |
Student Safety and Wellbeing in Science
Science is a subject where there can be risks present during practical experiments. In order to minimise these risks and ensure student safety as far as possible there are a number of step we take. Firstly, students are always requires to wear lab glasses and an apron or lab coat any time they are working at the benches, even if their reagents are non-hazardous. This creates the habit of wearing protective equipment for other experiments. Clear and thorough safety instructions are always given to the students about the potential risks of an experiment and a risk assessment is completed using RiskAssess before each experiment. RiskAssess is an effective bank of experiments and protocols the school and it's lab technicians use for accidence cross the year levels. Below is an example of a form generated by RiskAssess a Year 8 practical on making copper sulphate crystals. It identifies the potential hazards, and correct handling procedures to minimise risk. Discussions in Science and Psychology lessons can also touch on sensitive topics, usually around discussions of medical issues and mental health. It is extremely important to ensure that the students are notified this content is coming when it is planned, and to handle it sensitively if it comes up organically. In cases where discussions come up organically I will often ask if the student can ask me at the end of the lesson when those who are interested can stay and those who may find it difficult can leave, or put some resources up on our online lessons for those who are interested.
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4.5 - Incorporate strategies to promote the safe, responsible and ethical use of ICT in learning and teaching.
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Blocking Inappropriate Content
Computers are used very frequently in class time for taking notes, writing assignments, and for research tasks. With high levels of computer usage, teenagers can become very easily distracted, and it is important to ensure that at least at school, they are largely unable to view any inappropriate content. To this end the the school have blocked many inappropriate websites, popups, and YouTube is only available in restricted mode on the school server. To add to this, it is important that students are supervised as much as possible when they are completing online tasks. This is not only to ensure that they are not accessing inappropriate content, but that they are on task. To ensure this, I make sure to walk around the classroom whenever the students are working on computer based tasks. This also gives me the opportunity to speak to each of the students individually, and be available to answer any questions they may have. |
Referencing and Analysis of Online Sites
As research based tasks are very common in secondary school, it is necessary to ensure that the students correctly cite their sources, and are able to analyse their credibility. This ensures that the students are carrying out their online research in an ethical manner, and are taking responsibility for finding reliable information. One such example of this is in the Year 11 Research Project. Much of the students' preliminary data is gained from online sources, and it is imperative that the information is reliable. The students are required to fill in a source analysis document as a part of one of their milestones. This is to ensure that the students are able to correctly reference their information, and are analysing their sources to assess suitability, and credibility. |