TESL 0100 Unit 7 Reflection

(Source: http://www.hatchearlylearning.com/view-webinar/positive-and-effective-classroom-management-tips )

The unit 7 was about classroom management and I learned about the various situations that can arise in the class and how a teacher can handle those situations. This unit also talked about building inclusive classroom. Having an inclusive classroom means creating a supportive environment for all learners irrespective of their difference. I think the first step towards creating an inclusive classroom can be to teach the students to respect the people from all the backgrounds and cultures so that they develop an understanding environment. A teacher can have an open and healthy discussion about differences and respecting people of different abilities. A teacher should teach the learners to respect and trust each other and create a helping environment in the class. A teacher should ensure that all the students are participating in the class and provide them with opportunities to respond.

To support learners who may be suffering from trauma, mental health issues and physical disabilities, Teacher needs to be flexible with the teaching methodology and needs to incorporate different teaching methods to accommodate all the students. The teacher can encourage the students to ask questions if they do not understand anything and always listen to them patiently and attentively.

To support the LGBTQ learners in the class, I think teachers need to be very careful about their own language in the class and should refrain from using the language which can hurt their sentiments. Teachers need to set an example in front of the other students that how LGBTQ learners should be treated and respected. They should not be made to feel that they are different. For example, a teacher should refer to them with their preferred name and pronoun in the class.

We also discussed about how much time teacher and learners should talk in the class because if the teacher is talking for most of the time, the class will become monotonous and learners might lose their interest and divert their attention somewhere else. This can also result in no learning as the students are not speaking at all. If the teacher is taking most of the times, then it is clear that why students are not learning because they are not implementing that learning, the learners should get the chance to speak, raise questions and not just respond. One way of doing it is that the teacher should explain the topic and encourage the students to ask the question and encourage the other students to answer it rather than directly answering it himself.

Talking about the control in the classroom, I think the teacher should control the classroom as far as maintaining discipline in the class is concerned. This is necessary to ensure that all the students are focused and are paying attention in the class. However, students should also have some control over the learning process and teacher needs to be flexible with it.

Resources:

Brown, D. & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (4th ed. revised). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education