TA week 1 reflection (24th – 27th March)

I would like to start by saying that I am grateful to have been able to come back to my contract school to serve the TA, and to get an opportunity to really observe and learn from my CT.

This week’s task is on the Class Profile, and through the conversation with my CT - M, I learnt that it is essential for us to know our learners well in order to truly meet their diverse learning needs. A class profile is useful in keeping us clear on the needs of the pupils in a class, which would guide our planning and tailoring of lessons for the respective classes!

M shared with me how she prepared for art lessons with a P1 class, where there is a student who required greater attention from her. First, in profiling the student, she recognized that he presented with symptoms of Attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder (ADHD), anger management and oppositional defiance disorder (ODD), although these concerns have yet to be diagnosed. These concerns would manifest themselves in his short attention spans, violent behavioural tendencies, and a need to pace around the classroom.

As such, M set in place a personalized system in the art-room for him. First of all, in addressing his need to pace around the classroom safely while ensuring minimal disruptions to the learning of the class, M demarcated a space for him in the art-room. This is part of her efforts to anticipate and prevent any violent incidents by clearing dangerous materials from the demarcated zone beforehand in ensuring that the space is safe and free of potential distractors. Furthermore, the zone is clearly marked with tape on the floor, and these visual markings allows him to keep himself in check, encouraging self-regulation as the rules are made clear and specific.  

In helping him focus on the art tasks, M prepares a personalized task checklist for him whereby she breaks down the task into simpler, bite-sized activities that last between 10-15minutes. The instructions on his personalized list are specific and direct, and she mentioned that she makes it a point to state the end-time for each activity as he needs that certainty. As such, M would constantly check on him every 10-15 minutes, tick the checklist and guide him to progress through the class. As time is a concern, sometimes she would engage his buddy – the class monitor, to check on him as well. Knowing that he is a tactile learner, M also sets in place a reward system for him, where he is given plasticine to play with upon completing the checklist. This motivates him to engage with and complete his work, ensuring that he is not lagging behind his classmates!

In maximizing the learning of the rest of the class, M has set in place a sustainable system whereby positive reinforcement is employed skilfully. She leverages on motivating positive behavior in the class by praising students who show desired behaviors and providing contingent rewards in line with the behavior so that it is reinforced. Students in the class are also generally engaged and enthusiastic to engage in the art tasks as a result!

Additionally, I observed the art lesson she had with her form class and saw how she was able to support students learning in considering their student’s family background and social-economic status. Aware that a student came from lower-income household, whereby his parents were not highly educated, she understood that he lacked the family support that exacerbated his reading difficulty. As such, she would converse with him in Malay to help him engage and understand her lessons.

Furthermore, I had noticed and asked her about this student in her form class who appeared to be disengaged and fidgety in class, often wearing a frown on his face. I had initially formed the impression that he might be presenting behavioral concerns in class. However, I later learnt from M that he actually has a physical condition, and that results in him experiencing lethargy and low-energy levels in the mornings. This was the root cause of the behavioral abnormalities that I had observed! I was shocked at how fast I had made a judgement about a student before even knowing them personally. Through this, I was made acutely aware of the importance of ‘knowing our students’ in understanding and hence handling concerns appropriately.

Without knowing and profiling our class, we would be unable to plan for our lessons effectively and would end up throwing out strategies blindly while teaching! Even though we might not have spent enough time with the students to profile them, I saw the importance and benefits of conversing with other teachers who teach the class, so as to better cater to their diverse learning needs.