National Standard 4 – Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments 

4.1 Support student participation

4.2 Manage classroom activities

4.3 Manage challenging behaviour

4.4 Maintain student safety

4.5 Use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically

Artefacts:

In establishing my classroom environment, I have defined a variety of classroom expectations and behavior standards (4.3). These guidelines align with the school’s behaviour policies and the mandatory framework for decision-making, promoting a safe learning environment for all students. These expectations are prominently displayed in the classroom and integrated throughout my lesson sequence. They provide clear directions regarding behaviour, resource usage, and outline the consequences that students may face if they create a hostile environment or negatively impact student well-being (4.4) (ATSIL, 2017). These expectations contribute to the creation of a smoothly running environment and ensure that students can participate in classroom activities safely (4.1, 4.4).

In Artefact 5, my classroom expectations are presented at the beginning of my PowerPoint presentation (4.5). Expectations were physically written to initiate a Year 7 Science class lesson during my GTPA. This particular class had a low level of learning engagement and a range of behavioural issues and diagnoses, including ADHD, reading, writing, and comprehension challenges. During the first lesson, expectations were verbally discussed, and behavioural standards were presented through examples (4.2). As these expectations were achieved, they were built upon, as identified in Artefact 6. Consistency in classroom behaviour and reinforcing consequences assisted in managing behaviour issues and improving student engagement (NSW Government, 2023).

When creating expectations in a science class, they closely relate to standards followed in a laboratory setting. In Year 7, establishing safety standards proves to be valuable for future laboratory activities, as depicted in Artefact 7. These expectations align with and are drawn from the safety rules of the school, illustrated in Artefact 8 (4.4). Positive appraisal is effectively utilized in the classroom to model and identify correct student behaviour, providing an example for others who may not have followed the expectations. These foundational skills reduce future risks and hazards resulting from a lack of control in the environment, unsafe work practices, and students unable to follow clear procedures (DoE, 2022).

The implementation of clear expectations and behavioural standards during the initial interactions with these students significantly benefited my classroom practice. Despite initial low-level engagement and numerous behavioural issues and disruptions, after a few lessons, this class was able to adhere to the expectations and collaborate appropriately. Classroom expectations and behavioural standards also contributed to the development of quality and quantity standards for completed work, serving as an asset in the laboratory environment and related activities (NSW Government, 2023). This created a classroom where all students could engage, participate, and experience a safe learning environment (4.1, 4.3).