[MUSIC] "Conditions and 'behaviour settings'" What do you think about your classroom? And you may think about your classroom as just existing in a vacuum, alone. But it is not, it is located within your school, which is located in your town, in your city, in your country and all of those conditions from the systems around your classroom have an impact in some way on your classroom, how you teach, and how we learn. So, I want you to think about how do the conditions in which we find ourselves impact on: how we feel; how we behave; how we think; how we make sense of what we also see. Now, the interpretive framework, how do I make sense of what I see and experience in my classroom? Let's look at this quotation. "My seeing and what I experience and know is shaped and reshaped through interaction with the social, cultural, structural and political conditions which impact on my day-to-day work." This slide is a very useful slide to make sense of these conditions. Social, political, structural, and cultural forces have implications and what happens in those conditions have implications for what happens in my classroom. Let's look at the social forces. What are the social forces that have implications for my specific class? For instance, if there is conflict between social groups in my context, how does that play out in my class room? In some way, it will impact on the learners. Think about the political changes that happen. The new demands that are placed on schools and teachers, or change in political regimes. How does that influence what happens in your class? The cultural forces. We discussed in previous sessions how cultural differences impact on our classes. How do cultural forces impact on your class? And structurally, in very simple ways people talk about structural forces as the way things are. That's just the way things are. And that's how and why we should do things. How do those forces impact, on you, the way you teach, and how we learn. Let's look at this quotation by a head teacher from Ghana who talks about the political forces. "It seems that every time a new Minister comes in I have to change what I was doing before." Think about that as a condition. How you teach and the implications that have. The social. A teacher from Malaysia talks about, "It's a long journey we're on for people so that they are able to accept different backgrounds, different languages and what is like a caste system." Here we're talking about how power plays out socially, and how these can also play out in your own class. What is enacted outside the class, sometimes becomes a model within the class, and how do you pay attention to that? How do you draw your attention to your learners, of how that is not acceptable in your classroom, for example? And how do the cultural forces play out? "Do schools reflect the national and the local culture, or do they try and change that culture? The problem is that's not just one culture, but many and it's crucial that teachers understand the differences." And, of course, lastly, the structural forces. "The structures of schools in the country cannot be simply transported." We can't just move one system into another system thinking that one size will fit all. Sometimes there are very particular demands that some groups of people have that are very different to what other groups may demand. So, let's look at behaviour settings. And I'd like you to glance at those images that are in the slide in front of you. How does the physical setting shape, or encourage, or discourage certain kinds of behaviour? Let's look at the first picture which looks like a museum. There's a large dinosaur skeleton that's exhibited, what does that space encourage? How would you feel as you were walking around? What behaviours would it discourage? So for me, it would encourage me to stand back and to look, maybe if there is some writing or information on the dinosaur, perhaps I could read that. It might discourage me the way it is exhibited for me from climbing up there, touching or fiddling with the bones, that might not be acceptable. It might also encourage me that I can't run around or play loud music in this space because I need to be sensitive to all the other people that are watching the exhibition. Let's look at the picture in the park. That looks very inviting. What does that space encourage? Perhaps, you'd want to sit on the bench and read a book. Or maybe even lie on the grass and have a nap. So, this space will encourage something very different from the space in the museum. What does your classroom encourage? So, behaviour settings. Physical structures: Doors, windows, roofing, fabric, the state of repair of your classroom. What does that encourage? Remember we spoke about people are differently able. How do doors enable access to that? Or is the message very clear: you're not allowed in here. Displays, children's work, artefacts, rules, when they present that, what behaviour does it encourage? When we look at children's work, we're very affirming and tell our children how wonderful those pictures look. Or put rules listed on the wall. Please use this entrance. It's very instructive. The external climate. The heat, the cold, the rain, storms. How safe in that enviroment are you? How vulnerable do you feel in that environment? What's your levels of comfort and how does it influence your own behaviour or shape your behaviour in that context. So, your class room, let's talk about that. What are the behaviours it encourages? If you look at the image in front of you with those benches in a row, assuming you had to sit on one of those benches, the message would be very clear: I need to sit here and somebody's going to tell me. Now, perhaps if the room was very different with a cafeteria layout, the message would be very different. The message would be about discussion, contributing, participation, contributing to the discussion, being included. So, what behaviours does your classroom encourage? And what behaviours does it discourage? Releasing the energy - how do I, how do we find ways to release the creative energy of our students? So, does our environments inspire creativity? Does it encourage? Does it motivate? What behaviours does it encourage? The parameters of change. What is within my own control, and what lies on the horizon of possibilities? Let's look at the first one again. What is within my own control? In your classroom, you may want to change the desks around and the chairs around, but perhaps the school and your principal may think very differently. The principal may have said to you, "By moving the desks and the chairs around you will encourage misbehaviour!" How would you respond to that? Do you have control in that situation? What are the arguments you would come up with for changing the layout of your classroom? Can you come up with a sound rationale about why you're going to do that? What lies on the horizon of possibilities? Perhaps the conversation you may want to have with your parents and your principal. Maybe talking to them first, and saying to them, "Perhaps if we change things around, or maybe if we try things differently, maybe our learners will be inspired." Maybe they would be excited, and maybe it may encourage new behaviours. [MUSIC]
