EDU 211 Final: EDU101 Asess 3
PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS 1
Primary School Teachers: The Biggest Influencers
Teaching is one of the most impactful professions, as teachers affect every single one of
their students in one way or another. Because of their influence, educators must be
knowledgeable about numerous topics including but not limited to: the domains of development,
inclusiveness, communication strategies and educational psychology. I hope to teach children in
primary school, so I focus not on a specific topic, such as world history, but on learners and how
they develop. I am learning to be aware of communication strategies as well as inclusive
classroom strategies to foster young children’s development. Along with that, me along with
every other teacher out there must know how to deal with challenging behavior, as it will occur
sooner or later. Teachers used to rely on psychological theories about how to manage classrooms
developed outside classroom settings or on experience based suggestions of other teachers, but
many of these ideas were incorrect. This made teachers think of classroom management as an
art, not even partially as an applied science but classroom research in the last 15 years has
changed this (Brophy, 1983). As I have learned in my education classes, there is lots of research
describing the most beneficial ways to manage a classroom, motivate students and foster positive
learning.
Communication is one of the most important skills students learn in primary school.
Teachers should know not only how to communicate with their students, but how to aid their
students in communicating with each other. When planning instruction, teachers should check
for vocabulary students may not know and use words they will understand (Evertson, 1981).
Proper communication between the teacher & student is the most important skill in teaching. If
this relationship is well established, educational goals will be more easily realized with a high
quality (Bambaeeroo & Shokrpour, 2017).
Play-based learning is a strategy being used with young children more often as time goes
on because it has so many proven benefits, particularly relating to communication. As Christine
and her co-authors described in their textbook, "play and conversation are the main ways by
which young children learn. Before children can talk, they communicate with sounds, gestures,
actions and other non-verbal means (Christine et al., 2018, 51).” Play regularly requires the use
of language for various communication purposes such as negotiating, informing, problem-
solving, reasoning, describing, instructing, explaining, requesting and asking questions (Christine
et al., 2018), making it a significant contributor to children developing communication skills.
PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS 2
Teachers must take into consideration the numerous different ways of communicating,
verbally and nonverbally. It is imperative both of these strategies are utilized often. Non-verbal
communication is often subtler and more effective than verbal communication and conveys
meaning better than words. For example, a smile can often convey one’s emotion of being happy
quicker than their words might, especially at a young age (Bambaeeroo & Shokrpour, 2017).
Lots of research has been done about verbal and non-verbal communication within classrooms
that has shown a “correlation between teachers’ verbal and non-verbal communication skills and
students’ learning and motivation” (Bambaeeroo & Shokrpour, 2017, 53). Research has also
indicated that that “nonverbal teacher behaviors such as smiling, vocal expressiveness,
movement about the classroom, and relaxed body position are variables of a process which
results in increased cognitive and affective learning” (Gorham, 2009, 41). The more teachers
utilize both verbal and non-verbal communication, the more and the better their students will
learn.
Once a teacher establishes positive communication with and within their students, they
are on their way to supporting inclusive student participation and engagement in learning. For
example, a method of using non-verbal communication is the teacher giving assignments to the
students according to their intellectual ability. This shows them that “they are aware of their
abilities and creates motivation in them” (Bambaeeroo & Shokrpour, 2017, 57). Students feeling
like teachers are aware of what they can do and respect that creates an inclusive environment
where they want to learn and try new things because they are aware they will not be pushed too
far, even if they are out of their comfort zones. The best place to target one’s learning is the zone
of proximal development, the difference between what a learner can do with and without help
(Hedegaard, 2002). It is critical for students to be engaged because, in Finn & Voelkl’s words,
“If a youngster withdraws from participation in the classroom, he or she will not have access to
the curriculum and it is unlikely that learning will occur” (Finn & Voelkl, 1993, 251).
Numerous things can affect one’s engagement, making the teacher’s role pivotal. The
educator can “enrich and scaffold, facilitate and enable, provide opportunities and gain insights
that allow for meaningful engagement and the furtherance of the child’s learning” (Christine et
al., 2018, 125). One of the main things teacher’s do not do enough is identifying and encouraging
high-risk students to persist in their academic efforts. High levels of engagement explain why
some high-risk students succeed academically, rather than giving up on learning. As well as the
Document Summary
Teaching is one of the most impactful professions, as teachers affect every single one of their students in one way or another. Because of their influence, educators must be knowledgeable about numerous topics including but not limited to: the domains of development, inclusiveness, communication strategies and educational psychology. I hope to teach children in primary school, so i focus not on a specific topic, such as world history, but on learners and how they develop. I am learning to be aware of communication strategies as well as inclusive classroom strategies to foster young children"s development. Along with that, me along with every other teacher out there must know how to deal with challenging behavior, as it will occur sooner or later. Teachers used to rely on psychological theories about how to manage classrooms developed outside classroom settings or on experience based suggestions of other teachers, but many of these ideas were incorrect.
