Monthly Archives: March 2016

Hallam, S. & Price, J. (1998). Can the use of background music improve the behavior and academic performance of children with emotional and behavioral difficulties? British Journal of Special Education. 25(2), 88-91.

This study looked at the effects of providing background music in the classroom on the behavior and academic performance of children with emotional and behavioral difficulties. The results indicated positive results for those students whose problems were related to constant stimulus-seeking and over-activity. These finding suggest that the classical music can have a calming effect on children who may have a hard time focusing during work periods in the classroom.

Hastings, P. R. & Bham, S. M. (2003). The relationship between student behaviour patterns and teacher burnout. School of Psychology International. 24(1), 115-126.

This article discusses the associations between student misbehaviour and teacher burnout. The aims of the study of 100 British primary school teachers were: to explore the properties of a measure of student behaviour in the classroom and to test the prediction of burnout dimensions from dimensions of student behaviour.

Leaman, L. (2007). Dictionary of disruption: A practical guide to behavioural management. New York, NY. Continuum International Publishing Group.

This is a very useful informational text that provides suggestions on how to deal with specific behaviours that are commonly found in the classroom. It talks about physical aggression, self esteem, group behaviour and much more, all laid out in alphabetical order.

MacGarth, M. (2000). The art of peaceful teaching in the primary school: Improving behaviour and preserving motivation. London, UK. David Fulton Publishers Ltd.

This book aims at helping primary teachers improve behaviour, preserve motivation and foster cooperation by developing positive relationships with pupils and their parents. It takes and empathetic approach to understanding and managing disruptive behaviour.

Ostrosky, M. M., Mouzourou, C., Dorsey, E. A., Favazza, P. C., & Leboeuf, L. M. (2015). Pick a book, any book: Using children’s books to support positive attitudes toward peers with disabilities. Young Exceptional Children, 18(1), 30.

This article discusses the impact of reading on child development, the use of books featuring characters with disabilities, children’s understandings about and interactions with peers with special needs, including books about special needs in early childhood classrooms, and using guided discussions to support young children’s positive attitudes about individuals with special needs.

http://dsm.psychiatryonline.org/doi/book/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

This website serves as a great tool to look up any disorders under the DSM-5. It is also a navigation website that links to journals, books and news around psychology.

I think it is safe to say that I have learned many strategies to deal with behavioural issues in the classroom, but I still have much more to learn. I am finding that when I deal with mis behaviour in my classroom I get mixed reactions from my students; some understand and I can have dialogue with them to try and figure out a solution but others do not hesitate to ignore what I have to say. I am not surprised by this, I do have very young students that I am dealing with, but I wonder how I can get to the students that ignore my requests? There is one student in particular that is having a difficult time listening and behaving and it is my goal for the long practicum to have the courage to keep trying to help her situation. I have found that it is really easy to leave her issues for the other teachers in the classroom to deal with, but I feel as though I need to step in and help as well. I think during my lessons I will have opportunities to deal with her misbehaviour and hopefully I can help her through it.

Teacher burnout is something that I have been warned about in the past form fellow teachers and professors. I have always kept in mind that is important to take care of myself throughout my journey as a teacher and that with the right coping strategies I can avoid teacher burnout. There can be many causes for teacher burnout but one that has come to my attention recently is the relationship between student misbehaviour and teacher burnout.

Student misbehaviour has been known to be a source of stress for teachers for some time, and is associated with high levels of teacher reported burnout (Hasting & Bham, 2003). This is not hard to believe; as teachers we deal with many different issues in the classroom daily  and dealing with a difficult student takes a lot of energy and time. Overtime this can have a negative affect on our physical and emotional health (Hasting & Bham, 2003).  In a study done by Hastings & Bham (2003), it was revealed that teacher self efficacy in their ability to manage the classroom and student behaviour was an important factor in avoiding reported teacher burnout. Also, retaliating with emotion-focused strategies when dealing with difficult students showed an increase risk in emotional exhaustion (Hastings & Bham, 2003).

Dealing difficult students is not something we can do on our own. I believe it is really important to seek help in the beginning of the year when we notice that there are difficult students in the classroom. Having a positive and frequent relationship with school administrators and school counsellors can help with the emotional strains of the work.

Ever since I had my music class last semester I have been interested in looking into research that supports music therapy in the classroom. Music is a wonderful tool for many reasons in the classroom, it builds on creativity, gets kids moving and is great for classroom management. I have been particularly interested in the effects on music on those students with behavioural issues, can music help them manage themselves?

A study that looked at the effects of providing background music in the classroom on the behaviour and performance of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties revealed positive findings. Hallam & Price (1998) found that there was a significant improvement in behaviour and mathematics performance for all children who were exposed to the background music during their daily activities. The effects of the music were particularly powerful for those students whose problems were related to constant stimulus-seeking and over-activity (Hallman & Price, 1998). The music played in these classrooms was classical music. These finding suggest that the classical music can have a calming effect on children who may have a hard time focusing during work periods in the classroom. This study also revealed improvements in co-operation and reduction in aggression during the lessons (Hallam & Price, 1998).