Duration: 09:28
About the teachers
Niall Heron has taught Foundation to Year 6 in metropolitan contexts for 18 years.
Dave Chettle has been teaching for 17 years. He became a teacher following a career in sales. He has taught both primary and secondary students in a metropolitan context.
Annmarie (Ally) Lehane has been teaching for 10 years in both primary and secondary settings. She has taught in rural, remote and metropolitan schools in Australia and internationally.
Tammy Kerinaiua has been involved in education for 10 years, first as an assistant teacher and then as a primary school teacher at Murrupurtiyanuwu Catholic Primary School. She is currently a secondary school teaching assistant at Xavier Catholic College.
Transcript
Niall Heron, classroom teacher, Briar Road Public School: Circulation is moving around the room, which allows the students to see you monitoring them, checking that they're progressing and that their behaviour is on point.
Dave Chettle, classroom teacher, Woodcrest State College: Students learn better in an environment where everyone is quiet, safe and comfortable. Circulation in the room helps that process because you're constantly on the move looking at what each student's doing and you can solve their problems before they appear.
Annmarie (Ally) Lehane, classroom teacher, Xavier Catholic College: It allows each student to feel identified, to feel like they are present, that the teacher is monitoring what they are doing and they're available if any help is needed.
Niall Heron: Before I circulate the class, I'll pause and I will scan just to make sure that everyone is following expectations before I begin to circulate.
Discuss – there will be a little bit of chat. Make sure you're discussing your ideas, not just writing your own things down. Okay, off we go.
When I first circulate the class, I want to make sure that all the students are engaged and on task and meeting the instructions that they've just been given.
Straight on it, boys, well done. Good job, you're going to work in a 3, remember, okay? You need a whiteboard, gentleman, let's get going.
I'm still scanning the rest of the class and monitoring them by looking into the class as I walk around and never having my back on a row of students or tables.
How we doing, boys? What we got? Nice. You're about halfway through your time, so keep on going. Some really good work I'm seeing.
When I finish circulating, I will come back to the front of the classroom. I'll pause, scan the class again, just to make sure they're all on task, offer positive reinforcement, and then I will go back around and support students independently if needed. As my practice has improved, I've learned to make sure I'm addressing a number of children as I go around – lots of small positive bits of praise; really quick, discrete corrections of small behaviours. That helps to minimise large disruption and keeps all the children on task.
Yes, miss. Okay. Can you put that up there for me? That's it. Love the handwriting, though, love the handwriting and you've always got good ideas. Let's read it out. So what we need to do is we need to make ... I'm on my way, guys. Can you help, ask each other first what you need a bit of help with, or to check over something? You needing that checked over?
Circulating has helped maintain behaviour expectations as the children are constantly aware that you're around. Your presence is felt around the room all the time. You are quick to spot little behaviours cropping up and you can solve them very quickly.
One second. Are we okay guys? Guys, I don't mind if you're doing 3 before me, just make sure that conversation is essential, like it is over there just now. Make sure it's exactly about a little thing you need to help with, okay? That was really good girls, well done.
Dave Chettle: It's really important to pause, scan the room and start to move to an area you think you might be needed first. So by doing that pause and scan, you can see students to your right or to your left and you start moving that way, and you keep going around so they don't feel like you're targeting them. You're moving around everywhere in the classroom.
Let's keep the noise down. You can talk to each other about what you want to do, but I want to see inside voices, go. Plan your trip.
First thing you do when you're circulating the classroom is to make sure all students are engaged and all behaviours are settled, so by moving around you get an idea of what every student's doing so you can monitor what they're doing.
Everyone else is done, good. Good job. I like how you've written … I like how you’ve written your budget up there so you remember, good job. Good.
It's really important that you keep moving your head and looking around, and make sure your back is to the wall so your front is to the classroom. So you actually got to be like an AFL umpire. Move backwards rather than forwards so you're watching what everyone's doing.
Oh, that's awesome! Now you’ve got to give it a name. Okay, good. You got your computer or iPad ready? Okay. I want to see it really creative. Have you got an iPad or a computer out? Go grab one.
It's really important that you have a spot in the room and the students understand and know that you want their attention, so you go back and you can pause, scan, watch what's going on, and if you need the whole classroom's attention, they're going to come and follow you.
So can everyone stop – pens down and look this way. We're just about all there. Good, Macareah, thank you.
The experience factor really helps you circulate because you get to know where you got to get to early. So by continually monitoring student engagement and behaviour, you get to know what makes students tick so you actually see what they're doing and that really helps you in your behaviour, because you can often cut things off before they start.
That's a good technique.
Annmarie (Ally) Lehane: Circulation is important for me to allow the students to meet the behaviour expectations.
Okay. So it's the 18th of July if you need to write that down.
Tammy Kerinaiua, Tiwi teaching assistant, Xavier Catholic College: [Speaks in Tiwi language] Write the date at the top of the page.
Annmarie (Ally) Lehane: Okay, so 20 divided by 2.
Tammy, the Tiwi teacher in my classroom, helps to support with circulation by also monitoring students, and when I'd be maybe working with a student individually. And we work as a team, in that if I'm with a student individually, she might be making a larger scan of the classroom, and vice versa. Students know that we work as a team so they're able to confide in both of us and they're able to look for support from both of us. First, I would pause, I would scan and I would look for any large-scale disruptions – and I would identify those first – and then I would circulate the classroom. I would be very conscious of my positioning – I would make sure that I'm always able to see all of the students and that might be making sure that I'm to the side.
Well done, okay, we're going to take those copies out and we're going to write in our division times tables.
Tammy Kerinaiua: [Speaks in Tiwi language] Write the date at the top of the page.
Annmarie (Ally) Lehane: The students understand that I'm watching that they are all on task, that I'm continually monitoring what they are doing, so it gives them that responsibility to continue their learning.
Excellent, yes. Onto the next one.
First, I would pause, I would scan and then I would go to individual students who may need support.
Well done, girls, we're all doing very well. We're working at what we meant to.
It has allowed me to be more confident in scanning the classroom and identifying any disruptions, whether large or small, and it also has given me more experience in identifying students who need that individual support first.
Do those. Do you have scissors? Eva, do you have scissors? Rosie, do you have scissors? Nope.
Keywords: student engagement, disruption, disruptive behaviour