Photo: Dubbo South Public School Stage 1 Teacher and Behaviour Leader Amelia Gregory, Assistant Principal Learning and Support Tracey McAnally and Assistant Principal Curriculum and Instruction Natalie Polak.
‘The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers emphasises the importance of all educators at all levels of expertise to work together to create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments (Standard 4). AERO's Classroom Management Resources provide the “how to do this” in an accessible and practical way,’ says Ms Polak.
‘Every child in every Australian classroom deserves to feel safe and to be able to learn to high levels. In an increasingly complex world of diverse needs, all schools and teachers are challenged to reflect on how we best meet all our students' needs through our classroom management practices.’
‘At Dubbo South Public School, we have eagerly embraced the launch of these new AERO resources. Our leadership team have been using them to review our whole-school behaviour policy to ensure our systems reflect best practice for Australian schools.’
Reducing stress, improving learning
Negative behaviour in classrooms can be a significant source of stress for teachers, students and parents alike. AERO's resources offer support. ‘AERO's classroom management resources can be a tool for individual teachers, teams or a whole school, wanting to foster calm classrooms that fuel students' curiosity and readiness to embrace challenges in learning,’ Ms Polak explains.
Continuing to bridge research and practice
One of the key strengths of these classroom management resources is their practicality and evidence base. Ms Polak notes: ‘AERO's resources bring teachers to the intersection of research and best practice to give school leaders and teachers resources they can trust and easily use.
The resources can work on different levels: they can illuminate or be a refresher of the foundational ways our profession creates rhythm, routine and relationships so all humans (teachers and students) can find safety, success and joy in a classroom environment.’
A compass for schools and teachers
Ms Polak highlights the practical value of these resources: ‘AERO’s resources give educators a compass to orientate their time and a pathway to invest energies into proven strategies to build productive and inclusive learning environments. They support teachers to focus on, deliberately practice, access feedback and reflect on the elements all humans need to flourish.’