UNMC501 - Managing Confronting Behaviours in Educational Settings

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Nil

Unit rationale, description and aim

Teachers, especially those new to the profession, consistently perceive classroom management as a serious challenge. Dealing with unruly classes and individual students who demonstrate challenging and confronting behaviour are a major cause of teacher stress, burnout, job dissatisfaction with classroom management issues being cited as a key reason why teachers leave the profession. In addition, many teachers feel their training in classroom management is lacking particularly. 

This unit expands on the foundational communication, management and organisational skills that are essential for effective teaching and the establishment of positive classroom learning environments. The unit will examine contemporary theories, principles, codes of ethics and conduct, and legislative requirements regarding student well-being and safety. This knowledge and understanding will be used to  inform responses to challenging and confronting behaviours in classrooms and other  educational contexts.

The aim of this unit is to build the participant’s skills and self-efficacy for managing potentially stressful and confronting classroom environments and individual students in ways that are responsive to student well-being and safety.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Critically analyse contemporary philosophies, theories, principles, codes of ethics and conduct, and legislative requirements regarding student well-being and safety that inform responses to challenging and confronting behaviours in educational settings. (GA1, GA2, GA3, GA4, GA5)

LO2 - Apply and appraise the impact of strategies that support the positive management of confronting and challenging behaviour that are responsive to student well-being and safety. (GA1, GA2, GA3, GA4, GA5)

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity

GA2 - recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society 

GA3 - apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making

GA4 - think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

Content

Topics will include:

• A review of foundational skills, philosophies and strategies relevant to the establishment and maintenance of positive classroom learning environments including the promotion of student engagement, achievement and wellbeing.
• Factors that contribute to challenging and confronting behaviour in classroom and school contexts, including socio-cultural and socio-historical factors, family, community, school, class and teacher factors.
• Codes of ethics and conduct, and legislative requirements related to student well-being, safety and classroom management.
• A review of a selection of theories and models of classroom management.
• Preventative approaches versus reactive approaches to classroom management.

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This microcredential will be delivered online through a blend of synchronous and asynchronous learning activities. The purpose is to build the participant’s skills and self-efficacy for managing potentially stressful and confronting classroom environments and individual students. Active participation in the learning process will be encouraged through self-directed and problem-based learning experiences. Through the adoption of a reflective approach, participants will be encouraged to critically analyse their own approaches and preferences in relation to the content of the unit and to consider the application of the theories and strategies encountered in this unit in their own classroom/school contexts.  

Teaching and learning approaches may include:

• Asynchronous online activities
• Reading materials – includes both directed reading for the unit as well as self-directed study materials
• Forums and discussion boards
• Recorded mini-lectures, presentations or podcasts
• Analysis of critical incidents
• Synchronous online activities
• Seminars – which include analysis of critical incidents, student-led discussions, role play
• Simulated critical incidents and interactions with students
• Collaborative and co-operative learning opportunities.

This is a 5-credit point unit and has been designed to ensure that the time needed to complete the required volume of learning to the requisite standard is approximately 75 hours in total across the teaching period. To achieve a passing standard in this unit, students will find it helpful to engage in the full range of learning activities and assessments utilised in this unit.

Assessment strategy and rationale

The purpose of this microcredential unit is to build the participant’s skills and self-efficacy for managing potentially stressful and confronting behaviour and classroom environments. A blend of formative and summative assessment will be used build the participant’s self-efficacy for managing potentially stressful and confronting classroom environments and individual students. 

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Allison, S., & Tharby, A. (2015). Making every lesson count: Six principles to support great teaching and learning. Crown House Publishing

Charles, C. M. (2014). Building classroom discipline (11th ed.). Pearson.

Grenny, J. (2021). Crucial conversations: Tools for talking with stakes are high (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.

Lemov, D. (2021). Teach like a champion 3.0 : 63 techniques that put students on the path to college (3rd ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Porter, L. (2014). A comprehensive guide to classroom management. Taylor & Francis.

Rogers, W. A. (2015). Classroom behaviour: A practical guide to effective teaching, behaviour management and colleague support (4th ed.). Sage.