Approaches to Teaching and

Learning 2
Assessment 1 Case Study

By Stacey Hilder

s3919572

Describe:
Whist on my placement at Penola Catholic College in Broadmeadows, an incident
occurred between myself and another student in a year 11 Physical Education
class. One Monday morning I had awoken to an email sent from my mentor,
stating how he had injured himself the night before whilst he was on a run and
he wouldnt be coming in. In the email he went on to ask me to run all of the
lessons throughout the day with a CRT present. During the first period, another
PE teacher came up to me and instructed me what was to be covered in the next
lesson. He handed me the sheets to hand out and explained what the students
were to start to create in the next lesson (period 2). As the bell rang I began to
make my way to the classroom and once everyone was present, including the
CRT, I began the lesson. About halfway through the lesson, I noticed a student
playing on her mobile phone. Even though I had taken a few lessons with this
class, this is the first time I had seen this particular student attend. Upon seeing
this I asked her politely to put it away and that if I saw it again, it would have to
come up to the front of the room. I continued on with the class and it wasnt long
before she took it out again and was playing on it. I requested that the student
bring her phone up to the front of the room, and told her that she could collect it
at the end of the class. She immediately got defensive stating how she needed
to keep her phone connected to her laptop to charge. My response to this was to
ask her to bring both to the front of the room as we were not needing to use our
laptops during this session. The student snapped back saying how she was not
going to give me her phone and then shoved it into her pocket. I began to walk
towards her when she barked at me once more saying that she would not give
me her phone. It was at this point that the CRT stepped in and mentioned how it
was part of the school rules to hand over a devise when a student is caught
playing on it without being told that they are allowed to be on them. To this she
rolled her eyes and slouched into her seat. Unsure of what to do I told her that I
would be speaking to my mentor about this and continued on with the class. At
the end of the class I spoke to the CRT and asked him about the situation, to
which he has reassured me that I was not in the wrong and that I had every right
to ask for the phone to be brought to the front. This whole situation left me
feeling deflated and unrespected, this feeling was amplified when there was no
action taken by my mentor.

Inform:

I think that this shows how important technology is for young people these days
and how much they rely and depend on their phones and the internet. I think
that phones have become such a massive problem both in school and just in life
in general. Students spend so much time messaging, tweeting and scrolling
through feeds online that it has become an extension of their hands. I think
asking to take away a phone of off a student in 2016 is more stressful to them
than not being allowed to go to the school dance used to be. I also believe that
because this particular student had never met me before, she had no respect for
myself due to not being able to build a rapport/ relationship like the rest of the
class had. However, even though she didnt have this rapport, I dont believe
that she was trying to be disrespectful on purpose; I honestly believe that she is
just extremely attached to her mobile phone that at the threat of it being taken
away from her she panicked and became snappy.

Confront:
There was an article that appeared in The Sun newspaper that stated that one in
ten students say that they are addicted to their mobile phones (Hope 2013).
This article brought to light the thoughts and concerns of many parents and
educators all over the world. As a result, researchers are undergoing many
different projects to determine the severity of adolescents addiction to mobile
phone devices. Whilst currently the one scale used most often to determine this
is the Mobile Phone Problem Usage Scale (MPPUS). This scale was originally
complied to be used on adults, and doesnt take into account all variables
including the use of smart phone apps versus messaging. A number of studies
have modified this scale to use on adolescents; one of these studies found a
correlation between phone use and maintaining interpersonal solidarity (Chung
2011). Using mobile phones as a method of being closer to their peers has
become a major part in an adolescents life, especially that of a female. Another
study found that withdrawal for these adolescents is a serious thing and that
many reported that they experienced unpleasant emotions when they were
unable to use their mobile phones as usual (Lopez-Fernndez et al 2014). Whilst
research into this arising difficulty is still in early days, it is clear that adolescents
have a deeper connection to their devices than to just send a message. Their
mobile phone allows them to be connected and maintain interpersonal solidarity,
it is these reasons why the student was defensive when I asked her to bring her
phone to the front. By asking this of her, in essence I was asking her to give up
her connections to her friends, I was taking away the tool that implements her
interpersonal solidarity.
Without knowing this particular students background can also play a part into
why she behaved the way that she did. Abraham Maslow proposed a theory in
1943 which today is known as Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. The theory suggests
that the lower levels of the pyramid must be satisfied before the higher levels
can be. The two lower levels of the pyramid are physiological and safety. Without
knowing what these two things are like at home for the student, can play a big
part in the next level which is belongingness. This level is where the student
builds a relationship with those around them, as her teacher I would be unable to
successfully build a good level of rapport with her, if she is not satisfied in the
two previous levels of physiological and safety. Due to the fact that I had taught

this class a few times beforehand and had not yet seen this particular student,
there may in fact be problems she is dealing with in her home life which wouldnt
allow her to come to school in a positive mindset.

Reconstruct
In the future I will ensure to do everything possible to get to know the students
that I am teaching. I would try to gain an insight into their home lives and how
they are coping with their everyday lives. I think it is important to be aware of
the troubles that are outside of the classroom, that effect the happenings of
inside the classroom. To ensure troubles with mobile phones and other devices
dont become a problem, I would negotiate with the class to create rules on what
is acceptable and what isnt. By working with the students to create rules, it will
help to create a sense of ownership and control over their own mobile phone use.
It is this loss of control that was one of the major issues in the situation outlined.
By implementing the above measures, I would be able to ensure that the above
situation could be avoided.

Reference:
Chung, N 2011, Korean adolescent girls addictive use of mobile phones to
maintain interpersonal solidarity, Social Behaviour and Personality, vol. 39, no.
10, pp. 1349 1358.
Griffiths, M 2013, Adolescent mobile phone addiction: a cause for concern?,
Education and Health, vol. 31, no. 3, pp.76-78.
Hope, L 2013, Help, were addicted to our smartphones, The sun, March 21, p.
17.
Lopez-Fernandez, O, Honrubia-Serrano, L, Freixa-Blanxart, M & Gibson, W 2014,
Prevalence of problematic mobile phone use in British adolescents, Cyberpsychology, Behaviour and Social Networking, vol. 17, no.2, pp. 91- 97.