Effective Teacher and Learning Environment for Students With Behavioral Problems

Learning Theories
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Introduction
Keven is in the sixth grade and seems to have behavioral problems. He lives with his father and two younger siblings, while his mother is far away on a military assignment. Keven appears to be a sharp student, passing in almost all of his subjects. The exceptional is maths, which he failed in the previous grade. In the classroom, Keven appears unmotivated and careless and needs to be included in classroom tasks and activities. He refuses to participate in an incentive program designed by his teacher to help him pass maths and participate more in class. Keven has hobbies that he does after school. These include computer games, Karate, and skateboarding. The maths teacher is concerned that Keven may not pass the state-based standard maths test due in the next few months. The paper will present a customized learning theory for Keven’s case. Perspectives from developmental learning theories such as Piaget’s, Vygotsky, and Bandura’s will be used to articulate the customized theory of effective teaching strategies and an effective environment for learning that Keven needs.
An Effective Teacher for Keven
Keven needs a teacher who would be able to help him regain motivation and focus in his education. An effective teacher should contribute to his character development. The teacher can contribute to Keven’s character development by engaging him in creative tasks and enabling a strong classroom presence. The teacher should ensure that they not just lecture or teach theoretical concepts but also engage and actively participate in the lesson. An engaging teacher demonstrates in words and action, allows students to participate actively, commends every student for every achievement, and rewards students for their participation. According to Piaget’s theory, a student’s ability to reason, learn concepts, and solve problems develops from cognitive abilities that grow over time following exposure and interaction with the environment (Slavin & Schunk, 2021). Keven needs to interact with his class environment more and be more active and engaged. According to McLeod (2018), Piaget’s theory describes learning as a process through which students adapt to environmental stimuli through assimilation, accommodation, and equilibration. In assimilation, students apply what they have observed and experienced to their understanding (Gutek, 2014). Therefore, students should actively engage in learning activities within and outside the classroom. In Keven’s case, an engaging learning activity will allow him to directly observe and gain experience that he will apply to understand math concepts better.
An effective teacher should engage with students who have diverse learning needs. Teachers can do this effectively by showing empathy to these students and a commitment and dedication to helping them stay in line with their learning needs. In Keven’s case, the teacher should be willing to understand and incorporate Keven in any of her special or remedial classes before the due date for the math test catches up. The teacher should treat all students, including Keven as an individual and take a step to understand what goes on in their lives and why they are the way they are. Therefore, the teacher should be observant, empathetic, and attentive to the student and always harbor a positive and rich attitude toward the student. Showing empathy to students with diverse learning needs will allow the teacher to make a healthy and necessary connection with the student, improving the student’s performance both within and outside the classroom. According to Vygotsky’s theory, a student’s ability to learn and apply education concepts is enhanced by social interactions and guidance from a knowledgeable person in the community, such as a parent or a teacher (Slavin & Schunk, 2021). Therefore, if the teacher deeply engages with students with diverse learning needs by showing empathy, students can learn and understand concepts more easily. In Keven’s case, the teacher should strive to create a connection with him by seeking to understand why he behaves the way he does in class and why he is failing in his math class and address his most dire learning needs.
An effective teacher should build a student’s self-efficacy. The teacher can communicate effectively with their students to ensure they understand the intended concepts. Being an effective communicator helps to create a credible channel of knowledge and information between the teacher and the students. In Keven’s case, the teacher can be an effective communicator by seeking to understand the origin of his ill classroom behavior and addressing it promptly and effectively. The teacher should use the simplest language and a friendly tone to demonstrate to Keven how maths applies to his favorite hobbies, including Karate, playing computer games, and skateboarding. By doing this, Keven will be able to have a better and more positive approach toward maths and will most likely change his classroom behavior. Over time, Keven will grow confident in his ability to excel at maths and all the other subjects. In Bandura’s theory, behavior is learned by listening, observing, and imitating others. Bandura explains that behavior can be obtained through modeling and observation, which can be achieved through effective communication (Bandura & Hall, 2018). By listening to the teacher, Keven will be able to overcome his weaknesses, which include failing in maths and being unable to show his best classroom behavior.
An effective teacher should be instrumental in facilitating the development of relationships between students and between the teacher and the student. Teachers can do this by listening attentively to their students, understanding them, and not necessarily replying. In Keven’s case, the teacher would be able to pick up any important cue that is not being outrightly spoken once she listens to him attentively. Further, listening attentively would allow the teacher to construct an effective approach that will assist Keven in building his confidence and skills. The teacher will be able to tailor lessons that would help Keven and his classmates understand different concepts in a better way. By doing so, a healthy and engaging teacher-student relationship would be created. The teacher would always know how to approach and reach Keven, which would improve how he receives and learns the concepts taught both within and outside the classroom. According to Piaget’s theory, learning depends on the student’s experience, observation, maturation, and ability to fulfill their learning needs from the surrounding stimuli (McLeod, 2018). Therefore, having valuable relationships with fellow students and teachers would drastically help Keven improve his performance. It is, therefore, important for Keven to be listened to, which would create a gateway for him to be understood and facilitate the development of helpful relationships.
An Effective Learning Environment for Keven
An effective learning environment for Keven would include direct instruction. In direct instruction, the teacher would use a straightforward teaching technique to impart a skill to Keven and his classmates. Typically, the teacher would stand in front of the classroom and present specific information and instructions. The teacher can individualize the content they are teaching when using direct instruction. In direct instruction, the teacher would first introduce the learning content to Keven and his classmates to help them recall prior knowledge. Secondly, the teacher would present the new material for the day and facilitate learning, where Keven and his classmates would learn step-by-step. The teacher would then guide all the...