小心你的孩子变成”差生”,而且澳洲老师根本就不会管他/她是不是差生！
格拉坦研究所（Grattan Institute）在近日公布的一份有关澳洲学校教育的研究报告，揭示了澳洲学校在学生学习与教师教学领域所存在的问题，在同一个班级中，学生学业表现出现“两极分化”的趋势，尤其一些所谓的“差等生”面临孤立的境地。同时报告还指出，在澳洲学校，教师的育人能力也有所不足，他们缺乏将“差等生”拉回正轨的能力。
约四成学生跟不上进度
综合澳广网、英国《卫报》报道，格拉坦研究所公布的报告显示，在澳洲学校，约40%的学生会定期出现厌学情绪，学习成绩无法提高，很难跟上其他同学的学习进度。报告称，这些学生的学习成绩可能落后于其他同学一至两年时间。
格拉坦研究所学校教育项目总监格罗斯（Peter Goss）对此指出，当一个学生出现厌学情绪时，他们的学习成绩很有可能出现下滑。“尤其当教师采取了不恰当的应对措施后，更多学生的学习热情可能出现冷却，进而导致整个班级丧失学习动能。”
报告还发现，约15%的学生曾在上课时出现粗鲁举止或胡乱发言的行为。不过，更严重的问题是，25%的成绩较差学生被其他学生孤立，直接结果就是这些学生更不愿做作业，甚至不想来上课。格罗斯称，“一些学生像个‘幽灵’，随意放飞自我，但他们的教师根本不知情。”
教师管理课堂能力不足
除了学生学业上的问题外，报告还指出，澳洲教师的育人能力也存在不足。30%的教师在管理学生行为方面有压力，尤其在一些不够富裕的学校，40%的教师存在上述问题。
不过，报告还补充称，澳洲目前推行的初级教师培训机制并不足以协助教师掌握有关课堂纪律问题所必需的技巧。仅半数新任教师表示他们所接受的培训有用。事实上，即使是经验丰富的教师，他们在处理一些有关课堂纪律的棘手问题上仍然会感到无措。报告称，若教师对学生的不当行为反应过度，如通过大声斥责、讽刺或羞辱学生的方式来制止他们的行为，结果可能更糟。
为此，报告建议引入更合理的教师培训机制，认为上海教师培训模式很值得借鉴。报告称，上海教师培训项目包括两年内容，其中一个就是课堂管理，在给受训教师提供一些有关课堂管理的建议，如在遇到学生纪律问题时该如何做出反应，如何才能防止事态不进一步升级等。
吁联邦政府加大支持
报告在最后呼吁对有困难的学校给予更多财政支持，称澳洲政府的财政支持并未做到其所标榜的那样有针对性。格罗斯表示，“我们有责任为澳洲的未来考虑，如果我们能够执行更加合理的教育政策，教育领域将形成一个良性循环，学生更加专注于学习，教师的教学压力随之减轻，课堂变得更有秩序，学生也能学得更多。”
事实上，悉尼西部的一些天主教小学已开始通过完成团队任务的方式来实现共同进步，如一些班级还设立了互助学习小组，如此学生不会出现被“孤立”的感觉。
The hidden problem in our classrooms: unproductive and unengaged students
There is a big problem with student behaviour in the classrooms of Australia. But it is not the aggressive or even violent behaviour that occasionally attracts media headlines. More common, and more stressful for teachers, are minor disruptions such as students talking back, or students simply switching off and avoiding work.
As many as 40 per cent of Australia’s school students are unproductive in a given year. This matters: unproductive students are on average one to two years behind their peers.
About one in four of our students quietly disengage in the classroom. This matters, too: students who passively disengage perform just as badly as those who are disruptive or aggressive.
In our report, Engaging students: creating classrooms that improve learning, we bring together numerous studies over the past 10 years to paint a picture of what is going on behind the classroom door. It’s not pretty. We conclude that the problem of student disengagement is under-appreciated in many circles, and warrants much more public and policy attention.
Exactly why students disengage is complicated, of course. Some students bring problems at home into the classroom. The quality of teaching could be poor, or just not targeted at the right level for each student. But what the teacher does to create an effective learning environment is important, too – and this is one key issue we can start improving right away.
The teacher’s role as an effective front-line communicator is crucial and complex. They need to set expectations for their students, build a rapport, establish trust and routines so students are comfortable to participate and learn from their mistakes.
Advances in the science of learning over the past decade or so have shed light on the social, emotional and intellectual aspects of learning. Compelling content on its own is not enough. And old-fashioned discipline does not work either: at best it can make students compliant, but it can’t make them learn.
There is a clear body of knowledge on what teacher techniques in the classroom work best. But Australian teachers are not adequately trained in these techniques, nor given enough guidance on how to implement them in the heat of the moment. Only one-third of the practices promoted in textbooks and training courses for new teachers in Australia have been shown to work.
And once working in schools, teachers have limited opportunities to develop these skills throughout their careers. There are too few opportunities to watch expert teachers in action, or to get feedback on their own classroom techniques. As many as 40 per cent of teachers say they have never had the chance to watch colleagues perform in class.
Teachers are crying out for more guidance on classroom strategies, and these calls should not be ignored. Stressed teachers are more likely to respond badly when a student disengages. A poor response can distract other students and create a dangerous downward spiral.
Of course it is hard, with a group of 25 children or teenagers in a class, for a teacher to do the right thing in every circumstance. But too often, Australia’s teachers are left to try to work things out on their own.
This needs to change. Our report recommends an integrated approach to improve teachers’ classroom techniques. First, universities need to improve their teacher training courses. The focus must be on teaching classroom techniques that have been proven to work. And trainee teachers need more supervised time in a variety of classrooms, especially at the start of the school year when expectations and routines are set. The quality of courses is highly varied: some are excellent, but others need to improve substantively.
Second, schools need to give teachers more practical support. New teachers need to be able to see how an expert teacher gradually constructs an effective learning environment – and how they diffuse a heated situation. These skills can’t be learnt by reading a book or attending a seminar. Teachers need to learn how to put this nuanced skill set into action, and get feedback and guidance on their own performance in the classroom.
Third, governments and policy makers should direct more support to disadvantaged schools, where student engagement is weakest. More broadly, they should take the lead in gathering more information on precisely why so many of our students are disengaged. If there are deeper issues with the quality of teaching or the curriculum, we need to know. Only with better information can we successfully address student disengagement in the classroom.
In the meantime, we can do more on one critical part of the solution: creating classrooms that improve learning. Implementing these recommendations will help create a better learning environment in every Australian classroom, so that every student can be a step closer to reaching their learning potential.