Browsing by Author "McNeilly, Elizabeth"

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    Establishing and Sustaining Positive Classroom Cultures and Flow Using Online Modules
    (2024-09-04) Bene, Rose; McNeilly, Elizabeth
    This article provides an overview of the authors' action research/design thinking project investigating whether the completion of online modules on “classroom flow” contributed to preservice teachers’ self-efficacy in establishing positive classroom cultures and addressing students’ off-task behaviours. Preservice teachers from two post-secondary institutions participated in a survey and two focus group discussions. Participants in the second focus group completed the online modules on “classroom flow” which focused on strategies of classroom management that align with student-centred approaches to teaching and learning. Findings indicated that preservice teachers in both focus groups were adept at aligning student-centered approaches to minor off-task behaviours in the classroom, but struggled to identify student-centered approaches when off-task behaviours intensified. At this point, they were more likely to revert to teacher-centered approaches to classroom management. Interestingly, participants in the second focus group who had completed the online modules had the language to identify and differentiate categories of off-task behaviours and were able to offer a wider set of strategies to restore "flow" in the classroom than the first focus group. This suggests that pre-service teachers might benefit from having the opportunity to use these online modules to practice student-centered classroom management for increasingly challenging situations.
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    Getting Radical: Collaborative Design-based Thinking
    (2019-05-01) Bene, Rose; McNeilly, Elizabeth
    What does it mean to engage in radical collaboration? In this session, instructors who participated in a weekly Design-based Thinking community of practice shared some perspectives on how radical collaboration and design thinking work in tandem to resolve teaching and learning challenges. Design-based thinking and radical collaboration are approaches that incorporate common principles and strategies such as understanding people’s needs and issues, gathering diverse perspectives, prototyping and testing solutions, and reflecting on and engaging in iterative processes that lead to viable outcomes. Session participants were invited to engage in an experiential, design-thinking activity where they discussed obstacles that they or their students have had in collaborative teams and brainstormed ideas on possible solutions.