Impatient Pupil
Vignette #16
Context
I have a pupil in my classroom that I simply don’t understand. The pupils is extremely demanding and has no patience when I am working with other pupils in the classroom. He also does not get on with anybody else in the classroom and if he doesn’t get exactly what he wants, he can have a tantrum in the middle of the classroom; sometimes even hurting other pupils physically in the process. He has recently been diagnosed with autism and now has a pupil support assistant sitting next to him to assist but he still expects an immediate response from me when he gets stuck with his learning.
Dilemma
I just don’t understand why the pupil behaves the way he does. How do I get him to understand that he is not the only pupil in the class and he has to make allowances for other pupils and their needs?
Choices
- Talk to other staff in the school to find out if they are experiencing the same professional challenges. (tool 9)
- Engage in collegial consultation (tool 21)
- Talk to the pupil about what it is like to have autism, what their experience of school is like and what his ambitions are for after school. (tool 13)
- Talk to the parents to find out what the community is like to live in, what their son’s school experience is like and what their ambitions are for their child. (tool 8)
- Improve the learning activities of the pupil with support of other pupils, e.g. by working with Cool-groups: 2 to 3 students work online together when doing homework or preparing for a class test. (tool 12)
- Video recording for reflection (tool 7)
- Classroom leadership questionnaire (tool 3 and 3a)
Resources
- Tool 9 Talk to colleagues
- Tool 21 Collegial consultation
- Tool 13 Interview pupils
- Tool 8 Talk with parents
- Tool 12 Cooperation between students in blended learning formats
- Tool 7 Korthagen's ALACT cycle of reflection
- Tool 3 Classroom leadership questionnaire
- Tool 3a Classroom leadership questionnaire - valuation sheet