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 ...