...Meeting A 'New' Class

Looking back over the time I spent working in primary schools one of my strengths was my ability to establish most classes quickly and efficiently.  When called upon to cover lessons or to step into a colleague's shoes I tended to manage it with minimum disruption.  So this post is simply aimed at gaining an understanding of how I might have achieved it, to serve as guidance for teachers in a similar situation - teachers needing to rapidly form positive, productive relationships with a 'new' class of pupils.

...Managing Pressure

Every year, since I began teaching, I've found the approaching winter break brings as much pressure as it does festivity. In fact, I've not once experienced a 'winding down' toward the end of a term. Instead, I tend to feel particularly wound up. Well, this post is concerned with professional pressure, whenever it occurs - and how to manage it.

...Beating Stress

Photograph: Alamy

It's the nature of the job, isn't it? Inspections, ever-increasing expectations, and so many tasks to juggle, including planning, assessment, reporting and resourcing... The pressures on teachers, which seem relentless at times, amount to a genuine occupational hazard.

The pressures of the PGCE in particular are widely recognised. The learning curve is very steep for most trainees. The regular observations of your teaching practice, and the need for getting to grips with the necessary theory, subject knowledge, tasks and assignments make for a highly demanding 11 months. Current fee arrangements serve to add an unfortunate level of jeopardy for many.

It is with this in mind that Nane Steinhoff's blog in The Guardian caught my eye. Now, I know that dealing with stress is far from simple, and that a handy list of prompts is unlikely to be of any help for sufferers with acute symptoms. But, I shared the blog with a small group of trainees and it seemed to resonate. So, here it is - reblogged:

...Positive Behaviour Management

Why does 'positive' management of pupils' behaviour matter? Well, by its very definition, it suggests clarity and confidence - both necessary attributes for successful teaching. However, taking a positive approach also helps us to sustain a classroom environment in which pupils feel safe and respected, and which is conducive to learning.

To promote positive behaviour, we should adhere to some well-documented key principles. (Indeed, my own posts include discussions about establishing rules and routines, and maintaining a learning climate.) But I believe that by adopting a positive mindset, and using consistently positive language, we can have a significant  and long-term impact on a class's learning behaviour.

...Don't Smile Till Christmas

The 'establishment phase' of the school year is crucial for setting behavioural expectations for pupils. It is the time at which teachers introduce and embed the systems and routines we will be using for the rest of the year. Certainly older pupils, and students in FE and HE, expect us to discuss rules for learning and behaviour with them, in order to establish a shared, communal understanding of how the classroom environment will operate effectively. Within the context of teaching and learning, the aim is to enable groups and individuals to:

• own/be accountable for their behaviour
• respect others' rights, feelings and needs
• build workable relationships (Rogers, 2011).

So, from the first day with a new class (whether at the start of the year, term, or training placement) employing consistent and positive behaviour management strategies firmly and fairly is essential to allow effective learning to take place. Indeed, it has been suggested that pupils form enduring judgments about their teacher's effectiveness in the first minutes of meeting them, highlighting the significance of our actions at this time.