Teaching or lion taming
3 juli 2012 | It’s not so much the ‘knowledge transfer’ that many teacher trainees feel insecure about, but the ‘lion taming’. How to develop the skills that help you cope with the most challenging student behaviour?
The UK’s Department for Education has presented a skillsoverview:
It sets out the knowledge, skills and understanding thattrainees will need to demonstrate in order to be able to managechildren’s behavior successfully. These are the skills that UKteachers need to master before the end of the summer:
- Trainees should understand that they are responsible forensuring the highest standards of behaviour from their pupils.
- Trainees should have developed their own personal style formanaging behaviour. Knowledge of generic behaviour managementsystems and techniques is essential; the way they are used dependson the attributes of individual teachers and the context in whichthey are teaching.
- Trainees should be able to vary the tone and volume of theirvoice to teach effectively and manage behaviour.
- Trainees should know how to look after their voice.
- Trainees should understand how to stand, move, make use ofspace and use eye contact in order to be an authoritative presencein the classroom.
- Trainees should understand what effect their responses, bothverbal and non-verbal, can have on children’s behaviour. Theyshould be able to manage their own emotions when they areteaching.
- Trainees should be able to reflect on the way they managebehaviour and their classrooms and be prepared to change what isn’tworking well.
- Trainees should understand how effective school systems supportgood behaviour management, and prevent and deal with bullying. Theyshould be able to adapt their practice to fit with the schoolbehaviour policy and should understand that consistency is anessential component of managing behaviour.
- Trainees should understand that good relationships are at theheart of good behaviour management. They should be able to formpositive, appropriate, professional relationships with theirpupils.
- Trainees should be able to use praise effectively.
- Trainees should know how to apply rewards and sanctions toimprove behaviour.
- Trainees need to know how to develop and teach routines topupils so that time is used efficiently.
- Trainees need to be able to manage behaviour in a range ofdifferent situations such as whole class teaching, group work, thecorridors and the playground.
- Trainees should have an understanding of why children misbehaveand why some children demonstrate more challenging behaviour.
- Trainees should be able to plan and teach lessons that takeaccount of individual children’s special needs, so that they areless likely to misbehave.
- Trainees should know how to take appropriate and effectiveaction when they are confronted by more extreme behaviour.
- Trainees should know about scientific research anddevelopments, and how these can be applied to understanding,managing and changing children’s behavior.
Might a teacher still feel insecure about one of these topics,the Education Department adds a list of institutions where ‘liontaming skills’ can be learned. Bye, bye summer holiday…
