TS 1: Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
– Establish a safe and stimulating environment for pupils, rooted in mutual respect
‘A pleasant surprise’
Blog post
Year 10 Religious Studies
The day has come. My nerves, I feel, may overtake me. I wear dark colours so the nervous sweat patches aren’t visible to students. I wouldn’t want to add fuel to the fire!
Students enter. I have meticulously planned this lesson, to their abilities as I have observed many lessons with this class, taught by my mentor. They are loud, noisy, boisterous. They push, shove and show unruly behaviour. The classroom is unsettled. Miss settles them slowly, as she was to take the beginning of the lesson today for some administrative tasks. Time passes and she tells me to just crack on.
The class fall silent I look around, they are all watching me. I raise my voice, take the register. They start talking again, and as I ask for quiet, they settle. I introduce the lesson topic, incarnation. They choose a picture from their desks which I placed there, I ask them to see which they feel best represents Jesus as they believe. They do as asked, they fall quiet again as I continue a positive but stern approach. I have seen this class so disruptive and unruly, I am pleasantly surprised and feel surprisingly confident. Not only are they listening, but they are interacting and it appears, through teach and testing, they are learning.
This class dislikes making notes, and I do not want to spend a lesson asking the to copy notes from the board. They will not learn from this and this will negate my aims as a teacher for both knowledge and behaviour management. I ask them to draw the outline of their own hand. I put 5 key points on the board. I ask them to write one point in their own words in each finger. They do it. THEY DO IT! With some gentle prompting and monitoring, they are compliant and generally (for this class) settled!
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The lesson comes to the end, and I do not start a new task as time will not allow for this. Before they leave, I thank them. Lots of research into positive behaviour management has shown me that I should appreciate when they are good, reward positivity. In return, they thank me back. Echoes of “thank you Miss” and “bye Miss” fill the room. I stand there for a moment, feeling pleasantly surprised.