A few weeks ago I had a really good example of where I had to use TS7 effectively during a lesson. The lesson was a year 8 Core PE lesson where the student’s where playing a game of Dodgeball, and I was assisting/observing the lesson.

The game of Dodgeball requires students ‘to eliminate all players of the opposing team by throwing balls and hitting the opposing player below the shoulders on the fly.’

During one of these games I noticed a student became extremely upset and angry. I could tell this through his body language and tone of voice. The reason why he got like this was because he was constantly being targeted by another student on the opposing team. The student was so angry he started screaming at the other student and started to walk towards him in a very provocative manner. Luckily I noticed what was happening and quickly intervened before a potential fight broke out.

The technique I used to sort this issue was very simple. Firstly I asked the angry student to come and sit next to me and take 2 minutes to calm down. I then asked him to explain what the problem was. It was here that he stated that it was because the student on the other team was purposely targeting him. It was hear that my ‘human side’ as a teacher was key.

What I mean by my ‘human side’ is being able to listen carefully and show that I care and understand when issues arise during my teaching.

I calmly spoke to the student, explaining that he should not allow himself to get so angry at other people. I offered the student the chance to make the right decision by returning to the game providing he did not react like that again and gave him assurances he would not be targeted like that again by another student. Once I felt the angry student was calm I allowed him to re-enter the game and told him I would now speak to the other student who had upset him. As he re-entered the game I then called over the other student who had been purposely targeting the upset student. Again I used my ‘human side’ by calmly speaking to the student, explaining the consequences his actions were having on the other student. The student listened and once he had been given a 2 minute sin bin (targeting a specific student is actually not allowed) he was allowed to re-enter the game.

I conditioned his game when he did return to help avoid further conflict. Firstly I told him to go to the opposite end of the gym to which the student he had upset was at. I then explained again that he was not allowed to target specific students as this was against the rules. He was also not allowed to throw the dodgeball towards the student he had upset under any circumstances, otherwise he was out the game permanently.

This really helped avoid further confrontation and there was no issue in the game after this. I made sure that I praised both their improved behaviour and thanked them for listening and changing their behaviour.

Finally I ensured that I used positive reinforcement towards a different set of students who were having a very competitive dual during the game, but were not allowing it to make them become angry and upset. I did this on purpose so that the two boys who I originally had to speak with understood what kind of behaviour and reactions I wanted in the lesson.

For me this technique was all about showing my human side and showing that I understood the situation from both the student’s perspective. There was no need for me to use a loud or strict tone as I had managed to stop conflict before it arose. It was more about calming the student down, explaining what they were doing wrong and then allowing them to make the right decisions themselves. I also wanted to ensure the students avoided confrontation again, so this is why conditions were put in place for them when they returned to the game.