Working with Other Adults in Your Classroom

Phil Beadle explains the roles of other adults that will work with you in your classroom from time to time

There will be a variety of different people who will sit in your classroom from time to time. Broadly, they will be there to provide you with support with kids who have specific difficulties accessing education, either because they have English as a second language, special educational needs or they are presenting behavioural issues. The people in your class will either be specialist teachers or teaching assistants, and their roles will roughly break down into the following:

EAL support teacher – to provide specialist support to children at an early stage of learning the English language.

Behaviour support teacher – to provide specialist support to children who exhibit behavioural issues.

Learning support teacher – to help kids who have specific difficulties in learning to access the curriculum.

Learning support/teaching assistant – either attached specifically to a child or to the class in general. There are also higher level teaching assistants, who are like the bosses of the normal teaching assistants (kind of).

Your teaching assistant is your best friend

All these people are potentially invaluable to you in your first year, and you must make it a matter of policy to make friends with the teaching assistants especially.

The first and most obvious reason that you should do this is that, despite their lack of professional status and in spite of the degrading, sweat shop salaries they command, every one of them is more experienced in a classroom than you are.

The older teaching assistants, those who have been at the school for years, will have seen it all – from breakfast all the way through to Christmas. They will be able to smell how good/bad/nervous you are, and if you are totally emotionally honest with them, they will help you.

But you must treat them with respect, perhaps even, at an early stage of your career, with deference; you are being paid graduate wages to do roughly the same hours they are working for a pittance. Ergo, they are more passionate about the kids’ education than you are. Most of them have taken the job because they have had children at the school, they will know most of the kids at the school and, as such, they will have mature, to the point of fruity, opinions as to how to deal with them.

Whilst they may indulge in the odd, quiet snicker to themselves whilst you are drowning (though I have always found teaching assistants to be the model of professional discretion), if you do find yourself in this position, then the teaching assistant is your lifebelt. Speak honestly with them about the difficulties you are having, ask politely for help and they will work with you, in the trenches, covering your back as you go over the top. Treat them as if you are in any way better than them (you are not – they have probably seen and dealt with things you couldn’t imagine) and your best friend and chief support will down tools.

One problem is that you and your teaching assistant never get any time together whatsoever to plan what you are going to do. Theoretically, you are supposed to do this, but there is no time allocated for you to do so. The best you will be able to manage is a quick two minutes in the staffroom before the staff briefing. If you do get such an opportunity, however small it is, take it. Your teaching assistant is the only other professional in the room on a regular basis. They will have the same degree of emotional engagement with your classes as you and if you want to discuss strategies, share how much you adore a pupil or just want to scream at how unjust it all is, your teaching assistant will listen.

Source: http://newteachers.tes.co.uk/news/working-other-adults-your-classroom/45963

Tips to help you deal with sarcasm in the classroom.

Sarcasm is, I am told, the last refuge of scoundrels. I'm not sure why this is. I rather imagine that scoundrels have a great many depths they can aspire (despire?) to that surpass the rascally vice of sarcasm. It is also a descendent of it's great-uncle irony, which at least has a more impressive pedigree, although it suffers from the Achilles Heel of being, for all intents, misunderstood by most who use it - up to and including the great Alannis Morisette, who really just meant 'annoying'.

Sarcasm is also the frequent first weapon of choice by your contemporary classroom urchin. Why is it so often unsheathed? Because its USP is its intrinsic ambiguity. If a kid says to you, 'Wow, Sir, you look realy GREAT today,' when you just know they're conveying their charmless scorn for your bold cardigan/ Ugg boot approach to smart/ casual. The cloak of the double entendre gives them, they assume, immunity from the clobbering hammer of your righteous wrath. Because all they have to do when you start to change colour and hop from foot to foot is say, 'What? I was just saying you looked NICE!.' *turns to rest of the class* 'You can't say anything in this class. GOD!!!' *storms out of room*.

In short sarcasm is the cuss you can't trust... Here's what to do:
 

Tactically ignore

Don't react to the sarcasm at first, at all. Get on with the lesson. Don't even register that it registered. This policy, similar to 'do not feed the troll' will often starve the situation of fuel.

Note, I said 'tactically ignore' Don't ignore it. Keep the little chap behind after the lesson, and explain to them, clearly and without anger, that you didn't like the tone of the comment, and that if there was a repetition of similar comments, you'd deal with it as if it were an open insult. If they huff and fuss, then at least they don't have an audience. Also, point out that communication is subtle, and context and tone also matter- and you didn't feel the tone was complimentary. That way you don't accuse them of lying, but they know that you're not happy with the comment and you won't tolerate it.

Don't use sarcasm yourself

I say this guardedly, because of course, you can use sarcasm if you're clever with it, and the relationship between the kids and you is one that can endure what is essentially cheek. I use it all the time, but then my kids know where I'm coming from. If I have a new kid whom I don't know, or a class where the relationship isn't strong enough to take a knock, I keep my language direct and unsubtle. If you're sarcastic, then the kids will often be sarcastic back, because they''ll model behaviour from you, or at least take their boundary cues from you.

Confront

This is for when you've made it clear that you don't want any comments beyond the standard classroom menu (eg appearance, criticisms of the lesson etc.) and kids still persist. Calmly (always calmly, losing the rag is rarely profitable) send the kid out, or set a detention, or have them removed, or whatever you do.

Sarcasm is, depending on the context, a direct challenge to you, and an attempt to mock you, the lesson and your dignity. If you're going to lead them into a brave new world of education, you can't be a laughing stock. That doesn't mean you can't laugh at yourself, but never at your expense, and never solely for their amusement.

Good luck *rolls eyes*

Source: http://newteachers.tes.co.uk/news/tips-help-you-deal-sarcasm-classroom/46079

Behaviour: Noisy Year 7's

The problem: I am an NQT and my first lesson with Year 7 did not go well. I found it almost impossible to achieve quiet.

All my usual tricks - countdowns, three warnings, sending pupils out - didn’t work and barely any learning took place. How can I handle this class?

What you said

“One strategy I used was to make my expectations quite clear. Get them to write down the rules in silence and constantly refer to them - stamp out any behavioural issues immediately.”
Faldamir12

“Countdowns will not work with this age group. I know if I tried it with my Year 8s they would just laugh. In secondary school they have wised up and are unlikely to take it seriously.”
Angelil

“Countdowns do work - I use them through Years 7 to 11. I explain to them that it is a fair way of getting their attention and they all understand this and see it as a way to prevent them being moaned at for talking over the teacher.”
Random175

The expert view

Creating the right environment from the start, by communicating that the classroom has set rules, will encourage your pupils to engage in a focused manner. There are six steps to achieve this:

1. Greet the pupils outside the classroom by standing at the door and welcoming them in. Tell them to sit at their desks and complete a set task which you have previously prepared. Give out raffle tickets as they step into the classroom.

2. It is highly likely that one or two pupils will test the boundaries and will not enter the classroom as you want them to. If this occurs, promptly and assertively say to the pupil, “You’re not ready to come into the classroom - please wait there until you are ready to come in.”

3. Praise the pupils who are completing the set task and reinforce with raffle tickets.

4. Return to the pupil whom you have asked to wait outside the classroom and say to them, “Are you now ready to come into the classroom?” It is highly likely that the pupil will now be ready and will enter the classroom in a calm and focused manner.

5. Regularly “catch” each pupil doing the right thing and praise openly. Pupils love praise, and when they see others receiving it good behaviour becomes contagious.

6. Immediately nip undesirable behaviour in the bud. At the end of the lesson have the raffle draw and give the winner their prize, such as stationery. Repeat this process every time the pupils enter the classroom so they know what is expected of them.

Nicola Morgan is a behaviour management consultant and author of ‘Quick, Easy and Effective Behaviour Management Ideas for the Classroom’. For more information email info@nicolasmorgan.co.uk.

CHECKLIST

Do

• Prepare a task the pupils can get on with as soon as they sit at their desks.
• If any pupils refuse to enter the classroom quietly, make them wait outside until they have calmed down.
• Reinforce good behaviour with praise and rewards.

Don’t

• Allow poor behaviour to go unchallenged.

Source http://newteachers.tes.co.uk/news/behaviour-noisy-year-7s/23604

Top 10 strategies for encouraging good behaviour

It’s far more effective to encourage good behaviour rather than deal with misbehaviour as it arises

The 10 strategies below are designed to help you encourage your children to behave well, so that you can hopefully avoid having to deal with misbehaviour.

Wait for silence

This is the single most effective thing that a teacher can do to get their classes to behave and learn properly. Whatever it take never ever address a class until they are sitting in silence looking at you and ready to listen to what you say. Depending on the children you teach, to achieve silence form your class you might try

• Simply waiting for them
• Giving a ‘silence command’ such as ‘I want everyone looking at me and listening, please’
• Using sanctions for chatty individuals or whole classes
• Giving them a shock eg pretending to bang your head on the desk, storming out of the room theatrically etc

Expect the best

Children will generally live up to or down to what you expect of them. Always expect your students to work and behave impeccably and express surprise (rather than anger) if they don’t.

Tell them what you want

Our students need to know where they stand so tell them exactly what it is you want. One good way of doing this is to use ‘I expect’ statements right from the word go. For example, let them know that ‘I expect you to listen in silence when I am talking’ and ‘I expect you to stay in your seats unless you have permission to get up’.

Give them the choice

Pass he responsibility for behaving appropriately over to your students - it is after all their decision to make. Essentially the children have a choice between doing as you ask and being rewarded or refusing to comply and accepting the consequences of this.

Use the deadly stare

Non-verbal messages are a very powerful tool in getting good behaviour. Learn to perfect the deadly stare so that a single look will silence an individual or a class.

Control your voice

Our voices give away our inner state of mind and can also influence the way that our students behave. Learn to keep your voice calm and relaxed and this will help you control your class.

Praise one encourage all

A quick word of praise to a student who is doing what you want, rather than a snap of annoyance at those messing around will encourage the rest of the class to behave in an appropriate way.

Set the boundaries

When you first meet your class or classes let them know where your boundaries are - what you will and will not accept. A good way to visualise boundaries is to think of them as a box within which your students must stay. Make it clear to the children which behaviours are inside and outside the box and be consistent in your adherence to these standards.

Set them targets

We all like to have something to aim for. Set targets for how your children should behave as well as how they should work . For example a quick target of ‘I want everyone to work silently for ten minutes starting from now' can prove very effective.

Learn to laugh

Use humour in the classroom will show your students that you are human and consequently encourage them to respect you. Being able to laugh at yourself when you make a mistake offers a good counterbalance to the moment when you must be strict and so helps lighten the classroom atmosphere. 

Source: http://newteachers.tes.co.uk/content/top-10-strategies-encouraging-good-behaviour

Behaviour - Cut out noise in class with our 35 top tips!

From storytelling to Star Trek quotes, there’s an art to keeping students quiet. Here, teachers share their tried and tested methods

Yasuyuki Kuwahara tells stories. Elicia Shepard sings. Mary McCarney uses a small bell and her husband pretends he is on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.

These teachers - working in Japan, South Korea and the US respectively - all have the same aim: to get their class to be quiet.

Teachers want to quell the natural noise of youth for various reasons: to give instructions, to teach, to create a productive environment for individual work, to ensure the pounding headache that has been knocking on their temples since lunch does not escalate to a critical level of pain…

But getting a class to be quiet is tricky. So TES decided to look at how teachers around the world were performing this conjuring trick. What we uncovered was a range of techniques as varied as they were ingenious, a treasure trove that you can plunder for your own uses. We present to you 35 golden rules for silencing your class.

1. “I always have my guitar with me and explain that by the time I’ve finished playing all six strings of a chord, they need to be sitting down quietly.”

Craig Clarke teaches at Anfield School, a primary in Hong Kong

2&3. “Our teachers use strategies such as writing riddles on the board for the children to solve and playing classical music.”

Amanda Dickson is head of primary at Academia Britanica Cuscatleca in Santa Tecla, El Salvador

4. “When the class are sitting down and I’m explaining something, I’ll move around among them. If anyone’s talking, I’ll tap them on the head or put my hand on their shoulder - or even stand in front of them.”

Kirsty MacPhee teaches at Hazlehead Academy in Aberdeen, Scotland

5. “I tend to pinpoint the noisiest individuals and tell them to be quiet by shouting their surname. Everyone else falls in line as a result. This means that I am not telling people off who are being quiet, as can happen with some whole-class techniques.”

Jeremy James teaches at Lycée Champollion in Grenoble, France

6. “I start sharing a brief story. Most of the time the students become quiet, because those who are interested in the story make the noisy ones stop talking.”

Yasuyuki Kuwahara is a citizenship and cultural studies teacher in Tokyo, Japan

7. “Take two minutes and let them make as much noise as they can with the agreement and understanding that this noise is purposeful and within a set time.”

Jennifer Murray teaches at the Deira International School in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

8. “I use chants and songs. One chant I sing is ‘Look, look, look at me’ and the students will say ‘Look, look, look at you!’ I sing it loudly, then quietly, and then in a whisper until all the students are looking at me.”

Elicia Shepard teaches children aged 5-11 in South Korea

9. “Shake a shaker or rattle a tambourine. It will automatically gain the children’s attention. If you make it into a game, they will get used to standing still and being quiet when you do this.”

Alice Edgington teaches at St Stephen’s Infant School in Canterbury, England

10. “I like to say ‘1, 2, 3 eyes on me’. They put their hands on their head, say ‘1, 2, eyes on you’ and go quiet in a flash.”

Denelle Calafiore is a teacher in Melbourne, Australia

11. “I give short, easy-to-follow phrases that the students have to repeat in a certain way. So I may say ‘Class, class’, and they all have to say ‘Yes, yes’ in response. Another example is ‘Classity class’ with the response ‘Yessity yes’.”

Amber Ernst teaches at Sleepy Eye Public Elementary Kindergarten in Minnesota, US

12. “I use a stick to hit the desk of any student who speaks when they shouldn’t. Although I never use this stick on the children, the rap on the desk gets their attention.”

A teacher in the Kedah region of Malaysia

13. “Talk quietly. The students then go quiet so they can hear you. It doesn’t always work but when it does it’s surprisingly effective, and it saves your voice.”

Greg Ashman teaches at Ballarat Clarendon College in Victoria, Australia

14. “For the younger kids, I love a game of ‘Miss S says’ (a game like Simon Says). I give them a quick succession of ‘Miss S says… ’ actions and finish with ‘Miss S says ready to listen’.”

Anna Slssinger teaches at Kendal School, a primary in Christchurch, New Zealand

15. “Developing ‘the look’ is vital in keeping control when chat starts to simmer. It can be a raised eyebrow, a tilted head, a pursed lip - whatever works. It’s non-verbal and non-confrontational.”

Zofia Niemtus teaches at Lambeth Academy in South London, England

16&17. “I have an old-fashioned bell on my desk. One short ring and my fourth graders (aged 9-10) usually respond very quickly. My husband (who teaches third grade at my school) calls out ‘Captain on the bridge’, to which his students respond ‘Ready and waiting, Sir’ - he is a Star Trek fan…”

Mary McCarney teaches at Atlanta International School, US

18. “If I give them a warning for talking when they shouldn’t be, they get a yellow card. Three yellow cards result in a red card, which leads to an anmerkning - 10 of these would result in a lowered grade for behaviour.”

Anne-Gro Hoyer-Trollnes teaches at NTI Gymnasiet in Stockholm, Sweden

19. “I clap my hands and say ‘Look at the screen’, where I have this great online tool displayed. The meter shows that the noise level is not acceptable.”

A teacher at the Rock Academy in Fish Hoek, South Africa

20. “I call out ‘freeze’ and everyone freezes in whatever position they are in. They know this is the cue to be quiet.”

A Rock Academy teacher

21. “I stand in front of them and perform actions like the Macarena dance. It gets their attention quickly and they quieten down and join in.”

A Rock Academy teacher

22. “I have a flowery necklace called a ‘lei’ that I wear when I want quiet. The students know that nobody should talk when I am wearing it. When I take my lei off, they can talk to me.”

A Rock Academy teacher

23. “I get the children’s attention by saying ‘class’ in a variety of ways and the children respond with ‘yes’ in the same tone and way. So I’ll say ‘claaaass’ and they say ‘yeeees’. I mix it up all the time.”

Rajdeep Corby teaches children aged 7-11 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

24. “The key is that when the bell rings there is something clear for the students to be doing, such as working on some warm-up problems.”

Gary Rubinstein teaches at a high school in Houston, Texas, US

25. “I set them a goal to achieve a certain number of good behaviour points. I often involve parents in setting the initial targets.”

Daniel Dunlevie teaches children aged 5-11 in Melbourne, Australia

26. “Humour can be a really effective tool - a joke or bit of banter - but be careful not to cross the line.”

Georgia Neale teaches at Ringmer Community College in East Sussex, England

27&28. “Clap out a rhythm and get them to repeat it. I also use a singing egg timer - they have to be silent before it runs out.”

Mairead Doohan teaches at SCL International School in Surat Thani, Thailand

29. “I use ClassDojo, an online behaviour management system that allows teachers to award points to students when they meet expected behaviours.”

Bianca Hewes teaches at Davidson High School in Sydney, Australia

30. “I stand at the front with my arm in the air. The class copies the action. Silence follows very quickly.”

Rhian Davies teaches at Marple Hall School, Stockport, UK

31. “I decide, together with the students, the success criteria for a quiet class and use a reward and sanction system to enforce it.”

Anne Taffin d’Heursel-Baldisseri is head of pre-preparatory at St Paul’s School in São Paulo, Brazil

32.“A sound-effect machine works really well. The device I use has a variety of different noises. I particularly like using the BBC ‘breaking news’ sound.”

Helen Staniland teaches at Deira International School, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

33. “I use a tally system. The children are grouped and each group has 100 marks at the start of the lesson. When a student makes a noise, a mark is deducted from their group tally. At the end of the day, I announce the winning group.”

Archard Ruyange was deputy headteacher at the School of St Jude in Arusha, Tanzania

34. “My aim is to motivate children to be quiet by rewarding them with interesting experiences. The one that really controls noise levels is the promise to be involved in things such as Megaconference Jr, which connects them with schools from all over the world.”

Suzana Delic teaches at Primary School Horvati, Zagreb, Croatia

35. “The best way is simply to wait patiently, without saying a word, and the students calm down one by one.”

Hanna Pohjola teaches visual arts in Åkersberga, Sweden.