Analyse_Different_Ways_in_Which_You_Would_Establish_Ground_Rules_with_Your_Learners,_Which_Underpin_Behaviour_and_Respect_for_Others.

PTTL: Assignment 1 Q4 – Level 4 Q4: Analyse different ways in which you would establish ground rules with your learners, which underpin behaviour and respect for others. Having ground rules within the classroom is a necessary exercise as it sets the tone of behaviour and ethics to be conducted whilst in the learning environment. Having ground rules gives a firm boundary for all learners to work within. (Gravells 2008:8). The rules should however be a two–way process so that they are in place for both me as the teacher and the students, further solidifying our teacher-student relationship. Students need to know what you are expecting of them and what they can expect of you (Budden 2008). There are 3 main ways I can set ground rules within a classroom: 1) Set the rules myself and dictate them to the class. 2) Allow the class to set their own rules. 3) Work with the class to create a set of rules agreed upon by everyone. Each of these has their distinct advantages and disadvantages and can be appropriate for different learning environments. Setting the rules myself would allow me to have complete control over the “do’s and don’ts” of the classroom and ensure students behaved in the way I would most like. However, this would most likely cause a view of separation between the students and myself as I would be dictating the rules to them rather than involving them in the process. Allowing students to set their own rules for the classroom would give them the most freedom and control over the process but could possibly conclude in a set of rules that would not be entirely appropriate for the learning environment or include rules that infringed on college policies. Working with the students to create a mutually agreeable set of ground rules takes the advantages of the previously mentioned methods and cuts out the disadvantages. The rules would be set by the group as a whole, which would further forge the class bond and remove any unnecessary or undesirable rules. This would mean that the students would have no excuse in breaking the rules as it is them who agreed upon the rules from the start. This is important as ethically, it is not fair to castigate people for violating rules unless they know and understand them (Atherton 2009). There are several methods I could use with the class to produce our own set of ground rules. All of them introduce a process that allows rules to be judged on their necessity for the group and whether or not the students would agree with having them and abiding by them. One simple method I could employ would be to have a class brainstorming session. This would involve having the students suggest ground rules to put in place and then analyzing them and deciding what rules we would like to have in our decided set. This allows the class to discuss what makes a rule a good or bad one and gives space to not use rules that the class feels inappropriate, with due reasoning, and what rules are important to them. However some students may feel reluctant to participate at this early and stage and remain quite meaning that their voice would not be heard. Another method would be to go around the class one student at a time and allow them to put forward a rule. The rule would then be written on the board and the question poised to the next student. Once all the students have put a rule forward similar rules can be erased from the board leaving a set of rules open for discussion. At this point the class and I could decide which rules we think are appropriate and then agree to stick to, and which we think are either not appropriate or rules which we think are unfair or not needed. This allows each student to have their say when creating the rules enforcing that we are a group and as a group it is our responsibility to set the boundaries of how we would like to work. I could also split the class into small groups and ask each group to come up with a set of 5 rules that they think we should adopt in our class. Once each group has come up with their own 5 rules I would ask the groups to move in rotation to the next group’s rules and put a star next to the rules that they agree with (this is known as a “carousel” method). Once the groups have seen all the other groups rules I would then write the rules that students mutually agree upon on the board and remove any duplications or similar rules. This would then give a starting point to discuss the rules we have made together and add, change or delete any rules as we saw fit. This method not only gets the students input for rule making but also serves as an icebreaker for the students themselves as they would be working directly with a small number of their classmates allowing them some time to get to know each other. I think that I would use the carousel method as a basis to get some rules together and then brainstorm for additional rules once we have had a chance to discuss the ones that each group came up with. I would also place importance on the reasons why some rules have not been agreed upon by the other groups and in doing so also discuss the point of perspective of rules, as a rule may mean one thing or be more important to one person than another. Setting the rules in this way would allow my students to produce a set of mutually agreed upon rules whilst also giving the chance for the students to get to know a few of their classmates straight away. Also once the rules have been made the class has no excuse to break them as it would be they who created and agreed upon them in the beginning. If a rule was to be broken the ground rules we had set could be looked at once again as a reminder to what was originally laid down as the classroom “law”. Producing rules with this method also allows the class to govern itself as when a student is out of line the other students will want action taken as the rules were something that they created and ones that felt important to them. Setting ground rules in this manor would ensure that the class understands their need, the way in which their classmates feel about them and how individually, and the group as a whole, they wish to be treated. M.C. Refrences GRAVELLS A (2008) Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (3rd Edition), Learning Matters, ISBN 978-1-84445-146-3 BUDDEN J, (2008) Establishing The Ground Rules [online]. Biritish Council: Teaching English. Available from http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/language-assistant/teaching-tips/establishing-ground-rules [Accessed 29th April 2010] ATHERTON J S (2009) Learning and Teaching; Ground rules for the class [On-line] UK: Available from: http://www.learningandteaching.info/teaching/ground_rules.htm Accessed: 29th April 2010