Establishing_Ground_Rules

Task 1: Analyse different ways to establish ground rules with learners which underpin appropriate behaviour and respect for others The fact that all students are different means that they will all have their own unique way of looking at life, expectations regarding behaviour and requirements for a comfortable learning setting. The teacher needs to manage the class in order to accommodate everyone’s needs and expectations. Whilst there may be the belief amongst 99% of learners that swearing at fellow students and teachers in the classrooms is unacceptable, the fact that it isn’t needs to be stated for the remaining 1%. It is for these reasons that a set of ground rules regarding appropriate behaviour is established. So, it’s not ethical to condemn students for breaking the rules if they don’t know and understand them. According to Gravells (1) setting ground rules helps everyone to know their limits and Gould and Francis(2) state that creating norms, or rules is a natural part of group dynamics and that learners will feel psychologically safer if they know what is expected of them. Their importance is understood but there are several sources from which they can arise. According to Patterson, Carron & Loughead (3)ground rules, also known as norms, are protocols for acceptable behaviour within a team and may comprise task related rules as well as social rules. Non-negotiable rules set by the College The College will have policies regarding health and safety which will be non-negotiable. Some rules such as no smoking in the class will be generally accepted by everyone as this is now backed up by legislation. Other rules such as no drinks in the classroom will not be so generally acceptable, especially to those who consider themselves responsible adults who have just rushed from work to get to college just in time and are desperate for a coffee! The ability to accept rules from “authority” is tempered by life experiences and personality, some people conform quite happily whilst others will question the necessity for what appear to be petty rules. Students will have had no part in developing this set of rules so the best way of helping them to understand and accept them is in discussing the reasons behind them, for example the class must finish on time as the cleaners only have a set time to work on the room before the building is locked by the caretaker at 10pm. It is important to note that there may be serious implications if the teacher fails to inform the class of health and safety regulations. They could be in breach of their contract and liable for accidents. Rules devised by the Teacher Having run classes previously the teacher will be in a very good position to determine what rules are needed to enable the class to function. Previous experience may necessitate the apparently bizarre rule of “no pets in class” – until discussion on this leads to the explanation that a student brought his pet mouse along! However, rules set by the teacher may not be so readily accepted by the students as they are, as it were, imposed upon them and particularly if they can’t see any benefit to themselves. This can lead to difficulties if these students are then seen to not be obeying the rules. By Mutual Agreement Ground rules which have been set by the students themselves are more likely to be accepted by those same students. Indeed, the class itself will police breaking of the rules as they have ownership of them. We want students to take responsibility for their learning and co-working to establish rules is an important step. A good way of setting out to establish ground rules is by saying “let’s agree some ground rules that will help us all learn together”. Typical ground rules might be: • starting and finishing on time • coming prepared • listening to others without interruptions • participating • saying when you don’t understand • when anyone is speaking, addressing the whole group and not just the teacher • switching off mobile phones • treating others’ contributions with respect • keeping personal issues out of the session • maintaining confidentiality within the group • no swearing or racist comments A combination of the above methods can be used. Of particular benefit would be to try to get the learners to vocalise the rules that the college has laid down, rather than presenting them with a list, and these can be included in the ones the class decides upon. For example: In small groups/twos the learners can come up with some ideas when prompted with “what do we need to create a safe environment here” (trying to prompt health and safety factors) and aside from the essential rules we can prompt with “is there any behaviour that would make you uncomfortable”. The rule suggestions can then be fed back to the class and added to a list if most of the learners agree to it. In among the discussions the teacher could flag up essential health and safety rules already not covered which must be included, but this will be done within a student led setting. A key point to note is the essential requirement that the teacher models the ground rules. If a rule states students must arrive on time, this must apply to the teacher too. A key to developing an environment where respect is paramount is that the tutor/teacher acts in accordance with rules, and is in a position to demand respect themselves. It is useful to have a copy of the ground rules in the class at each lesson to remind everyone of what is/is not acceptable. Also, it’s important to revisit the rules, for example if one is being routinely broken in the class. Perhaps it needs amended/removing and bouncing it back for discussion at a later stage once again puts responsibility firmly in the hands of the learners. Collaboration and co-operation fosters further collaboration and co-operation.   References (1) Gravells, Ann (2008) Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector. Learning Matters. Pg 7. (2) Gould, and Francis, M (2009) Achieving your PTTLS award. Sage Publications. 2009 pg 22 (3) Patterson, M Carron, A and Loughead T(2005) The influence of team norms on the cohesion-selfreported performance relationship: A multi-level analysis. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 6, 479-493. Bibliography ATHERTON J S (2009) Learning and Teaching; Ground rules for the class [On-line] UK: Available: http://www.learningandteaching.info/teaching/ground_rules.htm Accessed: 5/2/2010 http://elearning.uncc.edu/podcast/audio/tlm003-management.mp3 Accessed 5/2/10 http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/activities/groundrules.html Accessed 8/2/10