Ground_Rules_Ta4

TA4 Ground Rules It is essential as a tutor that I establish ground rules with my students, in order to achieve my teaching goals and for the group to work well together. “No groups can work successfully without rules that govern interactions and behaviour” (Minton, 2005, p81). These ground rules will be established early on in the course and will be clear and fair to everyone. Ground rules let the whole group know what is expected of them, whilst ensuring that each learner has equal opportunity to share their opinion, whilst respecting that of their fellow learners. I will use the setting of ground rules within my group for two purposes. Firstly as an icebreaker, as it enables the whole group to participate in the choosing of the rules and secondly as an activity to see how the rules they set in their classroom environment compare to the rules they have to set for children as childcare professionals. There is more than one way of setting ground rules with a group of learners. * The tutor/ trainer can set the ground rules * The learner can set the ground rules * The ground rules can be jointly set between the tutor and the learner There are advantages and disadvantages to all the above methods. If I, as the tutor set the ground rules, I will impose the rules on my learners. My learners will have no input which could lead to them not feeling part of the group, resulting in a lack of involvement. If my students make the ground rules with no input from me, the rules may be inappropriate to the classroom situation. It could also result in them feeling that they are in control of the classroom environment and encourage them to disrespect me as a tutor. However, by involving the learners in creating the ground rules, this encourages them to take ownership of them. Often, if a ground rule is broken, it is the other learners that will reprimand the offender, saving you the job (Gravells, 2008, p8) Adult learners are usually more motivated to learn, “either for their own personal benefit or to enhance their job role” (Gravells, 2008, p6) which may mean they are less likely to cause disruption in the classroom and break ground rules. Although this may not always be the case, as a tutor, I hope that having had input into the setting of the ground rules, my learners want to make sure that everyone in the group sticks to them. (420 words) Bibliography Minton, D., 2005. Teaching Skills In Further and Adult Education 3rd Edition. Kent: Thomson Learning Gravells, A., 2008. Preparing to teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector 3rd Edition. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd