Ground_Rules

The purpose of this assignment is to explain the ways in which you would establish round rules with your learners and which would underpin behaviour and respect for others, it will also analyse the different ways in which ground rules would be established. Learners of any ability require boundaries and rules to work within (Gravells 2008). As a tutor I would implement them at the start of the lesson, so that everyone had a clear concept of what’s expected of them. By implementing ground rules early on can contribute to preventing disruption to the rest of the class (Gravells 2008) furthermore it can also help maintain a healthy learning environment. Having ground rules enables learners to know what’s expected of them as individuals and as a group, giving them the ability to know their limits (Gravells 2008). These rules should be thought out and expressed clearly so that everyone knows what’s expected (Petty 2009). In order to establish these rules I would get the students to reflect on what they think is important to them, then as a group to focus on the ones they feel are most relevant, giving feedback on why they feel it’s important to have such rules. There are many different types of ground rules which can assist in creating mutual respect from the tutor to the students, this can also work the other way round, and helping the students create and sustain mutual respect for each other. (Atherton 2005) An example of some ground rules maybe: Listen to others and respect their views. Arrive on time. Mobile phones to be kept on silent. By getting the students to establish their own ground rules will ensure that the rules in which are created are most likely to be adhered to, and if a ground rule is broken it is the other learner’s that will reprimand the offender (Gravells 2008), although there are certain rules which have to be followed; such as Health and Safety limitations along with any which are set out by the learning organisation, these rules have to be dictated to ensure that they are complied with. It’s important to have a set of ground rules as it gives a firm boundary for everyone to work within (Gravells 2008) taking into account every individual learners requirement. Once these rules have been created, it may be feasible to bend them slightly but still being consistent and fair. (Petty 2009) This part of the assignment looks at analysing the different ways in which ground rules can be established with learners and which underpins behaviour and respect for others. Because younger leaners are likely to want different rules (this is due to their inexperience’s in life) it’s crucial that clear rules are implemented. There are ways in which establishing ground rules can be achieved, below lists a few: LEARNER IMPOSED TEACHER IMPOSED NEGOITATED The purpose of having clear, established rules will enable the students to have a suitable learning environment to work in and allowing the classroom to run smoothly and effectively. As mentioned previously, by giving the students opportunity to discuss the need for ground rules, allows them to feel as if their opinions are valued. Atherton 2005, states that a learner cannot always impose rules but they may have the same right to expect them as does a teacher from the learners. Moreover, the points detailed below have both advantageous and disadvantageous qualities, Teacher imposed & Learner imposed By using this method of creating ground rules it allows both parties to implement their own ideas, thus opening up the opportunity for disruption and or resentful behaviours. Negotiation This method allows the learner and teacher to set out a selection of rules together and upon reaching a conclusion; mutually agreeing to the rules created, by using this method the students are more likely to follow them, resulting in an appropriate learning environment. The above method of implementing rules would work well in a normal day to day session because with working together with the students, the ground rules which have been established would underpin the behaviour and respect for others. To conclude, the teacher imposed method would be suited to a one off session, due to the limited time scale, thus not having time to discuss and agree to the rules created and that the teacher having the best way of creating a suitable working environment in the given situation. Finally, to reflect back about the need for clear ground rules, (petty 2004) reinforces this fact by stating that lessons will run smoothly if a session is well planned.