Pttls_4

PTTLS Theory Task 4 Establishing ground rules are an essential start for any tutor. The purpose behind ground rules is to establish a nurturing and respectful environment that will promote learning from day 1. What are ground rules' They are the minimum necessary conditions for getting learning work done in the class. They may include: • Arriving on time • Respecting health and safety regulations (You may well be in breach of your contract and legally liable for accidents if you do not cover these, including explaining the detail.) • Switching off mobile 'phones • Not interrupting fellow-students • Not moving to do something requested until given an explicit cue (rather than "order"), such as "Go!" • Respecting other people's contributions • Only having one conversation at a time in the class. “Ground rules can be established in 3 different ways: 1. Imposed by the tutor. 2. Agreed by the learners themselves. 3. Negotiated by the learners and the tutor. “(PTTLS website) 1.Imposed by the tutor him/herself. Ground rules that are established by the tutor are not the best way forward as they are not inclusive. My own experience of troubled 16-24 year old learners is that they would switch off immediately if rules were imposed by the tutor. The main reason for this is that they would feel like they were back at school, which is somewhere the majority of my learners do not have happy memories of. Some tutors write their rules on a flipchart and then hang them in a visible place for the duration of the lesson. This is obviously a personal preference but one which is much more likely to be supported by the learners if they had had an input. That is not to say that rules imposed by the tutor are wrong, quite the contrary. There will always be scenarios regarding Health & Safety that require imposed rules particularly when taking learners off-site and out of the classroom environment. It is important however to ensure that learners understand why these rules are being implemented and must be adhered to. For example when I have taken young learners off-site it is explained before leaving that I am trusting them to behave in the appropriate manner and that for Health & Safety reasons seatbelts must be worn at all times etc. I also ask the learners to bring their ground rules outside with them so we respect other groups and people we may come into contact with. This is discussed before our trip. I often have to hand over responsibility for the group to another teacher e.g. if rock climbing. It is vital that learners show him the same amount of respect and this is explained prior to our visit. I discuss with learners that if they do not listen and behave appropriately they are putting themselves and each other in grave danger. 2. Agreed by the learners themselves This can be a dangerous ploy as some of the rules that you may like to implement may be overlooked by the learners. You are then in a dangerous position should you require to add a rule without appearing dictatorial. The entire purpose of this way of establishing ground rules is to gain complete buy-in from your learners and obtain a high level of trust from the very first lesson. This can be established by splitting your group into small groups, and firstly asking them to reflect about the last time they were in a team or a learning environment. Each group can then reflect and share their own good and bad experiences in order to help them establish their own ground rules. After their brainstorming in groups they can be brought together to establish a draft set of ground rules 3.Negotiated by the learners and the tutor. Many of the methods of establishing ground rules can be used for learners by themselves and negotiated ground rules with the tutor. An important lesson to understand before I give further examples is this: What are the Ground Rules about Ground Rules' These are the "meta-ground rules"! • Never neglect them. You may have a class of stroppy and unmotivated adolescents, or a small group of keen senior citizens: they can all waste a lot of time trying to find out what these rules are if you don't help to clarify them. • I said, "help to clarify them", not "impose" them. They only really work if they are shared. ATHERTON J S (2005) Teaching and Learning:  Ground rules for the class   The above quotation is particularly true of the learners I deal with. Ground rules often have to be revisited and redrawn in some cases. In order to have truly negotiated ground rules the tutor should not be afraid of learners setting out what is expected of the tutor. E.g • One way is to specify what you expect of them and then to invite them to set out what they expect of you, and discuss rationally whether you can meet those expectations. • You need to work on the basis of "rational" rather than "positional" authority. Appeal to the principle of efficiency in learning: "My experience is that if we do so-and-so, you are likely to learn more." ATHERTON J S (2005) Teaching and Learning:  Ground rules for the class   I have tried this with my learners and found it an effective way of collaborating and creating a bond of mutual trust. Other methods for establishing ground rules are as follows: Method: Collaborative writing of ground rules 1. Working in their co-operative teams, learners discuss possible ground rules and write each one on a sticky note. 2. The teams come together and put all their sticky notes onto a large sheet of paper or blank area of wall. Similar ideas are grouped together. 3. Each team then takes one or two groups of sticky notes and selects or formulates suggested wordings for ground rules. 4. The teams come together again and each team puts forward their suggested ground rule(s). They are discussed until there is a consensus about a final set of ground rules. Optional: the teams customise the ground rules to suit their particular needs. For instance, if they know they are likely to be poor at timekeeping, they may add a ground rule especially about that. Method: Agree/disagree 1. The teacher prepares slips of paper with possible ground rules on, some draconian or just plain silly, others ambiguous. 2. The slips are dealt out to the group. There should be enough for everyone to have at least one each. 3. Learners take turns to read out a possible ground rule, saying whether they agree or disagree with it and why. The rest of the group can say whether they agree to accept or reject the rule. Slips are posted up on a large sheet of paper or blank wall under the headings ‘Agree’ and ‘Disagree’. 4. Once all the slips have been dealt with, learners are invited to add any rules they think have been missed. 5. Optional: teams customise the ground rules to suit their particular needs. Method: Ground rules vote 1.Working in their co-operative teams, each team has flip chart paper and a different coloured pen. 2.Each team brainstorms possible ground rules, which they note on their sheet. 3. Each sheet is displayed. Teams move round, discussing each item and using their pen to tick the items they think should be in the final ground rules. 4. When teams have ‘voted’ on all the items, the results are collated and discussed. A joint set of ground rules is agreed. 5.Optional: teams customise the ground rules to suit their particular needs. Reflecting and consolidating Whichever method you use, the activity can end with learners considering some discussion questions. • Why are ground rules important' • Should ground rules be fixed' Or should they be revisited at regular intervals and changed in the light of experience' • If someone in the team breaks one of the ground rules, how will the team deal with it' Each method has its merits and pitfalls. Which to be used depends on the group you are teaching but for young adolescents I have found that the collaborative class contract is a useful one. Other references used –Preparing to teach in the lifelong learning sector – Ann Gravells & Quality Improvement Agency - Teaching and Learning Programme