Pttls_Task_1

How can teachers/trainers establish ground rules with their learners' What specific issues are there in your specialist area' Ground rules need to be set at the beginning of a course to establish rules and expectations of behaviour. “Setting ground rules will help everyone know their limits”.¹ If a list of rules is put before a class, students will feel like they are ‘being got at’, that they are being given negative information, which immediately puts up defensive barriers which could in turn become barriers to learning. For young adult students in Further Education they may feel like they are being treated like schoolchildren and react against them. Mature adult students may feel patronised, not treated appropriately as the adults they are, and may not want to return. The classroom ground rules should be agreed on the first day of the course, before unwanted habits have a chance to develop and everybody knows where they stand. The reason for rules needs to be introduced so everyone understands the purpose: to enable the learning of the group and the individual, emphasising the responsibility of the teacher, the individual and the rest of the group for a conducive learning environment. I favour a student-centred approach to making ground rules, where rules are agreed not dictated. If this activity is well managed by the tutor, then everyone in the group is treated equally and everyone has an opportunity to have their opinion considered. This is inclusion right from the very beginning; when rules are agreed and explained in this way the hidden curriculum values of inclusive behaviour and respect for others are underpinned, setting a standard from the start. This approach puts a degree of trust and responsibility onto the students: people who are trusted feel valued; people who feel valued are more likely to stay on the course. The method of ‘rule gathering’ will differ slightly according to age and ability of students in the group. For some classes it may be appropriate to work in small groups and come up with a list of rules to feedback to the class. It may be fitting in a class of mature students for the tutor to collate a list on the board, spending less time on the activity - with a degree of work and life experiences, it would be expected that most adults would understand the purpose of boundaries and rules. This second method is also appropriated for day courses and training, when there is a limited time for learning and you don’t want to waste too much time on establishing ground rules. With both scenarios, the tutor should act as a guide, filtering non-relevant suggestions and putting forward norms of behaviour, should they have been omitted. In both instances too, the tutor should, when agreeing with the class to a rule, affirm why that rule is to be included, linking back when necessary to the original purpose of the task i.e., to enable the effective delivery of the tutor and learning for all students. For example, a rule such as ‘no texting in the classroom’ can be agreed by the tutor thus “Yes … if I see someone texting it distracts me, if I have to stop what I’m talking about to stop them, it distracts the class, and if you are texting you are not learning because you are concentrating on texting not what I am saying.” When students agree to rules, they have chosen them. They are then more likely to keep to them and it gives other people in the group the right to address certain behaviours if they are disagreeable and may limit future disciplinary action: “Having ground rules gives a firm boundary for all learners to work within. Often, if a ground rule is broken, it is the other learners that will reprimand the offender, saving you the job.”²