T4_Analyse_Different_Ways_in_Which_You_Would_Establish_Ground_Rules_with_Your_Learners,_Which_Underpin_Appropriate_Behaviour_and_Respect_for_Others.

T4 Analyse different ways in which you would establish ground rules with your learners, which underpin appropriate behaviour and respect for others. Many years ago we could easily identify who are students are going to be. However nowadays students age range from 14 – 50 plus. We as teachers need to identify our students different learning abilities, we all learn in different ways, Honey & Monford based their analysis of how people learn, they advocate that people learn best by either doing something (activist) or by thinking back (reflector), or by investigating ideas and concepts (theorist) and also by finding relevance or association (pragmatist). As i am not teaching at the moment, i would like to teach law to students in the F.E. sector presumably a level law. The subject is changing all the time an teachers are learning all the time. Within any teaching environment ground rule are important ,as boundaries are set between the teachers and the learners. As teachers we can set the rules, however we need to be aware how this can reflect on our learners. To establish ground rules we firstly need to identify the type of learners we would be teaching. They can be differentiated by age and subject. “Setting ground rules helps everyone know their limits”(Gravells 2008). Adult learners are usually motivated to learn either for personal benefits or to enhance their career prospects.However younger learners are not as focused and can be easily distracted by their peers, they need more guidance and rules they need to be taught a different way to adults. Establishing ground rules also relies on the subject you teach, for example if you teach beauty, hairdressing, or engineering there are more rules with regards to health and safety. Nevertheless as i want to teach law my ground rules will be based around a classroom environment. The foundation of most ground rules are punctuality,attendance,switching of mobile phones,no talking etc . These are a good basis for your learners to start i would encourage my learners to set their own rules as they would be more likely to follow them. However the disadvantage of giving learners this power is that they could set rules which could be inappropriate for the classroom, or even infringe college policies. Younger learners are more likely to take advantage, however they needed to be guided by their teachers to ensure that the rules should be for the classroom environment. As a teacher i would make it clear my expectations from them as students and explain to them what they should expect from me as a teacher. Grouping the learners into groups will build on team building and communicating effectively with each other. Once ground rules are set they can be posted around the classroom, as they need to be enforced consistently, otherwise your inconsistently will be resented.It is the teachers role to encourage and motivate learners to set appropriate rules, by dictating rules it has drawbacks as it can build a barrier between student and teacher, setting their own rules means they are setting their own boundaries. Also as teachers we should highlight that if the rules are broken the consequences they will face. Teachers should enforce rules and if broken ensure that disciplinary action is taken, and should be followed through so the other learners are aware of the consequences. Petty states as teachers “be strict, but fair and never appear flustered even when you are angry. If you deal confidently, consistently and firmly with playing up, it will soon lose the attraction for the students” .The Disciplinary action taken depends on the broken rule, Petty suggests that we can: 1. Talk to students (adult to adult). 2. Parent to adult. 3. Parent to child (direct telling off). These techniques can be very useful and applying them would depend on the learner. Petty also highlighted that “we should criticise the behaviour and not the child”. Teachers should not involve their personal feelings and should act confident and professional manner to gain respect from the learners. References. Petty,G (2004) Teaching Today, 3rd ed,Cheltenham,Stanley Thornes. Gravells, A (2008) Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector,3rd ed,Exeter. -------------------------------------------- [ 1 ]. Kolbs (1984) chapter 11 The Learning cycle. [ 2 ]. Gravells, A (2008) Preparing to teach in the Life Long Learning Sector, 3rd ed, Exeter. Learning Matters Ltd. [ 3 ]. Petty,G (2004) pg 102, Teaching Today, 3rd ed, Cheltenham, Stanley Thornes. [ 4 ]. Petty,G (2004) pg 112, Teaching Today, 3rd ed, Cheltenham, Stanley Thornes [ 5 ]. Petty, G (2004) pg 114,Teching Today, 3rd ed, Cheltenham, Stanley Thornes [ 6 ]. Petty,G (2004) pg 115 Teaching Today, 3rd ed, Cheltenham, Stanley Thornes