Explain the ways in which you would establish ground rules with your learners and which underpin behaviour and respect with others.
Ground rules are a fundamental necessity in a classroom. They provide the control and organisation that is needed to ensure structure that will help make sure learning is effective. They help to avoid confusion, they provide equality and they encourage trust and respect.
Without ground rules there may be disruptions, as in the situation where a mobile phone rings, therefore it is essential to establish appropriate rules at a very early point in the learning session.
I do not yet have any experience of setting ground rules to a class but there are three main ways in which I could set ground rules within a classroom:
• Set the rules myself and dictate them to the class (Teacher imposed).
• Allow the class to set their own rules (Learner imposed).
• Work with the class to create a set of rules agreed by everyone (Negotiated).
There will be occasions when I have no choice but to impose my own ground rules. These ground rules would be imposed due to safety reasons or when I am required to comply with certain legislation and I would make clear the non negotiable rules from the onset.
With learner imposed rules they would have a tendency to be bias to the student, for instance having longer breaks than would be necessary this would have a negative effect on the group as a whole, so therefore this type of rule setting should be avoided, but the use of negotiation from these ideas can be taken.
“Ground rules should always be discussed and negotiated with your learners rather than forced upon them” (Gravells 2011). This will help to encourage the class to work together creating a respectful environment, and establishes group work in the first instance. In addition it enables all the learners to feel they have a stake in abiding by the rules and creates an atmosphere whereby all learners feel able to...