Kathy David
Preparing to Teach in the Life Long Sector
Task 4 Theory
Explain the ways in which you would establish ground rules with your learners, and which underpin behaviour and respect for others.
How I would establish ground rules within my group would depend on which age group I was working with.
16 – 19 year old
This age group would probably need the most guidance in establishing workable ground rules within the classroom. The 16 year olds will have just left secondary school and may be unsure of themselves and college expectations..They may not have students they know in their group, be apprehensive about what is going to happen and not used to being treated like young adults by tutors. Therefore when it comes to the discussion I would have to ensure that all the students took part and have the opportunity to have their say.
‘Ground rules can help participants to feel safe expressing themselves’
ANDREA CORNWALL and GILL GORDON Tips for trainers http://www.iied.org/pubs/pdfs/G02382.pdf (Oct 2009)
The older students may well have the ‘I’ve done this all before, I know how the system works’ attitude and may not be willing to take part or try to monopolise the discussion and make the rules they wish.
When they first enter the classroom I would probably let them sit where they wanted to, with a reminder that they would not necessarily be sitting with these partners all the time. I would be moving them around to work with others in different groups because we all have something learn from each other.
By allowing the students to sit with whom they feel comfortable initially will aid student confidence and aid self esteem. They may be more willing to join in if they feel comfortable.
It would also give me a chance to see who works well with whom, the groups/pairings that need to be discouraged and the dynamics of the group as a whole.
I would explain that to allow the group to work together successfully we all need to work...