The Guardian asked teachers for the tried and tested tricks that have dramatically improved their time at school and at home.... Here is what they found.
For many teachers, the start of a new year and new term is the ideal time to pause and reflect. What’s working well with your class? What should you abandon in favour of another approach? What do you want to achieve this year? We asked readers for the tips that have made them happier and more effective at school, and were inundated with responses. Here are a few of our favourites.
Working with students
I asked my class to mark my teaching
I have two hugely passive year 8 classes, and no matter what content I delivered or how I arranged their seats, they seemed to remain passive. A passive class is probably harder to manage than an unruly class – the silence can be scary and daunting. You’re constantly assessing their learning and telling bad jokes in the hope of even one reaction. Enough was enough. So I asked my pupils to mark my teaching. I created a quiz on SurveyMonkey and included questions about what sort of activities they would like. I took on their feedback and implemented it into lessons. Success! My passive class was now enthusiastic. ~ Jasmeet Kaur, RE teacher, London
I shake each child’s hand before lessons
After reading When the Adults Change, Everything Changes by Paul Dix, I started shaking each child’s hand as they came into lessons. Something as simple as greeting them individually has totally changed the atmosphere in my class. Children went from running in and chatting to walking in calmly and sitting down, ready to start learning. I’m slowly introducing other ideas from the book too. ~ Shannon Poulter, primary school teacher, Bedford
Read more via the full & original article at the Guardian...