NQT Classroom/behaviour management - Key Ideas

For any NQT it is important to establish yourself in the classroom in order to teach effectively. Many schools operate assertive discipline systems which are designed to support your teaching through the rewards and sanctions.  Many NQT’s and even experienced teachers are guilty of focusing on the sanctions rather rewarding positive behaviour.  It’s important that all pupils are rewarded making sure you do not overlook praise for the pupils that always display positive behavior and learning.  Some key tips adopted from Bill Rogers are

Key tips 

The words you use are as powerful as the message you are trying to convey – do you always know what to say when under stress? Before saying it, think about how it will help the situation.

Maintain a sense of humour – very powerful in the classroom.

Describing exactly what students are doing is often more effective than telling them not to do something.

Giving students an option when dealing with items they should not have in class (such as mobile phones, hairbrushes) is less intrusive and more effective than confiscation. e.g. for mobile phones I often give them two options – ‘I will take the phone and give you it back at the end of the lesson’ or ‘I will take the phone and give you it back at the end of the day’. They always go for first option!

Establishing a class at the beginning of a school year is critical to successful behaviour management.  Seating plans, expectations etc.

Teaching style can have as much an impact on behaviour management than any range of sanctions and rewards.  If you are having problems during lesson, look at the lesson and the individuals in front of you and work out what engages them.  All classes are different and even classes which you would expect to have no issues from can be difficult with the wrong teaching and learning style.

Following up and following-through with students, especially those who present with on-going ‘behaviour problems’, can be crucial factors in successful management.  If you have a problem with the student then talk to them before the next lesson, find a connection.

Do you know how to tactically ignore student frustration in behaviour management situations in order to maintain a disciplined classroom?

Think about teacher behaviour as it affects student behaviour – it’s essential to understanding this.  They will pick up on your mood.

Building bridges in order to keep a relationship with students is as important as dealing with troublesome behavior.  Compliment them, notice things and take an interest in them and their life.

Targeting specific “power brokers” and students who act as ring-leaders in “hard classes” can be a very effective strategy in behaviour management.

Replace ‘please’ with ‘thank-you’ – e.g. instead of saying please stop doing that, say Stop that – Thank-you which implies you expect it to happen.

Pick you battles – is it worth going to war over a forgotten pencil?

Self – evaluation of CPD in schools

A self-evaluation on CPD allows schools to cast a critical eye over their approach to CPD. The process should be straightforward, but it’s important that the process covers all the essential aspects of CPD which a school needs to take into account.

Self-evaluations of CPD involve analysis and questionnaires – an example is provided in the following guidance ‘School self-evaluation on continuing professional development’. This section allows school leaders to check that:

• They are addressing all the strategic aspects of CPD

• A CPD policy is in place

• Suitable arrangements exist for the leadership of CPD, and the policy is being implemented.

School leaders wanting to obtain a strategic overview of the school’s CPD may find it useful to conduct an analysis using the list below. The items can be used as headings in an evaluation, or as criteria in an analysis.

• A school policy on CPD taking into account performance management arrangements.
•  Leadership responsibility for CPD and the suitability
• Coordination of CPD needs arising in performance management arrangements.
• Involvement of the governing body
• The extent to which there is a culture of CPD in the school in which both staff and students value lifelong learning.
• Entitlements or guarantees for staff to receive CPD.
• What methods exist to regularly and systematically identify the CPD needs of all staff?

Needs identification and the extent to which the following methods are used:

• school self-evaluation evidence
•  performance management information
• the previous year’s CPD evidence
• school performance and other data
•  feedback from staff and others – including line managers, and team/section/department/ faculty leaders
• feedback from pupils, parents and governors
•  benchmarking information
•  national and local priorities
• Ofsted data and inspection reports
• Surveys of staff morale, confidence and job satisfaction.

There needs to be a balance of the needs of the school and the individual as mentioned in earlier blogs

• The balance between the needs of the school, the needs of the individual, and the requirements of national and local priorities.
•  Procedures to ensure CPD provision is effective and matched to the identified needs of staff.
• The range and effectiveness of CPD. CPD may take many different forms – for example, coaching and mentoring, meetings, lesson observation, research, involvement in projects, work-shadowing, conferences and courses, and so on. Different forms of CPD will be effective for different individuals and situations.
•  Budget allocations and the main criteria used to allocate funding and support.
• Budget allocations for different groups of staff.
• Whether the aims of CPD are clear to the participants and to the school.
•  Accreditation opportunities for staff.
•  Impact evaluation.
•  Value for money principles of economy, efficiency, effectiveness and equity.
• Accessibility of the CPD opportunities for staff.
• Review of the school’s practice regarding staff development – for instance, through Investors in People.
•  The contribution of the evaluation findings to the following year’s planning.

What does effective CPD look like?

CPD should occur in a variety of formats in schools, tailored to benefit the individual but with particular areas of focus that also helps the development of the school. This could relate to a number

of areas depending on the role of the education provider in school, but to be effective it must relate to the development of key issues from the school development plan.

There are many possible sources of CPD and some may include elements of those in the bullet points below.

• External courses or further study(MA)
• Cross school or virtual networks e.g. Twitter
• Induction, coaching and mentoring, lesson observation and feedback, collaborative planning and teaching, shadowing, sharing good practice, whole school development events.

For CPD to be effective it should be directly relevant to the participants, clearly identify intended outcomes, take account of previous knowledge and expertise, model effective teaching and learning strategies, and include impact evaluation designed as part of the activity from the outset.

When planning your school CPD in schools make sure that you consider the following:

• All CPD is supported by experienced coaches and mentor from inside and outside of the school.
• A coherent long-term plan that gives the participants opportunities to apply, evaluate the and develop their practice.
• It enables the participants to develop skills, knowledge and understanding which will help them and their area in school develop.
• It’s based on the most recent and relevant teaching and learning and this is evaluated and used to inform subsequent professional development activities
• It develops an ethos in the school of lifelong learning and development; staff are role models for the pupils.
• It goes beyond theory and exposition. Ideally, it demonstrates techniques and strategies and gives the participant opportunities to try them out in a supportive setting and share this in a wider forum in the school.
• Lesson observation are used as a basis for discussion about the focus of CPD for the individual especially with NQTs/RQTs, it should take account of previous knowledge and experience.

Examples of CPD activities include:

The school will support a wide portfolio of CPD approaches identified according to “Best Value” principles and which reflect the learning effectiveness of the participants. These include:

• in-school training using the expertise available within the school and collaborative activity (e.g. collaborative teaching, planning and assessment, work with a learning team, classroom observation, existing expertise, peer evaluation, collaborative enquiry and problem-solving, modeling)
• coaching and mentoring and engaging in a learning conversation
• job enrichment/enlargement (e.g. a higher level of responsibility, front line working in someone else’s job, job sharing, acting roles, job rotation, shadowing, leading meetings)
• producing documentation or resources such as curriculum development, teaching materials, assessment package, ICT or video programme
• accessing an external consultant/adviser or relevant expert such as an Advanced Skills Teacher or Lead Teacher
• master classes, model and demonstration lessons
• role play, simulations
• collecting and collating pupil feedback, data and outcomes
• attendance at a lecture, course or conference
• school visits to observe or participate in good and successful practice
• secondments, exchanges and placements (eg within a regional or national organisation, an exchange or placement with another teacher, school, higher education, industry, international exchange, involvement with Governing Body)
• postgraduate professional development and other qualifications from higher educational institutions and other forms of professional recognition and qualifications such as NVQs, Higher Level Teaching Assistants, NCSL programmes
• research opportunities linked to school improvement plan
• distance and E- learning (eg relevant resources such as educational journals and publications, training videos, reflection, simulations, Twitter, blogging)
• practical experience (eg national test or exam marking experience, opportunities to present a paper, contribute to a training programme, co-ordinating or supporting a learning forum or network, involvement in local and national networks, involvement with a subject or specialist association)
• external partnerships (e.g. with a colleague, group, subject, phase, activity or school-based team meetings and activities such as joint planning, observation or standardisation, special project working group, involvement in a formal or informal partnership such as a Network Learning Community)

CPD in schools – The great untapped Gifted and Talented

CPD is often a word that we hear in schools, but for many schools and the staff that work in these schools the true meaning of this is unknown.  Research has shown that there is always one key response that reverberates around the staffroom.  CPD, ‘Oh yes, that’s going on a course’ with little other suggestions offered in response.

Does this response surprise me, in essence probably not, it has became the norm in many institutions.  What you might find more surprising is that in a recent survey of 100 schools the majority of teachers who said they had been pro-active in their own CPD was 23%.  For a community of professionals this is shocking but hardly surprising given that people just do not have the time to develop this perceived ‘luxury’, even though that in the short and long term it will no doubt benefit them and their institution.

Of course the other issue is that schools are placing even more pressure on teachers in the move to be raise achievement and attainment.  Internal INSET may occur but often this is squeezed into a day at the end or start of term, with little or no time for reflection.   Research shows that best practice is in regular 2-3 hour slots timetabled throughout the year. How many schools follow this model?

 In lessons teachers differentiate for all, or at least they should do! They plan lessons to be inclusive and provide guidance on how to improve/develop…….so why does this not happen for teachers?  Some head teachers have taken their eye off their most valuable resource, their staff.  A culture of ‘for the school’ has developed because of external pressures, but what about ‘for the professional’?  In recent years the shift has moved to what you need to do for the school, not what the school needs to do for you.

Outstanding schools or those on the journey to outstanding are those which have a truly embedded and effective CPD programme where all members of the community are valued and developed.  If a school wants to be ‘Outstanding’ this needs to happen and will be judged on in the new Ofsted framework.

What makes good professional development?

Rajan and Eupen found the following in order of importance:

1. Coaching and mentoring
2. Sideways moves (often into unfamiliar settings either inside or outside their current organisation)
3. Challenging assignments, that stretch existing capability
4. Networking with peers
5. Formal training

It is interesting from the study that formal training, while important, was in fifth place while coaching and mentoring was in first. However the learning for school leaders from studies like this is not that one form of development is necessarily more effective than another. Rather it is that the most effective forms of professional learning are supported not by a reliance on one approach over another, but in a combination of approaches that respond to individual needs. One colleague’s professional learning might be best served by an external course with networking opportunities while another needs a combination of coaching with involvement in an action learning set.

The following highlight some examples of how school leaders can encourage and support their colleagues in their professional learning taken from NCSL - Formal And Informal Opportunities For Professional Learning

Leaders need to take advantage of the rich range of formal and informal professional learning opportunities for colleagues both within and beyond the school. These include:

• involvement in an action research project
• attending external seminars, conferences and training programmes
• studying on an in-depth programme such as those run by universities
• joint planning of lessons and programmes of work
• reading literature and/or involvement in a reading group critically reviewing research
• applying research and ideas from reading to classroom practice and reviewing results
• coaching and being coached
• taking a mentoring role within the school or being mentored by a colleague [internal or external]
• regular involvement in formal and informal learning discussions around learning and teaching
• involvement in learning communities
• producing poster displays or articles exemplifying an enquiry or an aspect of work
• observing classroom practice, as individuals or in groups
• being observed whether teaching or in a leadership role and receiving formative feedback
• using evaluation data to reflect on professional performance
• shadowing a pupil/s around classes for a day
• networking within and beyond the school
• participation or a leadership role in a working party, committee, group enquiry or project.
• visiting colleagues in other schools to observe/explore professional practice

CPD can takes many forms but the key message is that it must be planned and staff and school leaders must take ownership.

Sources – NCSL Formal And Informal Opportunities For Professional Learning