Q4: Analyse different ways in which you would establish ground rules with your learners, which underpin behaviour and respect for others.
Having ground rules within the classroom is a necessary exercise as it sets the tone of behaviour and ethics to be conducted whilst in the learning environment. Having ground rules gives a firm boundary for all learners to work within. (Gravells 2008:8). The rules should however be a two–way process so that they are in place for both me as the teacher and the students, further solidifying our teacher-student relationship. Students need to know what you are expecting of them and what they can expect of you (Budden 2008).
There are 3 main ways I can set ground rules within a classroom:
1) Set the rules myself and dictate them to the class.
2) Allow the class to set their own rules.
3) Work with the class to create a set of rules agreed upon by everyone.
Each of these has their distinct advantages and disadvantages and can be appropriate for different learning environments. Setting the rules myself would allow me to have complete control over the “do’s and don’ts” of the classroom and ensure students behaved in the way I would most like. However, this would most likely cause a view of separation between the students and myself as I would be dictating the rules to them rather than involving them in the process.
Allowing students to set their own rules for the classroom would give them the most freedom and control over the process but could possibly conclude in a set of rules that would not be entirely appropriate for the learning environment or include rules that infringed on college policies.
Working with the students to create a mutually agreeable set of ground rules takes the advantages of the previously mentioned methods and cuts out the disadvantages. The rules would be set by the group as a whole, which would further forge the class bond and remove any unnecessary or...