Explain the ways in which you would establish ground rules with your learners and which underpin behaviour and respect for others?
Every learner requires boundaries and rules within which to work and these needs to be initiated and put in place by the teacher, ensuring that they are made clear early at the start of the course. Ground rules help learners to understand what is expected of them by the teacher and they help the teacher manage the learning environment by providing a safe and supportive atmosphere.
By producing these rules, learners can understand their restrictions in terms of correct behaviour and respect for each other. These are arranged by the teacher in order to ensure that a suitable environment is created and maintained which is conductive to effective learning. Wayt (2008) states that when the ground rules are being considered with learners, it is important for the teacher to create their own rules which shows an image of their dedication to the teaching/learning relationship.
These should be pinned up inside the learning environment and be made visible by all and be revised when necessary.
I am now going to take a selection of ground rules and apply them to a learner and a teacher relating to my specialised subject area.
Learner
The learner has to follow a set of ground rules that are put in place by the tutor.
The learner must inform the teacher if s/he is going to be late for whatever reason, either by phoning the office or by dropping them an email explaining their circumstances. This should be made no later than 12pm on the day of the session to allow the teacher to arrange extra support for the missed session. Learners will arrive on time at lessons regardless whether it is at the start of the session or whether they are returning from break/s. This minimises any disruption caused to fellow learners. Always try to arrive 15 minutes early before the session starts to familiarise yourself with the location of the class,...