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  • Support for early career teachers
  • UCL
  • Year 1: First half-term: enabling pupil learning

    • Self-study activities

    Review

    As you work through these activities, aim to both refine and extend what you already do well, and to build your skill and confidence in using practices which are not yet a regular part of your teaching repertoire.

    Plan

    Analyse artefacts/discuss with a colleague

    Spend some time exploring the culture and values of your school, then capture what you think are the main features of this culture/these values in a way that suits you.

    This could be in a short narrative, a bulleted list or a diagram, for example.

    To help you, you might:

    • read paperwork that outlines your school’s culture and values. For example, staff induction documentation or promotional materials (you could also look on your school’s website for this information)
    • walk around the building and notice what this tells you about the culture and what is valued. What is on display, and on noticeboards? What is celebrated? How do staff and pupils interact with each other?
    • speak to a colleague who has been at the school for a while and ask them what they feel characterises the culture and values of the school

    Theory to practice

    Observe a colleague

    As you have read above, how you set the expectations in your classroom will significantly shape the learning that happens within it.

    Arrange to observe the first 5 minutes of an experienced colleague’s lesson. Make brief notes on all the ways that this colleague communicates their expectations about attitudes, values and behaviour in their classroom. Ask your mentor to suggest a suitable colleague, if necessary.

    To shape this observation, you could look out for:

    • how the colleague manages entry to the room. For example, how pupils enter, if they line up first, if entry is controlled in any way, and what happens if pupils are not following expectations
    • what pupils do on entry to the room. For example, if they have a routine for dealing with their bags and outdoor coats, if they sit down immediately, how quickly they settle, and if there is work or an activity ready for them to get on with
    • how the teacher communicates their expectations verbally and non-verbally. For example, what words they use, what tone, volume and pitch they use, or how facial expressions and gestures are used to communicate with pupils
    • how the colleague uses aspects of the clarify, model, practice, and reinforce techniques

    Scripting

    Use the ideas in the research and practice summary above, and your notes from this session so far, to script your own routine for how pupils will enter your classroom.

    If relevant to your setting, you may want to consider the role of parents and carers as part of this, too.

    Your script should address the ‘clarify’ and ‘model’ stages of the process described in this week’s research and practice summary. Include in this script:

    • your expectations about how pupils will enter the room. For example, if they will line up (and where), who decides when pupils enter, and what will happen if pupils aren’t following expectations
    • instructions you will give pupils about what to do on entry. For example, how they will deal with bags and coats, if they will sit down immediately, what your expectations are about how quickly they settle, and what pupils should do once they are settled
    • how you will model your expectations to your pupils
    • notes for yourself on how you will create opportunities for pupils to practise your new routine
    • notes for yourself on how you will communicate your expectations verbally and non-verbally. For example, what language you could use to greet different pupils, how you will use tone, volume and pitch, and how you will use facial expressions and gestures to help reinforce your expectations

    Be as specific as you can in the detail you give.

    The purpose of this activity is to help you think in detail about how you can set clear expectations about behaviour on entry to your classroom, and create a predictable and secure environment that supports effective learning.

    Next steps

    Bring your script and any notes you have made from the other activities in this session to your mentor meeting this week.

    Be ready to discuss your script with your mentor and work together to refine it further.

    You will have a chance to rehearse this script with your mentor before putting it into practice in your teaching.