Literature Review.

“How to Survive your First year in Teaching” Sue Cowley 2003.

I found this book very interesting, as it is all about the teacher and how they can cope with their career choice. There wasn’t too much about how the lessons should be productive ensuring the students are gaining the best education that they can.

Below are some notes that I picked up on that were to benefit the students.

On Lesson planning Cowley wrote “Until you meet your students and get to know them a little, it is hard to anticipate their needs and interests” Pg 4

On behaviour: “Start of by being as hard as possible, you can always relax, but you can never get a class back once you’ve lost them” Pg 7

 Cowley also talks about creating games and rewards to control behaviour on page 7-11

“Take into account the weather, time dates and previous activities and respond to the mood and reactions of the children” Pg 23

“Engage students to starve of boredom” Pg 27

On Boundaries: “Boundaries should be fair, realistic and achievable”

“Setting boundaries is a matter of personal taste and opinion, it also depends a great deal on the type of students you have to teach” Pg 10

On self-evaluation: “Think about what works and what doesn’t and take notes” Pg 14

Cowley gives a concise list of tactics to control a class:

·      Have a “Deadly” stare

·      Don’t talk till they are silent

·      Negotiate with them

·      Respond to the mood of the class

·      Show them you’re human

·      Put yourself in their shoes

·      Avoid confrontation

·      Build a barrier (as a teacher); don’t take things personally, Choose sympathy over anger, reason to the situation.

·      Praise one and encourage all.

Over the following weeks I will put some of these techniques into practice and see who benefits more from these strategies, teacher, student or both. I will blog my findings