I have been struggling lately with a particular group of students. I teach them on a Tuesday morning, first lesson. The lesson is always well planned, fast paced, interactive & well structured. The learners enter the room with a focussed, timed task to build the pace from the start, the majority are immediately engaged. They respond well to the structure of the lesson and through the use of directed questioning, they remain focussed and ready to share ideas.
I teach the same group on a Monday at mid-day, after they have been taught by a colleague. The group is noisy, disruptive, easily distracted and really difficult to settle.
Strategies
I am now getting the students to wait outside for the Monday lesson, as they do in the Tuesday lesson. I found this to work well, as it allows me to set the 'learning environment' for them to enter. It also allows me to set a short task as they enter the room, to focus them.
After discussions with an LSA that supports the group in all of their lessons, she identified that it was the difference in standards and expectations, that was the cause of the difference. I feel I have high expectations and a clear level of discipline.
Should I have to work twice as hard to get the students to behave? Or should there be some consistency in our standards?
