The most important thing I have learnt during my teacher training
When I began my teacher training, my biggest concern was if I would be able to manage a class’ behaviour. When I took on a year 10 class with students that displayed quite difficult behaviour, I felt intimidated. I did not feel confident in my ability to maintain their engagement and challenge negative behaviour choices. During one of the lessons, half of the class had to leave in order to get vaccinations. This meant that I had the opportunity to talk to the remaining students in a situation that was not ‘lesson based’.
They asked me questions about why I wanted to become a teacher, if I enjoyed university and we discussed the fact that I also attended the school they now go to. I feel that this was very beneficial in developing a stronger relationship with students and allowing them to see me as a ‘person’ as well as a teacher. This resulted in an improvement in the behaviour of this class.
Due to this experience, I made the effort to build stronger relationships with the students in a year 9 class. I discussed me attending their school as a student and showed them my embarrassing year 9 school photo. This encouraged them to share some details about themselves and I feel that we now have a stronger bond as a class.
The most important thing I have learnt during my teacher training is that strong student-teacher relationships can have a great impact on a class’ behaviour. I now believe they are vital in ensuring students learn effectively. In addition to this, I have seen the benefit of showing students that you are ‘more than just a teacher’. I feel that discussing small details about my life (that I was comfortable sharing) allowed students to be able to relate to me as a person and therefore make more positive behaviour choices in lessons.
by Holly Corbett
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