When you get to the stage in your training where you are leading whole lessons, you may become acutely aware that you are in lieu of the real teacher, that you are sat in someone else’s chair, taking the register on someone else’s SIMS and wandering around someone else’s classroom. The host teacher, often well intentioned, may sit as close to their own seat as possible, sometimes even sit at their computer so that they can do their planning or data drops or something else while you teach, a mere two feet from them. You may stumble through your lessons, interrupting the host teacher’s typing flow whenever you need to unfreeze the board to change the power point slide. Students, so used to this teacher’s presence, will turn to them when they need help and the teacher, out of sheer habit, will offer up their advice. Some host teachers will hover near the door at the start and end of each lesson, they will still be the first face the students see as they enter the room and the last as they leave. They are the reassuring presence, the true authority.
You cannot blame these well-intentioned teachers. These are their classes, after all, and they are the ones responsible for students’ progress, the ones who will be held accountable at the end of the year. For some of them, you may be the first trainee they have had in their classroom, the first time they have had to release the reigns. However, soon enough, you will need to take ownership of the room to develop your practice. Here are some tips to help you get started:
- Have a clear conversation with your host teacher. Urge them to let you take control even if that may mean that you fall face first before you start to rise. Let them know that you want to build your own practice, and for that they must take a step back and let you lead. Plead with them not to carry out any behaviour management but to leave that all to you, maybe even have a signal you can use if you need them to interject. If they are willing, ask them to monitor you from the back of the class, as out of sight of the students as possible, maybe working on a laptop if need be.
- Greet your students at the door at the start of every lesson, with a massive grin on your face. Let yourself be the first thing they see, the face of authority in the room. Smile so they know that every lesson is a fresh start, that no matter how much they have wound you up in the previous lesson, you expect them to behave sensibly in this lesson. You don’t have to say this to them individually, mind, your smile at the door is enough.
- Similarly, let them know when it’s time to leave. The old adage ‘that bell is for me not for you’ shouted by the teacher springs to mind here (cue the Peter Kay sketch). It may be slightly outdated, but the principle remains the same. It is your room, so you dismiss them. I struggled with this to start with, getting in a frenzy at the end of the lesson because they had to be somewhere, and I had to be somewhere, and I simply hadn’t allowed enough time for us to pack away and leave sensibly without the panic. So, I slowed it down, giving them more time to pack up before I dismissed them until they were accustomed to my expectations.
- Stand up straight and exude confidence even if you have to fake it. The usual confidence tricks can be employed here; shoulders back, speak clearly and calmly and stay ahead of their learning so you know you are the expert in the room.
- Walk around the room as your students carry out their work. Standing in one place can look stagnant and weak, it can make you look out of place. Walking around the room shows students that it is your territory. It is also a great way to check on the progress of students as they are working, to provide any live intervention that may prove necessary.
- Expect cleanliness. Learning is messy and sometimes your classroom will be too, but part of shaping students into responsible young people is teaching them to respect other people’s spaces. Before the end of each lesson, ensure that students tidy around their workspaces, returning any equipment to its rightful place.
- Set the tone in your classroom. Imagine this scenario – you have your worst year 9 class period one. They drive you to your wits end and you find yourself shouting at them no less than a dozen times. Then immediately after, your year 8 class starts streaming in and you are furious, you have carried your anger through to the next lesson. Who do you think owns that room now? Your terrible year 9s, of course – they have set the tone in your classroom. You need to take that power back.
- Dress the part. There is a simple reason for this: look like a teacher, feel like a teacher, act like a teacher, be treated like a teacher. To show you own the room, you need to first look like you belong there. Each school will have its own staff dress code but suits generally have the desired effect.
Disclaimer: these tips are things I have embedded into my teaching in the past six months. While some of these are things I have noticed and implemented myself, some have been developed through the guidance of others, particularly my brilliant mentor.
Learning To Teach 