PGCE - Current Students Thread

I guess pupils can become accustomed to anything, including shouting, that silent treating sounds a good shout

Try silent smouldering. Stand very still, with a face like thunder and do nothing except drum your fingers on the desk, filing cabinet, whatever. They'll start shushing each other up. Then speak very quietly. They expect ranting. Defeat their expectations with icy coldness. Saves the vocal cords as well. Remember, you don't have to feel anger, only fake it convincingly.

I LOVE this method. Use it about 5 times a day at least haha.

I think of it as green teaching - energy saving.

Yep, And I make a point of calmly saving 'I'm not wasting my energy or voice on you - I'll just sit here and we can carry on when your ready and make the lesson time back in your time'. - As said before, just stand there and wait, looking mean!

My other favourite get the class quiet things:

Ring a bell
Countdown with hand in the air
Quiet sign (thumb up/finger on lips etc)
Have a poster hanging up with QUIET on it, go and stand there and point at it.

NEVER rush to start a lesson until you have total quiet. Just stand confidently and it'll come.

Singing Bowls were also recommended to us on my PGCE to get class attention - hideous sound!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpw53tN6h8E

Absolutely.
I get the impression most of you are primary, so some of my methods might be a bit severe....

I am primary now, but all of the methods I mentioned worked successfully for me in secondary too

Having a real battle with my class at the moment. They are just so noisy and they really struggle to listen. I like to have lots of partner-talk interaction in my lessons, but it is getting to the point where I might have to stop that sort of thing. My teacher has given me some extra strategies to try and overcome the problem, but I am finding it really hard. I am just not a shouty sort of person. Standing in front of the class was a big deal lol [I am one of those people who doesn't ever speak in seminars etc], so tackling this sort of disruption is going to be an uphill struggle.

I've got the class all day tomorrow. Quite literally from morning registration until home time. So, I feel like it is going to be make or break for me in that class. :/

Today was a bit better.

I used the sound-chart on the wall. We managed to have it on green in the morning, but a lot of the afternoon was definitely red. They know to be quiet when other people speak, and yet it creeps up and up almost instantly. I used the whole 'asking someone to repeat what was said' technique. With one boy in particular, that worked really well and he actually paid attention to one of the other pupils who was speaking.
I have also started using the reward ladder on the wall.

It still felt a little mad this afternoon though [yet this morning, they were great]. So, I still need to work on it. But, I guess progress is progress, no matter how small.



Now I am going to get something to eat. Third day in a row that I've not eaten until after 5pm. I just don't seem to have the time. :/

Today was a bit better.

I used the sound-chart on the wall. We managed to have it on green in the morning, but a lot of the afternoon was definitely red. They know to be quiet when other people speak, and yet it creeps up and up almost instantly. I used the whole 'asking someone to repeat what was said' technique. With one boy in particular, that worked really well and he actually paid attention to one of the other pupils who was speaking.
I have also started using the reward ladder on the wall.

It still felt a little mad this afternoon though [yet this morning, they were great]. So, I still need to work on it. But, I guess progress is progress, no matter how small.



Now I am going to get something to eat. Third day in a row that I've not eaten until after 5pm. I just don't seem to have the time. :/