Trainee Teacher

Valuable advice and techniques for answering interview questions

Learn professional and personal development techniques with this easy-to-use advice on answering interview questions with confidence, for primary and secondary teachers. Education coach Simon Cooper-Hind works with interview candidates, sharing effective ways to help them prepare for, listen to, clarify and answer questions clearly, showing evidence and impact, while under interview pressure.

Answering Questions

Using body language to engage pupils in a lesson

The short video for teachers looks how body language or non-verbal communication can go a long way in motivating pupils. A drama class at Myton School in Warwick is observed and reviewed by assistant headteacher Chris Caswell, who has studied and written about body language. He highlights performance enhancing gestures, including touching the head to encourage thinking and moving an arm to 'conduct' the lesson and retain pupils' attention.

Body Language for Engaging and Motivating

Using body language to help understanding of difficult topics

Demonstrating how body language or non-verbal communication is useful for teaching and reinforcing knowledge of difficult concepts. Body language expert Chris Caswell, assistant headteacher at Myton School, observes and reviews a modern foreign languages class on verbs. He highlights how the teacher's gestures help her command the class in front of the whiteboard, and how changes to her intonation indicate when she wants pupils to listen and when she wants participation.

Body Language for Reinforcing Learning

Advice on body language techniques for teachers

How body language or non-verbal communication can improve teaching, from starting and finishing a lesson to engaging, motivating and managing them during one. Expert advice comes from Chris Caswell, an assistant headteacher at Myton School in Warwick, who's studied and written about the use of body language in the classroom. Chris, who's also a teacher trainer, observes and reviews the actions of five teachers at different stages of their lessons. The techniques he highlights include touching your head and face to encourage concentration, using hand gestures to invite participation and moving around the class to gain attention.

Body Language Techniques

Using body language to keep pupils calm at the end of a lessson

An insight into how body language techniques can help with effective management at the end of the lesson, when concentration is reduced. The closing stages of a geography lesson are observed by body language expert Chris Caswell, assistant headteacher at Myton School in Warwick. He highlights how the class is kept calm and ordered with simple arm and face gestures. He focuses on the teacher?s use of evaluation as a tool to maintain attention and organise the exit.

Body Language when Ending the Lesson

Using body language to establish relationships with pupils

The effect of body language or non-verbal communication on establishing and reinforcing relationships as a lesson gets underway is demonstrated. Body language expert Chris Caswell, from Myton School in Warwick, observes and reviews a history lesson. He highlights how the teacher uses space around the classroom to focus attention and demonstrate status, while different hand gestures and body postures encourage participation.

Body Language when Establishing Relationships

Using body language to settle pupils at the start of a lesson

A short demonstration about how body language or non-verbal communication can be used right from the beginning of a lesson to help manage and settle a class. The start of a PHSE lesson is observed and reviewed by Chris Caswell, at Myton School in Warwick, who's studied and written about body language. He highlights how standing in the doorway, forcing pupils to enter the room in single file improves behaviour and reduces any tension that may have built up outside. After taking the register, the teacher moves away from her desk to demonstrate there is no barrier between her and the class.

Body Language when Starting the Lesson

Bayley gives an NQT tips on dealing with disruptive behaviour

A secondary NQT gets help from behaviour expert John Bayley on managing the behaviour of students with strong personalities who challenge her in the classroom. NQT Amy Mayes sets a Year 10 media class the task of pitching their own Hollywood disaster movie, but some students fail to take the lesson seriously. John's solution is to get Amy to practice more sharply defined ways of describing exactly what she would like students to do. Later in the lesson Amy sends one of the disruptive students out of class and at the end of the lesson she lectures him on his behaviour. Bayley suggests she could make this more effective by enabling the student to take more ownership of what she is saying.

Challenging Personalities

Classroom management advice for trainee teachers and NQTs

Learn about classroom management and behaviour, in this lecture for trainee teachers and newly qualified teachers (NQTs), with practical advice and techniques offered by Terry Haydn. Terry uses a 10-level scale of classroom atmosphere as the basis for his lecture, with level one indicating no control over the class and level 10 depicting a relaxed and comfortable environment in which teaching is an enjoyable experience. Terry shares his own teaching experiences and offers advice and techniques. He also shows how classroom management is a crucial element in the teaching and learning process as it affects achievement, pupil motivation and teacher wellbeing. ITE lectures are filmed at the Institute of Education and offer practical advice on classroom management.

Classroom Management

A trainee teacher gets some help managing her classes

In this programme, Miranda Krestovnikoff comes to the rescue of Andi Burstow, a trainee teacher who needs help managing her classes. Armed with a video camera, Miranda visits Andy Buck, seasoned headteacher of a new PFI school in Dagenham, who has some useful advice on avoiding confrontations. She also takes a trip to Harrow School where ex-premiership referee David Elleray reveals his tips on getting students to listen. Finally, Miranda meets Geoff Norcott, a teacher turned comedian who compares heckling in the classroom to heckling in a comedy club. Miranda later shows Andi all the advice she has gathered, but will it help her keep control of her own classes?

Professional Development for Quality Teaching

Roles

> Secondary Trainee Teacher

Answering Questions

Body Language for Engaging and Motivating

Body Language for Reinforcing Learning

Body Language Techniques

Body Language when Ending the Lesson

Body Language when Establishing Relationships

Body Language when Starting the Lesson

Challenging Personalities

Classroom Management

Classroom Management