IntroductionCongratulations on deciding to become a teacher! You have made a decision that has the potential to enrich hundreds of lives, including your own. Do not underestimate that potential. By becoming a teacher, you will regularly come into contact with young minds that you can mould in many different ways. Make sure you do it purposefully and well.

You might feel a little overwhelmed at taking on this responsibility. That is where this book comes in. We have thought about the things that most unnerve new teachers and pro-vide practical solutions for them. We want you to remain a part of this profession, and as we discuss in Chapter 4, we want you to take advantage of our experience! Remember, you hold an important key to bringing about school reform in Pakistan: the power to influ-ence the leaders of tomorrow. By using the techniques described in this book, we hope that you will hone your skills to really take advantage of the limited time you have to train Pakistan’s future. Good luck!

Knowing what you can or cannot achieve is called EXPECTATION. An expectation is what you believe will or will not happen. There are 2 kinds of expectations:

High Expectations• : An optimistic belief that whomever you teach will be able to achieve success. An example is a teacher that says “I believe that every child can learn and will achieve to his or her fullest potential.” The odds are greater that what you want to happen will happen because you will be expending energy to see that this will be so.Low expectations• : A pessimistic belief that whoever you teach or whomever you teach will fail. An example is a teacher that says “These students just don’t want to learn”. If you expect to fail, you are constantly looking for justification, proof, and demonstration of why you have failed.

Teachers who practice negative expectation will prevent student from reaching high standards. Give your students more than they expect, and you will get back more than you ever expected.

A research study on expectations was conducted in an American school. Before school started, students were tested. Teachers were told, “Based on this pretest, we have identified 20% of your students that are special. They will be “bloomers” of whom greater intellectual growth is expected.” The students’ names were really selected at random, but the teachers were led to believe that the status of being special children was based on the test scores. The teachers were told not to tell these students that they were special. The researchers told the teachers, “We expect and know that you will do extremely well with these special students.”8 months later, all students were tested again and a comparison was made between the “special” students and the other students. The results showed a significant gain in intellectual growth for the 20% who were designated “special” in the primary grades. When the teachers were informed that these students were no different than the others, they were astonished!The researchers concluded, “The results suggest rather strongly that children who are ex-pected by their teacher to gain intellectually in fact do show greater intellectual growth after one year than do children of whom such gains are not expected.”1

Your students will tend to learn as little or as much as you will expect of them. Your expectations will greatly influence their achievement in your class and ultimately their lives.

You can accomplish anything with students if you set high expectations for behavior and performance by which you yourself abide.

Chapter 1: How can teachers invite all students to learn?

1Adapted from Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2001)

Inviting Verbal Comments“Good morning!”“Congratulations!”“How can I help you?”“Tell me more.”

Disinviting Verbal Comments“It won’t work.”“I don’t care what you do.”“You can’t do that.”“Get out.”

Inviting Personal BehaviorsSmilingListeningWaiting your turn

Disinviting Personal BehaviorsLooking at the clockYawningSneering

Inviting Physical EnvironmentWell lit classroomClean spacesStudent work up on the walls

Disinviting Physical EnvironmentDark corridorsBroken furnitureBad smells

Are you Invitational or Disinvitational?2

An INVITATION is a message that states that the person being invited is responsible, able, and valuable. Effective teachers have the power and the ability to invite students each day in class to learn together. Attentiveness, expectancy, attitude, enthusiasm, and evaluation are the primary forces behind a teacher’s being inviting or disinviting. These are the characteristics that significantly influence a student’s self-concept and increase or decrease the probability of student learning.

All of us need to convey to our students every day that “you are important to me as a person.”

2Adapted from Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2001)

If school does not begin with proper, positive expectations, there may not be a Graduation Day for a student. Celebrating the First Day of School must become a tradition of all educational systems. This day of celebration must include everyone associated with and interested in the education of these children. In addition to everyone at the school site, this should include parents and the neighborhood. The more the school, the family, the community are joined as partners in the cause of educating young people, the greater each child’s chance for success.3

How to Welcome them to School4Organize a First Day of School celebration• Stand at your school gate and welcome your students on the First Day. Wave and • smile like they are a dear relative of yours who you are seeing after a long timeLet the first message in the assembly be one of welcome and positive expectations for • the school year.Hang up a banner welcoming students to school• Have guides in the corridors. Hang up directional signs to help students get to their • classrooms.Have your name and room number clearly visible on the classroom door along with a • personal greeting of welcome.

The two most important groups of people, as far as young people are concerned, are parents and teachers.

Involve students’ parents in school activities. Invite them to the art exhibitions, sports days and other events where students showcase their progress. The successful education of young people is an interrelated, community team effort.

Chapter 2: How to help all students succeed The most important day of a person’s education is the First Day of School, not Graduation Day.

3Quoted from Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2001)4Adapted from Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2001)

There are five significant concepts that a teacher can use to enhance positive expectations6:

Addressing a student by name When you address a student, use the student’s name.• Use a student’s name in a friendly, respectful manner. Never address a student in an • angry or condescending tone. This is a put- down of a person’s identity and dignity.Pronounce the student’s name correctly. A person’s name is precious and personal.• When you use a person’s name, you are saying to that person, “You are important. • You are important enough for me to identify you by name.”

Say “Please” How do people learn to treat others with politeness and courtesy? They learn from how they were treated by others primarily during their formative years, such as at school. If you abuse a child, the child will grow up with the expectation of abusing others. If you treat a child with kindness, the child will grow up with the expectation of treating other with kindness.

Kindness begins with the word “please”• Please• is usually used when you ask someone to do something for you. Thus the most effective way to use please is to precede the word with the person’s name to whom you are addressing the request, as in “Bilal, please...”Strongly consider adding the word• please to your worksheets, assignments and other papers that you distribute in class. Repetitive use of the word • please is important if a child is to learn to use the word please in his or her life

“I really appreciate what you did. Thank you!”“Thank you” says to others that you appreciate their effort and kindness. If you have expectations that students will work hard and will learn to be kind, saying thank you is your way of acknowledging that you know they have been kind and diligent and that you appreciate what they have done for you.

Thank you is the perfect transition; it paves the way to the next request, lesson, or task •

Chapter 3: How to encourage positive student behavior

5Quoted from Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2001)6Adapted from Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2001)

When you look at the truly effective teachers, you will also find caring, warm, lovable people5.

The most effective way to use • thankyou is to use it with the person’s name.Strongly consider adding the word • thankyou to your worksheets, assignments and other papers that you distribute in class.

Remember the power of a smile.If you truly want to achieve the maximum effectiveness when you use a person’s name and say “please” and “thank you”, you should SMILE. A smile is the most effective way to create a positive climate and to convey the message: “Do not be afraid of me; I am here to help you.”

Take a look at the chart on the next page to understand how to smile for effectiveness.

It All Adds up to Love When you look at the truly effective teachers, you will also find caring, warm, lovable people. Years later, when the students remember their most significant teachers, the ones they remember the most are the ones who really cared about them. Effective teachers know they cannot get a student to learn unless that student knows that the teacher cares.It is possible that a student in your class

Is abused and neglected at home• Has poor health and is undernourished• Is emotionally needy and starved for attention and affection•

You don’t need to tell all the members of a class that you love them, but you certainly can show it. If you choose to be a significant and effective person in a student’s life, you must demonstrate you care both implicitly through your body language and explicitly through what you say.

Step 1: SMILE. Smile as you approach the student, even if your first impulse is to behave harshly toward the student.

Step 2: FEEDBACK. Observe the reaction to your smile. Are you receiving a smile or at least a signal that the student is relaxing and receptive to your approach?

Step 3: PAUSE.Step 5: NAME.

Say “Rehman” with a slight smile.Step 5: PAUSE.Step 6: PLEASE.

Add please, followed by your request. Do this with a calm, firm voice, accompanied by a slight, non-threatening smile.

Step 7: PAUSE.Step 8: THANK YOU.

End with “Thank you, Rehman” and a slight smile.

How to smile for effect7

ExampleRehman, please stop talking to Bilal and do your own work. Thank you, Rehman. (slight smile).

7Adapted from Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2001)

Chapter 4: Cooperative learning between teachers and administrators

Cooperation is especially important for teachers because much of what they learn is procedural. Procedural learning differs from the simple learning of facts and acquiring knowledge. It relies heavily on receiving feedback about performance and modifying one’s implementation until errors are eliminated. Teachers can support one another in a way that if a teacher has a particular strength, he or she can share it with the other teachers at a particular school.

Form staff-development support groups to help you implement success. Collegial support groups offer a formal structure for learning from colleagues. This is called collegial learning. Consisting of small groups of teachers and perhaps administrators, the goal of the support group is to improve one another’s professional competence and ensure the professional growth of all.

The Apathetic School8Teachers do not discuss their practice of teaching with one another, nor do they help • one another improve their skills. Teachers are quick to point out areas for improvement to their students but pay no • attention to evaluations that point out areas for their own improvement. When new programs or ideas are suggested, teachers respond with apathy and • indifference.The faculty seldom unites around any effort to improve the school.•

The Cooperative SchoolTeachers are working towards a common goal of school improvement.• Teachers observe one another’s teaching and strive to help one another improve.• Experienced teachers regularly share with new colleagues the practices that have • worked effectively for them.The principal provides the support that teachers need to work together, and the • teachers look to one another as resources for solving problems.The teachers are proud to take part in decision making.•

Education is a helping profession. There are professionals out there willing to help. Help each other, and we all profit.

8Adapted from Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2001)

Members of collegial support groups serve many functions:They discuss new teaching practices and problems connected with their • implementation.Together they plan, design, prepare, and evaluate curriculum materials. • They observe one another’s teaching and offer helpful feedback. •

The support groups consist of dedicated, caring, and knowledgeable colleagues willing to share techniques for effective teaching.

Successful schools are distinguished from unsuccessful schools by the frequency and extent to which teachers learn together, plan together, test ideas together, discuss projects together, reflect together, work things out together- all solely in the interest of developing students to their fullest potential.

Chapter 5: How can you have a well-managed classroom?If you want your classroom to run like a well-oiled machine, first know that you have the power to make that happen. But your next step must be to understand what classroom management means. It refers to all the things that a teacher does using time, materials, and space to establish a routine for students so that they can learn effectively.This means that the layout of the classroom must be organized and clean, study materials must be easily accessible and available, and the teacher must be friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient. With all these things present in your classroom, you may rest assured that a productive atmosphere will exist, where your students will be engaged and active. The environment will be task-oriented and predictable.

Remember the characteristics of a well-managed classroom10:Students are deeply involved with their work.• Students know what is expected of them and are generally successful.• There is relatively little wasted time, confusion, or disruption.• The climate of the classroom is work-oriented, but relaxed, and pleasant.•

“Effective teachers MANAGE their classrooms. Ineffective teachers DISCIPLINE their classrooms.”9

Characteristics Effective Teacher Ineffective Teacher1. High level of student involvement with work

Students are working. Teacher is working.

2. Clear student expectations

Students know that assignments and tests are based on objectives.

Teacher says, “Read Chapter 3, and know the material.”

3. Relatively little wasted time, confusion or disruption

Teacher has a discipline plan.Teacher starts class immediately.Teacher has assignments posted.

Teacher makes up rules and punishes according to his or her mood. Teacher takes roll and dallies.Students ask for assignments repeatedly.

4. Work-oriented but relaxed and pleasant climate

Teacher has practiced procedures until they become routines.Teacher knows how to bring class to attention.Teacher knows how to praise the deed and encourage the student.

Teacher tells but does not rehearse procedures.Teacher yells.Teacher uses generalized praise or none at all.11

9, 10Quoted from Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. 11Adapted from Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2001)

Chapter 6: Managing student behaviors

The most important behaviors to teach your students in the first few days of school are:1. Discipline2. Procedures 3. Routines (see Chapter 7)

These behaviors must be continually rehearsed with the students during the first week of school. Through consistent rehearsal, you ensure that disruptive behaviors in the classroom do not throw you off track. Make sure you have a plan. If you do not have a plan, you are planning to fail.12

DisciplineRemember that enforcing discipline in the classroom does not mean the teacher should yell at his or her students or subject them to physical or emotional abuse. By resorting to such behaviors, teachers are only teaching students that it is acceptable for them to react to situations in the same way and treat their peers similarly. It is not acceptable for them to do so, and the same standard applies to you.

By having rules in place for students to follow, you provide them with consistency that reduces their disruptive behaviors and you give yourself an actionable plan. Ideally, while planning rules for your class, you will also think about consequences and rewards for not following the rules. This will prepare you to handle any situation that may arise in your classroom.

The most successful classes are those in which the teacher has a clear idea of what is expected from the students, and the students have a clear idea of what the teacher expects from them.

Rules are expectations of appropriate student behavior. You should think about them and have them ready for your students on the first day of school. Make sure that they are clearly communicated to the students.

Enforcing discipline in the classroom does not mean the teacher should yell at his or her students or subject them to physical or emotional abuse.

12Quoted from Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2001)

You should also think about approaching your principal and colleagues to discuss school-wide discipline plans. This kind of consistency across the school will help all the teachers in managing their classrooms effectively which will, in turn, benefit the students. Deliberate on what your goals for the discipline plan are, and then take your written plan to the administration.Be sure to consider consequences and rewards. Additionally, make sure you communicate openly with parents about your expectations as well. Your purpose should be to collaborate with them in teaching the students acceptable behaviors, not to criticize their parenting styles or their children.

There are two kinds of rules that you can make: general or specific. If you already have a few years of teaching experience and have learnt how to encourage good classroom behavior, you can use general rules. As a newer teacher, though, you may find it more helpful to have specific rules that target particular behaviors. In either case, remember to clearly explain your rules to the students!

Consequences: positive and negativeConsequences are what result when a person abides by or breaks the rules. They can be positive or negative, but they must be logical. Posting your list of consequences will make it easier for your students to follow the rules. In case students do disrupt the class (they are children after all!), remember to keep your consequences reasonable. Do not overreact. Follow your plan and ensure that the delivery of your lesson is only minimally disrupted. Do NOT stop the lesson; just give the student a penalty.

When rewarding the students, remember to follow the same rule of thumb as with consequences: be reasonable and logical. It is important that teachers hold high expectations of their students. Bribing them with material rewards is not the way to keep them motivated. Instead, their greatest reward should simply be the satisfied feeling of a job well done.

Some useful tips to consider as you design your discipline plan:

Remember to restrict the number • of your rules to five, a number that students can easily remember. If you need more rules, make sure that you don’t post more than five at a time. Do not target academic work in • your rules. Talk about acceptable behaviors instead. Think about what you want • to accomplish and what consequences or rewards will contribute to the success of your plan. Have these rules, consequences, • and rewards posted for students on the first day of school to give them a clear idea of procedure.

Chapter 7: How can you achieve student buy-in?

It is critical that teachers understand that they cannot increase student achievement by ‘disciplining’ students. Forcing students to settle down and pay attention to the lesson should not be the teacher’s goal. Instead, it is crucial that teachers have procedures in place that do not allow students the time to become disruptive. To the highest degree possible, students must be engaged while they are in class: that is the reason why they are enrolled in schools!

Procedures and routinesThe reader may wonder, “If procedures are so important in ensuring that students learn, how can teachers make sure they have the best routines in place?” The answer to this lies in one word: planning. Teachers need to invest time in thinking about how their class will proceed, and what issues could present problems. Then, they need to think of effective ways to handle those problems without wasting any of the students’ time. That is, they need to work out a process for how the class is conducted. Teachers and students must both remember that procedures are simply steps that need to be learned and followed. For example, teachers may have procedures in place for how students exit the classroom at break and recess times.

How to ensure the success of proceduresAfter creating a procedure, however, it is essential that teachers communicate this to their students. You may find the following three-step process useful.

Explain1. - Define the procedure in concrete terms. Demonstrate the procedure, don’t just tell it. Go through complex procedures step by step.Rehearse2. - Have the students practice the procedures step-by-step under your supervision. Correct any errors. The students should repeat the procedure until it becomes the norm and can be practiced automatically without supervision.Reinforce3. - Determine whether the students have learned the procedure or if they need further clarification, demonstration, or practice. If the procedure needs to be corrected, reteach it, and give corrective feedback. If the students have learned the procedure, praise them.

To the highest degree possible, students must be engaged while they are in class: that is the reason why they are enrolled in schools!

Chapter 8: What can you do to increase student learning and achievement?Remember that you must

enable your students to work hard by setting up procedures for them to follow and making sure they complete tasks in a meaningful way.

It is essential for our students to be able to show that they have learned something. If they are unable to do this, then as teachers, we have failed our students. The responsibility for student achievement lies on the shoulders of teachers.

As you have read, effective teachers have high expectations of all of their students, have excellent classroom management skills, and are skilled in lesson planning and design. Teachers must be very clear about their primary duty: it is not to discipline the students, nor to pressure them into doing things in a certain way. Teachers are hired to guide students in developing their knowledge and skills. As such, it is their job to ensure that students spend the maximum amount of time during the school day to work. By increasing the amount of time that a student spends working, you improve the odds of increasing student achievement. The quality of the work that they do is a major determinant in student achievement rates and depends on the quality of your instruction. However, by ensuring that you purposefully use up the students’ time in class you can be better assured of improving their academic performance. This gain in academic ability can be measured in various ways, through different tests. It is not realistic to expect that you will be able to prepare students to show learning in all of those ways but make certain they can demonstrate their learning meaningfully.

Remember that you must enable your students to work hard by setting up procedures for them to follow and making sure they complete tasks in a meaningful way.

“Did the student learn what you wanted the student to learn?” “Can you show that the student learned what you wanted the student to learn?”13

If you are able to answer the two questions above in the affirmative, you may feel proud of yourself, because you have done your job.

13Quoted from Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (2001)

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