Advice on discipline from experienced teachers?

Corkgirl18

Hi there,
I'm currently doing a Science Education degree in college and going in to my 4th year which is my P.D.E year. I had an interview in a school a few weeks ago and secured it for placement for the coming year. I've been told that I will be teaching 5 5th year Chemistry classes a week and two either 2nd year Maths or 2nd year Science classes.
I've had a few weeks of work experience over the last 2 years but I've only taught 1st year Science so I'm a little apprehensive about teaching senior cycle students. I am confident in my ability and feel I am a good teacher but I am worried about the discipline side of things. Looking back at the way some sub/student teachers were treated in my old school its safe to say I'm a little anxious! I'm only going to be a few years older than them.
I will lay down the rules and make sure the students know that there are consequences to their actions but I'm looking for a little more advice from experienced teachers in this forum.
Any help is greatly appreciated.

Moody_mona

Will you have them for the whole year? And starting from September?

Corkgirl18

Moody_mona wrote: »

Will you have them for the whole year? And starting from September?

Yep! Sorry should have stated that above. Starting the end of August til June.

Inspector Coptoor

You're lucky in the sense that chemistry students tend to be a lot more motivated than say Biology students and you will have fewer discipline problems.
At least that's been my experience.

Don't show any fear.
Make sure you are prepared to the hilt in terms of class materials, powerpoints, worksheets etc.
Set out your stall from the beginning in terms of setting out your expectations in terms of their behavior and the academic standards you expect them to achieve.
If they step out of line, be firm but fair and follow the schools disciplinary procedures to the letter.
Don't be a soft touch in terms of letting them away with bad behaviour.

Mardy Bum

If you can really impress them in the first lesson it will make a big difference in the long run so put a lot attention into the lesson plan.

evolving_doors

Learn their names ASAP..

I find 2nd years can get the most bolshi.

Moody_mona

Get talking to someone in school so that you know the chain of referral. For example, you might consider detention, but that might only be the norm after a note in the journal and a call home etc. You need to (or at least look like you) know what's going on.

Bit of confidence and the 5th years should be fine. The 2nd years have probably just about found their feet; any problems with them need to be nipped in the bud so that they don't continue.

Corkgirl18

Thanks a mil for all the replies so far! Super helpful!

vamos!

Armelodie wrote: »

Learn their names ASAP..

I find 2nd years can get the most bolshi.

Make a seating plan on an A4 sheet. Have it on your desk so you look like you don't even have to think about their names. Follow school procedures to the letter of the law eg. warning, note, extra work etc. Most importantly don't make threats you can't follow up on. It's really easy to say 'The next person who speaks goes to the principal or writes out a chapter of a book' etc but there's no way you can follow up on it and you lose face. Note everything- lack of homework, bad behaviour etc. You can do it after class but sometimes it's worth being seen to make notes in your diary- that way students know you will follow up on everything and won't forget. It can also be useful to be able to tell a students who 'forgot' their homework that it is the 8th Tuesday they have 'forgotten' their homework. Again, make sure the student knows you take everything seriously. In a weird way, it shows students you care.

2nd years can be annoying in September. They try to assert themselves.

5th Years can be yappy but you can stop nonsense by saying we don't have time for messing at senior level- so much to do, so little time etc.Be ultra-prepared and mean business. I made a big big mistake in one subbing job of being more relaxed with 5th years. I thought they were seniors and would have a bit of cop on. This only works after you have asserted your authority and you still need to follow procedures like giving notes they could walk all over you and it's much harder to regain control than it is to get it early on.

Finally, ask for help if you need it. There could be an issue in a class that has nothing to do with you or what you are doing. Maybe John and Jim happen to be together in your Chem class and have been separated in other subjects because they are bold toghether. You can't be expected to see this pattern but a tutor or year head will.

vamos!

Corkgirl18 wrote: »

Hi there,
I'm currently doing a Science Education degree in college and going in to my 4th year which is my P.D.E year. I had an interview in a school a few weeks ago and secured it for placement for the coming year. I've been told that I will be teaching 5 5th year Chemistry classes a week and two either 2nd year Maths or 2nd year Science classes.
I've had a few weeks of work experience over the last 2 years but I've only taught 1st year Science so I'm a little apprehensive about teaching senior cycle students. I am confident in my ability and feel I am a good teacher but I am worried about the discipline side of things. Looking back at the way some sub/student teachers were treated in my old school its safe to say I'm a little anxious! I'm only going to be a few years older than them.
I will lay down the rules and make sure the students know that there are consequences to their actions but I'm looking for a little more advice from experienced teachers in this forum.
Any help is greatly appreciated.

You age doesn't matter. You will be the teacher. My Vice Principal is younger than lots of the staff but she is still the boss.

mtoutlemonde

Armelodie wrote: »

Learn their names ASAP..

Yes I second this. Use this every time I have a new class. You'll probably see the room before the students so you could make out a very rough plan of the room and on day one ask each student his/her name and write it down. As you will be taking someone else's classes - get them to have a look at the way the students sat and they will be able to tell you who should and should not sit together.

Another bit of advice I got when I was training, was to sit the students as they appear on the roll call i.e. as they appear on eportal (assuming you have eportal) - this is very easy to see who is absent and the majority of times that I have done this - there has been a good mix of girls sitting beside boys breaks up the groups who may cause trouble.

I agree with the poster who said to be over prepared and get the students to work asap. I also ignore a lot of what I hear in the first few classes as they will be trying you out to see how you react - now I do not tolerate bad manners or name calling etc. but I let a lot over my head in order to show them that I mean business and if you give out to them, they will know what annoys you and they will continue to do it. Good luck with it and don't worry too much about it - sometimes the kids are nicer than you had expected

Caiseoipe19

Armelodie wrote: »

Learn their names ASAP..

This can't be stressed enough!! Second year Maths and Science groups could be quite large groups, and if you only have them twice a week, learning names will be tough enough, especially when you're concentrating on everything else.

happywithlife

I'm going to second a lot of what has been said before
What works for me as the eternal maternity sub in and out of a new school every year is
Talking to management and a few teachers -your co op teacher for example or a yr head - and getting the chain of command re discipline. Have it bullet pointed on a page as I find you get bombarded with policies etc the first day or so.
Absolutely get to know names. I too sit them by eportal or the roll call. It generally works and you'll know within a class if it needs tweaking.
I always always have a copy of their seating plan with me as well
Don't make idle threats as someone else said. I find having a few spare additional worksheets on whatever topic your working on very handy to dole out as extra homework if needs be. They're also really handy during practical work if somebody isn't following basic safety rules or directions etc
Be prepared then prepare again. Always have a little extra set aside just in case you get through stuff quicker than you think. Make sure you know your material inside out
Test power points etc before class to make sure connections are all working etc. if you are playing utube clips etc have them ready to go and don't be waiting for things to upload. Guaranteed it's the one time the internet is down or the page won't load.
Suess out the photocopier too - in some schools it's hard to get access to it when you need it
Always be in the classroom set up ready to go before class gets there. I've worked in a few schools where heading to class after break is a bit lax to put it mildly -by the teachers that is!- make a point of avoiding that trap and be down ahead of the class. Cuts out the potential for messing and getting hyper before class
Over the years I've also used the following with a second yr class that continually didn't bring materials to class with them. They had to line up outside the door with their books, copies, diary in hand (one or two specially chosen candidates also had to show me they had a pen). They didn't get into the room without all their materials. Took a few mins off the class time but boy was it worth it. In my current school I've also noticed an older teacher doing it with her classes too so I wasn't as harebrained as I thought 😃
I also note when they're late for class, esp if it's after a break. Same with homework. A lot of schools operate (informally so suss it out) a 3strikes and you're out rule. As in the discipline policy might say detention for no homework but the reality is, the school expects them to have missed homework 3times before detention is given.
Have a little page stapled into your roll book to keep track
Post it's can also be your best friend to remind you to follow up on something. Eg if a homework is only partially done and you tell student x to have it done fully for the next time... Esp when you don't have classes every day with them it's easy to forget to follow up on this kinda stuff. Post it's are great!
Sorry for going on ..., think that's it 😀😀 oh one last thing...
Finally try to keep moving around the room as much as possible too. Watch out for the phones under the table/ in their pockets! Don't answer questions about Facebook and the like - in fact double check all your privacy settings lol and maybe change your username to as gaeilge or something.

Best of luck! And enjoy!

spurious

Make sure you know the internal school discipline procedure and the names (and titles) of people involved.

Pwpane

All the above posts give excellent advice.

But don't forget that with the chemistry class you also need to be very competent with the practical side of it or they'll lose faith in you. The best discipline occurs when the class believes in you. At the beginning they may not be happy to have a student teacher in 5th year, but they'll love you if they think you know what you're at.

Never do a demonstration or a practical without doing it yourself first - all the way to the end of the calculations. I say this every year to student teachers and every year they chance it at least once - and it doesn't end well. If you're the only one in charge of the class, you can't afford this. The burette sticks and you have to search for another in front of the students. The solution you picked up that says it's 1 M HCl is actually 0.1 M NaOH. The starch solution is old and refuses to work etc etc etc. It also helps to know what can go wrong during a student experiment so that you can recognise it and fix it (e.g. during titrations, carry some litmus paper with you to test their solutions as they often mix them up).

Teaching chemistry is interesting and satisfying - enjoy it!

chippers

When you're explaining a topic and you become impassioned go with it and don't hold back. It catches their attention and draws them in. If you believe in your subject the pupils will believe in you.