How to Build Effective Learning Relationships

The usual response to a class that won't cooperate is to tighten up, with more sanctions applied more often. Often the firmer you get, the less they comply.

This course offers another way to look at it. Behaviour that feels like a challenge is often a symptom of an unmet need, and there are four to check: power, belonging, choice and fun. You'll learn the signs that each one is missing, like a pupil whose friends matter more than any adult, or one who bristles at every instruction. Then you'll build those needs into your planning, your classroom and the corridor, using tools such as a learning passport and a class photo with you in it.

The ideas come from a teacher with more than 40 years in schools. One group he taught turned their chairs away from him on the first day. The breakthrough started with a paper aeroplane.