Written by John Andrius | 
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Practicum Tips - Developing Relationships
This tip is designed to create an awareness of how you may improve relationships within the classroom.
When To Do This
Just before half term, if possible.
Who Fills This In
Your tutor (or, if this is not possible, a teacher in the school).
What To Do
Find a time when a tutor is coming to see you. Ask him to fill in the analysis section below. If possible choose a second or third year class.
Analysis
Date: _______________________________
Class: _______________________________
Subject: _______________________________
(To the observer: The task is to advise the teacher about developing good relationships with children. Make brief notes about the lesson in the spaces below, and discuss your observation with the teacher after the lesson.)
Lesson Beginning
What sort of initial contact is established?
Response to Pupils
How does the teacher react to pupils' answers to questions, to good or poor work, to misbehavior? Describe an incident or event during the lesson under the headings below and comment on these.
Reaction to a pupil's answer.
Reaction to good or poor work.
Reaction to misbehavior
Teacher-Pupil Contact
How does the teacher distribute his/her attention to pupils and initiate contacts with them? Which pupils seem to get most attention, which least?
Improving Relationships
How can the teacher work to improve his/her relationships with the class: What strengths can he/she develop? Which interpersonal skills need most work?
Follow-up
- Discuss this lesson with the tutor.
- Can you make any contacts with pupils in this class in informal circumstances? Discuss with teachers in the school what sort of opportunities you can use, especially with more difficult children, to get to know them during games, plays, school clubs or societies, or in house rooms, coffee bars, during break or lunch hour or after school. Do not merely think about the issue, go out of your way now to make informal contacts.
- Go through the list of names of pupils in this class. There will be some pupils you feel you hardly know. Why have you not got to know them? Try to make time to talk to some of these in the next day or two. Again make a special effort to do this.