LESSON MANAGEMENT
1111 21 31 4 51 61 7 8 9 10 1 1112 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40 1 2 3 4 5 46 471111
59
Pace and flow of the lesson If pupils’ attention or interest in the lesson seems to be on the wane, a number of possible reasons may account for this. It may be that a particular activity is being employed for too long (most commonly a long exposition). Alternatively, it may be that the general pace and flow of the lesson is either too fast or too slow. If the pace of activities (be it exposition, group work, worksheets or reading tasks) is too fast, pupils will simply wilt or find that they are missing important points or ideas. If the pace is too slow, pupils’ minds can easily start to wander. Indeed, an important aspect of maintaining the correct pace during exposition involves having a sense of how long to dwell on each particular point for understanding to occur and not spending too long dwelling on minor points or points already well taken. In addition, maintaining a good pace also involves avoiding unnecessary interruptions to the flow of the lesson. For example, if while explaining a task, you stop in order to get a pencil for a pupil, or to find a map you need to refer to, or to reprimand a pupil, the flow of the lesson will be interrupted. A useful lesson management skill is that of dealing with the demands that arise, or postponing dealing with them, so that they are not allowed to interrupt the flow of the lesson. For example, if while explaining a task you notice two pupils talking, you may continue your explanation while looking at the two pupils concerned, or, if necessary, move towards them. This would enable the flow of the lesson to continue while dealing with the problem. This skill is sometimes referred to as ‘overlapping’, i.e. dealing with two or more tasks at the same time. Another example of overlapping is the teacher’s ability to monitor pupils’ progress and behaviour while giving individual help to a particular pupil. A skilful teacher is able to listen to a pupil reading aloud or give help with some number work, for example, while at the same time periodically scanning the classroom and listening to the background noise to pick out any behaviour giving concern. This involves quickly
You have to be able to do a wide variety of things at the same time