As educators, we’re always on the lookout for strategies that can enhance our students’ understanding and retention of information. One such strategy that has gained significant attention in recent years is dual coding. But what exactly is dual coding, and how can it be applied in our classrooms to make a tangible difference? Drawing from my own experiences since I started teaching Science and Maths in 2006, let’s dive into the concept and its practical application.
Dual coding in one sentence
Combine good visuals with good verbals, and combine good verbals with good visuals.
Dual coding fundamentals
Dual coding is the process of combining verbal and visual information to improve learning. The idea is simple: when students are presented with both words and images that complement each other, they are more likely to understand and remember the material. This approach taps into the brain’s ability to process visual and verbal information through separate channels, creating a more robust memory trace.
The main thing that educators misunderstand about dual coding is that it’s ‘something we do all the the time as teachers’. But is this really true? How often do we slow down and take the time to pair a good visual with a clear verbal description?
Why dual coding works
From my experience, dual coding works because it leverages the strengths of both visual and verbal memory. When I first started teaching, I noticed that some students struggled to grasp complex concepts through words alone. It wasn’t until I began incorporating diagrams, flowcharts, and other visual aids that I saw a noticeable improvement in their understanding. For instance, explaining the water cycle in a science lesson became much more effective when I paired my explanation with a simple, clear diagram that illustrated the process. In mathematics, verbally describing each stage of a long calculation slowly, as I wrote the steps or delineated schematics, tended to help students understand the operations they had to follow better than if I just wrote the method without commentary.
Dual coding also reduces the cognitive load on students. When information is presented in both visual and verbal formats (and is presented slowly), students don’t have to work as hard to understand the content. This allows them to focus more on processing and retaining the information rather than trying to decode what’s being said or shown. In my maths classes, using visual representations of problems (like number lines or geometric figures) has helped students better understand abstract concepts, leading to more successful problem-solving.
Practical Tips for Using Dual Coding in the Classroom
Combine Text with Images: Start by integrating simple visuals with your explanations. For example, when teaching trigonometry, pair each formula with a corresponding triangle diagram. This helps students see the connection between the abstract formula and its practical application.
Use Flowcharts and Diagrams: When covering processes or sequences, such as the steps in solving an algebraic equation, use flowcharts to visually represent each step. This not only helps students follow along but also allows them to see the logical progression of the solution.
Encourage Students to Create Their Own Visuals: Involve your students in the dual coding process by having them create their own diagrams or sketches. This could be as simple as drawing a quick sketch to represent a concept or creating a more detailed Mind Map® of a topic. I’ve found that when students take ownership of the visuals, their understanding deepens.
My Experience with Dual Coding
One of the most memorable successes I’ve had with dual coding was when teaching a particularly challenging topic in physics: electromagnetic induction. Despite my best efforts to explain it verbally, many students were still confused. I decided to create a step-by-step visual guide that illustrated the process of induction, from the movement of the conductor through the magnetic field to the generation of current. The combination of this visual guide with my verbal explanation transformed the lesson. Students who had previously been disengaged suddenly became more confident, asking questions and even helping their peers understand the concept.
In another instance, while teaching a maths class on probability, I used tree diagrams alongside verbal explanations. The visual representation of different outcomes made the concept much clearer, and students were better able to tackle complex problems involving multiple stages of probability.
Final thoughts
Dual coding is a powerful tool in the educator’s toolkit, one that can make a significant difference in how students process and retain information. By combining verbal explanations with visual aids, we can cater to different learning needs, reduce cognitive load, and make our lessons more engaging and effective.
As I reflect on my teaching journey since 2006, I can confidently say that dual coding has been a game-changer in my classroom. I encourage you to experiment with it in your own teaching practice. The results might just surprise you!
As teachers, we often form strong connections with our students as we guide them on their learning journeys. This can be incredibly rewarding for us – we gain much joy from helping our students to improve. However, it’s essential to maintain a professional distance to ensure that our relationships with students remain appropriate and conducive to learning. The following ten guidelines, adapted from research by Willing and Haney (1994), provide a framework for maintaining this balance. Please note that William and Haney’s research was aimed at ABE (Adult Basic Education) teachers, so I have attempted to back-extrapolate the guidance to cover high-school teaching.
Before we begin
An important note on context before we start – the guidelines described in today’s blog post are exactly that – general principles to consider. ALWAYS follow your school’s official guidance regarding professional distance – and if you’re not sure about what the expectations are for a particular scenario, then seek advice from a member of your school’s senior leadership team.
Rule #1: Know Your Own Vulnerabilities
Understanding your own personal “shadows”; unmet needs, motivations, and expectations; is crucial. As teachers, we often enjoy the appreciation we receive from students, but it’s important to avoid crossing the line into a co-dependent relationship. Recognizing this helps ensure that your role remains that of an educator, not a confidant. Whilst our students may wish to divulge sensitive information to us, it’s important that this information is passed on to the appointed safeguarding individuals in your organization in a professional manner (more on this later).
Rule #2: Understand the Temporary Nature of the Relationship
Teaching is a temporary relationship. While it’s easy to feel close to students, allowing them to perceive you as a friend can imply a level of commitment that neither party is prepared to uphold. This understanding helps in setting clear boundaries from the outset.In addition to this, the teaching role requires there to be a level of authority present within the classroom – and that authority belongs in the hands of the teacher. It is difficult to exercise a level of authority when students perceive you as a ‘friend’. We are not our students’ friends – we are their educators, and that means our focus must be on maximizing our students’ attainment and progress, and not on anything else.
Rule #3: Know Professional Standards for Behaviour
Familiarize yourself with your institution’s guidelines for out-of-class interactions with students. These rules are in place to protect both you and your students, ensuring that all interactions remain professional.
If you are someone who is designing a child safeguarding policy for your school, or if you’re seeking extra guidance, then you should definitely familiarize yourself with national and international guidelines. Some useful documents are linked below:
Please note that these resources may be updated at any time, so make sure you are accessing the latest versions of the guidance.
Rule #4: Be Mindful of Your Communication
The way we communicate, through touch, language, or self-disclosure, sends messages to students. What might seem like a harmless gesture, or a casual conversation, can be misinterpreted, potentially blurring professional boundaries.
In the context of a high school teaching scenario, self-disclosure on the part of the teacher can be damaging – not least because it leads to excessive familiarity, which we should aim to avoid. Some forms of disclosure, such as describing the study habits and techniques we successfully implemented when we were students, may potentially be helpful to our learners – so, of course, there are levels to this! Revealing a personal story of pain and tragedy, however, may be not an appropriate activity for a lesson.
Seek official school guidance on the matter. In addition, when describing useful scenarios that involve a level of storytelling to students, you may wish to precede the description with….
Some people experience/find that…………………………..
In my experience, students who perform well do these things……………………..
I once knew someone who…………………………
Keeping stories in a kind of ‘third person’ context can help to maintain professional distance.
In terms of touch, it is essential that you adhere to your school’s Code of Conduct and guidance. In the majority of high-school scenarios, touch should NEVER be initiated by the teacher unless:
There is an educational purpose to the physical contact, such as adjusting body posture in a physical activity (e.g. adjusting a student’s stance in a martial arts lesson), music lesson (e.g. holding a violin bow correctly), art activity (e.g. holding a paintbrush correctly) or other scenarios. ALWAYS ask the students’ permission before initiating the physical contact and double-check with your school’s senior leadership team before beginning the course.
There’s an essential Health and Safety purpose, such as rescuing a child from drowning, administering first aid, preventing an accident (e.g. in science class) or other scenarios.
Rule #5: Express Clear Expectations
Clearly outline the time boundaries, the learning process, and what is expected from both you and your students. This helps in establishing a professional relationship where everyone knows their roles and responsibilities.
You may to consider giving your students some time to create a class list of expectations that everyone will agree to follow. In my experience, students will often approach this with maturity and will come up with sensible suggestions, such as….
We will raise our hands if we have questions, and we will not shout out.
We will not play on our phones in class, and we will ask for permission to use our phones if we need to.
We will complete our homework on time.
We will be punctual to class.
It may be useful to bring out this list from time to time during the academic year to remind the students of the rules and expectations they have come up with.
Rule #6: Consider Students’ Perceptions of Interaction
Recognize that students may interpret personal information sharing or familiar language as signs of a personal relationship. Understanding this helps you maintain a professional distance.
Rule #7: Be Aware of Cultural Differences
Cultural expectations regarding interactions between teachers and students can vary widely. What may seem normal in one culture could be inappropriate in another. Being culturally sensitive helps in maintaining professional relationships.
Rule #8: Use Names Appropriately
The use of first names or nicknames can unintentionally create a sense of intimacy, especially when it comes to how students are expected to address their teachers. Be mindful of how you address students too, as this can affect the professional nature of your relationship.Only use the students’ official names as recorded in the school register and double-check with a senior teacher if a student requests to be addressed by a different name. Check your school’s guidance on how students should address teachers, too.
Rule #9: Dress Professionally
Your attire sends messages about how seriously you take your role. Dressing too casually can give the impression that the educational process is not important, while overly provocative clothing can cause discomfort in diverse cultural settings.
Unfortunately, whilst the issue of teacher dress codes was pretty much cut-and-dry in the twentieth century and earlier, it has become quite a controversial topic to discuss in recent years. I think it is useful to remind ourselves that, as teachers, we are representing the process of education (not just our own personal fashion preferences) through the way that we choose to dress.
Case in Point: An Anchorage District teacher was put on administrative leave after posting a clip of herself in the classroom, on X. The clip was shared by the hugely popular Libs of Tik Tok account, and the teacher in question received much criticism online due to the way she was dressed at school. You can read the full story, here.You may also wish to read my blog post which contains guidance on how teachers should behave on social media, here.
Rule #10: Know Referral Resources
Familiarize yourself with resources available for student referral and how to guide students to them. This helps in addressing students’ issues without becoming personally involved in their problems.For example, you may be lucky enough to have a school counselor employed on-site that you can refer students to. If not, then look into official partnerships the school has with local agencies and professionals.
Conclusion
By following these guidelines, we can maintain a healthy balance between being approachable and upholding the professional standards necessary for effective teaching. It’s about fostering a positive learning environment while protecting both yourself and your students from unwanted issues.
Bibliography
Willing, D.C., & Haney, H. (1994). Maintaining “Professional Distance”: A Dilemma for the ABE Teacher. Developments, 10(4), 6-7. Available at: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED372265.pdf(Accessed: 18 August 2024).
One of the biggest factors that will determine your effectiveness in the classroom as a teacher will be your confidence in front of your students. Your students can only have faith in you if you have faith in yourself.
In today’s blog post, I will go through the top three actions you can take to immediately boost your classroom confidence as a teacher. These tips will prove to be equally useful for both trainee teachers and more experienced educators. Let’s get started!
#1: Know the topic you are teaching REALLY well
By far the best way to boost your confidence in the classroom, or even in any public presentation you will give (e.g. at a talk, seminar or assembly) is to have excellent subject knowledge.
This does NOT mean that you must have a master’s degree or a PhD to be an excellent teacher (on the contrary, some research even indicates that gaining an advanced degree has no effect on a teacher’s overall effectiveness). What it does mean, however, is you must read ahead, you must understand all of the content you are delivering to your students, and you must thoroughly understand how you will use the resources you have selected. Consider enacting the following action steps:
Read over the lesson material before you deliver the lesson. Do NOT assume that, just because you have a degree in this subject area or because you have taught the lesson a few times previously, that you will automatically understand all of the content. It can often be quite surprising just howmuch you may have forgotten when you read over the lesson materials again.
Never provide resources that involve questioning (e.g. worksheets and live quizzes), if the model answers are not available. Also, make sure you have read over the model answers to such questions and that you understand those answers really well.
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Subject knowledge is the ultimate confidence booster because it allows you to walk into a lesson knowing the ins and outs of what you will teach. Knowing the topic really well also prepares you for any questions the students may have on the content, and also provides you with the skills you need to provide your students with exam-style practice (never neglect that, too).
#2: Plan EVERY lesson thoroughly
Even if you have been teaching full time for twenty years (as I have), you must still go through the process of planning each and every lesson. This does not mean that you need to write a full A4 lesson plan for every class, like you did when you were a trainee. What it does mean, however, is that you should know the ‘running order’ of activities for every lesson you deliver. A good lesson should include the following:
A quick starter activity (see this link for ideas)
Between 1 and 3 activities that make up the body of the lesson
A quick plenary that summarizes what was covered (see this link for ideas)
I recommend using EdTech where possible for any part of your lesson. Live quiz apps are really good, as are shared collaborative whiteboards like Miro and G Suite tools.
Research tells us that lessons that are planned are almost always more effective than those that are not. For me personally, I simply use a teacher’s planner (see this link for the planner I created that you can purchase) and I include a few bullet points of notes for each lesson. I also do a weekly review, so that I know where I am at and where I need to go next. You can read about my top lesson planning tips at this very popular blog post.
#3: Utilize Professional Intelligence
What is ‘Professional Intelligence’ you might ask? Well, put simply, it is professional knowledge that you have gathered about your students. The kind of information you should acquire includes, at a minimum:
Student names – these can take a while to remember, even for the most seasoned educators among us. Consider utilizing live quiz apps in your first few lessons – these will help you to quickly identify the students’ preferred names.
Which students work well together and which students should be kept apart – this information can be gathered by simply talking with colleagues and line managers about the students before you meet them, or you can gather this information firsthand by trying out a few group games and activities.
Any students with Additional Learning Needs/Special Educational Needs in the class – make sure you have read their Individual Education Plans (if available), spoken with the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (or the equivalent person in your school) and check out this blog post for tips on helping such students.
You may also want to gather non-confidential information about your students, such as hobbies and interests, as this may help you to create lessons that are tailored to student preferences. Also, don’t forget to check on the running order of school events – some students may need to leave class early, for example, to attend some kind of school event (e.g., orchestra practice) – have you planned for that?
Conclusion
Every teacher must exhibit confidence in the classroom in order to deliver an effective lesson. Much of this will come from experience, but even the most seasoned educators must enact three main action items before any lesson begins:
Read ahead and understand the topic you will be teaching
Plan every lesson, even if that just involves writing a few bullet points that go through the running order of activities
Gathered (and thought about how to utilize) professional intelligence
When ChatGPT first came out in 2022 it hit the education sector like a sudden whirlwind – whipping up a flurry of emotions, such as fear, excitement and uncertainty, as it tore its merry way through one teachers’ meeting after another. Around about that time I wrote a blog post that aimed to inform teachers about what generative AI could already do – and the list was impressive even then. From scoring a Level 5 on an IBDP Mathematics exam to outwitting plagiarism detection software – it seemed as though the fine arts of classroom instruction, assessment and active engagement would be bent out of shape forever.
Fast forward to today, and that whirlwind has been tamed to gentle breeze. The anticlimax has been deathly in its silence, and I am personally of the opinion that AI’s ‘saturation point’ is quickly approaching. People simply don’t want fake stuff (such as fake photos in ads, or blog posts written exclusively by AI), but people DO want the time-saving and cognitive offloading features that AI can provide. Even as far back as 2022, for example, the World Economic forum published the results of a major study which found that 60% of adults around the world agreed that AI products and services would make their lives easier, but just 50% said that they’d trust companies that use AI as much as those that do not. One year later, in 2023, The University of Queensland partnered with KPMG to conduct their own global study of people’s trust in AI. They found that:
61% of respondents were ambivalent or unwilling to trust AI
55% were comfortable with the use of AI at work to augment and automate tasks and inform managerial decision-making, as long as it was not used for human resource and people management purposes.
You can download the full report from the University of Queensland, here.
What is 100% certain is that whilst we’re still sailing on the open ocean of AI, we can harness certain tools to enhance the learning experience, streamline administrative tasks, and provide personalized education. So, in today’s blog post, I will share ten practical ways teachers can incorporate AI into their classrooms, complete with examples and tips for immediate implementation.
Let’s address the elephant in the room first: ChatGPT
It is my observation that ChatGPT is currently being utilized in a ‘skeleton before the meat is added’ way across the education sector:
ChatGPT can quickly generate student written reports, upon providing the system with a lengthy prompt (e.g. student names, genders and overall attainment). These reports are often incomplete and lack context, however, and teachers often need to revise the reports afterwards before final publication. PLEASE CHECK your school’s policy on using ChatGPT for report writing before you proceed – you may come across privacy issues. ChatGPT does ‘learn’ from user inputs, which technically means that the prompts and feedback you share with it are not confidential, as the model uses that information to develop itself.
Students can use ChatGPT to generate ideas for projects and assignments, as well as the core elements of any written work they need to produce. This will, of course, need to be modified afterwards.
What has become clear about ChatGPT since 2022 is that it’s not (currently) as clever as we all thought it would be. Common issues/mistakes that arise include:
Lack of original tone and prosaic/robotic like syntax
Web references and links generated by ChatGPT 4o that are incorrect/do not link to the desired site upon further inspection
Misunderstanding of the original prompt, which often requires further prompt revisions by the user
Image generation is particularly problematic, and the average non-IT professional will still find it difficult to generate photo-realistic images of themselves and others using ChatGPT, even when reference images are provided
Let’s finally get into the ten AI tools that teachers should try out.
#1: Personalized Learning
AI can help tailor educational content to meet the individual needs of each student. Tools like DreamBox and Smart Sparrow adapt lessons based on student performance. For example, a math teacher can use DreamBox to provide customized exercises for each student, ensuring that advanced learners are challenged while those struggling receive extra support.
#2: Intelligent Tutoring Systems
Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) like Carnegie Learning and ALEKS offer one-on-one tutoring. For instance, a teacher might assign ALEKS for homework, allowing students to receive immediate feedback and explanations on math problems they get wrong, thereby reinforcing learning.
#3: Automated Assessment and Feedback
AI-powered grading tools, such as Gradescope and Turnitin, save teachers countless hours by automating the grading of assignments. A practical example is using Gradescope to quickly grade multiple-choice quizzes or written assignments, providing students with detailed feedback while freeing up the teacher’s time for other tasks.
#4: Live Quiz Apps
AI can increase student engagement through interactive platforms like Kahoot! and Quizlet. For example, a history teacher can create a Kahoot! quiz to review key concepts before a test, making the review session fun and competitive, which helps students retain information better than they might otherwise. I’ve written a separate blog post listing and describing my favourite live-quiz apps which you can read, here.
#5: Analysing student data and making predictions
Predictive analytics tools, such as BrightBytes, analyze student data to predict outcomes and identify students at risk of falling behind. A teacher could use BrightBytes to track student performance throughout the semester, identifying those who need additional support early on and implementing targeted interventions. In theory, the system could also be used to determine predicted grades for students applying to universities, although I wouldn’t recommend only using this tool. Predicted grades are notoriously difficult to pin-down and can be a point of great contention and controversy depending on the dynamics that are at play in your school. Always use assessment data and your professional judgement, coupled with AI if you wish, you make the best predictions you can.
#6 VR and AR tools
AI-powered VR and AR tools like Google Expeditions and Nearpod bring immersive learning experiences into the classroom. For instance, a geography teacher can use Google Expeditions to take students on a virtual field trip to the Grand Canyon, providing a visually engaging way to learn about geological formations. This great blog post by Jennifer Snelling at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) lists 23 brilliant AR and VR tools that teachers can use in the classroom (well worth a read!).
#7: Language translation
AI-based language translation tools, such as Google Translate, facilitate communication in multilingual classrooms. Additionally, language learning apps like Duolingo use AI to personalize lessons. For example, an ESL teacher can use Google Translate to help non-native speakers understand complex instructions, making the classroom more inclusive. For more tips on how to engage EAL/ELD/ESL students specifically, then this great blog post contains some useful advice.
#8: Admin
AI can streamline administrative tasks, allowing teachers to focus more on teaching. Tools like IBM’s Watson Education can handle scheduling, student attendance, and other administrative duties. A practical use case is using Watson Education to automatically generate class schedules based on student preferences and availability, reducing administrative workload.
#9: Collaboration and communication
AI-powered communication tools, such as Microsoft Teams and Slack, can be used to enhance collaboration among students and teachers. A teacher can create a Microsoft Teams channel for a group project, allowing students to share resources, communicate in real-time, and collaborate on assignments effectively.
#10: Professional Development
AI can also support teachers’ professional development. Platforms like Coursera and LinkedIn Learning use AI to recommend courses and resources based on individual interests and career goals. For instance, a teacher looking to improve their coding skills can use LinkedIn Learning to find and enroll in relevant courses, keeping their skills up-to-date.
Did I use AI to help me write this blog post?
I have to admit, yes, I did. But most of this blog post was written by me. I used ChatGPT 4o (which you need a paid subscription for) to do the following:
Write my references in Harvard style
Come up with the ten ideas for using AI in the classroom, to which I added my own thoughts
So, even I am guilty of succumbing to the temptation of using AI to save me time and energy. However, I do think that you, as my readers, deserve more than just a ChatGPT generated blog post every week, which is why I will only ever use generative AI to provide the ‘skeleton’. I must add the ‘meat to the bones’. Perhaps that’s what we should be training our students to do, too?
As teachers, we are mindful of the omnipresent and aspirational societal expectations that we are constantly subject to. Whilst these expectations vary slightly from country to country and territory to territory, we are generally expected to be better behaved, more mature and more conservative than those who work in the majority of other professions, fields, trades and industries.
There are good reasons for this, of course. Children are guided by us and look up to us, so we have to be exceptional role models for them. In some countries, like the UK for example, we are even given the glistening designation of ‘Person of Good Standing’ and are even entrusted to sign people’s photographs to aid in their application for new passports.
Since we are expected to be so much, for so many people, this can leave many of us wondering how to seek out a new relationship partner. Are we allowed to have a dating profile, for example? What would happen if a member of the public recognised me on a dating app? Would they have grounds to complain to my school? Which dating apps are acceptable for teachers to use? Should we use more conservative dating apps, like Bumble, or can we go for apps that (unfortunately) have been tarnished with the reputation of being more ‘hookup’ focussed, like Tinder?
In this blog post I aim to answer these questions as best as I can.
What’s the official guidance on teacher conduct as it applies to dating app usage?
Whilst teaching regulatory bodies from various countries and jurisdictions have issued extensive guidance regarding teachers’ use of social media and electronic communication, there appears to be no specific government-issued guidance exclusively for teachers regarding dating apps at the time of writing. However, there are some general guidelines that have been issued by various educational and safety organisations that I will delineate below:
Schools generally have codes of conduct that include guidelines on social media use, which can (sometimes) extend to dating apps. Teachers should maintain strict privacy settings on their social media accounts and avoid mentioning their school or adding students and parents as ‘friends’ online. The guidelines outlined in a typical school’s Code of Conduct/Staff Handbook are intended to protect teachers’ professional reputations and prevent any potential conflicts or inappropriate interactions (Schools Week).
The UK Safer Internet Centre reiterates and emphasises the importance of online safety for educators. Teachers are advised to be cautious about the personal information they share online and to separate their professional and personal lives as much as possible. This extends to our behaviour on dating apps to ensure we do not compromise our professional integrity. They recommend not using location-based dating apps at work to avoid unintentional interactions with students or colleagues (UK Safer Internet Centre).
Although specifically for doctors and dentists, Health Education England has issued guidance that can be relevant to teachers as well. This guidance advises against using dating apps at work and highlights the risks of geolocation features on these apps, which can inadvertently expose users to colleagues or students. It also stresses the importance of maintaining professional standards online and avoiding any actions that could lead to reputational damage or legal issues (Health Education England North East).
My personal advice on this issue
The good news for all of us is that, in the absence of official government guidance specifically for teachers and their dating app usage, it would be challenging for any school to enact disciplinary procedures on the grounds that a teacher simply has a dating profile to begin with. However, the rules and expectations become blurry when considering how we should behave on such apps, as this does fall under the umbrella category of ‘acceptable social media usage’ and ‘acceptable electronic communication’. Here are my guidelines to keep teachers as safe as possible when using dating apps:
In the first instance, check your school’s Code of Conduct and Staff Handbook, to see if any mention is made of dating app usage. Also, check the employment contract you signed – that may also contain references to dating apps, and your contract may also legally bind you to the terms outlined in the Code of Conduct/Staff Handbook.
Most teachers won’t feel confident enough to ask their headteacher or a member of the Senior Leadership Team about guidance regarding dating app usage. After all, it’s a very personal topic and not something we want to raise at work, especially with our bosses! However, it may be a wise move to seek such advice (and get the guidelines in writing – as an email, for example) as at least then you’ll be clear about the school’s expectations. This written confirmation from your Headteacher or other senior leader will also serve as protection should a parent/student see your dating profile and complain in future. In the unlikely case of litigation being filed, that email you asked for could be a key piece of evidence for your defense lawyer to use in a court case.
Once you’ve been given the green light to actually have a dating profile to begin with (either through your inspection of school documents, such as your contract, or via a discussion with your Headteacher/Senior Leader), you then need to be mindful of your dating profile. Keep it clean, make sure your photos are clean and do not mention your school in the profile – you almost always need permission to mention any organization in a social media post. If you mention your school on your dating profile, then they could use that as a key piece of evidence in any disciplinary proceedings that they may wish to enact, should they discover your profile.
Whilst the guidance from the UK Safer Internet Centre and HEENE cited earlier advises teachers not use to location-based dating apps/to turn geolocation off, this is incredibly challenging as most dating apps these days require location services to be switched on. Where possible, however, use apps that do not require geolocationor, as a minimum safety protocol, do not use location-based dating apps whilst at work (we shouldn’t be accessing any dating app whilst at school, actually).
Watch out for the age-range of potential matches that you specify on the app. If you select, say, ‘Women aged 18 – 29′, then you may find that some high school students in your area may have made a profile specifying their age as ’18’ (even when they might be younger than that). Again, specifying an age range that begins at 18 could be problematic from a legal standpoint too, as it could be implied that you were knowingly searching for school-age children. Be sensible – set your matches for a respectable, non-debatable minimum adult age, say at 23 years or older. Watch out for default age-ranges for matches set by some dating apps too, as they often start at age 18.
Apps that rely on ‘swiping’, as opposed to openly accessible websites (where every profile is visible) are probably the safest for teachers. You’ll be exposed to fewer people who can see your information and such apps usually have a paywall in-place to ensure that only subscribed users can swipe on an unlimited number of profiles.
Utilise apps that rely heavily on payment for access, especially if payment is needed for messaging. If only paid members can message you, then that will exclude the overwhelming majority of unauthorised users who can see your information.
Do not put personal information on your dating app profile, such as social media links or phone numbers. Some apps will allow non-paying users to see this information, which can be problematic as students, parents and colleagues could potentially see your profile and message you on one of your chosen messaging apps (such as WhatsApp).
If you suspect that a student, parent or colleague has messaged you, then handle that professionally. Seek your school’s official guidance on the matter. In the case of a student/parent, it is probably best to take screenshots of the chat log and block the user, and then inform your school’s Designated Safeguarding Lead. In the case of a colleague, it may depend on the nature of the messages. Again, screenshot (for evidence), block and report if you feel that’s necessary.
Consider using dating apps that are specifically made for teachers (yes, they do exist!). Apps such as Edudate (which has even been featured on the Times Educational Supplement and BBC Radio 5 Live) and Just Teacher’s Dating are designed to help forge romantic connections between educators. If that sounds like your thing, then why not try it out?
Overall Conclusion
According to 2023 statistics from the Pew Research Center, around 53% of single individuals in the United States under 50 actively seeking relationships had an online dating service at that time or had used one within the past year. Dating apps are already a big part of our lives as adults seeking romantic connections, and their popularity seems set to continue to grow as the years go by.
As teachers, we need to be mindful of our special role in society and act in such a way as to protect ourselves when using dating apps. Seek your school’s guidance, keep your profile clean, do not share personal information on your profile, turn off geolocation (if you can) and keep everything behind paywalls if possible. Be mindful, also, of the age range of potential matches as set on your profile.
Even as far back as 2020, during the height of the pandemic, research was being conducted on the effectiveness of video conferencing in education, and some such research concluded that online meetings would remain popular long-after the pandemic was over. My personal experiences have certainly mirrored these predictions – tutoring has moved mostly online, online meetings are still being used by many schools for parent-teacher conferences and schools still find that an online meeting is the most convenient way to bring everyone together efficiently, even if everyone is in the same building! Some schools are still using online meetings for assemblies too – an efficient approach as all of the students can remain in their classrooms and simply ‘enjoy the show’ on the classroom smart board or projector.
The corporate world has likewise seen a dramatic shift towards online conferencing, and as a part of a recent Powerful Public Speaker Workshop I delivered to a team of insurance professionals here in Bangkok, I was asked to speak about the rules/etiquette people should follow for online meetings. The following seven rules are the result of my deliberations, and if you wish to download and use the slides I delivered to this corporate client, then you can find it linked as a pdf file at the end of this blog post. Please note that I have put a ‘teaching spin’ on each of the following rules to make them as relevant as possible to educators (which you will not find in the pdf file).
An overview
I was thinking about putting this summary at the end, but I think it’s relevant here. When it comes to ALL online meetings, remember the acronym MEET UP R:
Rule #1: Know your platform
Are using Google Meets? Maybe it’s the dreaded Cisco Webex (dreaded because I have such little experience with this platform). Perhaps it’s Zoom? Maybe you’re using Microsoft Teams for the first time?
Whatever platform it is that you’ll be required to use, the first Golden Rule is that you become familiar with the software. Spend at least 15 minutes before the meeting starts just getting used to the controls and settings, if you’re a newbie. Also, if you haven’t used a platform in over a month, then carry out the due diligence of checking its functionality first – it may well have changed since you last used it!
Rule #2: Be there early!
The reasons for the inclusion of this rule are not so obvious upon first inspection. Here’s why you need to try logging-in early:
Unexpected system updates can slow down your start (this has happened to me multiple times over the last several years)
WIFI may take time to set up. Don’t assume that that you’ll always be able to get online in the same way every time, using the same WIFI (especially if it’s public WIFI, such as that you would find in a coffee shop). Again – updates to systems and protocols do happen!
Bluetooth (e.g. For mics and headphones) may take time to set up (and setup protocols can change after system updates)
You may need an alternative device if there’s a technical problem (e.g. a smartphone connected to a 4 or 5G network)
Familiarity can often be the enemy of online meeting etiquette. On many occasions I have, for example, turned up at the same coffee shop multiple times in a row to use the same WIFI, only to find that the login procedure has changed. This unexpected hurdle clearly slows down my login time.
Getting to your online meeting destination early, and attempting to log-in early, allows you time to fix any issues that may come up.
Rule 3: Switch on your camera
The visual element of meetings is important. When you show yourself to the online audience via the camera, there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that you are present and attentive. Those who leave their cameras switched off do, unfortunately, arouse suspicion. If you absolutely must leave you camera switched off (e.g. so as to reduce your network traffic and allow for an audible meeting), then at least tell the host in advance (if you can).
If you are the meeting host, then don’t be afraid to ask people to switch on their cameras too – facial expressions, nods, mannerisms and other visual information forms part of the effective communication ‘dance’ that must play out in an online meeting.
Rule 4: Mute your microphone when you are not speaking
Background noise can interfere with the meeting (especially via sensitive tech, like expensive earphones). Also, experiment with different mics (e.g. wired or wireless – which microphones provide clearer sound to your audience?).
Last year I purchased a very expensive set of AirPods Pro for use in online tutoring meetings. They’re beautiful – but not every student I teach likes them. They are so sensitive to background noise, that in some locations in which I am sitting the students find that they cannot hear me clearly, and I have to use wired earphones/mics (even when I turn on noise reduction).
It’s good practice to have at least three modes of voice input to your online meeting available, if possible:
The computer’s built-in microphone and speaker system (probably not the best if you’re in a public setting)
Wired earphones with integrated microphone (if you have an earphone jack on your PC)
Bluetooth headset/earphones
Having three systems, such as these, will enable you to join the meeting and communicate even if one system fails (and this, again, has happened to me multiple times!).
Rule 5: Raise your hand if you want to say something
This can be done visually (on camera), or through a hand-raise tool. Raising your hand on camera is usually better for smaller meets.
Check out my award-winning book for high-school teachers, available on Amazon.
Rule 6: Watch the chat window!
Requests and questions may come up at any time, so make sure you keep your eyes on the video conferencing software’s integrated chat feature window (and make sure you know where it is located too). At the very least, whether you are the meeting host or not, check the chat window before going for a break or leaving/closing the meeting – there could be some vital information in there!
The chat window can also be a good place to receive/ask questions and to leave contact information (e.g. if you are meeting with outside stakeholders, such as parents, teacher-training providers or ECA services).
Rule 7: Leave at the appropriate time, and in the appropriate way
If you need to leave early, then let the host know in-advance.
You can slip out unnoticed, but please leave a message in the chat window to say goodbye to the participants.
Respect people’s time, just as you would in a physical meeting (e.g. try not to make the meeting too long)
Anyone who is new to the teaching profession is bound to make mistakes. There’s so much to learn and so much is at stake: the future careers of young people are literally in your hands. The pressure can be overwhelming at times, and this can cause trainees to panic.
Relax! This blog post was made for you!
I will go through the top five mistakes that trainee high school teachers are making all over the world as I write this – and please do not be embarrassed if this article reads like a self-summary of what you are doing wrong at the moment. We’ve ALL been there. We’ve ALL made mistakes, and I’ve personally made every mistake in this list too (so I’m a real expert on this subject matter).
Let’s get started!
#1: Getting the marking balance wrong
We are eager to impress when we are trainees, but there’s no need for that eagerness to translate into late evenings, busy weekends and overloaded school holidays in which we are covering every piece of student work with lengthy written feedback. I’ve been there, and I can tell you from first-hand experience – it’s not worth it!
Grading every single piece of student work by hand is not the most effective, or efficient, means to provide feedback anyway. Consider utilising the following techniques:
‘Live’ Marking: This is a personal favorite of mine, as ardent followers of this blog and my podcast will know. The reason I love ‘live’ marking so much is because it is the ultimate feedback strategy – it’s efficient, personal and effective. It’s also simple to do – either walk around the class with a marking pen in your hand and mark student work in real-time, as they are doing a task, or call each student to your desk one at a time. Make sure you have a short conversation with each student as you write feedback on their work.
Verbal Feedback: This needs to be done properly, but it can be just as efficient and effective as ‘live’ marking. Have conversations with your students and either write/stamp ‘VF’ or ‘Verbal Feedback Given’ on the students’ work or (even better) ask the student to write down what you said in a different colour (e.g. “Mr Rogers said that I should label my diagrams using a ruler”). Since the students must process what you said in order to write down the feedback you have given, it acts as a great tool for building long-term memory.
Peer and self-assessment: Get your students to swap their work and mark each other’s or allow them the opportunity to assess their own work. Just make sure that the students have the official mark scheme/set of answers (otherwise this whole technique won’t work as efficiently as it should – and, before someone says it, no – I don’t think students should be spending time thinking about what the answer ‘should be’ and trying to upgrade answers without a mark scheme – unless you have a surplus of time in which to carry out this very exhaustive activity). Students should be encouraged to make corrections to wrong questions rather than just putting a cross or a zero next to answers, and they should be using a different coloured pen/text than the original answer was written in.
Automated assessment: There’s so much software available today that will set student work and grade it all for you. If your school has such systems available, then use them! Live quiz apps, such as Blooket, Kahoot!, Rolljak and others can be used for this purpose (set them in ‘assignment’ mode) as well as bespoke software such as MyMaths (for maths), Educake (for various subjects), Lexia Learning (for English) and others.
Learning Journals – as a recurring method of reflection, summarizing and revision, it really doesn’t get better than this. Used digitally (e.g., through Google Docs) or manually (e.g. through physical notebooks) learning journals offer stduents a creative and personal way to record their learning journeys. Make sure that you collect them in on the same day every week (or two weeks) and return them as per an agreed schedule too. In terms of satisfying a homework timetable, learning journals offer an interesting and feasible solution too – students are very unlikely to forget this ‘recurring’ homework due to its regularity and, due to their personable nature, learning journals can be really fun tools to work with. The students can fill them with whatever they like – mind maps, flash cards, past-paper questions, lists, etc.
The essential message here is to increase the range of assessment methods you are using – focusing heavily on efficiency and quality rather than how many scribbles you are able to pen onto student assignments during your weekends (which, by the way, is time that you should be spending relaxing).
I’ve written at length about efficient and effective marking strategies in the past. If you are interested in learning more about the various techniques available (and how to implement them), then check out these blog posts of mine:
My second book, entitled The Power of Praise: Empowering Students Through Positive Feedback, is also a great read if you are serious about exploring a range of feedback methods that that have a positive impact on your students’ learning experiences. Click on the image below to be taken to its Amazon page:
#2: Trying to be friends with the students
There’s a concept in education that has, unfortunately, become somewhat forgotten these days: Professional Distance.
The best description I could find on the concept of Professional Distance comes from an article by James Barron at start-teaching.com:
In the context of education, the concept of “professional distance” plays a vital role in maintaining clear boundaries between teachers and students. As emphasised by Gould and Roffey-Barentsen (2014), teachers must be mindful of preserving a degree of professional distance to prevent any blurring of lines between their personal lives and their roles as educators.
In today’s world of social media, IG influencers and digital side-hustles, maintaining Professional Distance between us and the students we teach has become more challenging than ever before. In essence, however, the fundamental concept is the same as it always was: whether you are a 22-year-old trainee or a 52-year-old seasoned educator, you are seen as an authority figure in the classroom. The students are NOT your friends. They are young people that we help, support and educate, and that’s where our professional relationship with them ends. We do not add them as friends on social media. We do not accept their follow requests. We do not chat with them on any non-school approved channel.
#3: Failing to consult with colleagues or line-managers
As a trainee teacher, or even a seasoned educator with twenty years under your belt, you are not expected to know everything. No question is too stupid to ask, so please ask!
I remember feeling really anxious one day as a relatively new 29-year-old teacher at an international school in Thailand. I had a question about the next topic to teach in a program of study, and I THOUGHT THAT MY HEAD OF DEPARTMENT WOULD THINK I WAS INCOMPETENT IF I ASKED ABOUT IT. Sure enough, after fretting over the issue for a day or two, I had to go and see him and ask about this – I needed the information.
I’ll never forget what he said at the end of the conversation: “Richard, I just want to say thank you for asking about this. Because when people don’t ask, they mess things up.”
Wow! That wasn’t what I had expected. My nervousness over asking questions, no matter how silly I thought they were, vanished that instant.
Your colleagues and line-managers will ALWAYS be your best resources at school. They will know how you should deal with certain students, back stories to issues, which printer to use and for what purpose, and who the key people are in school who can help you with other issues. This is why it is SO IMPORTANT for teachers to be cordial and collegiate with all staff at school.
#4: Engaging in gossip or inappropriate staffroom talk
Gossip is ALWAYS toxic. It generates distrust, adds to an overall atmosphere of negativity in a school and, worse: it can even get you fired. Gossip has this juicy allure to it that is very attractive – it reels people in and can often make one lower their normal professional defenses – causing people to add their ‘two cents’ worth without seriously considering their words beforehand.
Do not engage in gossip and stay away from people who gossip (if you can). Just your physical association with known gossipers can be a red flag for senior management – and, as a trainee teacher, you don’t want that!
I once remember sitting in the staffroom at a North Wales school during my PGCE (teacher training year) back in 2005. Two colleagues in my department had an altercation over something curriculum based and one teacher told the other to “F…. off”, in front of everyone!
The gossip soon followed the next day. Even the science technicians were in on it: “He should have received a slap for saying that” chirped one individual in the prep room that day. My Head of Department was there too, and I was being quiet and minding my own business (i.e. doing what you should do in this situation). Finally, he asked me, “What do you think about this whole thing, Richard”.
I replied with “I’m staying out of it. I have enough to focus on with my day-to-day work as it is.” (or something like that). My Head of Department was clearly impressed and responded with “That’s the best way to be, Richard”.
I later found out that he wrote a glowing review of my performance to my university.
In line with the subject of gossip is that of inappropriate information. You DO NOT need to share all of the details regarding your personal life with your colleagues – in fact, the less you share, the better!
One of my favourite quotes regarding this subject matter is as follows:
Never talk about your salary, your love life or your next move”
Unknown
If anyone can help me cite that quote (or its derivative), then please let me know. Whilst it is a little tongue-in-cheek, it does point to a very important concept in the workplace: your colleagues are not your friends – they are the people you work with. Whilst you can, of course, have very positive professional relationships with your colleagues (and they should be willing to help you out when you need it too, and you should help them when they need it), you must remember that egos are involved at the workplace, competition anxiety is real thing and that your colleagues are always capable of reporting you to senior management at any time.
In short – keep every interaction with your colleagues professional. Keep personal information to yourself.
#5: Planning day-by-day and not taking a long-term view
This is a common mistake that trainee teachers make but, thankfully, it’s usually an easy one to solve.
As trainees, we are often very new to the lesson planning process, and it can be difficult to think in the long and medium term as we are often so fixated with just planning lesson-by-lesson, or week-by-week.
It is crucial, however, that you know what the overall plans are for the academic year as a whole. This is called ‘curriculum mapping’, and the best teachers are also the best curriculum mappers.
In essence, it means that you must know when topics are supposed to be taught and what the key milestones are during the academic year, such as:
End of unit tests
Half-termly/mid-semester tests
End of term/semester tests
End of year exams
Coursework deadlines for students
Having a long-term view like this will allow you maintain an appropriate pace and will also ensure that you maintain consistency of instruction with some of your more experienced colleagues in the department – you certainly don’t want to be behind them in the teaching schedule, unless there’s a good reason (e.g. you are teaching a bottom set at a slower pace).
Summary
These are the top five mistakes that I have witnessed trainee teachers making over the past 17 years of my career, and I have also been guilty of all of these on occasion:
Marking inefficiently
Trying to be ‘friends’ with the students
Failing to seek help from colleagues when in doubt (remember, no question is too stupid to ask)
Engaging in gossip and/or revealing too much personal information about yourself to your colleagues
Planning in the short-term rather than the long-term
Review your own practices and daily behavior against the five points above to see if there are things that you could do differently.
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Students who are quiet in class are often the ones who are most overlooked by educators. They tend to be compliant; they rarely (if ever) ask questions; they turn in their homework on time and generally just get on with things.
One could be forgiven for thinking of such learners as the ‘perfect’ students.
This is, however, quite a narrowly focused viewpoint and stance to take. Such students may be well behaved, but how can we be sure that they have understood the content we have delivered in a lesson (aside from formally assessing them)? Additionally, how are we, as educators, helping our quiet and withdrawn students to develop their self-confidence and key skills, such as public speaking, teamwork and problem-solving?
It is my conviction that such students can be reached, as I have successfully engaged hundreds of such learners over the past 17 years in my role as a secondary school mathematics and science teacher. The process requires patience and long-term planning, but the results one can achieve are well worth this investment in time and energy.
So, let’s explore some practical strategies to engage these quiet and withdrawn students.
Strategy #1:Use more spatial response tasks in class
The concept here is quite simple: a ‘spatial response’ task allows students to answer questions without verbalizing anything.
“How is that possible?” you might ask.
Well, instead of the traditional ‘hands up’ for answering a question, students use movement and their physical bodies to signal their responses. This is a good first step in any long-term ‘engagement development’ plan you may have for a shy student, as they can interact with the lesson content without having to say anything. That. at least, is better than no engagement at all.
Two of my favourite such spatial response tasks are….
A ‘Human Graph’ and ‘True or False’ Walls
Do you want to know the opinions of your students on a subject matter? Maybe you’re taking a survey (e.g. Which day is the best for canteen food?). Maybe you have a list of multiple-choice questions and you want a fun way to get the kids through them.
A human graph might be the right tool for you!
What if you just want to quickly check your students’ conceptual understandings (e.g. as a plenary)? You could ask some true/false questions and get the kids to raise their hands, or you could use a way cooler (and more fun) method!
Choose one wall to be the ‘True’ wall and one to be the ‘False’ wall. Once you’ve asked the question, get the kids to walk to the correct wall. It’s that simple! Just make sure that the kids walk back to the middle of the classroom before each question.
This great illustration from Pop shows you the steps to take for each of these activities:
I’ve written a separate blog post that covers spatial learning activities in more detail, here. Please do check it out – all of the activities I write about have been field tested by me in the classroom, and they work!
Strategy #2: Do more ‘live marking’
Live marking means that you have more one-to-one conversations with students about their work, in real time. Here’s another great thing about it too: Live marking is not only a highly efficient formative assessment tool, but it also provides a comfortable space in which most of your shy and quiet students will be willing to open up and talk. There are two main methods to implement live marking: ‘diffusively’ and ‘absorptively’. Let’s explore these in more detail.
Diffusive Live-Marking
This is really simple:
Set a task for your students to complete (it could be a Google Slides presentation, a worksheet to complete, some questions from their textbook to do, etc.).
When a few minutes have passed, ‘diffuse’ through the classroom by walking around with a marking pen in hand (I use a red pen).
Mark student work in real time, as they are doing it. Of course – reinforce your written comments with verbal feedback (and you can even write ‘verbal feedback give’ or ‘VF’ on the work).
Hey presto – you just saved yourself an hour or so of after-school marking time, and you’ve engaged some quiet students in some short conversations.
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Absorptive Live-Marking
In this scenario, one can imagine the teacher being like a ‘sponge’ that ‘absorbs’ the students: instead of walking around the classroom to mark work in ‘real-time’, you sit at your desk (or at a designated ‘consultation point’ in the room) and call the students to your desk one-at-a-time.
Which is better – absorptive or diffusive live-marking?
In my personal opinion, both forms of marking can have a role to play in engaging our shy learners.
I tend to use absorptive live-marking more than diffusive as I am lucky enough to work in a school where the overwhelming majority of the students are very well-behaved. This means that I can call them to my desk one-at-a-time and the class will still stay on-task. A big advantage of the absorptive method is that I can give more detailed and personal feedback to each student and I have my whole desk-space to neatly mark the work on.
Strategy 3: Utilise Live-Quiz Apps
These have been around for quite a while now. Most educators have heard about Kahoot!, but did you know that are a wide-range of live quiz apps, similar in style to Kahoot!, that utilise multiple-choice questioning?
When it comes to engaging shy, withdrawn and quiet students, Quizlet Live and Blooket are my two most favourite apps as they encourage peer-to-peer communication. Let’s find out a little more about them.
Blooket
Blooket distinguishes itself from other quiz-based apps in that there are actually multiple types of games that you can play with the students, all based on the much-loved multiple-choice quiz format. My personal favorites are:
Crypto Hack: With a dark theme and Bitcoin-centric atmosphere, Crypto Hack is one of the students’ favorites. After answering a series of questions correctly the students are then able to guess fellow students’ passwords (passwords are chosen from a pre-determined list that the game provides). A correct guess allows the player to hack the other player and steal imaginary crypto currency from them.
Fishing Frenzy: This one’s a bit crazy – hilariously so! Students, again, answer multiple choice questions but this time they cast a virtual fishing line into the water after answering correctly. What they pull out are usually different types of fish, but they can pull out junk and other crazy objects too. Players are ranked by the weight of fish they pull out of the water. Players can also ‘plunder’ other players’ fish and steal their poundage. It gets very competitive and you can expect to hear a lot of laughter in the classroom as this gets going!
Tower Defense:According to Blooket themselves, this is their most popular game. In this mode, the students answer multiple choice questions and are then presented with a map. On this map, the students must place towers in strategic positions to shoot enemies that appear on-screen. In this sense, Tower Defense is more similar to the kind of computer games that children are playing in their free time than all of the other game modes provided.
Quizlet Live
Hidden within Quizlet‘s excellent flash card system is a little-known activity called Quizlet Live. When the teacher selects this, the students in your classroom join the game (by entering a code on their devices) and are then placed into random teams. Once the game begins, all of the players in each team are given different questions to answer, so they MUST help each other if they want to win. The first team to pass twelve rounds of questions is the winner, and the teacher’s screen shows the real-time position of each team (1st place, 2nd place, 3rd place and so on).
Quizlet Live has two features which I believe make it a very unique learning tool:
Students can read through the flash cards for the game as they’re waiting for other students to join. This, I believe, gives Quizlet Live a big advantage over many other quiz-based systems as students are not sitting around doing nothing as they’re waiting.
Quizlet Live provides each team member with a different question, making the game more thorough/rigorous than some other quiz-based systems. Every member of the team has to answer their question correctly before the team can move to the next round.
Quizlet has an immense database of flash cards created by other educators from all over the world, so it’s highly likely that you’ll find a question set that is suitable for your topic. If not, then you can make a set yourself.
Strategy 4: Try ‘Flipped Learning’
Flipped Learning allows students the opportunity to research a topic before it is explored in class. This may provide your quieter students with more confidence to speak up as they will have had a chance to acquire some knowledge before the lesson begins.
The following extract comes from a great guest blog post on Flipped Learning that Kiara Miller from The Speakingnerd wrote for me back in March 2023:
“A flipped classroom is a form of blended learning model where students learn about new concepts at home. They then discuss their findings with their teachers and the rest of the students in a classroom. With this teaching approach, students interact with the course material beforehand and while inside the classroom, they engage in interactive group learning activities.
Students aren’t bombarded with new material, but rather, they come with their own understanding of the concepts. That is through online videos and any other supporting content that can be text-based. It can also be provided by a teacher or students can do their own research.“
Strategy 5: Seek professional help for the student if no improvement is observed
All students who exhibit shy and withdrawn behaviors have underlying reasons for their lack of confidence, or lack of engagement. In some cases, it’s worth referring such students to trusted professionals, such as school counselors, who will be able to work with them on a one-to-one basis.
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The safety of students MUST be the number one priority for every school, regardless of location. If schools are not safe places for children, then anything and everything we do in terms of teaching and learning, practical pedagogy and all other strategies aimed at educating our learners will be negatively affected.
It is, therefore, most unfortunate that a simple Google search yields so many devastating news stories on the subject matter of bullying incidents in schools. Today, for example, these were the top three results that came up for me after typing in ‘high school bullying incident’ and performing a Google ‘News’ search:
Jakarta: ‘Education watchdogs condemn viral bullying at international high school’. The first paragraph of the news report reads as follows: “Education observers have condemned a bullying incident against a student of BINUS International School in South Tangerang, Banten, that went viral on social media following reports from netizens on Monday.” – Asia News Network. Available at https://asianews.network/education-watchdogs-condemn-viral-bullying-at-international-high-school/ [Accessed on 24th March 2024]
Minneapolis: ‘Another disturbing bullying incident sees at least two boys beat up smaller student in corridor of Minneapolis school’. The first paragraph of the news report reads as follows: “Disturbing video of a group of boys shoving a smaller student against lockers before beating him up at a Minneapolis school has surfaced online.” – Daily Mail. Available at https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13205263/middle-school-boys-beat-smaller-student-fight-eagle-ridge.html [Accessed on 24th March 2024]
Los Angeles: ‘Bullying, on-campus fight at South LA high school led to teen girl’s death, mother says’. The first paragraph of the news report reads as follows: “A Southern California mother claims her 16-year-old daughter died due to injuries she suffered during a school fight, but law enforcement says the teen died after falling down stairs. Now, the mother is demanding accountability.” – ABC 7. Available at https://abc7.com/shaylee-mejia-death-16-year-old-girl-who-was-allegedly-bullied-at-school-died-after-fight-on-campus-mother-says/14555873/ [Accessed on 24th March 2024]
The accompanying podcast episode, which is linked at the top of this blog post, was recorded about a week before writing this blog post. I performed the same Google News search on that day, and a different list of equally disturbing articles were retrieved by the search engine.
I believe that all of these bullying incidents could have been prevented if some simple, yet high-impact strategies were put in-place by the schools affected. This conviction I hold is reinforced by some of the best quality research available, too. A 2017 study by the British Psychological Society, for example, found that…..
Results show a substantial school- and classroom-level effect on prevalence of bullying. Effective school policies were found to be related to levels of bullying.
Muijs, D. (2017). Can schools reduce bullying? The relationship between school characteristics and the prevalence of bullying behaviours. British Journal of Educational Psychology. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28220471/
It is my aim today to bring such “effective school policies” and strategies to the proverbial ‘table’ for school leaders and teachers to consider. I’ve garnered such strategies from my personal experiences over the past seventeen years as a high school teacher of Science and Mathematics, as well as from the official guidance of agencies, governmental panels and research findings. Let’s get started!
#1: Teachers need to be ‘on duty’ and visible around campus at key times
I must admit, after reading the last story in the above list (the alleged bullying-related death of the 16-year-old girl in Los Angeles) I felt incredibly sad, and also somewhat angry, despite not knowing the family or the child who died. Fights on school campuses simply should NOT BE HAPPENING and should be ENDED QUICKLY if they do happen. Where were the supervising teachers or staff members who should have been on duty, monitoring the communal areas?
To my American readers I must apologise up-front: I don’t know what you call this concept. As a British teacher I can tell you that we call staff who supervise areas of the school campus at break times, lunch times, before school and after school (and, ideally, between lessons) as being ‘on duty’.
It’s a simple concept – station your trusted adults in communal areas around the school campus at key times – particularly during lesson changeovers (which, I have to say, is a time period that is often overlooked by many schools). With more ‘eyes’ on the students at these times, and by teachers being visible around the school site, fights and other bullying incidents are much less likely to happen in the first place.
British schools have been doing this for decades, and it’s pretty simple to set up. Typically, teachers are placed ‘on duty’ on their lightest teaching days, in order to make the workload as proportionate and manageable as possible.
Problem areas of the campus to consider include:
Toilet areas: Station teachers directly outside toilet areas at key times. Ideally, doors to communal toileting areas should be kept open (if possible). In terms of allowing teachers to go into student toilet areas to check on what’s happening, this can be problematic and can put teachers at undue risk, unless very clear guidelines are in-place. This is an issue that you and your colleagues at school should carefully consider – especially in terms of legal compliance.
Empty rooms: Are they locked when not in use? They should be.
‘Out of sight’ areas: These vary from school to school but can include spaces behind buildings and walls, foliage (e.g., bushes, trees and woodland), storage rooms and other locations.
Entry and exit points: Who can access the school site, and how? What security protocols are in-place to ensure that only authorized personnel are allowed on-campus?
Consider doing an audit of all such ‘hard to see’ places in your school, perhaps with a small team of teachers who are particularly passionate about tackling bullying and who are willing to dedicate time to such discussions.
But……..is increasing supervision enough?
According to several researchers, the simple answer that question is no. An excellent qualitative study by Horton et al (2020) summarizes this conundrum perfectly:
While improved playground supervision is perceived to be an effective component of anti-bullying programmes, it is not sufficient on its own (Flygare et al., 2011). A number of researchers have highlighted the importance of not only improving supervision of school spaces but also of addressing the ways in which school spaces are designed (e.g. Carney & Merrell, 2001; Fram & Dickmann, 2012; Gordon & Lahelma, 1996; Lambert, 1999; Malone & Tranter, 2003; Mulryan-Kyne, 2014)
Horton, P., Forsberg, C., & Thornberg, R. (2020). “It’s hard to be everywhere”: Teachers’ perspectives on spatiality, school design and school bullying. International Journal of Emotional Education, Volume 12, Number 2, pp 41 – 55. Retrieved from https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/65096/3/v12i2tm3.pdf
This brings me on to my next strategy to consider…..
2: Remodel current spaces if possible. If you’re building a new school, or new parts of a school, then design the campus with anti-bullying architecture in mind.
An excellent study by Dickmann and Fram (2012) analyzed different aspects of school architecture to determine their effect on encouraging, or inhibiting, bullying incidents. One key part of the study that really stood out to me is quoted below:
The hallways, as closed spaces, were repeatedly mentioned in the surveys when answering questions about commonly used spaces regarding safety and surveillance. All of the themes from the data appeared as interrelated problems feeding off each other in hallway spaces. Comments about isolation (e.g., “the weird design of the building isolates rooms”) how the hallway spaces isolated the classrooms, discipline (“running in the hallways”), movement (“passing in the hallways”), security (lack of supervision in the hallways), and the lack of lighting highlighted the dimensions of the hallway spaces that potentially intensified bullying tendencies.
The study goes into great detail to describe problematic areas of school campuses from a bullying standpoint and offers great insights into where supervising teachers should be focusing their attention.
I suggest school leaders to invite their staff to join a ‘Building Design’ working group, or similar, and allow them input into the design of new spaces that your school wishes to build, as well as re-design of current areas of the campus. Consider space, visibility and ease of access. Are there ways in which current building spaces can be improved? Perhaps consider how students move through the school (e.g. going up and down staircases – do students keep to one side, or are there no rules in place?), lighting and any obstructions that may be hindering visibility or student movement.
#3: Consider installing CCTV systems
Good CCTV systems can provide the deterrent needed to prevent a bullying incident from happening in the first place. They should, however, NEVER be used as a replacement for staff being on duty as they only record data and cannot intervene (obviously). Camera footage can also provide suitable evidence that can be passed on to school administrators and law enforcement later on, if the need arises.
Some research into the effectiveness of CCTV systems on tackling bullying in schools has been completed in the past decade, with some promising conclusions being made. A study by Timothy Gitonga at the University of Nairobi, for example, found that…
CCTV surveillance cameras were perceived positively by a large number of students and the cameras were linked with keeping the school safe.
Gitonga, T. (2020). Effect Of Closed Circuit Television (Cctv) Surveillance Technology On School Safety In Public Boarding Secondary Schools In Igembe South Sub-County, Meru County, Kenya. University of Nairobi. Retrieved from http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/153086
Of course, there are challenges with installing and maintaining CCTV systems, which include:
Cost
Management of data and legal compliance
Quality of footage and sound
Despite these disadvantages, however, CCTV systems are worth installing – not least because of the positive psychological impact and feeling of safety that they imbue.
#4: Law enforcement need to set the right example, and schools need to defer to law enforcement at all appropriate times
The message needs to be clear – if you are violent towards another person, you will be punished to the fullest extent of the law, even if you are a high school student. This, surely, is the ultimate deterrent?
In addition to this, schools need to be unafraid of contacting law enforcement when a violent incident or other potential crime has happened. Keeping everything in-house does not send the right message to the school community. Again, the message must be clear – if you are violent towards another student then law enforcement will be contacted, and they will be cooperated with fully.
#5: Reinforce a collaborative school ethos through assemblies, PSHE, events and tutor time/homeroom periods
When schools have clear Visions, Missions and Core Values, and when these are fully embedded, a collaborative community is created. This isn’t an idealistic view of the world that I have naively taken – it’s backed-up by legitimate research. Take this conclusion from a massive study that compared teacher-rated school ethos and reported incidents in bullying at Stockholm schools, for example:
Five teacher-rated sub-dimensions of school ethos (staff stability, teacher morale, structure-order, student focus, and academic atmosphere) were examined in relation to student-reported perpetration of and exposure to traditional school bullying and cyberbullying. The data material combines student and teacher information from two separate data collections performed in 2016, comprising teachers and students in 58 upper secondary schools in Stockholm. Analyses showed that bullying was associated with all but one of the five sub-dimensions of school ethos, namely structure and order for dealing with bullying behaviors at the school. Results are discussed in light of this counter-intuitive finding. Our findings nevertheless lend support to the idea that the social organization of schools, as reflected in their teacher-rated ethos, can affect individual students’ attitudes in a way that prevents the emergence of bullying behavior among students.
Modin, B., Låftman, S. B., & Östberg, V. (2017). Teacher Rated School Ethos and Student Reported Bullying—A Multilevel Study of Upper Secondary Schools in Stockholm, Sweden. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(12), 1565. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14121565
There are a number of ways in which a positive school ethos (which emphasizes collaboration and a zero-tolerance approach to bullying) can be created and reinforced:
Student Conduct Agreements – This is great idea that my current school implements. At the start of every academic year, students and parents sign a conduct agreement that outlines the expectations of the learner. These expectations include a statement along the lines of “I will not bully other people.” The signed agreement is kept on file at school and can be retrieved if needed for the purpose of discussions later on, should an incident happen.
Reinforce school expectations through the homeroom teachers/tutor time: Regular sessions that focus on school expectations, and why they are in-place, can form the basis of PSHE lessons and tutor time. Children, like adults, need to be reminded of key messageson a regular basis, and that includes whole-school practices, policies, goals and ethos.
Celebrate achievement as a whole school community: A phrase I coined years ago has garnered much attention in educational circles, which is an encouraging sign. That phrase is “Praise must be collective in order to be effective”. Encourage other teachers to praise your students when they do good work and celebrate achievement through assemblies and events. When schools become positive spaces where achievements are celebrated, bullying has difficulty taking root.
Tied in with all of the above ideas are rapport-building strategies – a aspect of classroom management that’s so important, that I dedicated an entire chapter of my first book, The Quick Guide to Classroom Management: 45 Secrets That All High School Teachers Need to Know, to it. I highly recommend this book to any trainee teacher who is struggling with behaviour management and/or classroom management.
Other strategies to consider
Employ a school counselor
School counselors can work with victims and bullies to resolve conflict and work through personal issues they may have. They may, in some cases, also have extensive knowledge of evidence-based anti-bullying strategies, yet some research shows that they are rarely consulted when school policies are created regarding bullying prevention:
A sample of 560 school psychologists and school counselors completed a Web-based survey regarding bullying in their schools, related training, and interventions used. Few school-based mental health professionals used evidence-based bullying interventions or were involved in the selection of interventions for their school, and administrators were often cited being in charge of selecting the antibullying program(s) to be used by a school or district.
Lund, E. M., Blake, J. J., Ewing, H. K., & Banks, C. S. (2012). School Counselors’ and School Psychologists’ Bullying Prevention and Intervention Strategies: A Look Into Real-World Practices. School Psychology Review, 41(2), 246-265. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2012.682005
In light of such research I would advise school administrators to employ school counselors who are trained in, and have experience of, anti-bullying strategies. Invite school counselors to discussions on whole school policies and encourage them to help formulate the school’s anti-bullying system/strategy.
Consult trusted sources for specific advice
I’m not going to pretend that this one blog post contains the solutions to all of your school’s bullying issues. I do hope, however, that it has been a good starting point and a useful prompt for further discussions to take place at your institution. You’ll notice, for example, that I’ve not touched upon cyberbullying, race-related discrimination or other specific issues that often require specific solutions. I have, however, included some useful PDF open-source guides on a range of issues below that you are welcome to download:
Bullying in schools continues to be a global issue. A 2018 study by UNESCO, for example, showed that one in three children globally are bullied at school. Strategies to tackle bullying must be proactive and collaborative, and could include (but are not limited to):
Assigning duties to teachers and school staff so that they are present and visible at key communal areas of the school, particularly during break times and lesson changeover periods
Remodeling and designing school architecture so that ‘problem areas’ of campuses are reduced in frequency. This involves ensuring that lighting, visibility and accessibility are carefully considered. Empty rooms should be locked and staff should be made aware of where potential problems could flare up on-site.
Installing high-quality CCTV systems that are legally compliant, highly visible and supported by good software and technical personnel. Such systems should be strategically placed around campus to focus on communal areas that have been identified as ‘problem locations’ in the first instance.
Defer to local enforcement for every instance that a suspected crime, such as an assault, has taken place. It’s important that high school children realise that there are consequences for their actions.
Develop a collaborative and communal school ethos through clear school values, tutor period time, assemblies, events and tools like Conduct Agreements. Celebrate achievements openly and remember that “Praise must be collective in order to be effective”.
Bibliography and references (in order of appearance)
Muijs, D. (2017). Can schools reduce bullying? The relationship between school characteristics and the prevalence of bullying behaviours. British Journal of Educational Psychology. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28220471/
Horton, P., Forsberg, C., & Thornberg, R. (2020). “It’s hard to be everywhere”: Teachers’ perspectives on spatiality, school design and school bullying. International Journal of Emotional Education, Volume 12, Number 2, pp 41 – 55. Retrieved from https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/bitstream/123456789/65096/3/v12i2tm3.pdf
Gitonga, T. (2020). Effect Of Closed Circuit Television (Cctv) Surveillance Technology On School Safety In Public Boarding Secondary Schools In Igembe South Sub-County, Meru County, Kenya. University of Nairobi. Retrieved from http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/153086
Modin, B., Låftman, S. B., & Östberg, V. (2017). Teacher Rated School Ethos and Student Reported Bullying—A Multilevel Study of Upper Secondary Schools in Stockholm, Sweden. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(12), 1565. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14121565
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As a recently designated Certified ScrumMaster®, I thought it would be appropriate for me to share my newly acquired knowledge with my readers – with a particular emphasis on how Scrum can be utilised in the high school classroom, and when managing teams of high school teachers. Scrum is a hugely popular Agile Project Management technique that is most commonly associated with boardrooms, not classrooms! Today I aim to explain why Scrum is an excellent framework for use with any school project, and how the logistics of the system work.
The Student Experience
For students, adopting Scrum is like discovering a secret potion that turbocharges their project work. Here’s how it unfolds:
Project proposal: Picture a brainstorming session where students pitch their project ideas – from building a mini-robot to organizing a charity event. With Scrum, they can form self-organized teams around these ideas, each team with its unique blend of skills and passions.
There are three ‘roles’ that students can choose to play in Scrum:
Product Owner: Decides which tasks need to be completed as part of the project and clarifies requirements. The Product Owner manages the Product Backlog – prioritizing tasks that require the most attention and keeping track of team progress.
Scrum Master: Understands Scrum philosophy and facilitates and coordinates the entire process of Scrum.
Developer: These are the team members who carry out the daily work of creating the parts of the project that the Product Owner decides are the highest priority. Developers are the only team members who MUST attend the Daily Scrum, but the Product Owner and Scrum Master can join too.
Sprints and ‘Increments’: In Scrum, projects are broken down into manageable chunks called sprints – think of them as short, focused bursts of activity. For our high school heroes, this means setting clear goals for each sprint – whether it’s designing a prototype or conducting research – and diving headfirst into action. A sprint should last between 7 – 10 days, ideally (although, officially, a Sprint can last up to four weeks but I don’t recommend this). The objective of the sprint is to produce a useable part of the project, called an ‘increment’. This increment could be a data analysis on Google Sheets, a working model of particular concept, a series of slides, a short video with text, a summary of research conducted, etc.
Daily Scrum (or ‘Standup’): Every day, students gather for quick (no longer than 15 minute) meetings, sharing progress updates, discussing roadblocks (or ‘impediments’), and tweaking their plans accordingly. It’s like having a daily pow-wow to keep everyone on the same page and ensure that nobody gets lost in the shuffle. Of course, you may not teach the students every single day, which is why Scrum teaches them how to collaborate and agree upon a daily meeting place (e.g. the school library).
Feedback and Adaptation: Scrum thrives on feedback loops, and our students are no exception. Whether it’s peer reviews, teacher feedback, or reflections on their own progress, students constantly iterate and refine their work, learning the invaluable art of adaptation along the way. The review part of the Scrum cycle is called the ‘Sprint Review’ and should be conducted at the end of every Sprint. It is a process designed for the team’s benefit, so it may not need to be run as a whole class presentation but rather a group meeting of around 30 minutes.
Showcase and Celebrate: As each sprint concludes, students showcase their achievements – whether it’s a working prototype, a compelling presentation, or a tangible outcome (once again, the outcome is called an ‘increment’). It’s a moment of pride and celebration, reminding them of how far they’ve come and fueling their drive for the next sprint.
Utilising Scrum with teams of teachers
Now, let’s shift gears and zoom in on the teachers – the unsung heroes behind the scenes. The very same Scrum cycle that we use with students can be used with teachers too – the framework doesn’t change. Here’s how Scrum empowers them to lead by example:
Facilitation: As senior teachers lead their teams of educators, they wear the hat of facilitators rather than dictators. They create a safe space for collaboration, encourage open dialogue, and empower their peers to take ownership of their professional development.
Coaching and Support: Just like coaches on the sidelines, senior teachers provide guidance, mentorship, and support to their fellow educators. They help them navigate challenges, sharpen their skills, and unleash their full potential – all while fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
Alignment and Coordination: With multiple projects and initiatives in play, senior teachers use Scrum to align their team’s efforts, coordinate schedules, and maximize productivity. It’s like conducting a symphony orchestra, where every teacher plays their part in perfect harmony.
Adaptability and Innovation: In today’s fast-paced educational landscape, adaptability is key, and Scrum equips senior teachers with the tools to embrace change and drive innovation. They experiment with new teaching methods, incorporate feedback loops, and stay ahead of the curve – all while inspiring their colleagues to do the same.
Celebrating Success: Last but not least, senior teachers celebrate the wins – big and small. Whether it’s a breakthrough in teaching pedagogy or a collaborative project that captivates students, they shine a spotlight on achievements and foster a culture of appreciation and camaraderie.
So there you have it – a glimpse into the magical world where Scrum meets high school, where students become agile innovators and teachers become champions of collaboration. As we continue to explore new frontiers in education, let’s remember that with Scrum, the possibilities are endless – so let’s roll up our sleeves, rally our teams, and embark on this exhilarating adventure together!
