Trainee teacher Nic Cooper is taking a Year 7 top-set science lesson on kidney function. Behaviour expert Sue Cowley helps Nic relax and praise her students more, in this classroom management and pedagogy resource.
Nic is a neuroscience graduate training at The International School and Community College in Birmingham. The students are already engaged with science, but Nic would like Sue's advice on whether she can relax more with the class and get even more out of them.
Once the group work has begun, Sue notices that Nic spends much of the time pacing around the groups, using up her energy. She also notices that the self-selected groups are either all-boy or all-girl, and she suggests there may be merits in varying this for future lessons.
With such a well-motivated class, Sue encourages Nic to praise them more, relaxing into her teaching and starting to build on the good relationships she's already forging.
