Muslim Teacher Tips: Eight Core Principles
Thursday, March 18, 2010 Read more → teaching, top tips In the name of God, entirely Compassionate, especially Merciful | Peace be with you
In the name of God, compassionate & merciful | Peace be with you السلام عليكم
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Principles? What for?
To be an effective teacher you must have core principles to remain more positive in your teaching practise. In a busy classroom you have to respond to events quickly, like a fireman. Matching your response to clear principles increases your consistency and fairness.
Principles bring personal responsibility too; all of us act hastily act against those we set for ourselves from time to time, e.g. getting ‘snappy’ with a child, or wanting to hang another over a bridge… When we do, it is the principles that lead us to reconnect and repair the relationship.
The following eight principles reflect good practise in all phases of teaching. Yet again, these are life skills, inter-usable and applicable to all personal experiences inshaAllah.
1. Plan for Good Behaviour
This balances two crucial elements, prevention and reduction. The most effective behaviour management actively limits the opportunities for, or the likelihood of, inappropriate behaviour occurring. This is also a top tip for parenting.
However, when the crazy students run amuck (and they will!), reducing friction or potential conflict is crucial. To do this effectively you need to deliberately choose a strategy from your toolkit rather than react in an unplanned, emotionally-driven way.
Start a resource ‘bank’ of ideas. Make three headings on a piece of paper “curriculum”, “organisation” and “inter-personal”, go on, do it now, I’ll wait. Then add as many strategies as you can in each column and cross reference with other teachering colleagues to extend the lists. Keep these lists and refer to them to build a preventative climate in your class. Or marriage.
Decent management requires for you to reduce that emotional ‘heat’ quickly. This obviously applies to you too.
When something catastrophic happens in the classroom, recognise the choices you have, remail rational and respond in a planned way by drawing on skills from your toolkit. Give only the bare minimum of attention possible to the child who misbehaved. Do this by directing them to the behaviour you want, rather than what you wish them to stop doing:
“Luqman, I need you to face the front and listen now. Thank you (or jazakAllah).”
This is briefer and more effective than: “Oye, Luqmaan! Why are you turning around? Stop playing with Saima’s hair, now! You shouldn’t be singing Arab songs when I am talking to you – you should be listening!”
Notice how the child is directed towards success in the first direction rather than focusing on the mistake.
2. Separate the (inappropriate) behaviour
Separating the inappropriate behaviour from the child makes it clear that it is the behaviour and not the person that you are critical of. Remember that what a student and by extension every person does is not the same as who they are. Labelling a person as ‘bad’ often confirms a poor self image (in sociological terms: a negative self-fulfilling prophecy).
Appropriate behaviour however should always be associated with the person. When children behave well, your feedback should carry the message, “you’re the kind of person who…” For example, “MashaAllah, Daniaal, including Bilal in your football game shows how kind you are.”
3. Use the language of choice
Much of the tension and conflict occurring in schools results from power struggles between the child and the adult. When you act as if your students choose their own behaviour you become strongly empowered and so do they.
Managing behaviour has three phases:
1. Giving children choices about their behaviour
2. Influencing them to make appropriate choices
3. Applying the consequences of their choices (rewards & actions)
Practise and personalise a powerful language of choice to avoid looking and sounding awkward. Consider for example the profound difference between these two instructions:
- “Abdul Waheed, if you don’t stop talking I’ll move you over here on your own.”
With:
- “Abdul Waheed, if you choose to keep talking while I’m teaching, you’ll be choosing to sit here on your own. Make a better choice now. Thanks.” *Muahahaha!*
The first says if you don’t do what I want I’ll make you do this. It’s a direct threat and challenge – very difficult to resist meeting! The second says you are responsible for your behaviour, I want you to make a better choice to learn, but if you don’t, you will have chosen this sanction.
4. Focus on primary behaviours
Primary behaviours are those which require intervention by you because they impede the classroom agenda. Many children when corrected will engage in secondary behaviours. These are ways of diverting attention from their mistake to allow them to ‘de-stress’ and feel better.
There are two types of secondary behaviour: non-verbal (sighing, moaning, hair tossing – completely ignore this and remain relaxed) and verbal (justifications and questioning – keep using the effective skill after their complain, “maybe – but, I still need you to do this”).
When you react to secondary behaviours you’re basically buying-in to the diversion and lose sight of why you spoke in the first place. You also run the risk of getting seriously ticked off. So be cool, teach. Be ice cool.
5. Actively build trust and support
It would be a mistake to assume that simply being friendly with children wins their trust. You have to demonstrate your trustworthiness to earn it. There are many ways to do this:
Rapport is the way in which you connect to another person. Being connected to your students is the only way in which you can influence them effectively. You can build rapport buy:
Classroom example:
“You’ve used paragraphs correctly, proofread well and presented your work neatly. Excellent! Well done!”
You can develop connections and agreement with children quickly by simply stating what is happening at the time: “Qasim, you’re out of your seat” and “Musa, you haven’t started yet”.
6. Model the behaviour you wish to see
Although it seems obvious, it’s worth reinforcing that your behaviour is the most significant influence in the classroom.
Children are in the process of acquiring the social skills to produce successful behaviour. They need you as a role model. You do not have to be perfect in your behaviour. Being a normal human being who makes mistakes (and apologises for them) is in itself a powerful model.
What is important is how well you model the correct behaviours the majority of the time. The worst accusation a child can make when being corrected it, “well you do it!” Burn.
7. Follow up on issues that count
You have to make decisions as to what counts. Primarily the three basic rights which will be described later always count: the rights to safety, learning and fair treatment.
The intention of this principle is to guide you away from the notion of ‘manic vigilance’ whereby you try to spot every infringement and deal with it. You will quickly become exhausted and create a very stressful classroom climate.
The crucial thing is you make deliberate choices in the leadership of the class:
8. Reconnect and repair relationships
You can only influence children’s behaviour when you connect with them, we know that now. Applying a necessary sanction as a result of their behaviour choice may create some tension, we know that too. You should seek to reconnect positively to the child as soon as possible after correcting them. Certainly, you should always have a positive chat before they leave the class, even if it’s just a smile and “salam, bye”.
Reconnecting to a child usually doesn’t require anything more than a simple skill. You can achieve this non-verbally or verbally, for instance smiling as you look over at them, or asking “How are you getting on? Do you need a hand?”
Remember this skill connects directly into modelling good behaviour. You are the adult in this relationship and are paid to teach children appropriate skills and behaviours.
Time to reflect. Think. Plan. And... relax.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
Principles? What for?
To be an effective teacher you must have core principles to remain more positive in your teaching practise. In a busy classroom you have to respond to events quickly, like a fireman. Matching your response to clear principles increases your consistency and fairness.
Principles bring personal responsibility too; all of us act hastily act against those we set for ourselves from time to time, e.g. getting ‘snappy’ with a child, or wanting to hang another over a bridge… When we do, it is the principles that lead us to reconnect and repair the relationship.
The following eight principles reflect good practise in all phases of teaching. Yet again, these are life skills, inter-usable and applicable to all personal experiences inshaAllah.
1. Plan for Good Behaviour
This balances two crucial elements, prevention and reduction. The most effective behaviour management actively limits the opportunities for, or the likelihood of, inappropriate behaviour occurring. This is also a top tip for parenting.
However, when the crazy students run amuck (and they will!), reducing friction or potential conflict is crucial. To do this effectively you need to deliberately choose a strategy from your toolkit rather than react in an unplanned, emotionally-driven way.
Start a resource ‘bank’ of ideas. Make three headings on a piece of paper “curriculum”, “organisation” and “inter-personal”, go on, do it now, I’ll wait. Then add as many strategies as you can in each column and cross reference with other teachering colleagues to extend the lists. Keep these lists and refer to them to build a preventative climate in your class. Or marriage.
Decent management requires for you to reduce that emotional ‘heat’ quickly. This obviously applies to you too.
When something catastrophic happens in the classroom, recognise the choices you have, remail rational and respond in a planned way by drawing on skills from your toolkit. Give only the bare minimum of attention possible to the child who misbehaved. Do this by directing them to the behaviour you want, rather than what you wish them to stop doing:
“Luqman, I need you to face the front and listen now. Thank you (or jazakAllah).”
This is briefer and more effective than: “Oye, Luqmaan! Why are you turning around? Stop playing with Saima’s hair, now! You shouldn’t be singing Arab songs when I am talking to you – you should be listening!”
Notice how the child is directed towards success in the first direction rather than focusing on the mistake.
2. Separate the (inappropriate) behaviour
Separating the inappropriate behaviour from the child makes it clear that it is the behaviour and not the person that you are critical of. Remember that what a student and by extension every person does is not the same as who they are. Labelling a person as ‘bad’ often confirms a poor self image (in sociological terms: a negative self-fulfilling prophecy).
Appropriate behaviour however should always be associated with the person. When children behave well, your feedback should carry the message, “you’re the kind of person who…” For example, “MashaAllah, Daniaal, including Bilal in your football game shows how kind you are.”
3. Use the language of choice
Much of the tension and conflict occurring in schools results from power struggles between the child and the adult. When you act as if your students choose their own behaviour you become strongly empowered and so do they.
Managing behaviour has three phases:
1. Giving children choices about their behaviour
2. Influencing them to make appropriate choices
3. Applying the consequences of their choices (rewards & actions)
Practise and personalise a powerful language of choice to avoid looking and sounding awkward. Consider for example the profound difference between these two instructions:
- “Abdul Waheed, if you don’t stop talking I’ll move you over here on your own.”
With:
- “Abdul Waheed, if you choose to keep talking while I’m teaching, you’ll be choosing to sit here on your own. Make a better choice now. Thanks.” *Muahahaha!*
The first says if you don’t do what I want I’ll make you do this. It’s a direct threat and challenge – very difficult to resist meeting! The second says you are responsible for your behaviour, I want you to make a better choice to learn, but if you don’t, you will have chosen this sanction.
4. Focus on primary behaviours
Primary behaviours are those which require intervention by you because they impede the classroom agenda. Many children when corrected will engage in secondary behaviours. These are ways of diverting attention from their mistake to allow them to ‘de-stress’ and feel better.
There are two types of secondary behaviour: non-verbal (sighing, moaning, hair tossing – completely ignore this and remain relaxed) and verbal (justifications and questioning – keep using the effective skill after their complain, “maybe – but, I still need you to do this”).
When you react to secondary behaviours you’re basically buying-in to the diversion and lose sight of why you spoke in the first place. You also run the risk of getting seriously ticked off. So be cool, teach. Be ice cool.
5. Actively build trust and support
It would be a mistake to assume that simply being friendly with children wins their trust. You have to demonstrate your trustworthiness to earn it. There are many ways to do this:
- Setting clear boundaries
- Being consistent in your approach and expectations
- Keeping your promises (safety, helping them learn, maintain respect, etc)
- Being sensitive to individuals
- Paying attention to detail (remembering names, lending pens etc)
Rapport is the way in which you connect to another person. Being connected to your students is the only way in which you can influence them effectively. You can build rapport buy:
- Positive non-verbal signs such as smiles and thumbs up
- Using a high ratio of praise and positive comments
- Showing that you listen to viewpoints
- Giving lots of evidence-based praise
Classroom example:
“You’ve used paragraphs correctly, proofread well and presented your work neatly. Excellent! Well done!”
You can develop connections and agreement with children quickly by simply stating what is happening at the time: “Qasim, you’re out of your seat” and “Musa, you haven’t started yet”.
6. Model the behaviour you wish to see
Although it seems obvious, it’s worth reinforcing that your behaviour is the most significant influence in the classroom.
Children are in the process of acquiring the social skills to produce successful behaviour. They need you as a role model. You do not have to be perfect in your behaviour. Being a normal human being who makes mistakes (and apologises for them) is in itself a powerful model.
What is important is how well you model the correct behaviours the majority of the time. The worst accusation a child can make when being corrected it, “well you do it!” Burn.
7. Follow up on issues that count
You have to make decisions as to what counts. Primarily the three basic rights which will be described later always count: the rights to safety, learning and fair treatment.
The intention of this principle is to guide you away from the notion of ‘manic vigilance’ whereby you try to spot every infringement and deal with it. You will quickly become exhausted and create a very stressful classroom climate.
The crucial thing is you make deliberate choices in the leadership of the class:
- What can you ignore and for how long?
- When is the best moment to deal with this?
- What is the least intrusive skill that gets things back on track?
8. Reconnect and repair relationships
You can only influence children’s behaviour when you connect with them, we know that now. Applying a necessary sanction as a result of their behaviour choice may create some tension, we know that too. You should seek to reconnect positively to the child as soon as possible after correcting them. Certainly, you should always have a positive chat before they leave the class, even if it’s just a smile and “salam, bye”.
Reconnecting to a child usually doesn’t require anything more than a simple skill. You can achieve this non-verbally or verbally, for instance smiling as you look over at them, or asking “How are you getting on? Do you need a hand?”
Remember this skill connects directly into modelling good behaviour. You are the adult in this relationship and are paid to teach children appropriate skills and behaviours.
Time to reflect. Think. Plan. And... relax.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
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