Right and wrong methods of dealing with the classroom situation. Teacher education text-film series. A film, dating back 60 years, which highlights the different impacts of positive approaches to unwanted classroom behaviour compared with those which adopt a more rule-governed, punitive and hierarchical approach. Trainees (and tutors) will find this short film thought-provoking. Indeed, it may be useful to ask the question: "Has anything changed regarding the kind of advice we ought to give trainees about how to promote an effective learning climate in the classroom?" Trainees (and tutors) will find this short film thought-provoking.
The aims of the resource
This 13 minute film clip, produced for teachers and teachers in training, shows a teacher (Mr. Grimes) interacting poorly, and then more effectively, with a high school mathematics class. The impact of the teacher's behaviour upon the class is demonstrated. The film provides several examples of inappropriate management including, public berating of the students, involving much scolding and nagging, poor classroom awareness (or withitness) an overly aggressive approach to demonstrating authority, and overuse of sanctions. Subsequently, we see the same teacher showing a more effective repertoire of interpersonal skills. Minor transgressions are dealt with but a sense of humour and greater warmth are now evident.
The implications for ITE tutors/mentors - when and how it could have impact
While the reactions and comments of the students appear stilted and somewhat unrealistic, and are likely to leave a contemporary audience smiling, the points made are valid and would be relevant to a present day training context.
However, the value of this film goes far beyond a mere illustration of effective and ineffective practice. Tutors who focus solely on the behaviours may miss an important opportunity for student teachers to consider broader issues about the changing nature of teacher authority (see commentary on changes for Russian teachers).
Examining the responses of the students to the teacher, we look back to an immediate post-war context when students were less likely to challenge adult authority in an open and defiant manner. In the film, the teacher's aggressive and unsympathetic manner provokes sulky resentment and indirect challenges such as dropping a book onto the floor when the teacher's back is turned or mimicking his words when he leaves the room.
An observation that is stimulated by this film is that while times change, and teachers are now more likely to encounter direct, overt challenges to their authority, the underlying interpersonal skills required have change little over the past 60 years. In going beyond the surface details of the film, tutors might also like to raise broader issues concerning the erosion of respect for adult authority that is increasingly perceived as problematic in many more traditional cultures. Examination might centre upon the extent to which this phenomenon results from globalising (Western) influences. If so, students could be asked to consider what it is about our society that results in resistance to teacher authority. A useful source to help in this would be Robin Alexander's "Culture and Pedagogy" (2000). Blackwell Publishing.