Different_Ways_of_Establishing_Ground_Rules

Q4 Analyse different ways in which you would establish Ground rules with your learners. Establishing ground rules at the start of you training session and reiterating them when needed is an important part of the training as “No group can work successfully without rules that govern interactions and behaviour” (Minton 2005). There are only really three different ways of establishing ground rules, and with every way you have to be mindful of any institutional rules i.e. evacuation procedures 1) The Autocratic way where by the teacher picks the ground rules writes them up and there is no discussion with the group as to what the content will be. This is probably the one which should be used the least as the group could feel slightly resentful it would only be appropriate if you were facilitating a very short course possibly 1-2 hours and a one off course i.e. Fire Safety. 2) Jointly agreeing ground rules between the tutor and the group, this method is a good way to get the students interacting with each other but also will allow the tutor to have some control and would ensure that there are some rules that have got to be on the list, for instance. “Being punctual for both the beginning of a session and returning from breaks, handing in work on time Mobile phones” (if not already covered by any institutional rules) Francis and Gould pp 22, Achieving your PTLLS Award reprinted 2010. 3) The third way would be to let the learners set all the ground rules for the session this method would give the learners total control over the rules which in turn would give them a greater feeling of inclusion, the downside of this is that the rules could have nothing to do with the course and may not include some important rules like timings and respect for each other although “the further towards the learner control End of (figure 2.1) you go the more the learners will see the rules as theirs so having a greater respect for both the rules and enforcing them”. Francis and Gould pp 23 Achieving your PTLLS Award reprinted 2010. Each of the 3 ways above has a role and deciding on which way you choose has to be down to trial and error, Carmen O’Connor November 2010