For many teachers, the start of a new year and new term is the ideal time to pause and reflect. What’s working well with your class? What should you abandon in favour of another approach? What do you want to achieve this year? We asked readers for the tips that have made them happier and more effective at school in 2017, and were inundated with responses. Here are a few of our favourites.

Working with students

I asked my class to mark my teaching

I have two hugely passive year 8 classes, and no matter what content I delivered or how I arranged their seats, they seemed to remain passive. A passive class is probably harder to manage than an unruly class – the silence can be scary and daunting. You’re constantly assessing their learning and telling bad jokes in the hope of even one reaction. Enough was enough. So I asked my pupils to mark my teaching. I created a quiz on SurveyMonkey and included questions about what sort of activities they would like. I took on their feedback and implemented it into lessons. Success! My passive class was now enthusiastic.

Jasmeet Kaur, RE teacher, London

I shake each child’s hand before lessons

After reading When the Adults Change, Everything Changes by Paul Dix, I started shaking each child’s hand as they came into lessons. Something as simple as greeting them individually has totally changed the atmosphere in my class. Children went from running in and chatting to walking in calmly and sitting down, ready to start learning. I’m slowly introducing other ideas from the book too.

Shannon Poulter, primary school teacher, Bedford

I encourage my best students to help struggling classmates

I’ve found student learning has vastly improved by asking them to help others who are struggling in lessons. Some initially asked why they should, but I reassured them they’d get better marks – I’d be watching, and teaching others can help us learn better. Now a struggling student will raise their hand and two top students will jump up to run over and help. They speak the same language and understand each other better. They are all happy and engaged, and I often don’t have to step in at all. Increasingly I have to remind them to leave at the end of class so I can enjoy my lunch in peace – they all want to stay.

Frank Brown, IT teacher, Sydney, Australia

Lesson planning



I now plan lessons in five minutes

The five-minute lesson plan has enabled my preparation time to be more concise and focused. It gives each lesson a clear structure, is easy to follow (especially for teachers who are covering), and there’s still the option of making last-minute changes. It’s helped my work-life balance enormously. I now plan for only a fraction of the time I used to. Cutting down planning time has also meant I have more time for fun at the weekend. Overall, I’m a better, high-spirited and enthusiastic teacher as I now have the energy to turn my plans into fun lessons. Primary school teacher, Kent

I’ve found an easy way to keep my students challenged

I always give my students a few challenging questions to put in the back of their book. If they complete the task in class they have something to work on without me having to organise something extra for every lesson just in case.

Maths teacher

I plan a half-term of lessons in advance

Having some basis on which to plan most subjects, rather than starting completely from scratch, has been a great help to me. I’ve made great use of the previous year 4 teacher’s planning at my school, adapting her work to suit my interests and the needs of the children I’m teaching. I also make sure each half-term of lessons is planned (albeit not to perfection) in advance in the holidays. I then go back to that each weekend to plan for the week ahead, and tailor it according to the children’s progress.

When I go to planning meetings with my mentor, I’m prepared weeks in advance and have enough time to sort out queries before I teach the lesson. Although I’m spending 11 hours a day at school, and up to four hours working at the weekend, I feel completely organised and in control of my teaching. I could not be happier.

NQT, London

Marking

I’ve implemented marking codes

Over the summer I devised a list of common “what went wells”, which were all allocated a letter, and a list of common “even better ifs”, which were allocated a number. Students stick this list in the back of their exercise books.

When I mark their books I now simply write a code instead of a long-winded explanation. This has saved me so much time I can’t believe it. I can now mark a set of key stage 3 books in 25 to 30 minutes. Before, it would take over an hour. If the codes don’t apply, then of course I give the student individual feedback, but 99.9% of the time there is a code for the job.

History teacher, Lincolnshire

I mark in class, with the children

I recently changed my approach to marking. After a writing exercise in English, for example, I take a group of seven children and I mark with them. We decide together what was great and what could be developed further. The other children do the same in their groups, using codes I’ve given them.

The next day, I’ll work with a different group until I’ve made it around the class. I also mix up the children so mixed abilities mark together. The progress and quality of work has been astonishing and my workload has been significantly reduced. Marking is now meaningful, and the children read and respond continuously.

Rebecca Pogose, primary teacher, Oxford

Work-life balance

I get up an hour earlier

If you can’t work well in the evenings, get up an hour earlier and work before your day starts. I do this twice a week and it has made me much more organised. I get up, make a cup of tea and have a focused hour before my children even stir. I seem to get more done in the mornings than in the evenings. It doesn’t work for everyone. But if you resent working in the evenings, it’s an easy habit to adopt. And I am not a morning person.

Genevieve Nickolls, English teacher, Wales

I’ve started saying no more often

I’ve toiled away in teaching for the past five years, with no shortage of successes – but I’ve finally grown the confidence to say no. I’ve said no to the senior leadership team, to my head of department (which caused a degree of tension), to parents, and anyone else who placed demands on my time that I was not happy with. It’s really helped me focus on my priorities at work and has allowed me to use my time much more wisely. It’s also proved to be handy advice for my school’s NQTs when they feel overwhelmed.

History teacher

I take 10 minutes at the start of my day for mindfulness

Every day, I take 10 minutes to sit outside my classroom with a large pot of coffee, listening to the mindfulness app Headspace. I’m out there no matter what the weather, and my colleagues respectfully ignore me until I’ve completed it. I end my day with a 9pm work curfew. I also have at least three evenings a week with no work. I have been teaching for 28 years and feel more relaxed now than at any other time of my career.

Jonathan Kersey, reception teacher, Kent

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