english_booklet

CREATIVE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
BOOKLET
Erasmus+ Programme - KA2 - Cooperation for Innovation
and the Exchange of Good Practices KA219 - School
Exchange Partnerships 2017- 1 – IT02 – KA219 - 036675

The physical environment of school buildings and school
grounds is a key factor in the overall health and safety
of students, staff, and visitors. School buildings and
grounds must be designed and maintained to be free of
health and safety hazards, and to promote learning.
Studies have shown that student achievement can be
affected either positively or negatively by the school
environment. Policies and protocols must be in place to
ensure food protection, sanitation, safe water supply,
healthy air quality, good lighting, safe playgrounds,
violence prevention, and emergency response, among
other issues that relate to the physical environment of
schools.

Layout of room and furniture
Adequate working space for students and
teachers
Ease of movement in the room
Seating- facing board- neighbouring pupil
compatibility- height for writing
Appropriate resources/equipment organised
and readily available for all pupils
Good decor and lots of displays
Temperture
Noise level

Orderly rows (appropriate for large classes)
Circle (for smaller classes)
Solowork
Horseshoe (for smaller classes)
Separate tables (small groups at individual
tables)

Whole class (the focus is on T and on the
task)
Group work (cooperative learning)
Pair work (cooperative learning)
Solowork (autonomy)

The curriculum should focus on the communicative
aspect more than on language and grammar
The topic of the lessons deals with real-life situations
LESS GRAMMAR, MORE SPEAKING
According to their specialty, the students should acquire
the vocabulary they need for their future jobs; for
examples the students who are training to be waiters
should have a deeper knowledge of types of food,
cooking methods, cutlery, crockery, etc. The students
who are training to become hotel receptionists should
be able to give all the necessary information for the
hotel guests. And so on.

Getting students engagement
There is nothing as challenging as getting students
engaged. Today's students are multitasked and can
hardly maintain a long concentration. They can easily
get bored and therefore disconnected. There are many
ways you can fight off this problem : Use interesting
educational
Maintain good communication skills
A successful teacher is one that is able to build a
rapport with his /her students, one that can easily
connect with his learners and feel their needs as
individuals. Open and clear communication is the key to
develop a healthy friendly learning atmosphere inside
your class.

Use Humour
Relevant doses of humour to spice up your teaching are highly
recommended. Forget about the authoritative and coercive style of
teaching , for experience proved that it only disheartens learners and
kills their motivation. Use humour at appropriate times; this can
lead to students engagement and build up their confidence.
Games and activities, use technology and multimedia resources and
finally make your teaching student-centred and try your maximum to
relate what you teach to students immediate environment.
Act, don't react
Students are very smart and it is part of their juvenile nature to try
to get you. Sometimes ignoring a disruptive behaviour is way better
than reacting to it and in case it becomes repetitive or serious then
make sure to talk it out with the student involved alone and not in
front of the whole class.

Be clear and precise in your instructions
Remember you are teaching digitally focused students with short attention
span. Several of the problems some teachers face are due to ambiguous and
unclear instructions. Cut off on the clutter and be to the point. Show them the
red lines and explain to them classroom ethics and what you can tolerate.
Give room to individualized learning
Not all students are equal in their comprehensive power. Students learn in
different ways, some students are slow learners and others are quick, some
kinaesthetic ( learn by experience or doing ) others are auditory or visual.
Keep these considerations in your mind and do your best to tend to every kind
of learner you might have in your class.
Positive feedback
" good job, excellent,..ect" are simple words that might not mean anything to
you but they mean the whole world to students. Think back to the days when
you were a student and how a positive feedback from your teacher would
make both your and your parents whole day. Publicly praise
positive behaviour and show your students that you are celebrating their
achievements as well.

Involve students in decision making
Students tend to do great when they feel they are
trusted and that they are real parts in the learning /
teaching operation. Use voting and polling to
investigate about a certain topic or classroom
assignment. Try from time to time to give them the
wheel and let them lead.
Use peer learning
Peer learning is a form of 'cooperative learning that
enhances the value of student-student interaction and
results in various advantageous learning
outcomes'. Here are some of the strategies to help you
facilitate successful peer learning as following :

"Buzz groups : This is a large group of students
subdivided into smaller groups of 4-5 students to
consider issues surrounding a problem.
Affinity groups : Groups of 4-5 students are each
assigned particular tasks to work on outside of formal
contact time
Solution and critic groups ; One sub-group is assigned a
discussion topic for a tutorial and the other groups
constitute critics who observe, offer comments and
evaluate the sub-group presentation
Teach-Write-Discuss : At the end of a unit of
instruction, students have to answer short question and
justify their answers. After working on them individually
they can then compare their answers with each others."

- Love your subject/ job
The best way to get students interested in your subject is
to love it so much that your passion for the field shows in
your attitude. Students positively respond to authenticity.
And as Abraham Lincoln once said " Love the job you do
and you will never have to work a day ".

Tasks set are appropriate for the pupil s level of
understanding and skills.
Learning goals are clearly defined and shared with the
pupils.
Opportunities are provided for the pupils to engage in
activities in which they can be successful.
Steps in learning goals are small enough to ensure
progress.
Activity content / tasks are of interest to the pupils.
Tasks set take account of pupils’ learning style: pace of
activity, variety of activities, length of activities and
time allowed to complete a task are appropriate.

A variety of teaching approaches used.
Opportunities are provided for a variety of
pupil responses- oral/ practical/ written.
Opportunities are provided for pupils’
involvement in decision making and
recording .
Opportunities are provided for pupils to
generalise / transfer learning from one
situation to another.
Regular monitoring and recording of progress
occurs

Debating (secondary and upper-secondary
students)
Role play (hotel guest- receptionist, waitercustomer,
etc)
Games (for pre-school, school and lower
secondary children)
Singing (for pre-school children)

Jigsaw
Free verse poetry
Cube
Constructing walls
Starburst
Drama technique
Each one teach one
Five questions
Who am I
Hot seating
Cooperative learning
Mind maps
Songs and videos

In cooperative learning small groups provide a place where:
learners actively participate;
teachers become learners at times, and learners sometimes
teach;
respect is given to every member;
projects and questions interest and challenge students;
diversity is celebrated, and all contributions are valued;
students learn skills for resolving conflicts when they arise;
members draw upon their past experience and knowledge;
goals are clearly identified and used as a guide;
research tools such as Internet access are made available;
students are invested in their own learning.

Facilitator – makes certain that everyone contributes
and keeps the group on task
Recorder – keeps notes on important thoughts expressed
in the group; writes final summary
Reporter – shares summary of group with large group;
speaks for the group, not just a personal view
Time keeper – keeps track of time and reminds the
group how much time is left
Materials manager – picks up, distributes, collects, turns
in or puts away materials; manages materials in the
group during group work
Checker – checks for accuracy and clarity of thinking
during discussions; may also check written work and
keeps track of group point score.

Published materials
Coursebooks
Skills books
Readers
Resource books
Video
Authentic materials
Newspapers
Magazines
Brochures
Songs
Menus

The board
The OHP
Visuals
Worksheets and workcards
MP4s/ MP3s
Computers
Photocopier

Ss should be evaluated at the beginning of
the school year with a placing test.
Placing test – checks the general knowledge
Progress test – at the end of each module
Summative test – at the end of the learning
stage

Oral evaluation (to evaluate the speaking skills)
+ flexibility
+ on-the-spot error correction
- low validity and accuracy
- time consuming
- stress
Written evaluation (for an accurate evaluation of Ss’
performances)
+ saves time
+ high objectivity and accuracy
+ elaborate answers
- high costs
- any eventual errors can’t be corrected on the spot

Systematic observation
+ low stress
+ no direct interaction with T
- time consuming
- highly subjective
Investigation
+ stimulates creativity and initiative
+ improves critical thinking and arguing abilities
- time consuming
- less objective
Project
+ stimulates creativity and initiative
+ improves a wide range of skills
+ improves critical thinking and arguing abilities
- time consuming
- no final product hierarchy

Portfolio (written assignments, tests, essays,
worksheets, projects)
+ offers varied information for T to make
a full evaluation of S’s performance
+ high lightens a wide range of skills
+ offers a clear image of S’s evolution
- time consuming
- no product hierarchy
Self evaluation

Always be on the lookout for positive points to
comment upon
Giving positive feedback
- Successful communication – where students have expressed
themselves clearly ( and have been understood by others);
- Accurate use of grammar points recently learned;
- Use of new vocabulary, appropriate expressions;
- Good pronunciation – expressive intonation;
- Language in the appropriate style – good use of colloquial
expressions in conversation;
- Good use of fluency strategies in conversation;
- Handwritting, spelling and punctuation in written work.