My name is Karl C. Pupé FRSA, author of the "The Action Hero Teacher" book series and founder of actionheroteacher.com.
I have been doing teaching for a long time.
Over the years, I have learned that most people who want to become better practitioners fall flat on their faces because they are baffled on what they need to improve.
They think their ITT training courses have equipped them for modern teaching, and never realize that same education is what's actually holding them back.
To be honest, it took me quite a while to learn this lesson too.
Here are some of the other reasons I've learned people fail at classroom practice. And how you can fix it.
Reason #1: They don’t reflect deep enough
Your ‘teacher reflection journal’ won’t cut it. You can’t fill one small box on a teacher reflection form and think that will get the job done.
As good ol’ Einstein said “The definition of insanity is to do the same thing again and again and expect a different result. If you truly want to change, you need to go deep.
Every Sunday afternoon, I set aside a couple of hours to reflect on my week.
I started this habit as a teacher and now I’ve applied to my business and even my personal life.
Action point: Grab a coffee and reflect
Take a notebook and find a quiet spot. Spend 30 minutes reflecting on your week. A coffee shop works well for this.
Write these two questions on the page:
- What positive patterns emerged this week?
- What negative patterns emerged this week?
A pattern is something that happens repeatedly, including feelings or fears. You can write in bullet points or full sentences – hey, it’s your journal amigo.
For example:
"Every time I teach 11B, I feel frustrated."
Identify the cause:
"Matthew and Daniel don’t engage in class."
Set a micro-goal to change the negative pattern. It should be quick and easy, taking less than 5 minutes to do.
Don’t over do it. The harder your micro goal, the less likely you will do it.
Action step:
“I will greet Matthew and Daniel at the start of the lesson and ask then how their evening was.”
Commit to this goal and repeat it consistently. In your next reflection, review if the situation improved. If not, try a new approach.
All my recent success have come from reflecting and setting microgoals. Try it.
Reason #2: They avoid meaningful feedback
Nobody likes to hear critical feedback. Especially when I first started to teach, I would have a mini-existential crisis when I knew that someone could be watching me.
But the truth is unless you can detach your eyes from your skull and stare at yourself, you will have blindspots. All humans do.
As painful as it is, welcome eyes on you especially in the early stages of your career.
I took it one step further: I had a recorded lesson observation.
My former line manager (then the Assistant Headteacher for Teaching and Learning) made that one of my BlueSky objectives that I would have a lesson observation using ‘Lesson Box,’ this portable recording camera rig that looked like Big Brother had a little sister.
I was ‘assertively recommended’ to take this task (much to my annoyance.)
Before my lesson, as this contraption was rolled in, I felt like I was in some real crime drama, about to confess my crimes to the detectives.
But as I started teaching, strangely, I forget the camera was there and taught as normal. More importantly, after reviewing the footage with my line manager, I realised that I had a nervous tic where in times of stress I would move my arms erratically.
I would have never caught that unless I was willing to be recorded.
Action point: Make the observations work for you
Stop resisting being observed. Embrace it! Again it doesn’t have to be a formal event. Get a mate that has a free period to come and observe your ‘nightmare’ class. Tell them to look at these key areas:
- Your tone
- Body language
- How you respond to disruptive behaviour
- Do you set clear boundaries
If you have a TA in your class, again ask them to look at for aspects of your teaching practice.
TAs are often overlooked but they have a wealth of knowledge and great interpersonal skills. They can especially help you with students with SEN/SEMH needs.
Stop looking at feedback like it’s a sword to chop you down. Look at feedback as a platform to lift you up.
Reason #3: They don’t use ‘deliberate’ practice
I’m sure like me you have seen YouTube videos with titles like:
"Become a Property Millionaire in 30 Days"
"Get a Movie Star Body in One Week"
"Learn Brain Surgery Over the Weekend or Your Money Back!"
Newsflash - 99% of these videos will never deliver.
To master any craft whether it's Chess, Entrepreneurship or Football, it takes years and years of practice, study and constructive feedback.
Most classroom management techniques are simple, but changing how you engage with students will take TIME before it feels natural.
Action point: Stop learning, start studying
When you find a great book or training course, find one technique you like and think you could easily execute.
Follow these steps:
- Identify the technique you want to practice i.e Selling Benefits Never Features
- Pick the time and place you will practice it i.e Next Monday Period 2
- Practice that skill as much as you can
- Analyse what went well, what went wrong and adjust
- Repeat steps 1 - 4
If done correctly, you should see a positive difference. If not, scrap that technique and try another.
This is called 'deliberate practice' and it's the best way to master a skill. Aim to improve by 1% daily. If you do that, you’ll be three times better within a year – how cool would that be?
Improving ain’t easy.
Overcoming failure is a crucial part of succeeding, moving forward, and making actionable progress.
But don't worry: we've all been there.
But you are not alone.
But luckily for you, I’ve got your back.
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Thank you for reading.
Karl Pupé FRSA
