Important Strategies for New Teachers
How to Settle Quickly Into the Role of a Newly Qualified Teacher
Nov 16, 2009
For Newly Qualified Teachers (NQT’s) the first year as a professional can be difficult and stressful. However, bearing in mind a few simple strategies can pay dividends, allowing the novice educator to settle quickly into her new environment, impress senior colleagues and set the tone for a successful first year.
Be Organised at All Times
No teacher will ever get a second chance to make a good first impression. The first year of teaching is a pivotal time for all NQT’s and as such preparation, dedication and organisation are of paramount importance. A high level of personal organisation is a pre-requisite for all effective teachers. To ensure a successful start to working life, it is essential that the new teacher establish routines.
Making the transition from student to professional needs to be accomplished swiftly. Setting concrete and achievable targets is one way to ensure success in the classroom. Deadlines are a necessary evil for all teachers, yet nothing will go further in creating a good impression with one's immediate superiors than displaying competence when it comes to marking and reporting.
All first year teachers should attempt to beat deadlines. The way teachers manage their workload is a key factor when it comes to departmental assessment. Teaching competence will be largely judged on how well individuals keep on top of their marking and planning. Establish early on in the year when and where the marking workload will be dealt with.
Many teachers find it best to stay after school initially. The empty classroom holds no distractions or attendant temptations. Regularly completing tasks (and being seen to do so) inside the relevant deadlines will mark a candidate out as motivated, organised and competent. Letting work build up will lead to a plethora of subsidiary problems. Teachers will swiftly discover that their Head of Department will become critical and students de-motivated should marking become sloppy or tardy.
Maintain an Appearance of Professionalism
From the suit worn on the first day to the figure cut in the staff room during non-contact time, new teachers will discover that everything counts. Be seen to be working at all times. Lounging around during free lessons, while unarguably relaxing, does nothing to improve a teacher’s status among more experienced colleagues. An early impression of lazy slothfulness may take years to eradicate.
A new teacher needs to be visible. It is somewhat glib to state that a NQT should look busy at all times, yet there is a grain of truth in the hoary old aphorism. Get to know senior staff; they are invaluable resources to be mined by the NQT. If a teacher cuts a positive, motivated and professional figure in school he will be well on the way to making that all important first impression.
Firm Discipline in the Classroom is Important
It is an indisputable truth that the first few months of a teacher’s career are among the most stressful and difficult. The way a teacher’s classes behave and perform will go a long way to establishing a happy working environment. All teachers are individuals, and in terms of classroom discipline, it is best not to attempt to put on an act. Quite simply, a new teacher needs to be firm but fair and above all consistent.
Students require boundaries if they are to reach their potential. Quickly establish what is to become standard form in the classroom in terms of working noise, entry into the room and working practices. Teachers have to be happy and confident in their own rooms. Above all be consistent. Treat each pupil fairly as an individual and never threaten any punishment that you do not intend to fully see through.
Establish boundaries early on; though try not to be overzealous when enforcing the rules. Humour and patience are the keys to creating a good early impression. Listen to pupils; yet leave them in no doubt that it is the teacher who is the final arbiter in any dispute. Respect does have to be earned; the inconsistent ditherer and the tyrant alike often struggle to make the grade. The NQT needs to establish appropriate relationships with students and strive for balance in all things. Over familiarity is just as fatal as being unapproachable aloof.
Be Calm, Organised and Willing to Learn
The first year of teaching is not easy for many new professionals. However, in remaining calm, being prepared to seek advice and being organised at all times they will discover that it is not a minefield. Experienced staff members are also there to assist their less experienced colleagues and a wise NQT will tap into this goldmine of knowledge. Follow the aforementioned rules and a rewarding career in this most demanding of professions will become a reality.
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