Motivating Reluctant Students II : Building a sense of belonging by being active

The following activity is part of a teachers' training unit. It was developed within the framework of a 9 month programme "Education for Democratic Citizenship Core Competences for Teachers" organized by the "Pestalozzi Programme" Council of Europe (November 2009 through July 2010) .


Student-led meetings

General aim: Have participants take active part in the operational life of schools.

Specific aims:
 To be able to set agendas and arrange procedures of meetings.
 To lead discussions and debates.
 To make decisions.
 To deal with conflict.

Methods/techniques used:
 Case study “Student-initiated and -led meeting”
 Role play
 Debating
 Decision making
 Self-evaluation

Resources:
 Post-it: self- adhesive paper
 Bulletin board
 Flipchart

Practical arrangements:
 Whole group work

Instructions/procedure:
 Before-meeting activities: Participants write on post-it their proposals concerning the purpose and scope of the meeting. They clip their proposals on the bulletin board. They go through all proposals. Then they debate and decide upon the agenda and practical arrangements of the meeting (what, where, when, why).
 During the meeting: A coordinator (member of trainees) is appointed. Discussion starts. Issue(s) is presented. Participants ask clarifying questions. The issue is discussed in groups. Group representatives present the decisions of their groups. Then follows an inter-group debate. Students arrive at final decisions.
 Follow-up activities: Participants sit in circle and get involved in reflective self-assessment discussions.
o Was the meeting well prepared?
o Everybody was heard and respected?
o All members of the groups participated?
o Was the coordinator fair? Was she/he assertive? Did the coordinator encourage everybody’s contribution?
o Is there room for improvement? In which of the following areas:
 practical arrangements (space, time, resources)
 participants’ cooperative skills
 participants’ argumentation and debating skills
 participants’ conflict resolve techniques
 participants’ decision making skills (see also Leachman and Victor, 2003).

Leachman, G. and Victor,D. (2003) Student-Led Class Meetings. Educational Leadership, 60(6): 64-68. www.ascd.org

Motivating Reluctant Students I : Building a sense of belonging

Organize School Open Days: Becoming an inclusive school community

The following activity is part of a theachers' training unit. It was developed within the framework of  the 9 month programme "Education for Democratic Citizenship Core Competences for Teachers" organized by the "Pestalozzi Programme" Council of Europe.
General aim:
 Teachers, parents and students come together and decide upon common goals and actions.

Specific aims:
 To decide upon common goals. What can all members do together?
 To predict possible barriers and take prevention measures.
 To take risks.
 To deal with conflict.

Methods/techniques used:
 Group work
 Decision making
 Within groups and inter-groups discussions
Resources:
 Long paper (30x80cm approx)and coloured markers for every group

Practical arrangements:
 Trainees work in groups.
Instructions/procedure:
 Trainees work in groups and decide upon the structure and the process of an open school day programme.
 Members of the groups assume different roles: teachers, students, parents.
 Different sides use criteria (importance, necessity, feasibility etc) to construct their own agenda (goals, priorities, i.e. “school safety”).
 Different agendas are put forth, discussed and revised. Revisions are based on criteria.
 Community members decide upon priorities of the common action plan and a timetable on a year basis.
 Each side is assigned a different action towards common goals.

Tips to trainers/anticipated difficulties:
 Be aware of conflicts over contradicting goals.
 Concentrate on criteria according to which decisions are made.

Debriefing/reflecting:
Discuss with participants the following questions:
 It was a good idea to come together and construct a common action plan?
 What are the challenges of this common plan for individuals, classes and whole school?
 What are the benefits for individuals, classes and the whole school from becoming a democratic school community?

 What else should be done to encourage community-building? Why?
 Who else could help?