Understanding and Managing Learning Behaviour: Using a Behaviour Journal for Developing Confident Teaching

This book is a journey written to develop confident teachers. It shows how keeping a Behaviour Journal can help teachers to reflect on their techniques and behaviours as well as the behaviours of their students, and can enhance critical thinking, trainee-centred learning and research. The book highlights how keeping a Behaviour Journal can increase communication and language affecting behaviour and learning.

It includes tried and tested exercises that allow readers to practice the art of keeping a Behaviour Journal as well as examples from past Behaviour Journal writers who share their experiences, demonstrating how the journal can facilitate the immediate and regular sharing of the trainee learning in the classroom with the mentor or consultant. It shows readers how to:

• create a Behaviour Journal as a model and tool for initial teacher training to foster independent and reflective learning
• use observations and reflective skills to produce convincing well-evidenced reflective writing using experience, observations and relevant reading
• be critical of classroom systems, strategies or programmes to ensure validity or recognise inadequacies

Expertly written by an experienced trainer, this book is a fantastic resource for teachers, trainers of teachers, mentors and anyone looking for new ideas and ways of developing teachers in schools and colleges.

Sonia Burnard has experience initiating and developing ideas in the training of teachers. She believes in sharing good practice and encouraging others to rise to challenges and to explore problem solutions. Her focus is the importance of understanding behaviour and learning and its origins in social, academic and emotional pathways.