Science Teacher Graham Coverdale doesn't normally do practical work with his Year 8s as he finds their behaviour too difficult to handle. John Bayley goes to Brockworth Enterprise School to investigate. Graham explains that his pupils talk too much, don't listen properly and have a limited attention span. John observes Graham setting up a fair test experiment and notices he seldom says anything positive to his pupils. He also uses lots of qualifiers when he's telling them what to do. John suggests Graham be more upbeat in his approach and boost his pupils' self confidence by giving them much more praise, especially at the start of a lesson. He also urges him to nurture their curiosity and to give clearer instructions. In short he wants Graham to be more vivid, more explicit and more encouraging. Graham still has doubts that his class lacks confidence but they discuss how he might vary the pace of his lesson to meet the needs of all his pupils.

Video Series: Teaching With Bayley
Release Date 2006