ABSTRACT

According to Wilson and Cameron (1996: 190) ‘a successful instructional environment is one where pupils are on task and settled’. The organisation and management of pupils in a lesson are key if pupils are to be actively engaged ‘on task’ in PE (i.e. are engaged in motor and other activities related to the subject matter in such a way as to produce a high degree of success, and hence for the intended learning outcomes of the lesson to be met). The more time pupils spend on task the more opportunity there is for learning to occur. However, there are periods of time when it is necessary for pupils to be engaged in activities not directly related to a task set. Such times include, for example, changing, waiting and receiving information, setting up practices, moving from one task to another and the organisation of teams. It is worth noting that pupils are often more disruptive, and most behavioural problems occur, when they are not on task. In order to maximise the time spent on task and to reduce the possibility of disruption, you need to consider how to minimise the time spent on these other activities. You can, for example, cut the amount of time pupils spend moving from one task to another by having effective routines for the transition or by reducing the number of different tasks in a lesson. This requires you to be able effectively to:

• organise (people; the space, the equipment and time); • establish rules and routines; • manage the class; • manage behaviour. Research (e.g. Richardson and Fallona, 2001; Wilson and Cameron, 1996)

suggests the development of organisation and management skills occurs over a long period of time. It is unlikely that you will develop these skills fully during your initial teacher education (ITE) course. However, potentially they may be one of your main

concerns when you first start teaching lessons on school experience. The aim of this chapter is to provide examples of when and where organisation and management skills can be applied effectively within the teaching environment to enhance pupil learning.