ABSTRACT
Many primary school class teachers have experienced the 'crocodile moment' when they turn round from one student to discover a line of children all demanding attention and curling crocodile-like around the classroom. Likewise, within the secondary classroom, time-wasting tactics (endless questions) and interruptions to the lesson, take the teacher's attention away from more deserving and often more pressing issues. In spite of differentiating the work and making allowances for differing learning styles, the pressure created by students, whose only strategy when they have a problem is to seek the teacher's help, is often enough to cause stress and frustration. These issues can be overcome largely by teaching students alternative strategies for them to use. It is important here to provide students with several alternatives to that of always using the teacher as their first port of call when faced with a problem.
