SECTION 1 Chapter 1 Introduction What is this book about? Who is this book for and how can it be used? What is the thinking behind this book? Chapter 2 Insights from other fields Social interactionism, constructivism and humanistic approaches to education Flow theory Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Facework and politeness theory Drama, theatre and improvisation training Chapter 3 The ghosts behind the blackboard The ghosts of teachers past Research into teacher qualities SECTION 2 The experiential playground Activities 1 In the beginning ... 2 Beating the burnout blues 3 Teaching is ... 4 The essence of teaching 5 All eyes on the class 6 Memorable teachers 7 In memoriam 8 Look into my eyes 9 Looking at me looking at you 10 The ABC of Shakespeare 11 Non-verbally speaking 12 Pay attention! 13 Throwing your voice 14 Everything in modulation 15 Circles of attention 16 From page to performance 17 Take a deep breath ... 18 Conducting me, conducting you 19 From first impressions to classroom presence 20 Power poser 21 Status play 22 Status tutorial 23 Space invaders 24 Do what I say, not what I do 25 Niced to death 26 Praise be! 27 Good cop, bad cop 28 Structured improvisation 29 On the way to the forum 30 Uppers and downers 31 The art of multi-tasking 32 Take a walk on the funny side (Part 1) 33 Take a walk on the funny side (Part 2) 34 One moment in time 35 Teachers caught on camera Bibliography
Putting the Human Centre Stage focuses on the hidden skills within a teacher's repertoire, such as a teacher's interpersonal skills, classroom presence, classroom atmosphere and group dynamics, importance of teacher's voice, non-verbal communication, the general affective aspects of teaching, motivation, rapport, teacher's energy and motivation, improvisation, and preparing for the unexpected. This book will enrich your teaching, prompt you to reflect on your approach, and encourage you to build a positive classroom community. There is support for the knowledge and skills-based approaches that currently exist, but in Putting the Human Centre Stage the author argues for more of a practical emphasis on the above, which many teachers and trainers deem `unteachable'. This book demonstrates that they are teachable, backing this assertion up with theory, research, and - most importantly - a wide range of practical activities that can be done individually by teachers or used by teacher trainers in a classroom training situation. Putting the Human Centre Stage is divided up into two parts: the first covers the theoretical underpinnings of this book and draws on research to critically argue that there needs to be more of a focus on being a teacher rather than the what or how. The second section puts the theory into practice and is full of exercises, activities and lesson ideas in a recipe format, designed to develop or improve teacher presence and classroom rapport, and help you build a positive classroom community. These activities can all be done by teachers individually, but many are also suitable for teacher trainers and managers involved in their teaching staff's professional development or running formal teacher training programmes.
Mark Almond is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Language Studies and Applied Linguistics at Canterbury Christ Church University. He has over 20 years' experience of teaching and teacher training in the field of ELT. Mark is a regular speaker at conferences on the use of drama and theatre techniques in the classroom, and frequently provides training of this kind on invitation and as part of the teaching he does at Christ Church. He has also contributed many articles to English Teaching professional magazine. Mark Almond is the author of Teaching English with Drama, Pavilion (2005)