Establishing the tone of learning and teaching is a major factor in creating productive school and classroom learning communities. It therefore needs to be given thoughtful consideration in the pre-lesson conference, when observing the lesson, and in the post-lesson conference.

Tone relates to the 'atmosphere' of the learning community. In the classroom, one senses the atmosphere in terms of whether the ‘mood’ of the learning environment is relaxed or tense, happy or threatening; whether it is exciting, invoking curiosity, challenging, homely, and a place where it is safe to be wrong. It is also crucial that pupils and the teacher feel they are working in a caring and harmonious environment, one where there is mutual respect and also a strong sense of enthusiasm for learning.

One important factor in establishing tone is the teacher's use of voice. Learning to use the voice so that it varies in volume, pace and expression, at just the right moment, to invoke mood, is akin to the skills of the storyteller or raconteur. However, it is not simply a technical skill, but an aspect of the projection of the 'self' as teacher. Another factor is the use of body language and facial expressions and the subtle meanings that they convey.

The projection of the teacher's self is particularly important in establishing caring and respectful relationships in the classroom and opening up the space for pupils' learning in which pupils feel confident to express their own ideas and are enthusiastic about their learning. Employing the characteristics identified above requires a high level of sensitivity to the pupils, their responses, and the overall dynamics of the learning community. In other words, it requires what may be called 'pedagogical tact'.

In addition to clips provided for this Unit, you may wish to refer to Unit 5 where the teacher quickly establishes a very positive, warm and active learning environment. The teacher in that lesson is using various techniques to establish the tone of her lesson.