Saturday 11 July 2015

Ten Keys to a great lesson

I have been working on this as guide to give to staff in September. It is still a work in progress so feedback would be great

 

Ten key non-negotiables. This is the least our students and any visitors to our classrooms should expect

 

1. Student Place. In the blue folder, up-to-date and clearly annotated to show Pupil Premium students, why they are PP, target grade and current working grade. It should clearly be a working document

 

2. Feedback and use of DIRT. Students work should be marked at least every 3 lessons. The marking and feedback should be subject-specific and designed to help the student move forward. DIRT activities should be clearly labelled and it should be clear when and how the student has attempted to improve their work

 

3. Progress over time - make sure there is evidence available to show how much progress students have made over time. This could be in their existing exercise books or in previous books or folders stored in the classroom. This should be designed to primarily show the student how much progress they have made in this subject and what they are aiming for

 

4. Appropriate range and pace of activities. There should be a variety of activities used in the lesson. Opportunities for collaborative work, teacher talk, quiet independent study. It is the teachers responsibility to make sure there is the right balance between activities. Every 20 minutes at most - ask yourself is this still the right activity?

 

5. Challenge. Activities should be differentiated so that every student is stretched to achieve more in the lesson

 

6. Variety of student interactions. During the lesson students should have the opportunity to interact with the teacher directly and with each other, in pairs or in groups

 

7. Learning checked and assessed. Think about how you will check and assess how much students have learned during the lesson.

 

8. Homework set and used effectively. All staff and students will be using Show My Homework. If homework is due in this lesson- when will it be collected? If homework is to be set this lesson - when will it be on Show My Homework?

 

9. High quality presentation of work. The quality of students' presentation of work is an indicator of their attitude to the subject and their learning. Set high standards of presentation for all work done in folders or exercise books. Model the standard expected by giving students high quality resources - sheets, PowerPoints - to work with. This high quality is an indication of all of our high expectations and aspirations.

 

10. Active engagement. All students should be engaged in the lesson. Keep looking for students who have drifted away - how will you re-engage them?

 

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