This is my first blog entry in ages and is inspired by a fantastic Teachmeet I attended on Thursday. Two of our young MFL teachers invited me to go to an MFL Teachmeet. I have to admit that I felt just a little apprehensive at the start - not only was I the only one who wasn't a languages teacher but it was also in the uncharted waters of Plymouth! I really was a fish out of water but quickly settled into a great evening of ideas and creativity. What is it about TeachMeets that can keep a room full of teachers interested and involved at 7.30 at night in early November?
All of the presentations were excellent and almost all of the ideas could be easily transferred to my History classroom. One of the things that struck me was that most of the ideas weren't new - lots of them were things I have done before but for some reason I have stopped doing (blogging being just 1 example). I didn't mean that to sound arrogant -as I have always said, I don't think I have ever had an original idea. I am just quite good at nicking stuff and converting it for my classroom. Over the last couple of days I have been flicking back through old lesson plans and folders for stuff I used to do and shouldn't have stopped. I used to always start lessons with an image and they were brilliant for generating interest and questions and I haven't done it in ages - but they will certainly be making a comeback next week.
The excellent Ben Rowe (@itsmerowey) from Saltash reminded me of the value of regular blogging. He recommended using it as a way to reflect on each week's teaching and I think that's a great idea. So I have dusted off Blogpress and hope/aim to post each week with some reflection on my lessons. Perhaps it's because I have stopped blogging and reflecting that I have stopped doing some of the things that worked best.
So this week has been a pretty good one - not brilliant but some good stuff. I do think I have been too content heavy though which has led to lessons being a bit dry.
Year 13 have had their first go at a historical controversy question on Germany's responsibility for World War One and I am very impressed at their research for coursework.
Year 12 have been looking at the rise of Sinn Fein and using the mini IPads for research. I still don't feel I have quite cracked using the IPads in the lessons yet though - they are part novelty and part distraction at the moment so I do need to think through how I am going to get the best out of them.
Year 11 are getting close to being ready for their Controlled Assessment and Year 10 are just getting to groups with Nazi Germany.
I am really looking forward to this week though. I have just found a copy of the literacy test which the state of Louisiana used to stop blacks qualifying to vote in the 1960's - I am going to get year 11 to try it on Monday to see if any of them can pass it. I don't rate their chances.
I am also doing one of my favourite lessons with year 10 which mixes Adolf Hitler, Derren Brown and NLP.
Also this week I am introducing Open Invites - so far 3 teachers have nominated several lessons this week that are open to anyone to pop into and observe. I just now have to convince some people to go and watch.
Hopefully, I will blog next week to reflect on it all.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, 9 November 2013
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
The rhythm of a lesson
Recently I have been watching a lot of lessons, particularly in Music, and also teaching a lot (even Assistant Heads teach a lot of lessons these days) and was thinking the other day about the natural rhythm of a lesson.
A really good lesson has a lot in common with a great piece of music. I was teaching year 10 today about the Cuban Missile Crisis and, as usual, used it as an excuse to play some of my favourite early 60's music - Sam Cooke, Andy Williams, James Brown, Marvin Gaye and a touch of Elvis. The best lessons start with a great opening which grabs the attention, hooks the kids in and maybe even catches them by surprise - think about the opening to Heartbreak Hotel.
There is often then a natural uptempo beat to the early part of the lesson where the teacher introduces the topic, skilfully draws in every single student to speak at least once in the 1st 10 minutes with focused questioning an answering.
As the 1st activity of the lesson kicks in a new louder beat takes over as students work with each other, talk, exchange ideas and settle into the pace of a new activity. This is where he really good teacher is like a songwriter or maybe a conductor - they know the importance of pausing and skipping a beat, introducing the breaks at just the right time to bring the students back to the focus of the lesson and make sure that some groups don't drown out the others.
The next section of the great song/lesson has similarities to he earlier part but is noticeably different. It may be a different voice or instrument - in the lesson it could be working with different students or in a different medium, writing instead of talking, turning ideas into images. In a song the chorus with the hook line or beat kicks in every now and again - in the great lesson the teacher keeps bringing it back to the focus of the lesson, the key question or progress target.
I guess the big difference, and where my increasingly stretched metaphor falls apart, is my belief that just about every lesson should have a period of quiet individual focus where the students work on their own, summarising, creating and making sense of the lesson. Too often I think this is the bit that gets missed out of lessons and yet I believe it is crucially important to check each students own level of understanding.
And what about the end of the lesson? I must admit I have never been a fan of the song which just fades away and I love a big finish. The best lessons I have ever seen finish with something new or surprising - perhaps a hint of what is to come next time.
The other similarity I guess is that great songs stick in your mind and you remember it for years singing to yourself. The great lessons can be just as memorable.
The playlist from today's Cuban Missile Crisis lesson was:
Wonderful World, Sam Cooke (how can I resist a song which starts "Don't know much about History"
Music to watch Girls By, Andy Williams
Chain Gang, Sam Cooke
Stuck on You, Elvis Presley,
Nowhere to Run, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
Can I Get A Witness, Marvin Gaye
Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead, The Marvelettes
Hit The Road Jack, Ray Charles,
Trouble, Elvis Presley
James Bond theme, John Barry
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday, 21 February 2013
Collaborative Learning
Next Monday I am leading a whole staff INSET on collaborative learning. This blog is really about me getting my ideas together for the introductory session which will set out the case for collaborative learning.
I may as well set my cards out on the table right at the start. I am a fan of collaborative learning. I use it virtually every lesson with every year group and have done for as long as I can remember. To me it is one of the basic ingredients of every lesson plan and is my default setting for all student activities. Organising an INSET day on collaborative learning has been really useful to me because it has made me stop and think about what it is and why I use it - and to question whether just because I do it does that mean it was the right strategy?
Let's get the definition bit out of the way first. I prefer the title "collaborative learning" over "group work" simply because group work to me implies at least 3 students working together. Collaborative learning, I believe, is when students work with at least 1 other person to develop their own learning - it is pairs, threes, fours, fives sixes, tens, half a class or even a whole class. What is a whole class if it isn't just a big group?
I believe the benefits of collaborative learning are huge. I want the students in my classroom to do far more work than me. Me leading from the front of the classroom can be a very passive process - any form of collaborative learning puts the emphasis on them doing something. I have always felt that students are far more likely to remember a lesson in which they were positively engaged and active; in which they said and did something. Collaborative learning increases the chances of them doing something and therefore remembering it - the point of the lesson. (I speak from personal experience - I can remember most of the meetings in which I have said something: there are hundreds in which I was passive, they washed over me whilst I waited for them to end). Often I will follow up any short input from me with a collaborative task which is aimed at allowing students to process what I have just said and check that they actually understood it.
Despite learning styles going out of fashion with some people, I still like it and believe in it. Auditory learners benefit enormously from collaborative learning as it gives them an opportunity to think out loud and hear their own ideas - an important step in their process of understanding and learning. Almost every teacher I have ever met has known that teaching something is the best way of learning it - collaborative learning gives our students a way to experience that.
Some people have said that they haven't got time to do collaborative learning because there is too much content to get through. Personally I have always found that I can get through more content this way - particularly some of the dull stuff (I know that may come as a bit of a shock to find out that even history has some dull bits in it - League of Nations still makes my heart sink every year). Collaborative activities like Home and Away groups, Market Place and World Cafe (my 3 go-to collaborative activities) allow you to get through far more content because groups of students research different aspects and feedback to other students. They sort out the key bits of information for you.
In my new role as an Assistant Headteacher for Teaching and Learning I find that I now do a lot more lesson observations. Collaborative learning is great from an observer's point of view because it gives me an opportunity to actually talk to kids. I can talk to small groups without interrupting or distracting the teacher, ask about targets and previous lessons and have a quick look through books. Any teacher who is looking to get outstanding on a lesson observation will want the observer to talk to the kids - collaborative learning lets this happen. It also makes it much easier for the teacher to show differentiation and how much progress students have made - again key criteria for getting that "Outstanding" tick.
Fear about behaviour management often comes up as one of the main reasons some teachers have for not using collaborative learning. Again I have always used it as a behaviour management tool. Splitting students up into small groups makes it easier to identify who is actually misbehaving. Often I will move students into groups simply to break up 1 group of students without a confrontation. It also makes it a lot easier to have a quiet word of warning with some and encouragement with others.
I believe that as teachers we have a duty to develop our students' skills in collaborative learning - they will need to be able to do this in the future. Even with new technology most careers require us to be able to collaborate with other people and know how to share ideas and improve them. Personally I think that many of us secondary school teachers are the weak link in this process. As an AST I had the pleasure of going into a lot of primary school classrooms and in almost all of them collaborative learning was the norm. It was deeply entrenched in the day-to-day routine of the students and they are highly skilled at it - a huge compliment to their teachers who have put in hours of groundwork to develop this. For many students arriving in Year 7 we send some strange messages about how we expect 'older, more mature' students to work and behave. We put them in rows (do any primary school classrooms work in rows?) and have them facing us - are we not sending a huge message that they have grown out of group work? That's what they did when they were little. I know I am generalising here but I wonder if there is some truth to this. Year 7 students are very keen to fit in with their new school, new environments and new friends - many of them seem to forget how they worked so successfully in Year 6. But I suspect many secondary school teachers encourage them, perhaps unconsciously, to forget. I have heard some teachers at my school say that some of our students lack the social skills to do group work. I don't believe that is true. I have used collaborative learning since my 1st day at the school in September and haven't had to do anything special with the students. They have worked in groups as well as any students I have worked with - even ones I have 'trained'. And if it is true that some of our students lack the social skills - they are never going to develop those skills by not working on groups.
The key to successful collaborative learning for me is to be clear and specific about what is happening. I always select the groups - sometimes by random numbering, sometimes by subtle ability groups. I always make it extremely clear what the task is that the group has to do and what role(s) each member of the group has. I make sure that there is something for everyone in the group to do. I make it clear how long they have to complete the task. I move around every group quickly in the first few minutes to check everyone knows what they are doing. I stop them all to check progress or give new instructions. I randomise feedback so everyone in the group has the responsibility of representing the group. Collaborative learning might mean they are doing the work - but it is also the time when I am busiest.
There are of course times when collaborative learning is not appropriate. I am equally in favour of students becoming independent learners - in fact I believe the two states are fundamentally linked. A good independent learner knows the value of collaboration. Almost all collaborative tasks begin with a minute or 2 of independent work so that every students has at least 1 thing to contribute - otherwise the loudest student tends to dominate. I often end collaborative learning tasks with individual time so that students have the opportunity to make their own sense of what they have just done. To me collaborative learning and independent learning are part of the same process.
So those are my thoughts on collaborative learning. I have to say I am looking forward to Monday's INSET because I am hoping to pick up some new ideas from other staff for group work. Although I use collaborative learning a lot I do have a stock 3-4 strategies that I probably over-use. I am also nervous about it - I know there will be some resistance and not every one will like how I have set out the day. I do aim to make the sessions as active as possible and to smuggle as many collaborative activities in as I can - and I have ordered some nice pastries for break time. Now it's time to finish off the resources and PowerPoints - I think I have at least worked out my own thinking on collaborative learning. I will let you know how it goes.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I may as well set my cards out on the table right at the start. I am a fan of collaborative learning. I use it virtually every lesson with every year group and have done for as long as I can remember. To me it is one of the basic ingredients of every lesson plan and is my default setting for all student activities. Organising an INSET day on collaborative learning has been really useful to me because it has made me stop and think about what it is and why I use it - and to question whether just because I do it does that mean it was the right strategy?
Let's get the definition bit out of the way first. I prefer the title "collaborative learning" over "group work" simply because group work to me implies at least 3 students working together. Collaborative learning, I believe, is when students work with at least 1 other person to develop their own learning - it is pairs, threes, fours, fives sixes, tens, half a class or even a whole class. What is a whole class if it isn't just a big group?
I believe the benefits of collaborative learning are huge. I want the students in my classroom to do far more work than me. Me leading from the front of the classroom can be a very passive process - any form of collaborative learning puts the emphasis on them doing something. I have always felt that students are far more likely to remember a lesson in which they were positively engaged and active; in which they said and did something. Collaborative learning increases the chances of them doing something and therefore remembering it - the point of the lesson. (I speak from personal experience - I can remember most of the meetings in which I have said something: there are hundreds in which I was passive, they washed over me whilst I waited for them to end). Often I will follow up any short input from me with a collaborative task which is aimed at allowing students to process what I have just said and check that they actually understood it.
Despite learning styles going out of fashion with some people, I still like it and believe in it. Auditory learners benefit enormously from collaborative learning as it gives them an opportunity to think out loud and hear their own ideas - an important step in their process of understanding and learning. Almost every teacher I have ever met has known that teaching something is the best way of learning it - collaborative learning gives our students a way to experience that.
Some people have said that they haven't got time to do collaborative learning because there is too much content to get through. Personally I have always found that I can get through more content this way - particularly some of the dull stuff (I know that may come as a bit of a shock to find out that even history has some dull bits in it - League of Nations still makes my heart sink every year). Collaborative activities like Home and Away groups, Market Place and World Cafe (my 3 go-to collaborative activities) allow you to get through far more content because groups of students research different aspects and feedback to other students. They sort out the key bits of information for you.
In my new role as an Assistant Headteacher for Teaching and Learning I find that I now do a lot more lesson observations. Collaborative learning is great from an observer's point of view because it gives me an opportunity to actually talk to kids. I can talk to small groups without interrupting or distracting the teacher, ask about targets and previous lessons and have a quick look through books. Any teacher who is looking to get outstanding on a lesson observation will want the observer to talk to the kids - collaborative learning lets this happen. It also makes it much easier for the teacher to show differentiation and how much progress students have made - again key criteria for getting that "Outstanding" tick.
Fear about behaviour management often comes up as one of the main reasons some teachers have for not using collaborative learning. Again I have always used it as a behaviour management tool. Splitting students up into small groups makes it easier to identify who is actually misbehaving. Often I will move students into groups simply to break up 1 group of students without a confrontation. It also makes it a lot easier to have a quiet word of warning with some and encouragement with others.
I believe that as teachers we have a duty to develop our students' skills in collaborative learning - they will need to be able to do this in the future. Even with new technology most careers require us to be able to collaborate with other people and know how to share ideas and improve them. Personally I think that many of us secondary school teachers are the weak link in this process. As an AST I had the pleasure of going into a lot of primary school classrooms and in almost all of them collaborative learning was the norm. It was deeply entrenched in the day-to-day routine of the students and they are highly skilled at it - a huge compliment to their teachers who have put in hours of groundwork to develop this. For many students arriving in Year 7 we send some strange messages about how we expect 'older, more mature' students to work and behave. We put them in rows (do any primary school classrooms work in rows?) and have them facing us - are we not sending a huge message that they have grown out of group work? That's what they did when they were little. I know I am generalising here but I wonder if there is some truth to this. Year 7 students are very keen to fit in with their new school, new environments and new friends - many of them seem to forget how they worked so successfully in Year 6. But I suspect many secondary school teachers encourage them, perhaps unconsciously, to forget. I have heard some teachers at my school say that some of our students lack the social skills to do group work. I don't believe that is true. I have used collaborative learning since my 1st day at the school in September and haven't had to do anything special with the students. They have worked in groups as well as any students I have worked with - even ones I have 'trained'. And if it is true that some of our students lack the social skills - they are never going to develop those skills by not working on groups.
The key to successful collaborative learning for me is to be clear and specific about what is happening. I always select the groups - sometimes by random numbering, sometimes by subtle ability groups. I always make it extremely clear what the task is that the group has to do and what role(s) each member of the group has. I make sure that there is something for everyone in the group to do. I make it clear how long they have to complete the task. I move around every group quickly in the first few minutes to check everyone knows what they are doing. I stop them all to check progress or give new instructions. I randomise feedback so everyone in the group has the responsibility of representing the group. Collaborative learning might mean they are doing the work - but it is also the time when I am busiest.
There are of course times when collaborative learning is not appropriate. I am equally in favour of students becoming independent learners - in fact I believe the two states are fundamentally linked. A good independent learner knows the value of collaboration. Almost all collaborative tasks begin with a minute or 2 of independent work so that every students has at least 1 thing to contribute - otherwise the loudest student tends to dominate. I often end collaborative learning tasks with individual time so that students have the opportunity to make their own sense of what they have just done. To me collaborative learning and independent learning are part of the same process.
So those are my thoughts on collaborative learning. I have to say I am looking forward to Monday's INSET because I am hoping to pick up some new ideas from other staff for group work. Although I use collaborative learning a lot I do have a stock 3-4 strategies that I probably over-use. I am also nervous about it - I know there will be some resistance and not every one will like how I have set out the day. I do aim to make the sessions as active as possible and to smuggle as many collaborative activities in as I can - and I have ordered some nice pastries for break time. Now it's time to finish off the resources and PowerPoints - I think I have at least worked out my own thinking on collaborative learning. I will let you know how it goes.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday, 2 November 2012
How to get Good in a lesson observation
In my new role as Assistant Head I have done a lot of lesson observations lately and they haves been brilliant. My Head has asked me to put together some advice for staff on how to teach a lesson that can safely be judged as Good. This is my first draft and is based on some of the things I have seen in the last half-term. I would be very grateful if any of the wonderful teachers who occasionally stumble upon my ramblings could read it and make suggestions. What have I missed? I know there will be lots as this is vey much a first-stab at this. I look forward to lots of your comments.
How to teach a Good lesson
Preparation
Give the observer a seating plan which is annotated to show student targets and current level of progress. The best ones also have comments about particular students, i.e. "very quiet but making good progress with group activities". This shows the observer that you know the students well. You do not have to produce a lesson plan but for a planned lesson observation you might want to. The lesson plan could be your opportunity to explain the context for this lesson, work covered already or, particularly if this is a 30-minute observation, let the observer know what will happen in the second part of the lesson which they will not see. The lesson plan could also be useful if this lesson comes at the wrong time to show off your skills at group work or active learning because they have to do Controlled Assessment today or the exam is tomorrow.
Starter
In a good lesson, students are learning from the moment they arrive at the lesson. Meet and greet them at the door - this shows you know them and have a good relationship with them. It can also get minor behaviour issues such as earphones and wearing a coat out of the way before they come in.
The starter activity can be on the board or screen - if you know the class always arrives in dribs and drabs for this lesson because they come from different places, you might want to do a settling starter that each student can get onto individually as they arrive. Activities like asking students to draw a brain (or head) and fill it with words used last lesson work well for this.
In a good lesson students need to be making progress. Make sure you let them do things to show that progress. It is extremely difficult to show they have made any progress if they have spent a lot of the lesson sitting listening to you. Explain what the lesson is about and their progress targets - but do it quickly. The information can be on a PowerPoint slide or on a handout to go back to but don't spend 10 minutes telling them about it.
Pace and Progress
Structure the lesson around a series of activities. Although it may have been discredited by some educational experts and thinkers, I still use the idea of concentration span as age in minutes + 2 minutes as a pretty good guide for how long to make an activity last. It is a very good idea to stop any activity after around 12-15 minutes at most. In an observed lesson you may want to make a quick stop after around 6 minutes to just check they are all on task.
With any activity check the 3 T's - Task, Team and Time. Explain exactly what the task is, tell them whether this is individual, paired or larger group and exactly how much time they have. Keep the instructions for the task to a minimum. There is no point in giving them a long list of instructions as they will have lost you by about the 2nd or 3rd one. Give them 1-2 instructions to get started and then use a brief stop a few minutes later to give the next instruction.
If working in groups, put them in the groups yourself. If you allow them to choose their own groups you are inviting questions, discussion and negotiation which at best will delay them starting on the task and at worst lead to students challenging you. Students rarely complain about groupings if they know it is for a specific reason and a short period of time. Group work is best when it is something that students are used to and have done with you many times. It is dangerous to do anything in an observed lesson you have never done before. Use group work often so that students are familiar with it, with you and in your room.
An observer will want to walk around and have a look at what students are doing. They want to ask them questions and probably look in their exercise books. Group work gives them an opportunity to do this. It also gives you a chance to show how good you are at working with students in smaller groups and individually. Get around to every group and speak to them. Check they understand the instruction, answer any questions they may have, encourage those that haven't quite got round to starting yet and ask them about the work they have done. These question-and-answer sessions are another good way of showing how much progress they have made in the lesson. Publicly praise groups or individuals who have completed tasks, asked a great question or done something interesting.
Feedback
Make an opportunity for students to give feedback to you and/or each other. Stop activities and do quick question-and-answer sessions. Use these sessions to stretch the most able students. Push them with your questioning and explain what is required at the highest levels or grades.
Showing progress
One of the key criteria now for judging lessons is whether students made progress during the lesson. This can be very difficult in a 30-minute observation but there are strategies which might show it. The Dump Test or Pages of Progress is one way. This is simply a sheet of paper or a page in the back of the exercise book. At the start of the lesson ask students to write down in just 60 seconds anything they know about a topic. 10 or 15 minutes later, revisit the paper and add in as much as possible in 60 seconds in a different colour - a simple, visible and measurable record of progress. Later sessions can ask students to make links between words or ideas. Another way of showing progress is to have a list of questions posed either by you or by the students on the wall or board and stop occasionally to ask students which ones they can answer now. I observed a lesson once where students were given a C grade exam answer to look at and at different stages in the lesson asked to add things to it to turn it into a B and then an A grade answer.
Key points for a good lesson:
Let the students do the work - most of the lesson should involve them doing things
Allow students to interact with each other - create opportunities for them to talk to each other and feedback to each other
Short focused tasks - if any one activity is going to last more than 15 minutes make sure there is a really good reason for it
Allow the students to show that they have made some progress in the lesson
Every student in the room needs to be engaged and part of the lesson - it is part of your job to make that happen
Don't talk for long periods of the lesson - focus on teaching the lesson rather than trying to show the observer something
Aim to do all of these things every lesson and they will work better in an observed lesson. Students will do them naturally because they are used to them, you will be more confident in doing them and an observer may ask students if this is typical. So be careful if you have never done group work and throw it into an observed lesson!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
How to teach a Good lesson
Preparation
Give the observer a seating plan which is annotated to show student targets and current level of progress. The best ones also have comments about particular students, i.e. "very quiet but making good progress with group activities". This shows the observer that you know the students well. You do not have to produce a lesson plan but for a planned lesson observation you might want to. The lesson plan could be your opportunity to explain the context for this lesson, work covered already or, particularly if this is a 30-minute observation, let the observer know what will happen in the second part of the lesson which they will not see. The lesson plan could also be useful if this lesson comes at the wrong time to show off your skills at group work or active learning because they have to do Controlled Assessment today or the exam is tomorrow.
Starter
In a good lesson, students are learning from the moment they arrive at the lesson. Meet and greet them at the door - this shows you know them and have a good relationship with them. It can also get minor behaviour issues such as earphones and wearing a coat out of the way before they come in.
The starter activity can be on the board or screen - if you know the class always arrives in dribs and drabs for this lesson because they come from different places, you might want to do a settling starter that each student can get onto individually as they arrive. Activities like asking students to draw a brain (or head) and fill it with words used last lesson work well for this.
In a good lesson students need to be making progress. Make sure you let them do things to show that progress. It is extremely difficult to show they have made any progress if they have spent a lot of the lesson sitting listening to you. Explain what the lesson is about and their progress targets - but do it quickly. The information can be on a PowerPoint slide or on a handout to go back to but don't spend 10 minutes telling them about it.
Pace and Progress
Structure the lesson around a series of activities. Although it may have been discredited by some educational experts and thinkers, I still use the idea of concentration span as age in minutes + 2 minutes as a pretty good guide for how long to make an activity last. It is a very good idea to stop any activity after around 12-15 minutes at most. In an observed lesson you may want to make a quick stop after around 6 minutes to just check they are all on task.
With any activity check the 3 T's - Task, Team and Time. Explain exactly what the task is, tell them whether this is individual, paired or larger group and exactly how much time they have. Keep the instructions for the task to a minimum. There is no point in giving them a long list of instructions as they will have lost you by about the 2nd or 3rd one. Give them 1-2 instructions to get started and then use a brief stop a few minutes later to give the next instruction.
If working in groups, put them in the groups yourself. If you allow them to choose their own groups you are inviting questions, discussion and negotiation which at best will delay them starting on the task and at worst lead to students challenging you. Students rarely complain about groupings if they know it is for a specific reason and a short period of time. Group work is best when it is something that students are used to and have done with you many times. It is dangerous to do anything in an observed lesson you have never done before. Use group work often so that students are familiar with it, with you and in your room.
An observer will want to walk around and have a look at what students are doing. They want to ask them questions and probably look in their exercise books. Group work gives them an opportunity to do this. It also gives you a chance to show how good you are at working with students in smaller groups and individually. Get around to every group and speak to them. Check they understand the instruction, answer any questions they may have, encourage those that haven't quite got round to starting yet and ask them about the work they have done. These question-and-answer sessions are another good way of showing how much progress they have made in the lesson. Publicly praise groups or individuals who have completed tasks, asked a great question or done something interesting.
Feedback
Make an opportunity for students to give feedback to you and/or each other. Stop activities and do quick question-and-answer sessions. Use these sessions to stretch the most able students. Push them with your questioning and explain what is required at the highest levels or grades.
Showing progress
One of the key criteria now for judging lessons is whether students made progress during the lesson. This can be very difficult in a 30-minute observation but there are strategies which might show it. The Dump Test or Pages of Progress is one way. This is simply a sheet of paper or a page in the back of the exercise book. At the start of the lesson ask students to write down in just 60 seconds anything they know about a topic. 10 or 15 minutes later, revisit the paper and add in as much as possible in 60 seconds in a different colour - a simple, visible and measurable record of progress. Later sessions can ask students to make links between words or ideas. Another way of showing progress is to have a list of questions posed either by you or by the students on the wall or board and stop occasionally to ask students which ones they can answer now. I observed a lesson once where students were given a C grade exam answer to look at and at different stages in the lesson asked to add things to it to turn it into a B and then an A grade answer.
Key points for a good lesson:
Let the students do the work - most of the lesson should involve them doing things
Allow students to interact with each other - create opportunities for them to talk to each other and feedback to each other
Short focused tasks - if any one activity is going to last more than 15 minutes make sure there is a really good reason for it
Allow the students to show that they have made some progress in the lesson
Every student in the room needs to be engaged and part of the lesson - it is part of your job to make that happen
Don't talk for long periods of the lesson - focus on teaching the lesson rather than trying to show the observer something
Aim to do all of these things every lesson and they will work better in an observed lesson. Students will do them naturally because they are used to them, you will be more confident in doing them and an observer may ask students if this is typical. So be careful if you have never done group work and throw it into an observed lesson!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday, 10 May 2012
The Big Red Ball of Wool
I came up with this idea a few weeks ago and recently tried it out with my 2 GCSE groups. The results were really encouraging, particularly in engaging the kids - and all you need is a big ball of red wool.
I got the students to sit in a big circle - I also sat in the circle. The aim was to get the students to think of links between different historical events and people and see how they influenced each other. I chose the topic. With my yr 11 group it was Votes for Women, my Yr 10 s had the Cold War. I started off by naming an event or idea. I then threw the big red ball of wool to a student across the circle whilst keeping tight hold of the end of the wool. The student had to then name another event/person/idea and explain how it was linked to my word. They then threw the ball on to another student, keeping hold of their end of the wool - the next student had to say something else and explain how it was linked. This was great fun - the students had to think quickly and, at times out of the box. By the time we reached the last student we had created a striking visual - a red web of wool linking each student together and each idea together. I knew it was a hit when several kids asked if they could get their phones out so they could take a photo of it because it looked so cool.
We then reversed the whole process with each student throwing the wool back and winding it up as we went, this time they asked each other quiz questions.
A really good revision exercise or plenary - but one which also encourages kids to make links, one of the higher order thinking skills which gets them a lot of marks in the exam - and more importantly had them talking about the lesson in the corridor afterwards.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I got the students to sit in a big circle - I also sat in the circle. The aim was to get the students to think of links between different historical events and people and see how they influenced each other. I chose the topic. With my yr 11 group it was Votes for Women, my Yr 10 s had the Cold War. I started off by naming an event or idea. I then threw the big red ball of wool to a student across the circle whilst keeping tight hold of the end of the wool. The student had to then name another event/person/idea and explain how it was linked to my word. They then threw the ball on to another student, keeping hold of their end of the wool - the next student had to say something else and explain how it was linked. This was great fun - the students had to think quickly and, at times out of the box. By the time we reached the last student we had created a striking visual - a red web of wool linking each student together and each idea together. I knew it was a hit when several kids asked if they could get their phones out so they could take a photo of it because it looked so cool.
We then reversed the whole process with each student throwing the wool back and winding it up as we went, this time they asked each other quiz questions.
A really good revision exercise or plenary - but one which also encourages kids to make links, one of the higher order thinking skills which gets them a lot of marks in the exam - and more importantly had them talking about the lesson in the corridor afterwards.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Monday, 7 May 2012
New job and new opportunities
The last week has proved just how little I know. In my last post I wrote about how I was not hopeful about getting a job I had just interviewed for. This week, to my delight and surprise I found out I had got the job and from September I will be an Assistant Head for Teaching and Learning.
I am really excited about this new opportunity and can't wait to get started. I have a 1,000 things I want to do and will spend a lot of time over the next few weeks deciding how to approach my new role. The key thing for me is that this job is about improving teaching and learning. I get to work with teachers and students to be at the forefront of new ideas and strategies. I want to encourage teachers to take risks and try out new things - especially when they are not sure if they will work.
I am also looking forward to watching lots of new teachers at work in their classrooms - and steal ideas from them as often as possible, as I have always done. Expect to see lots of those ideas on this blog in the future. I am sure I will make loads of mistakes and there will be some tough times ahead but I am absolutely convinced this is the right move for me - and that I am the right person for this school.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I am really excited about this new opportunity and can't wait to get started. I have a 1,000 things I want to do and will spend a lot of time over the next few weeks deciding how to approach my new role. The key thing for me is that this job is about improving teaching and learning. I get to work with teachers and students to be at the forefront of new ideas and strategies. I want to encourage teachers to take risks and try out new things - especially when they are not sure if they will work.
I am also looking forward to watching lots of new teachers at work in their classrooms - and steal ideas from them as often as possible, as I have always done. Expect to see lots of those ideas on this blog in the future. I am sure I will make loads of mistakes and there will be some tough times ahead but I am absolutely convinced this is the right move for me - and that I am the right person for this school.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, 28 April 2012
Learning from Experience
I had my 1st interview for an Assistant Head post this week and it was my first real interview for anything in 12 years - and it has been a long time since I played this game. I won't find out the result until early next week but I am not hopeful. The day wasn't a disaster but I know I didn't do as well as I could have. I am disappointed about this because I really liked the school and felt that I could do a good job there.
The experience has made me realise that I do want to be an Assistant Head - something I have fought against for a long time. I do believe I have something to offer School Leadership because I am passionate about teaching and learning being the 1st and last priority in schools.
I have also learned from this experience that I need to prepare more thoroughly for interviews and spend more time planning how to answer interview questions. Whilst most of the day went well, I wasn't happy with how I performed in the final interview. I tended to answer questions too quickly without really thinking them through and not explain my thoughts in enough detail.
I am determined to learn from this experience. I have tried to write down every question I can remember being asked so I can start to build up a bank of them and will continue to apply for jobs - but I do now fully realise j it's how much I am going I have to raise my game.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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