That's More Like It!

Today I taught my first full lesson since the day of my "high-expectation dramatics"! It was a Literacy lesson and was to the same class as before, Year 2. What a difference today's experience was, no dramatics, just a sense of purpose, fun and enjoyment.

The starter was not as successful as I would have liked, it was an activity the children were not familiar with but towards the end they were more focused on the game than who they were standing beside. I think if we did it again it would be more successful. However, it did serve its purpose and they were thinking of alternatives to "said".

The main teaching went well, I managed to ask the questions I had planned, I kept to the plan and I managed the scholarly distractions better this time. I still need to tighten up this part of the lesson, maybe thinking more carefully about where the children sit so the partner talk is more effective. I need to find a way to make sure that during questioning the others stay focused, I will try to make use of "pose, pause, bounce, pounce" in my next lesson...

My feedback session with my mentor was very positive, she made comments about the same areas I had already considered as weaker elements of the lesson. I find this important as it means I am being critically reflective-in-action and should help me to refine and develop these areas. Hopefully, the fact that we are unanimous on those weaknesses will strengthen the professional relationship we are building enabling mutual trust and a positive experience for us both.

Lesson No. 8 in Learning to Teach is to allow myself a smile when a lesson goes to plan!

Teaching Literacy as a Power

As has been the norm, the week began with an introduction to a wealth of information given in such volume my head is struggling to assimilate. Today's focus was literacy: the importance of being literate, the importance of stimulating a love of reading and the ways in which literacy skills can be incorporated across the curriculum. 

Having read Freire's "Pedagogy of the Oppressed", I was already aware of the power of being literate. Meek writes that upon leaving school “[children's] level of [literacy] attainment will attest their fitness to belong to, or be excluded from, the group of powerful literates who dominate the dialogue of others.” (1991, p.233). These are very powerful indictments of the need to ensure all children have access to this power. Yet, it is clear, from global statistics, that it is not as easy to achieve in practice as it is to argue theoretically. However, today's sessions provided me with techniques which, I hope, will help me to enable ALL the children I teach to grow into literate beings. 

Our second speaker, quite an inspirational woman, spent an hour or so on speaking and listening; skills that are the foundations of being literate. The tips she gave us were brilliant and brilliantly simple. It was exciting to contemplate putting them to use in class, which I most definitely will when I get the chance. 

Her main message concerned using speaking and listening to develop critical thinking or as she described it the difference between being a Dr. Watson or a Sherlock Holmes. The quote I recorded was:  "In a really good lesson the teacher vanishes in the pupil discussion". I know that in that training room, and here in my reflections we are dealing with the ideals, and that in practice it can be difficult to nurture such skills in discourse. However, I have to believe that it is possible because my transaction with Freire has left its mark and in today's training I saw a way -in to fanning the flames of consciousness.

“To acquire literacy is more than to psychologically and mechanically dominate reading and writing techniques. It is to dominate these techniques in terms of consciousness; to understand what one reads and to write what one understands; it is to communicate graphically.” (Freire, 1973, p.48)

Our speaker also demonstrated the use of images to encourage reading skills of inference, deduction and analysis among others. It really was a very simple idea, but the effect was instant engagement. It was easy to see how such activities would be enjoyable to learners, I have not created a document with all the ideas and how to use them, that is tomorrow's job. 

In summation, Lesson No. 7 in Learning to Teach is that I aim to develop critical thinking and questioning skills in the learners I teach, especially now I have the tools to do so. 

SEND, BESD, EAL and the Inclusion Agenda

Today we had a session on SEND, BESD and EAL. Three enormous factors which impact daily on a teachers' role and which I feel require pedagogical training. I am not sure that one morning is sufficient to enable would-be teachers to have precise knowledge of how best to remediate these issues as they occur.

My final essay for my degree was a "Critical Engagement with the Literature on the Policy, Theory and Pedagogy for the Inclusion of EAL Learners", so I am a little sensitive on the issue of how teachers ensure the inclusion of EAL learners. My reading for the essay really imparted the importance of language teaching and language rich environments to ensure EAL learners are able to work within their Zone of Proximal Development in whatever the subject. 

I was tickled to observe myself getting really rankled at the lack of theory that was discussed. Is it important that this was the case? Is it necessary to be familiar with the literature to successfully differentiate for these learners? I think so, I suppose I will take the lessons I learned during my research, employ it in my teaching, evaluate it and share it as appropriate in my setting. 

The talk on SEND was informative, but I wonder if this sole session will be enough to equip would-be teachers with the necessary skills for the wide-ranging spectrum of needs they may face in their NQT year, when they are expected to work independently? This is an area I feel would have benefited from some pedagogical theory, I wonder if everyone has read the recommended reading? Even a copy of the Index for Inclusion may have provided think pieces for learning.

On a more positive note, our session which was given by a primary SENCo and a nursery teacher was very insightful. They included information, strategies and discussion about children with BESD. They introduced me to the notion of "attention-seeking or attention-needing"; a very effective description of the varied emotional needs children may show. 

Overall a mixed day, what did I learn? I am very fortunate that my degree allowed me to read widely on these issues, therefore today I did not feel I expanded on that learning. However, it did give me a chance to reflect on what I had read and what I learned from the literature. Lesson No.6 in Learning to Teach is find a way to keep up with contemporary writing on these issues to ensure I stay up to date with pedagogical theory.  

The Danger of High Expectations

Today I taught my maths lesson to my mentor's class. I was very nervous beforehand, but I had everything ready, IWB, activity resources, starter resources. The books were on the table, the L/O's were stuck up around the room. I felt organised, my checklist (numbered according to priority!) had been checked and double checked. The older I get the more sure I am that I have a control-freak neurosis!

I won't go into the details of the lesson, as this is a reflection- not a recount (note to self). Suffice to say, I was so disappointed with myself at the end that I had a meltdown. "I am crap, what am I thinking, go back to being a TA, I am so embarrassed...", with hindsight it reminds me of a two year old who has just been told they are leaving the playground: completely distraught and, needless to say, totally over-reactive. I instantly wrote down all the points I felt were wrong with the lesson. Useful, as it helped me find some positives. 

Despite my Oscar-worthy hysterics when I reviewed the lesson later with my mentor, we both agreed that the points I had noted were correct. This reassures me that even if I am not sure how to teach the perfect lesson, I can identify what needs to change to make this possible. I had not expected the amount of positives she had drawn from the lesson. She noted my use of AfL, which I was pleased about considering my misconceptions around this concept at the beginning of the week. She also felt that although the children did not learn exactly according to my intention, learning was happening in the lesson. 

My mentor wondered if I should have just planned and delivered a starter but she felt it would not have been challenging enough for me, and she is right. In some sadistic, nut-job kind of way I want to be challenged to the nth degree. I have found that when I push myself to the limit I can pull things out of the bag that I had not expected (like a first class honours degree!!). I need to find a way of managing my post-adrenalin self after such occasions, and maybe this is where the Mindfulness comes to the fore; maybe I can manage my stress levels if I make sure I have a quick before and after practice when being observed?? Also, this evening I have wondered if maybe I need to be given a lesson focus for my observation, so instead of trying to have every minute of 45 perfect, I have one area which is the focus for perfection. I don't mean that I would let the rest slide, but maybe it would help me focus on having fun and enjoying the lesson when there is only one area to truly worry about????? 

I titled this post the danger of high expectations, the high expectations are my own of myself and they will always be there, it is a trait I possess. I have to find a way to articulate what my expectations are in any given task, this might allow me the space to know exactly where I have succeeded and where I need to work further; it has just occurred to me that I am practising AfL on myself in the form of targets and success criteria. Oh, the irony!!

In conclusion, Lesson No.5 in learning to teach is read Lesson No.4 again and this time take it on board!!  

AfL; Lesson Planning; Great Learning Great Teaching Presentation and a TeachMeet; another jam-packed day!

We had a mini-lecture on AfL from a teacher at St. Nicholas' Primary school. This combined with my initial reading of the Black et al. (2003) made me feel that I am closer to understanding the underlying concepts of AfL. I hope this will allow me to use it in a way that is most beneficial for my learners. I now have a visual representation of AfL that I can keep as an aide-memoir. The teacher also gave us lots of other strategies that we can try in our classrooms; when (if!) we get one! The quote I noted was "good teachers always think about their own practice all the time." I need to remember and practice in this way.

A trip to the Great Learning Great Teaching presentation later in the day evidenced teachers who had used those strategies in their schools with success. It was lovely to see different examples of how AfL can be used to support and challenge learning. It was also reassuring to see experienced teachers rejoicing in the work of others, and still on a learning journey after however many years!

Our next challenge as learners was to work in groups to devise a lesson plan for Friday. In our group we chose RE as none of us had any experience of teaching RE. There were lengthy debates on what and how we approach the task. In true group-task spirit we negotiated a compromise- we will see what Friday brings!

My first TeachMeet...what to say...I was overwhelmed yet exhilarated by the speed of the presentations. The speed meant that the salient points were conveyed without any waffle, which meant I had a great time listening and learning from teachers who were keen to share what they found useful in their classrooms. I have yet to go through my notes and make some sense of what I learned.

I am going to teach maths in my placement school tomorrow, so I have spent the whole evening planning, preparing resources, getting excited, getting nervous. We will see what tomorrow brings in terms of my mentor's observation.

I have just scanned over what I have written and I can see that is turning into a recount instead of a reflection. I think that to reflect I need some head space and there is so much going on that I am not allowing myself to digest and make links that would aid reflection. If I have to specify a lesson from today I will struggle as I have not allowed my tortoise brain any time today! I will leave Lesson No.5 in Learning to Teach until tomorrow, after all tomorrow is another day...

Lesson Planning

The last two days, and indeed the rest of the week, has a focus on lesson planning. Specifically the elements which make a great lesson plan as opposed to an okay lesson plan. We have been warned that in the initial stages lesson planning will take a long time, but that over time it will be easier.

Ideas about the ingredients for the Raymond Blanc of lesson plans were given to us by Tom Boulter and through a lesson observation of a teacher at St. Nicholas'. For me, there was some discord between the two, but maybe that is the difference between secondary and primary... 

The key lessons I took from Tom's session was the necessity for great subject knowledge which is enhanced by a recognition of the underlying skills which are necessary to succeed in a given topic. I feel that as I have had TA experience of Years 3-6, my work with KS1 will be informed by the fact that I know what they will be expected to achieve later in the school. I would like to think this helps me to have high expectations of their work, however this will remain to be seen.

Tom also talked about AfL, which I may have muddled as a concept. So, when I finish here I shall be heading to the research Black et al. (2003) published to get a view of AfL from those who created the concept. Tom described AfL as information which informs planning. I may have done this in practice but not not acknowledged it as Assessment FOR Learning, which I think I may have thought was a set of strategies which was actually an Assessment OF Learning.

Today I planned a maths lesson for Thursday with my mentor. I made a note of some "essentials"  for a lesson plan on Monday. I have not cross-checked them yet but I hope I have remembered to include all those features. I am so nervous about doing a lesson which will be observed, the thought of which makes you worry about every verbal and non-verbal gesture you may possibly make during the lesson!

I am aware at this point I have retold what has happened without really reflecting on what happened, or perhaps not reflected as deeply as I might have wished. However, Lesson No.4 in Learning to Teach is that I have a lot to learn, and that I will make mistakes and that is okay as long as I see them as a learning opportunity. 

"A school of learning pupils requires a school of learning teachers" 

(Williams and Wegerif, 2006, p.109). 

(After I had written this post I checked my notes form Tom's session, and I realise that the length of the day made me lose some meaning that I had made during his session. I found a document he had given us on what makes a good learning intention. I have used that today for two activities and it has been incredibly useful- so as I concluded I hadn't fully reflected on all I had learned through the day! 12/06/13)

An end to the first week

Today brought an end to the first week of the placement. What a week, I am amazed at how tired I am, the constant adrenalin used for all the new experiences needs replenishing. The week was brought to an end with the introduction to the practice of mindfulness. 

If this week has made me realise anything it is that I will need a way to compartmentalize work and family to ensure that I am able to achieve a healthy work-life balance. Having this space to reflect and consolidate my experiences is definitely useful, but I can see that aspects of mindfulness will be useful as a way of maintaining calm when I feel life setting the pace instead of me setting the pace!

Today also brought my first entries to my learning log which is where I will, over the year, evidence my achievement (maybe...hopefully?!?) of the Teacher's Standards. Although I had not achieved many of them it was a good exercise in making links between practice and the standards. 

Now, for a weekend of relaxing, shopping and fretting about the imminent degree award...

Observations...

I have spent the last two days in school meeting the people and the children I will work with in September, as well as observing lessons. It has been full-on, lots of names, lots of policies, finding out how this school plans, assesses, manages behaviour... 

It has been really exciting and it was lovely to actually be in school after two days talking about school stuff with other adults. However, I am still feeling very scared about the prospect of being responsible for children's learning, my fixed mindset keeps trying to push to the front- fear of failure. The growth mindset, that must be in there somewhere, reminds to keep going and see how it goes. 

Even though I had written about the things I was going to look for in my observations, in reality I found it trickier. There are so many things we take for granted in the classroom interactions that I failed to note them on my first observation. For example, the teacher started the lesson by reviewing prior learning, I did not note that down on my sheet because it seemed so obvious and surely I was looking to observe other things... My mentor was very good at guiding me as to why the things I expected to see were exactly the things I wanted to note! They are signs of a responsive teacher and learning in action.

It followed that I observed four lessons in total, but the experience left me with questions. I am not sure what the right answer is to them, maybe they are arguments that do not have an easy answer. 

1: How do I account for my subjectivity when observing?

2: Does a difference in style/personality of teacher make a difference in real time to learning or does it matter more to the observer (assuming all children are making good progress)?

3: If that "je ne sais quoi" is not obvious in the room, is learning adversely affected? Can that even be answered empirically?

As I reread the questions I can see they are loaded with meaning for me that will not be there for others. They came to me because I was trying to figure out how I deciphered between practice that was good for learning and practice that I enjoyed watching and thought "I would do it like that, what a great idea". Does it matter whether or not I enjoyed it? Maybe it doesn't matter if I enjoy it as an observer as long I enjoy and believe it when I am a teacher?? 

What lesson can I derive from this? Lesson no.3 in learning to teach is believe and be passionate about what you are teaching, make the learning infectious: hopefully others will catch it!

WOW! Lots of information...

Our first task this morning was technological and involved setting up email and Google Drive, which we will use as a portfolio to attain our QTS. Colour-coding my folders gave me a sense of purpose as I tried to comprehend how on earth I will manage to show at least three outstanding pieces of evidence for each standard... 

The rest of the day centered around our guest speaker, Roy Blatchford. I had looked forward to this as a friend (you know who you are!) had found him quite interesting when he had visited her school. I was, and still am, blown away. I think it will take a while for my brain to assimilate all that he related, I am relying on my tortoise mind to sort out my hare brain. 

The purpose of Roy's visit was to prepare us for the lesson observations we will do over the next two days in our placement schools. He gave us advice which was really useful because it was jargon-free and politic-free, and focuses solely on the learning which is happening in the classroom. But through the course of the day, and which must be is style, Roy treated us to intellectual digressions (!); these provided us with interesting information like the fact that geography is under-taught as a primary subject (Can I make sure to remediate this in my classroom?)...

My favourite piece of advice concerned the "richness of the environment". Roy advised that we look closely at the classroom environment; layout, displays, evidence of the personalities in the classroom. I would have noticed the displays but now I will look beyond how pleasing to the eye they are and try to ascertain what they say about the learning that takes place in this room; the motivation behind the choice of work, poster etc; the relevance to the children's learning- does it mean something to them/ do they own it? What does it say about the teacher and is it matched in the teaching and learning? My aim is to integrate this approach into my observations over the next few days. Hopefully this will help me to "focus on the learning and not on the teaching."

Roy used Jim Collins' "Hedgehog Concept" as a way of explaining where richness can be found: 

 Image courtesy of: http://www.belhawary.com/2011/09/hedgehog-concept.html

Roy described it as the passion of the teacher (academic knowledge/learning) combined with the skills of the teacher combined with the best use of the resources available (objects and people) lead to the best results. I can see this being developed as a pre-lesson plan tool to help me guarantee that I am pushing myself to find the best ways of doing things as opposed to ways I have used before or seen done before, or that are just a bit safe. 

I would like to think that today's lesson, lesson no.2 in learning to teach was take the risk if you think you have the confidence, skill and passion to take the children to new places in their learning.

First Day Jitters

What to expect?

I had been pretty calm up to yesterday, but as the day drew to a close I started to fully appreciate that I had no idea what to expect the next day. I need not have worried, when I arrived there were faces I recognized from the interview process, and everyone seemed as nervous as myself. 

The first day brought a lot of paperwork, which was an anti-climatic start to the day, but necessary if we wanted to get paid! However, this did provide a chance for us trainees to mingle and chat to each other which gave us a chance to get acquainted. 

What followed was a series of lessons where we participated as the students, being mindful of:

1. How students learn;

2. The behaviours of  a good teacher;

3. The features of a successful lesson. 

We finished off the day by discussing in groups our thoughts from the lessons, with specific reference to the aforementioned three points. Finally, we chose the values, qualities and skills we felt were important for a teacher to possess and placed them in a hierarchical position to come back to at the end of the six-week initial training period.

I have to say that I felt a little flat at the end of the day. I had enjoyed aspects but I think I wanted to feel cognitively challenged, with questions and ideas racing through my head. I wonder whether my, so very recent, student status has left me still wanting a "grown-up" to point me towards my learning outcome. It is more likely that, although a trainee in status, I need to be the "grown-up" directing my own learning outcome and facilitating that as I go; reflecting-in-action. I can see now that I should have made a note of those three points and scribbled notes to myself at the end of each session, this would have made the experience more meaningful, and kept me focused on the objectives. It might have made me more open to deeper insight than I experienced if I had encouraged thinking time at the end of the lessons. This is the difference between deep learning and surface learning, and it is something I need to address. 

I want to make sure I exploit my time as a trainee to the maximum to ensure I grow and stretch to be the kind of teacher I would like to be. So lesson no.1 in learning to teach is  to set myself mini-objectives for the sessions, encourage thinking and scribbling time at the end of sessions to record reflections, and finally to come back here to untangle all of that into a (sort-of) learning log for myself.