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...