3.1 Teaching and Learning – Page 9

1st year placement experience

I have just finished my first two week placement block during my time in the BA programme at UWS. Having spent most of last year in a Primary 1 class it was amazing to get back into the classroom and working with children again. This year I was in a small multi-composite school with 2 […]

Prior to placement I was unsure how I would feel about teaching in a multi-compsite class as I imagined this would be a lot more difficult than having a class all of the same ages however I absolutely loved it. There were varying abilities within the classroom however with there only being 9 children in Class 2 the different abilities in the classroom were able to be so well catered to. In an average class of 20-30 children, they would all be in the same year group, however the range of abilities would be just as vast with a higher pupil to teacher ratio.

Having experienced a small window of time within this village school, the range of activities the children can partake in is incredible and the sense of community and family in the school is amazing. Every member of staff worked so well together and really cared for each child, their wellbeing and their successes. The school had a community kitchen which the children cooked a new recipe in each week, this was so great to see the school introducing a love of cooking to the children and providing them with a life skill.

I have learned so much from my time in placement and it has given me so many great ideas that I hope one day I can carry out in my own classroom. As well as ideas for the future it has also given me an insight into particular areas of strength and areas for improvement in my own practice.

I believe a strength I have is quickly building up a rapport with each child. This is so vital as if children have a good relationship with you the will learn so much more from you and enjoy working and learning alongside you. I really enjoy getting to know each child, their strengths, areas for developments, likes and dislikes and using this to alter my own practice. Some people often forget that children at Primary are still so young an need to be nurtured and form positive relationships with staff within the school.

Although I really enjoyed working with the older children this did make me aware of an area of personal development. As some of the mathematics was at a much higher level I first had to understand this before I could explain it to the children. A few times I found myself getting stuck when trying to explain different maths aspects to the children as I didn’t have a good enough understanding in the first place in order to then simplify this and explain in necessary depth to the children to ensure they understood. I spoke with the class teacher about this and in mathematics at university we spend time each week going through various maths concepts and so I am confident that with putting extra work into my mathematics by the time I am next working with older children I will ensure I have the relevant knowledge to be confident helping every group of children with their mathematics.

Placement Reflection

During the two weeks of placement, I was privileged enough to observe within many classes. This allowed me to see many different stages throughout the school environment. I worked with small groups on certain topics such as maths, literacy and art. This meant I could get a better understanding of the things the pupils were struggling with. I was involved throughout all lessons giving assistance to any pupils who needed it which allowed me to get to know the pupils better.

The areas of the curriculum that I observed were maths, literacy, topic, science and outdoor learning. By doing this, it gave me ideas and strategies for the future. Challenging behaviour was an issue in some classes but the class teacher helped to think about ways to help and calm the pupils down. It allowed me to use the communication skills highlighted in Uni to be put to good practice.

By being in the staff room, it meant I could contribute to discussions and get any of my questions answered. It also made me feel included in the school as a whole. By also staying at the school when the children left meant I could see the structure and organisation a teacher needs and how important is it. I also went with the children to the assembly on both Fridays which showed me the work being produced in many classes. It also became apparent to me how together the school was and how helpful they were to the people around them.

The whole school placement made aware to me the things I need to work on such as trying to find methods to keep all children on task and not spend most time with specific children. Also making sure all children are concentrating by making sure certain pupils don’t dominate. I need to also think about developing the skill in being a reflective practitioner as this is a very important skill to have and use in the teaching profession. Positives to take away from the experience is that I engaged well with the children and adults within the school and remained professional throughout.

A Reflection of Placement

Placement allowed for me to go further down my path towards becoming a teacher. Whilst out on placement, I learned so much as to what teachers do on a daily basis and what their routines consist of. Prior to starting placement, I was slightly nervous however, my excitement took over me. I had my placement … Continue reading A Reflection of Placement →

Placement allowed for me to go further down my path towards becoming a teacher. Whilst out on placement, I learned so much as to what teachers do on a daily basis and what their routines consist of.

Prior to starting placement, I was slightly nervous however, my excitement took over me. I had my placement file prepared before starting. I then met the school’s deputy head teacher, where myself and the other student I was on placement with got a tour around the school. I was informed that there are over 400 pupils within the school, this thought scared me as I wondered how I would possibly learn names. Despite the size of the school, I still managed to find my way about.

A strength which I easily identified within myself came from my communication with the children. I found that I was really strong at varying my volume, pitch and tone of voice. Whilst being with the primary one pupils, I found my HNC in Early Education and Childcare came in very handy when reading, as character voices were very important during my time out on placement last year. I also feel changing my language to suit different age ranges was a strength of mine, especially when being with the primary 1’s and primary 2’s due to me doing the HNC and knowing what level of language the children are coming up from.

An area for improvement I have identified is to prevent myself from using the word “like” when explaining activities and tasks to children. I hadn’t realised how often I had said this until I completed my two self-evaluations. I will aim to stop myself from saying this as it sounds very colloquial during conversation.

Overall, placement is so crucial on the journey to becoming a teacher. I enjoyed every moment of my placement as the school were so welcoming. However, I wish the placement in first year was for a longer period of time. I have wanted to be a teacher since I have been in primary 4 myself, my placement has fully enforced that this is the career which is perfectly suited to me.

Situated Communication – Feedback – Independant Study Task – 16/10/17

For this study task, we were required to work as a pair, myself and my partner found that our points matched in many places with very minimalist disagreement. With relation to the prompts provided the following conclusion can generally be applied;
The more eager a teacher is at accepting feedback and criticism, the better they will become. By accepting their own good and bad habits, and forming new techniques with regards to their communication skills when integrating with pupils.
In the videos, I was not surprised by anything said or presented, however I do believe that for the teacher in the second video he could have been more open with his body language. All information presented in the videos was like information from the course so far. I think that is due to the topic of communication being very similar no matter who you ask or how you approach it.
I found the task simple and straightforward, however the blog post to me is difficult as you need to conceptualise what you’re going to say. Feedback is where you get information back and can be associated with criticism. Whereas, judgement is typically a one-way street where usually one person tells you all the things you did wrong.
The one thing I would keep in mind on placement is to keep an open body language always, to prevent children turning away from you.
Finally, I feel phenomenal about placement and can’t wait for it to start!

Feedback Study Task

The notes Rebecca and I made were very closely aligned as we both agreed on certain strengths and areas for development for the teacher and nothing she’d written surprised me. We both thought that all members of the classroom could see and hear the teacher from the first video which is a crucial factor for a successful lesson. However we both felt that the teacher had the tendency to ramble which could result in the children losing focus. Also we agreed that occasionally his body language was closed off by folding his arms for example.

Something that surprised me from the videos was the clip Bill Gates showed in the final video of the teacher who records all her lessons. The effectiveness of this task surprised me a little as I thought the children may find it distracting or off-putting to constantly be getting filmed. It also seems a rather time consuming technique.

I found these tasks relatively easy as I was under little-to-no pressure to spot everything the first time around. I could pause, rewind, and rewatch the videos to find and development my answers to evaluation points. Completing this task on placement will likely be much harder as it is only one-take and there is a lot to be observing and evaluating at the same time.

One idea I would like to hang on to from these tasks for the forthcoming placement is the use of positive body language. This is because if I display negative body language I could become unapproachable in the classroom.

I’m feeling rather nervous ahead of my placement as I really want to do well. However, I am also extremely excited for the experience and the challenge and hope to develop some great bonds with the pupils and staff at the school.

Feedback Study Task

On your own in front of a classroom of children, there is no way to truly know how you are coming across to your students. You can know the theory in and out, but it can be easy to let that slip – for instance lose your calm and to raise your voice unnecessarily and … Continue reading “Feedback Study Task”

This is where observation comes in. Be that via a small, discreet video camera in the corner of the room or a peer or mentor in the class room, observation by a neutral third party is the only way to take an objective look at our teaching practice.

Optimally we will have both. There are things an observer may miss, or the observed party could have had a reason for doing something a certain way which could be a useful point of discussion in a feedback session – for instance in the video of the observed Year 5 teacher he was able to explain that he interacted with an individual a certain way because he is familiar with the student. This opened an important discussion between the teacher and his mentor. In this instance the teacher was an ideal recipient of the feedback because although he did not initially agree with his mentor’s assessment of the situation, they reviewed the video and he took what she said on board. He then went on to implement her suggestion in the classroom. It would have not been possible to have such an effective feedback session if either the mentor or the video camera had not been present in the class.

It is important to give feedback and not judgement. Feedback must include things that the person is doing well in their practice to give them the opportunity to build on these strengths but also to hopefully leave the person more open to receiving criticism on an area they may have work to do – even offering realistic suggestions for their practice (Cottrell, 2013). Judgement, on the other hand, would be an unhelpful condemnation on the observed party. Comments on something that the observed cannot change are not productive feedback.

I found it interesting to see the “palm up” body language that we have seen in previous tasks put into practice when the teacher in the first video was talking to a small group of his Year 5 students. I am looking forward to placement because I am keen to receive feedback on my areas for improvement when communicating.

Reflection and Feedback

Today we have been thinking about self reflection and feedback in preparation for our first school placement in two weeks time. This is an area I find largely uncomfortable and certainly one that currently makes me nervous. It has been interesting to watch feedback sessions take place with two teachers. It has given me some […]

It has been interesting to watch feedback sessions take place with two teachers. It has given me some idea of the sorts of observations that someone may make of me. However, it also strengthens the knowledge of the sorts of observations I will need to make of my placement partner. Furthermore, through watching these videos today I have a much deeper understanding of the benefits of feedback and self evaluation.

Before today I would have been dismissive of recording myself in a classroom setting to reflect upon later. However it is clear to see that watching myself teach would allow me to see things happening in my classroom that I may miss while it is happening (in a good and bad way). Also, while I may feel that I come across to pupils in a certain way, watching a video of myself would allow me to re-evaluate verbal and non verbal communications which may be causing concern or confusion. Reflecting upon my own practice in this way will allow me to move forward in the right direction with my teaching.

Sue Cowley observed a third year student in the second of the videos we watched today. There was a lot to observe both good and bad about the practice of the teacher and Sue gave constructive criticisms and guidance to allow the teacher to better his practice with his class. In a group we discussed the video and found that we had very similar views to each other of the practices of the teacher. One difference of opinion that we did have was surrounding the teacher choosing to send three members of his class away from the main part of the class to sort out an argument they have been having over lunchtime. I felt that it was good to see the teacher care for the well-being of the children in this way. However other members of my group felt that this should have been left at the door of the classroom in order to not disrupt the learning for the whole class. Upon reflection, I can understand this stance and it will be something I carry forward with me.

There is now only two weeks left until I go on my first placement. I am nervous about the experience. Knowing where I am going and who I am paired with has lessened my nerves to an extent though. I am very interested to be within a school outwith the area that I live in and also one that is very small. I am intrigued by the logistics involved in a school with only two classes. The website for the school is informative and shows me that they are a busy vibrant school which I am looking forward to finding out more about.

Importance of Self-Evaluation

Both mine and Shannon’s thoughts on the strengths and areas for improvement of the student teacher in the video were similar. We noted that although he mostly had an open and positive body language. He got down to the children’s level for storytelling and made eye contact with a boy he was asking a specific question to. However, he also had some closed body language also. For example I noticed he crossed his arms and Shannon noted he put his hand under his chin a lot- as though bored or disinterested in the lesson.

Nothing in the videos or my partners comments particularly surprised me. However, I did find the fact that the teacher in the last video recorded her class lessons quite interesting. I think this would be quite a good way of being able to fully reflect on your practice as you can watch it back and take notes on anything you would do differently next time.

I didn’t find the tasks too challenging, although I think that when I am actually on placement I might find it more difficult. This is because I will have to assess a peer that I know and do not want to offend. I think that I will have to work to find the best way of giving my opinion without it sounding too critical.

I am looking forward to placement, but I am also a bit nervous to be going out. I am excited to find out what the school, pupils, and my mentor are like and to be in the environment I will be in when I qualify and have my own class in 4 years.

The importance of self-evaluation

After watching the videos and completing the observation checklist myself and Emily discussed what we had both taken from the videos. We had both noted similar points in regards to body language, the teacher had mainly open body language, he got down to the children’s level when speaking to them and sat with them at their tables which seemed to provide a more inclusive and accessible learning experience for the children. We both noted at times he did however appear to close himself for from the children with his body language however we both had a different example of this. I noted that he often put his hand, in a fist, up to his chin which could come across as boredom, Emily noted he sometimes crossed his arms, another sign of closed body language. We both found that he spoke at an adequate volume and pace however at times, as the lady who was assessing him at the end of the video pointed out sometimes standing up in certain situations would gain him more attention form the children so he could start his lesson quicker.

I found the idea of the teacher videoing herself fin the Bill Gates video surprising. However, after listening to her talk about this being her tool of self-reflection I think it is a really great way to self-assess, look at your own body language, voice, tone, every part of your teaching and the engagement of the class in different aspect so you can then reflect and improve on this for future lessons.

I enjoyed this task and as it was a video online I did not find it too difficult however it will be much harder within a classroom setting with children and assessing a peer as everybody wants to give positive feedback however on some occasions constructive feedback is also necessary for your own and your peers own progression in teaching.

I am really looking forward to placement and can’t wait to be back in the school environment and learn from both the children and the teachers/ all the staff in the school. I am a little nervous about all the placement tasks we have to do and ensuring these are all done to a high quality however I am sure there will be plenty of opportunity for observations in all the various areas.

The Skill of Questioning

Within the book Skilled and Interpersonal Communication is a chapter titled The Skill of Questioning.
The main aim of this chapter is to describe the wide variety of questioning styles used by people in everyday life. Throughout the chapter there are several key themes. Firstly the author has examined the advantages and disadvantages of different styles of questioning. Also the author analyses the different circumstances where questioning styles may differ such as due to who is asking or being asked the question.

The chapter claims that small changes in how a question is worded can impact on the response it initiates. A study by Harris (1973) asked respondents either “How tall was the basketball player?” or “How short was the basketball player?” Respondents who were asked the tall question gave greater heights as their answers than those who were asked the small question. This gives a clear link between the wording in a question and the response it brings.

During the chapter open and closed questions are compared. Dohrenwend (1965) carried out an investigation in which he concluded that in research interviews there are greater advantages to using closed questions as this increases the control over the answers the respondents can give. However, Dillon (1997) further argues that using closed questions in research may provide information which is inaccurate or incomplete.

I found the chapter to be very informative. It made me think about the different styles of questioning I find myself using in everyday life. I particularity found the statistics on teacher questioning to be insightful. Corey (1940) conducted a study which showed the teachers asking questions on average once every 72 seconds. While as teachers it is part of our job to ask questions, is this too many? Are children able to answer this many questions? Are we simply bombarding them? This is something that I will take into great consideration going forward with my studies.

The chapter goes into detail around the concept of implication leads. These are questions which are worded in such a way that they provide the respondent with the answer that is expected of them. Giving an opposing answer to the one expected will usually lead to the respondent being ridiculed. These sorts of questions are used a great deal within the media and politics.

Reference List

‘Finding out about others: the skill of questioning’, in Hargie, O. (2011) Skilled Interpersonal Communication: Research, Theory and Practice. 5^th ed. London: Routledge.