teaching – UWS BA ePDPs

Situated Communication Study Task – Feedback

Continue reading “Situated Communication Study Task – Feedback”

After watching the video with my partner Julia, we compared our notes which were closely aligned. We observed that the teacher spoke at a suitable volume and pace while using language appropriate to the age and stage of children in the group. We recorded areas of improvement, he struggled to get the class’ attention and lacked positive body language; this could be improved by standing up demonstrating more authority over the class. The teacher therefore has areas of improvement in the non-verbal communication category although he did maintain eye contact with pupils. We both realised how important it is to reflect on personal and peers teaching practice as you can improve from watching back on yourself.

I was surprised that in the video the teacher did not stand up, I felt this gave the class a more relaxed feel and this is possibly why he struggled to gain the children’s attention. My partner had the same notes about the body language of the teacher due to the lack of standing up therefore there was a lack of engagement with the class.

I did not find this study task difficult; I found the task very useful and interesting as the video was a practice to observe a fellow teacher in a classroom environment. I will take this experience of observation forward to placement which will assist personal reflection and peer observation.

I am clear about the difference between feedback and judgement. Feedback is the foundation of improving teaching skills and is more positive than negative. It consists of improvements and suggestions you can take on board to enhance your teaching. Judgement in my opinion is more critical and negative which can lead to the person receiving it having low self-esteem and possibly decreasing their confidence.

The suggestion that I would take from this task to my forthcoming placement would be to ensure that I take feedback constructively to progress my teaching practice and improve my skills.

I am looking forward to placement as I enjoy being in a classroom environment. I have had many positive experiences in schools which I have helped in and all the teachers are very appreciative of assistance. I am looking forward to observing a variety of various aspects of teaching and observing lessons in a wide range of classes.

Reference List:

TED Talks Education (2013) BILL GATES: Teachers need real feedback[Online] Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_teachers_need_real_feedback#t-70065

Behaviour2Learn (2011) Behaving With Cowley – Classroom Routines[Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v5UVdyu8Y4&feature=youtu.be

EDCHAT (2013) Relationships for Learning – Effective Feedback [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWBW_cbP86Q&feature=youtu.be

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Reflections on placement

During my week at placement I had a really good time and it opened me up to a wide range of new ideas which are being used in the classroom today. The teacher who I was with was a lovely woman who helped me at every moment she could. She made me feel very welcome within her class and got me engaging in activities with the children at every possible opportunity. When in the classroom, the children were engaged in lots of different practical activities in all subject areas. The most practical lessons were in literacy as the children were learning new sounds and instead of sitting around a table and writing, the children were busy doing practical activities such as working with play-dough, using an iPad to engage in the Jolly Phonics apps (allows the children to work at their own pace while it still being seen as fun), and one of the groups of children got to work at the smart board and play games on Education City.

Overall, I feel my placement was very successful. I learned a lot of new things and got to experience lots of different kinds of lessons and work practically which children which I couldn’t do while sitting in a lecture or workshop at university. I now look forward to going into second year so that I can gain more experience in classrooms, get the opportunity of taking a class on my own and planning lessons arounds the needs of that class.

Strength

Throughout my time on placement, I feel my area of strength was getting involved with the children and really getting down onto their level. I got the chance to work in small groups of children in different curricular areas such as numeracy and literacy. During a maths lesson, I took a small group of children who were working on the number four. As this was the first time of them being introduced to it we worked on activities (such as, number formation on whiteboards and physically counting objects to familiarise them with how many four is). This is to get the children familiar with the number by doing practical activities. These practical activities, I found, were very useful for the children as they were learning in a fun context. This also proves not as challenging to children who are still unable to hold a pencil properly and it still gives them the experience of learning and exposing all the children to the new concept. Through observing these practical activities, I feel like I have gained useful and relevant experiences which I can take on and apply to my next teaching practices.

Area of most progress

At the beginning of placement I feel as if I wasn’t very confident when being asked to lead/take a large group of children. However, during this placement, I had the opportunity to go on a class trip to the local Tesco for a ‘Farm to Fork, visit. This trip was very informative to both myself and the children as it was encouraging he children to try new healthy foods which they may not have had the opportunity to try before (and I got to try a few snacks too). The visit also allowed the children to see where food is made and where it comes from. We went into the bakery and watched them making pancakes (and the children even got to take one home with them). We also walked around the back of the store to see where the food was stored and kept in the fridges and freezers. During this visit, the teacher had to split the class into two groups as the class was too large to take around the store in one go. The teacher asked if I would feel comfortable with taking a group around (with the help of a parent helper) as I had got to know the children earlier on in the week and she trusted me with making sure they would behave and set a good example for the school.

Area Requiring Progress

The area I feel still requiring progress after this placement is my ability to speak up more when talking to staff. In the staffroom I talked a little bit however I feel I could have spoken more and engaged in more conversation to make me look more interested in what was going on. Sometimes when I sat in the staffroom I would keep to myself with my arms folded instead of opening up my body and look as if I wanted to talk. I was very nervous when I was in the staffroom as I had never sat in a staffroom as a student teacher before and it was full of people whom I had never met before and they had never met me.

Action Plan

I am going to build up my confidence in unfamiliar situations with adults by putting myself into situations which I do not feel comfortable in and make an effort with them. By doing this, I feel I will be more confident to speak up and engage in conversation with other staff members. This should make me look more open and confident when in an unfamiliar environment and seem more open to talking to other staff members.

Reflections on Placement

Placement was a very worthwhile experience for myself. It was great to see how another school worked, how it was ran and the moral of the teachers in the school. I felt as though one week was far too short. When I first saw all the placement tasks that we had to complete I really […]

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Placement was a very worthwhile experience for myself. It was great to see how another school worked, how it was ran and the moral of the teachers in the school.

I felt as though one week was far too short. When I first saw all the placement tasks that we had to complete I really did panic and wonder how I was going to get them finished on time and give them all as much attention as the next. I felt as though, especially task 5, was a huge challenge. It was only on Thursday I felt I had enough information to start observing certain children’s language differences – strengths and weaknesses – which then didn’t really give me loads of time to really observe them properly and understand why they may have these differences.

The overall experience of the school was great. I felt comfortable and appreciated which really boosted my confidence and allowed me find out information I wanted to know by asking questions and not feel silly about anything I said as I was there to learn. The school was very supportive of me, giving me loads of opportunities to develop my skills within the classroom and school setting.

Strength

I feel my main strength would be my presence in the classroom and how to engage and interact with the children. A couple of years ago I started a 12 week block placement with college and felt as though my first impression in front of the children was not the strongest. I ended up being more of a friend than a teacher because I wanted the children to like me which I feel is normal although this was changed when I worked in an after school care. I learned the I had to develop a ‘teacher-aura’ rather than a friendly relationship and I feel this really showed throughout my week in placement.

The evidence I have to support this would be through my verbal and non-verbal communication. I spoke confidently to the children and groups of children and constantly reflected on volume, pitch, tone and speed. The children would listen to my instructions and follow them giving me a good demonstration of how effective my communication skills were throughout the week.

Area of Most Progress

The area I progressed in the most, I would say was learning to change the way I speak to benefit my audience. I was with Primary 1 and learned that slower, clearer instructions were needed to enhance the children’s learning. I also found that enthusiasm was the key to keeping the children engaged and on task.

I also used this when talking to other members of staff around the school. I got a great understanding of the conversations that go on between teachers and how they help each other out, its not just everyone for themselves which was positive and reassuring to see.

Area Requiring Progress

From peer and self observation I would say the area that requires progress would be allowing children more of a chance to answer/writing/speak before offering help or support. I noticed that the combination of becoming mildly impatient when someone doesn’t know an answer and wanting to help everyone isn’t great. I felt I was too quick to do things for them without letting the children use their own initiative.

Action Plan

My action plan is to take a step back and allow children to be more independent, especially the young children. That is the one of the ways that children learn the difference between right and wrong. I feel like I need to work on my patience and self control, encouraging children when answering instead of answering for them.