After watching the video of the Year 3 teacher I joined up with a partner to discuss and share our observations.  Both our observations were very similar and closely aligned.  We both noted that he changes the volume and tone of his voice when sitting closely with the children and that he tried to make the classroom fun to enter by saying, “OK, ladies and jelly beans sit down now.”  This starts the class off with a happy, positive attitude.  We also agreed that his areas of improvement would be that he needs to be more specific in his feedback towards the children.  Although he says ‘fantastic’, ‘smashing’ and ‘well done,’ he does not elaborate on it.  The children would benefit more if he said ‘fantastic maths work, I can tell you really understood that question.’  He also raised his voice quite a lot when speaking to Michael, I think it would of been more beneficial if he took Michael to the side and explained his behaviour wasn’t acceptable and between the two of them maybe they could of worked out why Michael was mis-behaving and ways to help ensure he would get on with his work.

I found this task relatively easy, I enjoy observing others as you can take away ideas from their practice and adapt them for your own use.  I also enjoy giving positive feedback to people as I feel it can boost your confidence levels especially when you are having a hard day.

The difference between feedback and judgement is feedback is constructive and helps you build on your skills and personality to become a better learner and teacher.

One idea I would like to hang onto from the video is being able to successfully grasp the classes attention and being able to use different techniques to keep them engaged and focused on their learning.

I am feeling nervous but also excited about placement.  I can’t wait to be out and experiencing the different stages of learning and being able to relate what I have earned so far at university to how this is applied in a lesson.

Group and leadership

Within our group, there was a range of different personalities and this showed quite early on in the task.  I felt as though I took control quite quickly, which is something I do often in practical tasks.  I don’t feel as though I was chosen to lead, I just presented my idea to the group and everyone seemed to think it would work, so we carried out my idea.  Once my idea of constructing the roof was carried out everyone then started to get more ideas and gather resources that would help us build a sufficient den.  I personally don’t think anyone felt excluded within the group, everyone worked well together and suggested different ideas or ways to make it better.  Some ideas did not work but we still managed to successfully complete the task.  Most challenging for me is remembering that I cannot do everything on my own but to ensure I take a step back and let others take control.

Explaining

I thought the group explained their den very well.  They relayed all their ideas and what led them to creating their den the way they did. You could tell everyone was happy within their team and they enjoyed the task.  Everyone successfully presented all stages of the 5P’s very clearly and precisely.

Environment

We were lucky that the day we went out had been dry and it only started to rain as we were packing up which was a bonus, as I think trying to complete that task in the wind and rain would have dampened everyone’s mood slightly.  We also had to ensure we raised our voices a little when speaking to ensure everyone could hear us, just due to the wind blowing.  We had to make sure we used eye contact and body language to show where and what we were talking about.  I didn’t feel distracted when I was listening although I can understand how people could be.  To help overcome this I would ensure I was being engaging with everyone and raising my voice to ensure I was heard and keeping what I was talking about interesting for everyone.

Negotiation

Our negotiations were not successful, but I believe we had the hardest task of trying to get another person from another team to join us.  By the time we were asked to poach another member of a team everyone had built bonds and were pleased with their creation, so were staying loyal to their team. Something that should be encouraged.