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.