I compared my notes with my partner after we watched the video and found that they were very similar. One area of improvement which we both noticed, was that at times it was difficult for him to get the pupils attention, this could be improved by better posture and more eye-contact. We can both see how useful it is to observe others whilst teaching as we can then see what works and what doesn’t in a classroom environment.
I was surprised that the teacher wasn’t standing when talking to the class as that could have caused the problems he had with the children paying attention as he gave off a very relaxed vibe. My partner also noticed this and we discussed how this would be improved through better body language.
I did not find this task hard as it allowed me to observe the way a certain teacher teaches and take out both the positive and negatives of it for when I am teaching.
I understand the difference between judgement and feedback as judgement tends to be more critical and doesn’t really help in improving possible mistakes made, whilst feedback is crucial in developing our skills and reflecting on them. Feedback is usually mainly positives with areas for improvement.
If I could only take one idea from these tasks it would be that I would be very open to feedback and understand that it’s a way for me to improve my teaching skills.
I am really looking forward to placement as I think it will be really beneficial in seeing how the things we have done at university so far are coming into practice but also to see the different ways teachers approach teaching the children.
Good work Julia – I’m glad this is useful for you pre-placement. One question for you – you mention feedback is mainly positives, with areas for improvement. Does it always need to be in positive terms? What happens if something is missing, or has been misunderstood and you need to give feedback? How might you give feedback in this circumstance?