http://www.playbackschools.org.uk/programme/2262/uncut-lesson-1-james-evelyn

What are the most effective aspects of teaching which emerge for you?

• Actively using numbers as opposed to writing down
• Asking the children what they already know
• Peer assessing each other’s work
• Effective use of technology
• Lesson linked to children personally
• Included all children
• Recapping on what had been learned previously
• Effective use of visual tools
• Cross-Curricular learning – maths and Spanish
• Teacher took on the children’s ideas
• Worked individually, in groups, in pairs and as a whole class
• Final activity to consolidate what had been learned

What are the least effective?

• Potential for some children not to be following the lesson
• Some children may just be copying each other

What are the factors contributing to success or problems?

• Temperamentality of technology
• Children’s ability to work independently
• Children’s ability to work unsupervised (ie. without the teacher sitting with them)
• Respect for each other
• Individual personalities
• Engagement with the lesson
• Level of interest in the lesson
• Willingness to cooperate with the lesson

How could you use some of the success factors?

I think that the teacher here used a very effective method to start the lesson. I think that to use the numbers where children had to actively be the numbers worked really well, I imagine that this is a recap of something that they had learned before, which I think would be an effective way of keeping up with past learning. I also thought it was good to have the other children to peer assess what they were doing and correct each other’s mistakes, I think they will have remembered their mistakes and not made them again. I think that when I am teaching, I am going to try to use this idea and use starter activities to help to focus on learning and to remember previously learned knowledge.

I also think it was a really good idea to link the children to the lesson, to make the data for the lesson the children themselves and their characteristics made them feel more involved. To use all of the children meant that they all felt included in the lesson, which would mean that they pay more attention and learn more. When I am teaching, I think it could be an effective method to include all the children and to use them as the subjects of the lesson.

I think that the way that the teacher has included Spanish in the maths lesson is a really good idea. I think that to include another subject in a lesson is what the Curriculum for Excellence is all about, so when I am teaching, I will have to try to do this. However, I can see how effective this is in the video and will be very active in my attempts to do this as a teacher.

I also think that it was effective to use different groups. I think that using groups, pairs and working as a whole class allowed children to learn from each other as well as the teacher allowed them an opportunity to consolidate their knowledge, and helped to improve confidence, which I think is very important. When I am teaching, I am going to remember this, as I think to do this is very important and it can also improve social skills, which is a valuable skill to have in children.