Category Archives: 3.2 Classroom Organisation & Management

That was excellent, but this could be worked on…

1 Reply

Peer review is something I never felt very confident in. I often felt like I wasn’t of the authority to suggest ways of improvement on other’s work, or I didn’t want to offend someone. Giving positive feedback was easy, especially when it is in comparison to another piece of work and you can see improvements. When I had been given feedback from peers (having only ever really experienced it from school) I often felt their feedback wasn’t going to help me improve or keep up my strengths. Before I commented on some of my peer’s posts, I was apprehensive. I still kept the reservations of peer review I had from my time at school. So I gave it a go and here are my thoughts.

Firstly, receiving feedback. In all honesty, the feedback given to may made me feel uplifted and filled me with some confidence. It was nice to see that I had inspired others to think of the topic in a different way or add to their understanding. I feel receiving feedback on this occasion was a positive experience. It helped me to realise that I had an understanding what I had read and, it was illustrated in my writing – I hadn’t just written a load of nonsense as I originally thought. Even the suggestions for improvements didn’t make me less confident. After rereading what I had written with consideration of suggestions, I was able to identify what I could change for future posts. The suggestions were relevant to the piece of work and I wasn’t left wondering what they meant – they had made their suggestions clear. The feedback given didn’t put me down and I’m glad my peers suggested improvements as this will help me in all my future writing. The strengths they provided for me were well detailed and this has allowed me to realise that some skills I didn’t think were that well developed, actually are.

Furthermore, giving feedback. As I stated before I have never felt of the authority to suggest improvements for someone who is at the same level or levels above me. This was my worry when I started giving feedback. I carefully read the posts and found areas of strength within them. I explained their strengths and gave some examples of parts that stood out to me. When it came to suggesting improvements it became harder. Everyone’s post that I reviewed had covered the criteria set out. So I had to reread a few times before I found some things that would help improve the post. I tried so carefully not to sound patronising with my suggestions as I really didn’t want to offend anyone – looking back now I tried a little too hard with the wording and I probably didn’t sound patronising in the first place. The more people’s posts I read and the more comments I left, I felt more confident in giving feedback. I think giving feedback turned into a positive experience and it allowed me to analyse work rather than just read it. I also liked how I was able to see what other people’s understanding of the topic was and could compare to my own understanding.

For the future, giving and receiving feedback has helped me to identify that no piece of work is perfect and improvements can be continued to be made. I also feel for me that it has highlighted the importance of having someone else look over your work as a fresh pair of eyes may be able to find errors or help to make things sound better. I also feel that it has shown me that receiving feedback will help fix things in order to improve your next piece of work. I think that feedback from peers is as beneficial as feedback from teachers, tutors, lecturers, etc. because they are both equally helpful – as long as they are truthful and relevant.

I think when I am teaching I will use peer review. I think it provides an opportunity to read other’s work and can show people a different way of doing things. I think it is important to undertake peer review in a classroom as some pupils may be able to relate more to the feedback given by their peers. As a teacher, this has helped shown me how important it is to give detailed feedback, rather just writing “Good work!” and drawing a smiley face. Providing detailed feedback will help with the pupil’s development and will be able to help them improve their work and learning. One thing that I will remember is to keep the feedback relevant to the task I have given the pupils. I want them to feel confident and uplifted; I don’t want them to feel like they are being put down.

Overall, my opinion of peer review has changed and I no longer feel apprehensive about giving it. I think that as a teacher feedback is extremely important so that the pupils know where to improve for next time and to know that feedback doesn’t have to be a negative thing.

 

Virtue of Teaching Videos

Leave a reply

Q1. What makes a teacher who makes a difference?

From watching the video I have been able to draw some conclusions about the aspects of teachers that make a difference. A teacher who makes a difference should be avidly involved in team work and should be willing to share information with others – the video mentioned a new curriculum one teacher discovered and she decided it was a great idea to share this with others, because of this they were able to upgrade their teaching degrees through workshops to include this new curriculum. To make a difference, a teacher should also be understanding of others; caring; approachable to their pupils, parents and fellow colleagues and they should be seen to “go the extra mile” in everything they do. In addition to this, a teacher who makes a difference should be willing to learn all the time and not just stop learning when they have obtained their degree. This links in with being aware of what is happening, so keeping up to date with methods of teaching and resources used for learning – which could include technological advances; I think these all show commitment and love of the work they undertake. Finally, a teacher who makes a difference should be dedicated, should discipline at the correct moments, they should be willing to make some sacrifices for the benefit of their pupils and they should definitely go home at the end of every day with a sense of satisfaction knowing that they have done the best they possibly could have for their pupils and that their pupils have increased their knowledge because of the work they have done..

I found this article, which shows what the pupils have to say about this:

Students view of what makes a perfect teacher.

 

Q2. Do you agree with what these teachers call professionalism?

I do agree with what these teachers call professionalism. The teachers talked about how teachers are becoming more accountable for their actions like other professions, for example a doctor. A doctor is accountable for their actions when treating patients and this is the same for teachers – they are accountable for their actions when educating and beyond. They also described how teachers are seen as role models and should have an appropriate attitude. They also said that a professional should be mindful of how they react to the way others speak to them, therefore not judging someone just because of their background. A professional should be an effective communicator and be able to communicate efficiently with all people of all ages. One teacher said in order for teachers to be professional they should keep up with their professional development by increasing their teaching and learning standards and they should be able to cater for the needs of their students in the class very, very well.

I do agree with what the teachers say about professionalism and it is evident that being a teacher is being part of a profession. A profession isn’t determined by the clothes you wear but by your attitude and attributes towards that profession.

 

Q3. What is the message here?

The message I receive from Chris Christie is that teachers are a very highly valued part of society. They go above and beyond for every student and show care and compassion. Chris also said that teachers should be paid what they deserve to be paid and more, however, I think most teachers are in this profession for many other things other than the pay they receive – satisfaction of seeing a pupil understand their work, watching the pupils grow and develop through time, knowing that you have given your students the time, the care, the support, the understanding to help them with their future. Teaching is about the things that don’t cost money!

The message I receive from Karen Lewis is that if you are the type of teacher whose work is only in the school and in the classroom then you are not a professional. A worker is someone who will clock in at the start of their shift and clock out at the end of their shift – they leave their work at work. From what Karen said, I believe that if you are a worker then you are not a professional. A professional doesn’t stop their work once they have clocked out. In order to be considered a professional as a teacher, you should spend time out with school hours planning lessons, researching for topics, marking work, trying to make sure that every pupil is benefiting from the lesson and ensuring that your lesson is fun – making sure every student wants to participate and no one is bored. There is more to teaching than educating in a classroom – it is educating in a classroom and everything else that is done to ensure that it goes smoothly that makes you a professional!