Skip to main content

Dr John Ofsted…..

IMG_2468

It’s been a little while since I posted about a teaching idea.  Although some would argue that’s due to not teaching much anymore, many wonder and stress what Ofsted are looking for when they pop in and talk about pupils making ‘progress.’

Often, teachers pay lip service to AfL, racing to get through the lesson plan rather than adjusting the activities in response to the needs of students.  For example, during a Year 10 lesson last week on coastal erosion, it struck me that the class hadn’t grasped the concept of different types of erosion.  They were also starting to flag at the end of a two hour lesson (and remember that this is a two hour lesson with me – not many people can put up with me for that long!)  This would have a significant negative impact on their progress, so I made an intervention.

Nothing new or too spangly, just used John Davitt’s Learning Event Generator and chose four outcomes at random.  One of them was a Dear John letter which most of the class took up.  There is a selection below from my class as well as those from my colleagues, GeoDebs

What struck me was the measurable increase in understanding and confidence of the class, and allowing them to collaborate on the task also injected some pace into the lesson.

I wonder what Gove would write to GCSEs……..

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What makes a learning experience profound? Personal reflections and possible implications for classroom practice.

I have recently begun a Leadership Pathways journey.  As part of the first core day, we were asked to reflect on a profound learning experience. This got me thinking about how many profound learning experiences I have both been involved in, and how many I have been able to give to others.  Our group came up with a huge long list, but these are my five. Emotional Connected Demanding Reflective Collaborative As always, these are personal thoughts and quite mixed up.  I put them here so that I can look back on them (plus they’d get lost inside my world-cup-free brain) 1. Emotional I can’t think of a time where deep learning hasn’t engaged my emotions.  From being awe inspired to that tingle feeling when a student gets a light bulb moment.  From this-is-the-happiest-day-ever, to I-think-I’m-about-to die.  How often do we engage the emotions of those we teach?  Here, I would argue that having a safe learning environment is not always conducive to profound

The danger of Teaching and Twitter conversations: poorly formed bipolar arguments.

Sometimes in life, there really are only two options.  Get the wrong one and you can look like a muppet.  Take this useful sign for the toilets in Morocco.  I successfully navigated it, choosing the right option.  The result? No egg on my face.  As a mountain leader, there are many right or wrong decisions that I’ve faced, as there are all over life.  It’s not a good idea to let inexperienced young people walk themselves down Snowdon.  They may die or be seriously injured.  If someone is showing the signs and symptoms of hyperthermia, you need to treat it fast in a specified way.  There is no real arguing with this sign: Other options are less obvious.  Take this sign recently spotted near to where I live: Now, I wouldn’t consider sleeping in a bin.  However, faced with a sub-zero night, I could see the appeal.  The danger? Being tipped into one of those huge lorries with a compactor. (by the way, I only really considered all of this thanks to questions from my four year old boy).

Banned Word Board

Today I want to share some simple ideas that I have found to be very effective in the classroom. I can't say that they are my own original ideas, although I have played around with them. The first is the Banned word Board. This is a simple display in the classroom that lists a number of words that are not allowed to be used by pupils in their written or oral answers. The effect has been an increase in the quality of written work, and I have almost made comments such as 'Sir it's simple, the stuff just affects the thing and causes people problems'. Pupils are now more able to use specific language, something that is vital especially at GCSE. I have had to make a few modifications, such as the introduction of 'Heavenly Words' This is an additional display placed on the ceiling. I found this necessary as pupils needed some stimulus in finding replacement words. After advice received after posting the idea on the SLN forum , I have also introduced semi-banned words