All 9 entries tagged Teaching

Journal Review – The Profession – Chartered College of Teaching – Georgina Newton

In its characteristic practical and accessible style, the Chartered College of Teaching has produced a handbag/backpack sized journal, capturing some of the very best evidence-based practical advice that any teacher (not just new ones) would benefit from reading.

Articles which draw attention to matters such as assessment, planning, subject knowledge, behaviour, inclusion and progress help to flesh out the best practice in each area of the Teachers' Standards without getting bogged down in too much detail. The three handy "take aways" at the end of each section are a very practical set of ideas for personal reflection.

Underpinning each of the articles is a respect for each teacher's individual ability and need for reflection. No two classes or lessons will ever be identical so the most applicable help for teachers is that which identifies common elements but allows individual practitioners the chance to amend, adapt and apply as necessary. This, in turn, addresses the need for teachers to develop both the feeling of and an actual sense of agency - to choose and design what and how they teach. This is essential for teacher humanity, pride and professionalism (Rycroft-Smith, 2017).

Starting this practice at the beginning of their careers may well bear fruit in terms of their longevity in it, too. Studies have shown that teacher agency along with praise, recognition and good staff/leadership relationships are important in addressing teacher attrition (Newton, 2016).

So, in starting with a publication for teachers at the outset of their careers it seems that the CCOT has found a "very good place to start".

The articles on making the most of mentoring and professional judgement, in my opinion, should be read by all school practitioners, in particular the definitions of "practitioner research" as a systematic process of reflection on our practice, trying out new ideas and evaluating the impact of what we do explains a pragmatic and clear approach to teacher CPD.

I can certainly point to times in my 21-year classroom career when school CPD took on this format and, for me, was inspirational and effective in refining my practice.

The important message which comes across through all the articles in this journal is "teaching is worth it and you are worth it". The links, examples, graphics and sequencing of the material all contribute to this message. It is clear that teaching is alive and well in this newly-formed self-supporting professional structure.

If you aren't yet a member of the CCOT it is highly recommended. NQT membership is free and will give you copies of The Profession, Impact (the termly journal covering essential matters), access to over 20,000 research papers and the national Early Career Teacher Conference in October. A package of enriching goodies too good to miss, which will help make your first years in teaching enjoyable, successful and sustainable.

References

Newton, G. (2016, November 15). Why do Teachers Leave and What Could Make Them Stay? Retrieved August 4, 2017, from BERA Blog: https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/why-do-teachers-quit-and-what-could-help-them-to-stay

Rycroft-Smith, L. D. (2017). Flip the System UK. Abingdon: Routledge.

Abigail Ball : 15 Oct 2018 09:06 |  Tags: Chartered College Review Teaching |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

What is your teaching philosophy? – Danielle

PDP Task 2 – What is your teaching philosophy? How has this originated and can you evaluate how your educational touchstones will impact on the teacher you aspire to be?

At the heart of my teaching philosophy is the belief that all children can achieve their goals, irrespective of their background, circumstance, or ability. When I was younger I used to have epilepsy; a condition which some of my teachers saw as a hindrance. At the end of my secondary education, these teachers remarked that I would not succeed in a science-related career. As a teacher, I never want a child to feel like they are unable to succeed in something which they are passionate about. In an attempt to ensure that this does not happen, I try to tailor my teaching to adapt to the needs of my pupils (TS5). For example, all of my PowerPoint presentations have been adapted for students with dyslexia by using a font which resembles handwriting, and a background which is coloured depending on the specific needs of the pupil. Both of these amendments were implemented as a means of making reading easier and learning more accessible. Furthermore, in order to help pupils who needed support with calculating surface area:volume ratio due to difficulties with visual-spatial reasoning, I made animals out of multi-link blocks (Taylor & Jones 2013). These animals removed the need for pupils to visualise 3D structures in their heads and provided examples which they could count by marking faces with a sharpie.

As part of my PhD, I regularly helped secondary school students to synthesise paracetamol and aspirin. These experiences taught me that I was highly passionate about teaching science to others. As part of this process, I worked closely with the outreach co-ordinator for the University of Warwick. When thinking about my educational touchstones, this teacher resonates closely with who I aspire to be. Whenever he taught, he always addressed students with such enthusiasm and provided them with a wealth of knowledge that left them feeling encouraged and motivated. Promoting a love of science and inspiring my students is definitely the type of teacher that I want to be. According to Hobbs, enthusiasm for what you are teaching is crucial for engaging and influencing your pupils (Hobbs 2012).

To achieve this goal, I have used activities which are engaging and varied (TS1) (Goodwin and Hubbell 2013). For instance, in a Year 8 lesson, instruction sheets and dice were used as a means of motivating pupils to learn about the carbon cycle. A similar strategy was used to teach a Year 9 class about the History of the Periodic Table. According to a formal lesson observation, such activities were successful in securing a high level of student engagement. Further to this, I set up and ran a Science Club within one of my placement schools, with the aim of cultivating an interest in science beyond that of the National Curriculum (TS3). As part of this club, students designed paper rockets and tested their flight stability and aerodynamic performance. By testing a range of different conformations, the students were able to identify that fins were needed to avoid the paper rockets spinning out of control. Pleasingly, as the Science Club progressed, more students were asking to join. This indicates that I managed to foster and maintain pupils’ interest in science (TS3).

References:

Hobbs, L., 2012. Examining the aesthetic dimensions of teaching: Relationships between teacher knowledge, identity and passion. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28(5), pp.718–727. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0742051X12000224.

Taylor, A.R. & Jones, M.G., 2013. Students’ and Teachers’ Application of Surface Area to Volume Relationships. Research in Science Education, 43(1), pp.395–411. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-011-9277-7.

Goodwin, B. & Hubbell, E.R., 2013. The 12 Touchstones of Good Teaching: A Checklist for Staying Focused Every Day, Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development. Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=lgpRBAAAQBAJ [Accessed on 06/05/18].

Abigail Ball : 08 Oct 2018 08:39 |  Tags: Philosophy Science Teaching |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

What can be learnt from a lesson observation? – Danielle

PDP Task 1 – What can be learnt from a lesson observation? How does this impact upon your strategies for behaviour management?

Lesson observations are a valuable tool for gaining insight into best practice, approaches to behaviour management, and self-reflection. Within both of my placements I have had the opportunity to observe a number of lessons from different teachers, across a variety of subjects. This experience has provided me with a toolkit of effective strategies that I have incorporated into my own classroom (TS7).

For practical subjects such as science, effective behaviour management is crucial to establishing a safe environment for pupils (TS1). One of the most useful approaches to achieving this goal is the sharing of classroom rules and reward criteria with the students. According to Muijs and co-workers, teachers who establish clear rules early on and provide explanations as to the importance of those rules, will find behaviour management easier (Muijs et al. 2014).

However, he stresses that these benefits will not be reaped without consistently and fairly using rewards and sanctions (ibid.) (TS7). To that end, I made a PowerPoint slide which outlined my behavioural expectations from the pupils and the reasoning behind them. As these rules were created in-line with the high standards that were required by the school, students regularly demonstrated positive attitudes, values, and behaviour (TS1). It is worth highlighting that my approach to behaviour management does not focus upon the negatives; rather, I aim to use positive praise and rewards, or strategies which prevent poor behaviour before it can occur (TS7).

When teaching some of my classes I noticed that the consistent and fair use of rewards and sanctions was not helping to combat low-level disruption. I therefore focused my lesson observations on alternative strategies that were being used to manage behaviour. One of the most effective approaches that was being employed by teachers related to their placement within the room. Teachers who walked around the room and reinforced expected behaviours during a task, found it easier to minimise low-level disruption; this is in-line with findings in a paper which has been published by Haydon et al. (Haydon & Kroeger 2016). Since realising the impact of this strategy and implementing it within my own practice, I have noticed a significant reduction in low-level disruption and I am able to manage my classes more effectively (TS7).

Lesson observations can also be valuable when you are the one who is being observed. For example, prior to a formal lesson observation, I had been having difficulty settling groups towards the end of the lesson; this made controlling the exit of students from the classroom difficult. As such, I was not promoting good and courteous behaviour inside or outside of the classroom (TS7). Therefore, in an effort to provide a calmer atmosphere towards the end of the lesson, I played a science-related song for my Year 7 class. This proved to be a successful strategy for behaviour management as all of the pupils were engaged, calm, and remained in their seats. In-line with feedback that I received, this approach was incorporated into subsequent lessons. After a routine had been established, I noticed that pupils had become more motivated to finish and tidy up their work, in anticipation for the song; this further highlights the effectiveness of this approach to behaviour management (TS7).

References:

Haydon, T. & Kroeger, S.D., 2016. Active Supervision, Precorrection, and Explicit Timing: A High School Case Study on Classroom Behavior. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 60(1), pp.70–78. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1045988X.2014.977213.

Muijs, D. et al., 2014. State of the art – teacher effectiveness and professional learning. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 25(2), pp.231–256. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2014.885451.

Abigail Ball : 24 Sep 2018 09:10 |  Tags: Lesson Obervation Teaching |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

The Wig of Knowledge – Alexandra

Please click on this link to access the poster.

Abigail Ball : 18 Sep 2018 09:13 |  Tags: Knowledge Teaching Wig |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

My Journey as a dyslexic trainee – Alex

I have just completed my PGCE, which I passed with a distinction, and I was also selected as one of the top ten trainees to have their work published. Please forgive me for celebrating this success, but this time last year I did not feel I would hit these highs, because I am dyslexic. I always thought that my dyslexia would hold me back as I have never over achieved, having had bad experiences in the past. However, this year has shown that I can overcome my dyslexia and be successful by getting the right strategy and putting in the effort. I wanted to reflect on and share some of these strategies with you.

The first strategy that I took was changing my mindset from being fixed to a growth mindset. Prior to starting the year, I always thought you were either intelligent or not, which is probably linked to my anxieties regarding dyslexia. However, since reading about mindsets, I have learnt that it’s about the effort you put in that will help you hit high grades - not intelligence. Therefore, I knew that if I was going achieve, I needed to put the effort in and plan my time, especially around weekends and holidays.

My next strategy was accepting help when it was available. The support that the University of Warwick, especially CTE, gave me was incredible. I always used the study rooms that are set aside for students that have a learning difficulty or disability to give me a quiet space in which to work. CTE also arranged for me to talk through my assignment plans, which helped me pin down my ideas. This was controversial in the eyes of other trainee’s; however, they didn’t realise that being dyslexic is not just about spelling, but also about processing. CTE could also have organised to have my work proof read, which was comforting to know, however I didn’t use this as I had family that could help. I only used this option once, but you can extend assignment deadlines if needed. Although, I say this with a health warning because if I had used it all the time, the work would be never ending and would have consumed me. However, if you plan your time well, this should not be the case.

My final strategy was how I managed the reading for assignments. For me this was the most difficult area as I am a slow reader. To help with this I made sure that, where possible, I picked topics that I found interesting to keep my attention and that would help my practice, focusing on relevant chapters to make the reading easier. To help decipher journal articles, I would read the introduction and conclusion first and then look for any key points in the body of the article. These are only a few of my top tips, however, I feel that these points helped me aim high and prosper in my PGCE year.

Abigail Ball : 03 Sep 2018 08:46 |  Tags: Dyslexia Teaching |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

How being research–informed has impacted on my practice – Georgina

The PGCE course involved assignments which required us to gain understanding, appreciation and knowledge of research in teaching. This exposed me to an area that I was not familiar with. Initially we were required to look into the original learning models and theories of Pavlov, Vygotsky, Bruner and various others. These theorists set the baseline for educational research, regardless of this, I found most of it hard to read but the underlying message was common sense. Consequently, I felt I gained very little and these theorists gave me no inspiration into becoming research informed.

However, during my research into my PG1B essay I discovered that there was an extensive amount of academic research on education outside the original theorists. The research I read was extremely interesting, educational and demonstrated that the issues I observe in my current setting are issues nationally. With a foundation of a STEM career before retraining to become a teacher, the topic of girls not following into STEM post GCSE, regardless of high attainment at GCSE level was fascinating. Through the research I discovered that stereotyping, lack of female role models (evidence: Role model form filled in for Southam), lower self-efficacy and girls being more rounded educationally was still an issue. With more and more equality in the UK, why is this still an issue? The research book by Smith (2014) into gender participation in Mathematics covered the main reasons girls do not go further in STEM and therefore laid the foundation for my further research to support this work (Smith, 2014). He identified that girls preferred to understand ‘why’ in mathematics which leads to needing to adapt teaching to respond to the needs of pupils (TS5).

On my research for PG2, the focus was on behaviour management in schools. This was highly relevant to my training today when dealing with certain pupils, especially the low-attaining pupils. Payne found that there was a high level of discrepancy between the perspectives of pupils to teachers within a classroom (Payne, 2015). He concluded that pupils react better to positive encouragement and in particular positive feedback to parents (TS8: communicate effectively with parents). Consequently I have implemented a positive reward process (Evidence: HAPS rewards) in my low attaining group and also called home to positively praise (Evidence: call home) or show concern attaching a positive spin.

Being research-informed has enabled me to get an increased level of understanding of issues in education outside my current setting, it has enabled me to ensure I am a good female role model and practice positive behaviour management. After the initial struggle I had with the early theorists, I have found the more current research more accessible and useful. I will continue to refer to academic literature through my teaching career to find ways and understanding into my practice as a teacher. On the other hand, I did identify that all the research is based on very small subsets and will strive to look for research which is more at a national level.

Evidence:

• Role model form I filled in for Southam.
  
• Haps status demonstrating the positive structure in place.
  
• Call home email.

References

Payne, R., 2015. Using rewards and sanctions in the classroom: pipils' perceptions of their own responses to current behaviour management strategies.. Educational Review, 67(4), pp. 483-504.

Smith, c., 2014. Geneder and participation in mathematics and further A-Level: a literature review for the further Mathemeatics Support Proggramme. London: Insitute of Education.

Abigail Ball : 28 Aug 2018 09:28 |  Tags: Practice Research Stem Teaching |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

What is your teaching philosophy? – Thomas

What is your teaching philosophy? How has this originated and can you evaluate how your educational touchstones will impact on the teacher you aspire to be?

In teaching physics, I believe the skills that can be gained through the study of physics (mathematical, problem solving, thinking) should be emphasised whilst also entertaining students' curiosity and guiding it in the right direction.

Physics has the ambition of explaining nature through simple models. Whilst this task is not yet complete, the understanding of current models can, and should, be made accessible to all students such that they can begin to develop a scientific way of thinking as well as an appreciation for the task that science is striving to achieve.

At college, studying physics particularly, I started to develop strong ideas about what education should be. My teacher afforded me the autonomy to do my own learning in class. My teacher also recognised how often I would spend time helping fellow students in class and hence gave me more freedom to take an active part in lessons, even going as far as getting me to teach some parts. The main 'philosophy' that I want to bring forward from that experience was to allow students some level of autonomy and to take responsibility for their own learning. Having autonomy, along with fostering a natural amount of inquisitiveness is what Claxton notes as being the hallmarks of a successful learner (Claxton, 2008). I have tried to build autonomy and engagement into topics that are typically considered ‘boring’, by providing just a simple framework for students to work and explore within. In the topic of rocks with year 8, the lessons focussed around demonstrations of the rock cycle and allowed the students to explore the process practically and use the framework of the sheet to express their own scientific ideas. This worked incredibly well and created a lot of excitement in an often dry topic.

The classroom environment should be a space in which students feel safe to ask questions and satisfy their own curiosity. For me, creating an atmosphere of scientific curiosity is of the utmost importance, but the concept needs a concrete definition. Jirout and Klahr (2012) suggest scientific curiosity should be defined as "the threshold of desired uncertainty in the environment that leads to exploratory behaviour” (Jirout and Klahr, 2012, p.125).

I believe that education works best when the students have some control of the direction of their learning, to be allowed to satisfy their curiosity. Within lessons, I’ve adopted the use of a Question box to allow students to ask me questions about the topics they are studying (as well as other topics entirely), so that educational tangents can be discussed without distracting from the lesson. I’ve also furthered students curiosity through a science club demonstration of the physics of hovercrafts to further their love of learning, which the students all enjoyed immensely and allowed me to write a piece in the school newsletter. Furthermore, I've been lucky enough to be involved with scientific outreach, demonstrating the chemistry of scents to 3 groups of year 6 students at a local primary school - using Lego models and practicals to inspire students about chemistry.

REFERENCES

Claxton, G. (2008). What's the Point of School?: Rediscovering The Heart of Education. London: Oneworld Publications.

Jirout, J. and Klahr D. (2012). Children's scientific curiosity: In search of an operational definition of an elusive concept. Developmental Review, 32(2), pp. 125-160.

Abigail Ball : 21 Jun 2018 12:56 |  Tags: Philosophy Teaching |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

My teaching and supervisory journey – Jen Rowan–Lancaster

Jen Rowan-Lancaster Teaching Fellow and MA Supervisor in CTE

My career in education began as a Teaching Assistant (TA) in a primary school setting. As a ‘fresh-out-of-uni’ graduate I was unsure about a future career but I knew above all else I had a love of learning. Stepping into a primary classroom for the first time was a huge learning curve and from day one I was hooked.

The primary classroom was extremely busy and standards and expectations were high. I was however fortunate to work with an outstanding teacher who was also the SENCO. Watching her teach and model learning was an invaluable experience, it provided the opportunity to emulate best-practice and to gain confidence before developing my own ‘teaching-persona’.

After a couple of years as a TA I intended to make the leap onto a PGCE, however working with the SENCO had inspired an interest in safeguarding so I spent the next few years working as an unqualified social worker supporting children, young people and their families. Through multiple roles I worked in a secondary school setting and for a branch of social care. These roles meant that I learned first-hand of our childrens' complex family backgrounds. I supported families with drug and alcohol dependency, truancy issues, mental health diagnoses, families in witness protection and more. Later when I qualified as a teacher, I often thought of these families and strived to remember that some children had been extremely successful just to be present in school that day.

As a teacher I knew that I was responsible for teaching and learning in my classroom, but I was also responsible for supporting children to understand how to become successful learners. To develop children’s self-efficacy, self-regulation and critical thinking (Tarricone, 2011) my previous school worked on a number of metacognition strategies (Flavell, 1976). My focus as a teacher then moved from seeing a child as an ‘empty vessel to be filled’ (Freire, 1970) to engaging children as critical thinkers in their own learning. Through working on Growth Mindset strategies (Dweck, 2012) whereby children work on a ‘can-do’ attitude that focusses on effort rather than a ‘fixed-ability’, children in my class became more engaged with their learning and more resilient. Through working in this way I also developed my own Growth Mindset (Dweck, 2012) and decided to enrol on a Masters course (MA). Combining my love of learning with trying to remove the little voice in my head that said ‘only clever people do MAs’, I focussed on effort. I read as much as I could, linked my MA topic with practice in school so that it was familiar to me and focussed on resilience rather than self-doubt.

After passing the MA I have now moved onto an Education Doctorate (EdD) which again is another process that requires a bucket-load of resilience and determination. I have also changed roles and am now a Teacher Educator and MA supervisor. Being an MA supervisor is a wonderful opportunity to support students on their MA journey. MA students at CTE are teacher-researchers at the ‘coal-face’, they live and breathe their research areas which is what makes them interesting and relevant. They have to work extremely hard balancing their teaching practice, studies and personal/social life however they develop excellent skills through this process. MA students regularly tell us that their research has positively informed their teaching practice and has often been used to supplement or overhaul whole-school processes. From a supervisory perspective it is fascinating to learn about different theoretical models, epistemic perspectives and current school practice.

If you would like to learn more about our MA programmes at CTE please follow the link below: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/cte/professionaldevelopment/cpema/

Abigail Ball : 21 May 2018 08:40 |  Tags: Ma Supervision Teaching |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

My teaching journey – Guy

My first experience of teaching was in a rural secondary school with a broad brief to cover anything to do with citizenship. I didn’t wear a suit; I wore a police uniform complete with body armour and an Airwaves radio murmuring in my ear. I was a PCSO with Warwickshire Police and my brief was to keep the school safe in the belief that happy students make good students. It was a satisfying job and as long as I kept my crime figures low I had complete discretion as to how I developed my role.

I checked in with the learning support unit every day. This was the special room for the challenging students who disrupted lessons but also needed extra help with reading and writing, and patience when they grew frustrated or anxious. Mainstream lessons didn’t suit them and existing in a parallel educational world also set them apart outside of school too. When I patrolled the streets, my colleagues and I would spend our time dispersing the usual suspects of current and ex-students who would inevitably drift together. The younger group idolised the older rebels who broke the rules with abandon, and the older group enjoyed naïve, uncritical attention when their natural peer group had left them behind for jobs and college.

I took a redundancy package when the public cuts began to bite and retrained on the PGCE course. I wanted to help the children who were on the margins, socially isolated and unable to sustain jobs and relationships. I wanted to help children in primary before they became jaded teenagers and left school functionally illiterate and destined for low skill jobs or even worse prison. I enjoyed teaching and having my own class to teach and nurture. I was frustrated by the strait-jacket of aspirational targets in an academy under pressure from Ofsted to improve.

I left the classroom for social work, working with care leavers who have years of disrupted education behind them. As a cohort they have poor educational outcomes, limited social skills, low aspirations and lower motivation, as well as significant mental health challenges. The National Audit Office Report (2015) shows that while nearly a third of all 19-year-olds studied in higher education this compared to only 6% of care leavers. Almost 60% of children who have spent 12 months in care have special educational needs and emotional health challenges compared to 15% in the general population (DofE 2015). Only 14% of looked after children achieved five good GCSEs in 2015 compared to 53% of children not in care (DofE 2014 and 2015).

My Masters is focused on the experiences of looked after children as they bounce through the care system and despite the best of intentions graduate with the poorest of educations. I will sift through their case notes and study years of analysis and planning, then create a narrative that exposes the strengths and weaknesses of their education pathway. Using an ethnographic methodology I hope to find the crisis points where decisions are made that either propel or derail their education so we can improve our planning and support. My goals haven’t changed, I still want to overcome barriers for children and young people in education, but who says I have to be in school?

Abigail Ball : 08 May 2018 10:04 |  Tags: Journey Teaching |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem