Using a reflective framework to reflect on and improve my practice – Jade

“Reflective practice is the ability to reflect on one's actions so as to engage in a process of continuous learning” (Schon, 1983). Schon’s (1983) reflective model framework distinguishes between “reflection in action” and “reflection on action”.

Reflection in action refers to practising critically, so in essence, reflection during lessons. For me, this involves considering a host of different aspects during a lesson;

• How are students reacting to tasks/ activities?
  
• Are timings appropriate and do I need to shorten or lengthen an exercise in line with student engagement?
  
• Do I need to support any individual students or clarify anything to the class as a whole, as they progress?
  
• How do I know all students are engaged?
  
• Do students need a break from listening to me / others talk (e.g. an energiser activity)?
  
• How can I ensure that all students are progressing in their learning?
  
• What I am going to do next and is it appropriate, given the students’ engagement so far?
  
• What is the key take-away that I need to emphasise – have these changed from the lesson plan given any misconceptions in class?

Reflection on action is the reflection that occurs after lessons. Again, for me, this includes reflection against a variety of aspects and compares the actual lesson against the initial lesson plan; including:

• What went well?
  
• How did particular students handle the lesson?
  
• Could I have done anything differently and what?
  
• How do I feel after the lesson?
  
• Do I need to find additional resources or research a particular example to follow up on any questions raised in class?
  
• How will this lesson impact the next lesson with this class; is it too soon to move onto the next topic?
  
• How does this feed into modifying this lesson plan for next time I teach this topic or a similar lesson?

I have been fortunate, in that my mentor is required, for safeguarding purposes, to be present in all my lessons. The 2- 3 minute informal debrief with my Mentor at the end of each lesson has been an invaluable part of my reflective process. Generally, this helps me assess if I have judged the success of the overall lesson correctly, as well as briefly discuss students to help us both continually assess their progress. Specifically, it also helps to assess my reflection in action, as I can get reassurance or advice with regards to how I could have done things differently. In our weekly mentor meetings, we also have more time to discuss and reflect on past lessons as well as plan for future lessons. This dialogue feeds into my reflection on action as in situations where something didn’t go as planned, I can put forward solutions for how to address this in the next lesson, ask questions and build in advice and suggestions from my mentor’s experience.

“If teachers don’t engage in these types of conversations, they stagnate. They need to be able to be open and honest with someone and for this to, ultimately, lead to a kind of change.” (Harris, 2019)

References:

Schon, D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How professionals think in action. London: Temple Smith

Harris, C. (2019) Every teacher needs a reflection buddy to keep them sane [online] Available from: https://www.tes.com/news/every-teacher-needs-reflection-buddy-keep-them-sane (Accessed 11 October 2019)

Abigail Ball : 18 Nov 2019 09:41 |  Tags: Reflections Teaching |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Using a reflective framework to reflect on and improve my practice – Richard

Throughout my teaching experience I have found that reflecting on and discussing the lessons I have taught is vital to my learning. Recently, I have been using Kolb’s Learning Cycle (1984) framework. This follows 4 steps and encourages me to draw conclusions and ideas from an experience, then assess and build on those to come up with new ideas which inform and improve my future practice.

Stage One. ‘Concrete Experience’. I recently taught a Y1 maths lesson focussing on comparing number bonds to 10 and building on the pupils’ knowledge of addition, greater than and less than symbols. I utilised the concepts and resources set out in the medium-term plans. We started with counting to 100 and worked through some examples as a group on the whiteboard. Pupils then split into ability groups and were provided with differentiated worksheets to complete. It was apparent that although some of the children had understood the concept when modelled on the whiteboard, most were unable to understand the worksheet independently. The lesson ended with very little achieved.

Stage Two. ‘Reflective Observation’. After the lesson I apologised to the class teacher as I felt the lesson had been unsuccessful, and I was very disappointed with my performance and the lack of learning by the pupils. Reflecting later, my initial thoughts were; the structure of the lesson had been unclear; I had rushed sections trying to cover too much and there was a lack of understanding of what the children should do on receiving the worksheets. However, I felt that I had modelled clearly at the start with the pupils working out examples together on the interactive whiteboard.

Stage Three, ‘Abstract Conceptualization’. As part of this step I reviewed my lesson materials and spoke with the Year 1 team who had taught the same lesson. I realised I had not been clear enough of the learning objective and success criteria for the lesson or the means by which I could achieve them. I had not taken into proper consideration the specific needs of the pupils, primarily a high level of EAL preventing many from being able to read and understand written questions without assistance. The worksheets, while created for this objective, were too complicated and at a level above the children’s ability. In discussion all the teachers agreed that the pupils’ needs meant a simplified worksheet was required.

Stage Four. ‘Active Experimentation’. I taught the same concept again the following day focussing just on number bonds, asking the children to use numicon outside to answer questions. In addition, the children could choose the level of worksheet to start on and progress as they wanted, thus building confidence through successful completion of tasks. (TS2)

The practical nature of this lesson engaged the children, and a distinct LO and success criteria provided the lesson with a better structure (TS4, Department for Education, 2011). Following this process, I have gained a better understanding of how children learn and factors that influence the effectiveness of my teaching. It helps identify barriers to learning, encouraging me to adapt and experiment with new ideas and provides me with skills to handle similar situations in the future.

Reference

Kolb, D. (1984). Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development.. [ebook] New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235701029_Experiential_Learning_Experience_As_The_Source_Of_Learning_And_Development [Accessed 6 Oct. 2019].

Department for Education (2011). Teachers’ Standards: Guidance for school leaders, school staff and governing bodies. Crown Copyright.

Abigail Ball : 11 Nov 2019 08:51 |  Tags: Reflections Teaching |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Bacc–ing the Arts in Education – Abigail

Arts Council England stated that “Drama communicates through the language and connections of theatre. This results in all pupils… gaining access to one of the great forms of human expression.”. As a Drama trainee, I can only agree.

Since the 1980’s, we can see how Drama has grown in education as its own subject, and how it can be a method of delivery in other subjects. However, the current situation surrounding the National Curriculum suggests that history may be repeating itself; the Arts once again are at risk, and Drama in particular is being threatened as a subject that has little academic value due to the recently introduced EBacc system. Drama was the most commonly withdrawn subject as the EBacc made its way into the curriculum; in 2011, the Department for Education conducted studies amongst ten schools in preparation for the 2012/13 academic year, and found that 23% had already withdrawn Drama, with Art, Design/DT and Textiles following behind at 17%, 14% and 11% respectively.

But why is this case? Any teacher of Drama can tell you of the importance Drama can play on a child’s development; it builds both interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, boosts confidence, and can turn the shyest of children into one of the most confident within their school. Any teacher of Drama can tell you how having a creative outlet like Drama can engage even the naughtiest of pupils. And any teacher of Drama can also tell you that it is rare for students to spend lessons pretending to be trees!

Has this research into the impact of the EBacc benefitted my teaching? In a sense, yes. It has made me realise that, as Drama seems to be making its way back into the English Department in many schools, I may have to continue to ‘fight’ for my subject’s recognition. Although Drama is more focussed on social and cognitive learning, with a focus on development overall as opposed to purely academic value, it does not seem to be enough to give Drama a place within the EBacc.

With this in mind, I wonder if perhaps it is the potential lack of written work that has caused problems for the subject. From experience, KS3 rarely engage in written work in Drama, meaning that when they begin to study it at GCSE, problems can arise when it comes to written exams as students are having to learn a different method of writing alongside everything else. Perhaps written work needs to be implemented into Drama lessons considerably more than it is, and Drama will be seen as a more academically viable subject than it currently is. Perhaps then it may not suffer at the hands of the EBacc as much.

Do I still think Drama should be available within the EBacc? Certainly. Already I have mentioned the benefits it can offer socially and cognitively, but the simple fact is that students need creativity. They need an outlet that breaks away from the academic rigour of school, and for those who struggle academically, Drama can be a fantastic tool. As Ken Robinson stated, “Creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.”

Abigail Ball : 04 Nov 2019 09:16 |  Tags: Teaching |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Staff room epistemological highlights

Sitting next to me at one of the computers in the staff room was a science teacher of no little experience and maturity. He was busy preparing a hand-out sheet when with a deep sigh, he mentioned he would need to find some Tippex (other brands are available). Surprised, I glanced at what he was doing, "I could do without all these symbols", he remarked staring at the picture image on his powerpoint presentation. Eager to offer support (and naturally bearing in mind teaching standards part two) I was happy to suggest he insert a box, do a bit of formatting and, as if by magic, the result he was looking for was achieved. Such was his joy that his mood immediately lightened and after at least two high-fives later, this newly acquired knowledge was already rippling, wave-like to his fellow colleague the other side. "Look what you can learn by talking" he exclaimed." Bingo! "All learning is social, according to Vygotsky, I proudly announced, keen to ensure good academic deference, whilst happily condensing too many journal articles into a crudely 'constructed' and grossly oversimplified sound bite (hey, I’m team maths, we like abstraction). A short discussion ensued to the point where our respective zones of development were appropriately proximal, and we returned to our respective tasks. The Plenary. So, what happened here? Well, while the radical constructivists tussle over the epistemological nature of objective truth, or otherwise, we seem to have at least some evidence that learning took place through social interaction, go Lev, and don’t forget to put it in your PDP. People were made happy through the learning experience (smiley face), and I managed to deliver, albeit of a largely procedural nature, one of my best lessons of the week!

Abigail Ball : 28 Oct 2019 08:51 |  Tags: Pedagogy Teaching |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Bloomin’ Marvellous: Taking my hat off to Bloom – Lauren

Questioning a student prompts thought, it allows them to pick apart elements of History in order for them to investigate why events happened, what their impact was and also what would the world look like if these events did not take place.

After six weeks of teaching, it became apparent that my lessons were not as challenging for higher achievers as I had hoped; back to the drawing board it was. From writing about Bloom’s taxonomy in two of my assignments, I thought this would be a good place to start. Bloom’s theory follows a linear format, ideal for students studying History. I found that, in theory, if the taxonomy was incorporated within my lessons that I would be able to challenge my higher achieving students. Bloom stipulates that students need to start by recalling information and through questioning they are guided to the evaluation stage. In my lessons, I found that some students arrived with prior-knowledge and so, beginning with the ‘knowledge’ and ‘comprehension’ stages hindered their progress. I then looked at activities that would help to challenge the higher attaining students in the class. After research, I found De Bono’s ‘Thinking Hats’ as this activity allows for students to begin at various levels. However, as Bloom’s theory applies to History so well I thought it was important that this form of questioning was incorporated. I combined the ‘Thinking Hats’ activity with Bloom’s questioning. Students were then given a colour, representative of the stage they should begin at, in their book, they then had to complete three sections. This task immediately challenged higher ability students whilst differentiating for those who need additional support. Students utilised their historical skill set and analysed the information they were given before synthesising and evaluation. I found that because I was researching the theory at the same time as applying it, I could tailor it to meet the needs of my higher attaining students within lessons.

There is one potential problem here though, in History it is important for students to empathise with a source to evaluate it. This is a skill that I am currently developing with my Year 7 groups through questioning, for example, ‘why do you think the Black Death was portrayed in this way?’ ‘How does it reflect people’s fears at the time?’ Through this ‘high-order’ questioning students can empathise with the source which inevitably aids their ability to evaluate it. By understanding why a source has been published, students are able to then evaluate why it is representative of the time. To combat this, I placed great emphasis on ‘empathy’ within the ‘synthesis’ stage. Bloom instructs that this stage is reserved for inference and imagination; both concepts which link to empathy. Students, through questioning are asked what can they infer from the source? From this we can then ask them to imagine they are living during that period, ‘what might their key concerns about the Black Death be?’ ‘What were people’s fears about the Black Death?’ This allows higher attaining students to reach the top stages of Bloom’s taxonomy thus extending their knowledge and challenging them appropriately in lessons.

Abigail Ball : 21 Oct 2019 08:57 |  Tags: Pedagogy Teaching |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

The Prevent Agenda and Religious Education – Rachel Cooper

The 2006 Labour Government introduced the Prevent Strategy (2006), as one element of their long term approach to tackling international extremism, known as Contest. Each consecutive update of Prevent has placed an increased duty on education to prevent people being drawn into terrorism. Prevent identifies the adoption of extremist views as a precursor to being drawn into terrorism, with extremism identified as ‘…vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values.’ (2015, p. 2), placing a further responsibility onto teachers to ‘…actively promote Fundamental British Values.’ (ibid.).

My research focused on the influence that Prevent has exerted on the teaching of Religious Education. This is of particular relevance in light of the assertions that the discussion of controversial topics is the lifeblood of RE (CoRE, 2019), and the specific identification of RE as a focal point for the delivery of Prevent within governmental guidance (DCSF, 2008).

The data obtained from my study superficially suggested that Prevent (2015) has not influenced the teaching of secondary RE. All of the RE teachers who participated reported that they had not removed topics to be taught due to their controversial nature, and most had not reduced the level of classroom discussion. Additionally, evidence from some respondents suggested that they had increased the amount of discussion-based activities within their lessons.

However, the influence of Prevent may potentially be covert as most participants stated that they always offered the governmental view, identified as Fundamental British Values, within discussions, and referred pupils’ who shared views that could be considered extreme. Arguably, Prevent, both through its inclusion as a safeguarding duty (2019), and within the professional standards for teachers (Department for Education, 2013), removes the opportunity for teachers to engage critically (Elton-Chalcraf, et al., 2017). This could result in pupils only being presented with views aligned with Fundamental British Values, which although this may increase classroom discussion opportunities, supported by the participant responses and Prevent, it may be with surveillance. The surreptitious influence that Prevent may have on the RE clasroom could be difficult for teachers to acknowledge, and ultimately challenge, with teachers promoting a sanitised viewpoint which promotes assimilation rather than celebrating diversity.

If discussion became limited due to the influence of Prevent, this would be in direct opposition to the aims of RE, which are not to promote a dominant worldview but to challenge (O'Donnell, 2017), understand and enable pupils to personally edify (Jackson, 2019). For RE teachers, there appears to be a need to engage with controversial topics in a safe classroom environment. The opportunity to provide counter arguments to all controversial topics is crucial, but this must include terrorism and extremist views. Pupils must be able to explore their own views openly, and consider all points of view. If discussion is closed down, or reporting is feared, pupils may not engage and the possibility of hearing a different perspective may be lost. Arguably, Fundamental British Values and Prevent has influenced the secondary RE classroom by creating a panopticon (Foucault, 2008) rather than a safe space for discussion.

Abigail Ball : 14 Oct 2019 08:55 |  Tags: Government Policy Teaching |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

The place of music in the national curriculum – Fabia

OFSTED Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman’s (2017) arts speech focuses on the lack of understanding behind the national curriculum and the neglect schools are facing with regards to implementing it.

Receiving knowledge is a measure of making progress, however the lines for this are blurred as schools are focusing mainly on results, rather than on maintaining sight of pupils. Since the introduction of the new national curriculum in 2014 (slimmed down version) it could be argued that GCSEs are now purely a memory test, and don’t always mean full understanding and knowledge, despite the aim being to increase a “rich foundation of knowledge”. As a result of inspections, focus has been readjusted. Many secondary schools have reduced Key Stage 3 to two years, meaning options are decided earlier and there is even less access to the arts, although the content included in the exams remains aimed for a two year course. Despite the removal of Progress 8, the ability to be flexible for those who need it has lessened.

Moreover, there has been a massive focus on test results and league tables with primary schools, due to a hugely narrowed curriculum. Testing has become the curriculum. In conclusion learning must take precedence over levels of outcomes but this does not seem to be at the forefront of educators priorities. With the help of the Government and Ofsted, the focus needs to shift back to giving equal opportunities and implementing the correct curriculum alongside pupil care.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb’s ‘Why good-quality music education matters’ speech in London (2016) demonstrates his personal admiration for music as a subject. The arts is a topic of discussion as something which needs to be discussed when recognising the lack of opportunities for those less fortunate. One example is the Classical 100 app, which is promoting music in primary schools, offering background and childhood music education.

Gibb states how there are measures put in place to counteract the decline of music and its importance. The increase in EBACC subjects is mostly to blame for the decline in uptake of the arts. Schools are focussing on offering a core academic curriculum, despite Gibb’s arguing that music itself should be seen as an academic subject (with the addition of notation and an area of study to decrease the gap between GCSE and A level). Key stage 3 is setting up children with a good academic and practical background should they want to take it up for GCSE. Pupil premium is allowing those in key stage two further access to the arts, which could increase the intake towards GCSE.

Furthermore, the addition of music hubs are allowing more pupils with less access to the arts to try and discover what it is like. County-wide ensembles are also looking to signpost those most talented who wouldn’t necessarily get the opportunity due to financial or support issues. In conclusion Gibb’s speech, despite being predominantly London biased, explains how projects are being implemented to widen access to the arts.

Spielman, A., (2017), https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/hmcis-commentary-october-2017

Gibb, N., (2016) Why good-quality music education matters, https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/nick-gibb-why-good-quality-music-education-matters

Abigail Ball : 07 Oct 2019 09:25 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

The future of research in the palm of your hand

My biggest concern moving into my NQT year is that I will become one of those cynical teachers, disengaged with the system, laden with stress and driven purely by results. We all know those teachers. We’ve all met them, or been taught by them and I find the thought of morphing into one quite frightening.

I think keeping on top of research is a way of ensuring this never happens. I don’t intend for research-led practice to be as laborious a task as in my training year. I won’t be pouring over library books for hours, or spending entire weekends locked away in my study, but there are definitely quicker and more engaging ways of keeping up to date with innovative ideas and movements in education.

Schools often offer CPD training on a variety of topics. While the quality of the training relies heavily on the trainer, the opportunity to engage with teachers of other subjects or schools should not be underestimated. At University, some of the most valuable sessions were when, even as students, we just talked about some of the things we had seen or tried in the classroom. It’s how I found out about Kagan structures, which, after further research, transformed my understanding of what cooperative learning is and how it should look. Other teachers, their ideas and experiences are an extremely accessible and incredibly valuable resource for exploring research and current educational pedagogy.

And, due to the incredible capabilities of modern day technology, we are not limited to exploring the experience of people we know, but we can tap into the innovations of educators around the globe. Twitter is a fantastic example of how this can be done. A whole world of blogs, reports and ideas all linked to 120 character summaries. Read a title, decide if you’re interested, click or move on.

Pinterest is another great way for coming up with novel teaching initiatives. For the tired teacher, who can’t even face the 140 characters of Twitter, Pinterest offers a scrolling screen of never ending pictures to browse and explore - all the in palm of your hand. General teaching ideas, subject or topic specific activities, behaviour for learning strategies and SEN support and guidance, classroom organisation, all presented in a range of bright, appealing pictures.

These ideas may not be the most up to date practice. They may not be based on the most contemporary research, but they are real life examples of real teachers and how they manage their workload and their classroom. It offers a quick way to dip in and out of the world of other teachers, ensuring that my own practice doesn’t go stale. Most of all it keeps me excited about teaching. I enjoy looking at what other people have done and thinking about how I could use that in my own classroom, how it could benefit my students.

Pedagogy and innovations have been made accessible in an attractive and convenient way and this is certainly how I intend to engage with research, at least as a starting point. From this, if there is an idea I am particularly inspired by, which I wish to develop and experiment with, then I may need to revert back to the hours of trawling through books and journals that I became so familiar with in my PGCE year - but the library certainly won’t be my starting point; the pretty Pinterest pictures will!

Abigail Ball : 30 Sep 2019 08:31 |  Tags: Research |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Research and its role in a trainee’s development

When first told about the research project that we would be conducting during our PGCE year, in all honesty I was not looking forward to it; however over the course of my research I have begun to appreciate the real benefits which research has had on my professional development.

Whilst I still appreciated that the assignment was going to be demanding, my own specific interests and queries within teaching started to take form and eventually led to my decision to research the interaction between feedback and student confidence.

Secondary research through reading around my subject has proved to be invaluable within my first year of teaching; it has provided me with a depth of understanding and a range of perspectives on various elements of the profession. I will undoubtedly continue to read around educational based research in areas I see of importance at different points in time.

In terms of primary research, conducting a large (ish) study is something which I may consider undertaking in a few years’ time, but for the moment it will be put on the back burner. Before embarking on anything major in terms of research, I aim to hone my teaching skills and build my confidence within the classroom; this will also allow me to discover more issues or challenges and potentially uncover new points of interest for my own research.

With this being said, I believe small scale research would be beneficial for my own professional development. Within my final week at my training school, I intend to set aside 5 minutes at the end of my lessons and distribute short questionnaires to my students. These questionnaires will ask students to rate on a scale from one to five on areas such as my marking, homework tasks, fairness and how interesting my lessons were for them over the year. This will be followed by two open ended headings “What I liked” and “Advice/what I would change”, the aim of this is to seek ways to improve; importantly it will also allow a focus on what students enjoyed. This gives chance to appreciate what I have done well over the year, rather than purely focussing on negatives or areas to change.

The data will not be analysed as meticulously as my assessed university work, however it will still be collated in a similar manner; to look for patterns or general trends. Starting a new school in September, I believe conducting research of this manner could prove to be invaluable in developing my own practice to best benefit my students. There is scope for this to be placed at various points over a year, or even over a career; had I thought of this sooner, I would have attempted to do this type of research at my complimentary placement school earlier in the academic year.

Being in the early stages of teaching or indeed any career, I believe you need to be incredibly open to change and should actively seek any ways possible to grow and improve. Having the chance to gather personalised feedback from my students is a fantastic opportunity that I intend to make the most of over my career and I believe should be something which is integrated into lessons wherever possible.

So ultimately, yes, I will engage in research during my NQT year and beyond, as I believe it holds scope to really benefit my professional practice. Small scale research of the kind aforementioned allows quality reflection on one’s practice, which then allows for maximum impact when implementing change, therefore giving scope to achieve the ultimate goal; to improving students’ learning.

Abigail Ball : 16 Sep 2019 09:00 |  Tags: Research |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Thinking about blogging?

What is WJETT?

The WJETT blog or Warwick Journal of Education - Transforming Teaching blog is designed to encourage staff and students to disseminate good practice and to engage with their peers on academic cultural critique or areas of research that they find interesting.

With the increased focus on ‘teachers as researchers’ in the sector, many qualified teachers are expected to publish the outcomes of any action research projects they undertake. The WJETT blog can be the first step on your journey towards publishing and enables you to experience publishing and reviewing in a friendly and supportive environment.

Can I write about anything in my blog post?

Yes pretty much. Academic cultural critique (Thomson and Mewburn, 2013) is always a good source of content for academic blogs. This can include (but is not limited to) comments and reflections on funding; higher education policy or academic life. You might also want to consider blogging about:

• Academic practice (Saper, 2006)
• Information and/or self-help advice
• Technical, teaching and careers advice
• Your research or practice
• How you’ve undertaken research
• Impact of research on your practice
• An area of research/practice that interests you
• Your experiences/reflections
  

How long can my blog post be?

Each individual blog post should be no longer than 500 words. Long blocks of text are sometimes hard for readers to digest. Break up your content into shorter paragraphs, bullet points and lists whenever possible. Also include a list of keywords or tags as this makes it easier for Google to find your work.

Do I need to use citations?

No, this is a reflective piece so it does not need to include citations (but you obviously can include them if they are relevant).

Can I include links or images?

We would encourage you to include links to any articles that you have considered whilst writing your blog post. We also welcome the use of images (as long as you have permission to use them) as they can often help to illustrate a point and obviously will not be included in the word limit. Please remember this is a public site so if you want to include images of your students in your classes then you will need permission to do this.

What is the process for submitting a piece of work?

Your blog post should be emailed to me at A.Ball.1@warwick.ac.uk. Once the submission has been reviewed it will either be uploaded at the beginning of the next available week or sent back to you for editing if it requires amendments. You should then send the amended work to me once again and I will then upload it onto the WJETT site.

Abigail Ball : 09 Sep 2019 10:06 |  Tags: Research Teaching Wjett |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem