During my week in the early years setting I was able to observe the continuous provision that had been put in place across two reception classes. I observed; the focussed adult initiated sessions, the child initiated time and the assessments completed by the teachers.
This week furthered my understanding about assessment in the early years. The teachers completed observation forms when the child did something they have never done before which furthered their learning. On many occasions I saw the teachers making notes on post-it’s of achievements the children had made. The importance of assessment in the early years is widely recognised in literature; Hurst and Lally argue that observational assessment records are vital for matching the curriculum to individual needs of the child. A survey by Lally reported six main reasons suggested by nursery staff for the keeping of observational records:
1. To find out about children as individuals.
2. To monitor the progress (or lack of it) of individual children.
3. To inform curriculum planning.
4. To enable staff to evaluate the provision they make.
5. To provide a focus for communication with others.
6. To make the job more enjoyable.
(Baker.C, 1992)
This type of assessment could be replicated in an older setting as it would give teachers the chance to do all of the above. If the observations were made explicit with the children it would allow them to celebrate their success and work on their weaker areas.
During adult initiated activities I also witnessed what structured learning looked like in the early years environment, I was able to see how children we separated into ability groups to work on literacy, numeracy and phonics for 20 minutes at a time. The activities used in these adult led sessions gave me ideas that I could adapt to use with older children for example some phonics games that could be used with KS1 such as ‘cross the river’ and ‘trash or treasure’. Although I was surprised the children were grouped by ability at such a young age, I was able to see the benefit for the children. Nomi discusses how ability grouping can be effect children in the early years
“… ability grouping may improve achievement for all students in schools with advantageous characteristics, mostly private schools, and may reduce achievement inequalities, because low-ability students benefit the most from this practice.” (Nomi, T. 2009)
When observing in the reception classes and speaking to the teachers it became evident that there were certain pressures which effected how they taught in their classrooms. Research suggests that there are four main influences on the teaching in the early years “practitioners' beliefs about how literacy should be taught; different interpretations of the Foundation Stage curriculum guidance, both of which may be linked to training and experience; perceived external pressure from the demands of the primary school curriculum and parental pressure.” (Miller,L. Smith, AP. 2010)
Form this placement I plan to take the games into my future practice. I also plan to take the assessment sheets created by the teachers in the reception classes and adapt them for my own classes to allow the children to celebrate their successes and work on their weaknesses.
Whilst on the inclusions pathways I have learnt a lot about ‘’Quality First Teaching’’, best practice and what inclusive classrooms look like but most of all I have learnt about myself as a teacher and over the past month I have had the chance to really develop my philosophy of education.
I have found that no matter how many strategies or techniques you implement into your classroom in order to have an inclusive classroom it won’t make a difference if you haven't strategically planned your lessons. In order to have an inclusive classroom ‘’Quality First Teaching’’ is key. This means building relationships with your class and knowing their individual needs, acting on their strengths and catering for their weaknesses. To ensure you have an inclusive classroom differentiation is vital as this provides each child with the opportunity to achieve, therefore it is important to learn about and accept the differences of every child. “As a teacher, the first thing you should do is to acknowledge the theory of natural variation. When you enter your classroom you should accept that in all respects each pupil is different from the next.” Train, A. (2000)
Whilst on placement I saw various inclusive practices in place but they weren't providing an inclusive classroom, instead they were excluding the child that need the most support by excessively using a TA, this can be damaging to a child’s education, particularly one with social issues as it allows them to become reliant upon that TA. “Lesson 4: The use of additional support for individuals needs to be carefully planned and those involved require appropriate training…in the English context , teacher assistant support was used as an alternative to attention from teachers…students with most need should get more, not less time with teachers.” Ainscow, M. (2012)
In the future I plan to avoid the use the TA as excessively as I have witnessed instead I would prefer the TA worked with a group including that child or oversaw that child while he works with his peers. Working collaboratively in groups and teaching each other, when done properly this has been proven to consolidate information in children’s minds while also working on their social and communication skills, but this isn’t something that will come easily, it will need to be practiced so that the children can benefit from it. “However, it is important to stress again the need for skill in orchestrating this type of classroom practice. Poorly managed cooperative group work usually involves considerable waste of time and, indeed, present many opportunities for increased disruption.” Ainscow,M (2012)
This past month has taught me a lot about me as a teacher and a lot about the type of teacher I want to be. I have realised that a lot of what happens within some classrooms is more for the benefit of the teacher and the effect on the children is overlooked, this may not be done on purpose and over time it may have accidently become the norm. Instead all decisions within the classroom should be made with the children in mind, from the lesson planning right down to the seating plan, catering to the needs of my class is something that its vital to the progression of my class.
When working with children particularly those with SEN it is important to remember that they want to please you and there is always a reason for their behaviour. As a teacher we can’t take it personally, we have to do what we can to make it easier for them. It might be something as simple as them not being able to access the work or it may be more complex such as issues at home, either way it is our duty to help the child through that ordeal instead of putting it down to bad behaviour and shouting at them. On placement I found that very small incidents can cause a big reaction to children with SEN, in particular the child I was observing with ADHD, and as a teacher you have to be prepared to deal with that “One child sitting in another child’s seat can be a cause of major confrontation, often involving an inattentive child with ADHD. The displaced child, usually quiet and mostly compliant, may become extremely agitated when denied their own seat, resulting in uncharacteristically aggressive behaviour.” O’Regan, F. (2004)
With all of this in mind I aim to become the type of teacher that is able to manage SEN children in an inclusive way. I aim to be the type of teacher that will ask appropriate people for help if needed and use my resources properly. I hope to be the type of teacher that tries different techniques to make it easier for the children in my class and with the tools I have gained on the inclusions pathway I am confident that I can do it.
The deluxe lesson was very beneficial as it prepared me for interviews, prior to this I hadn’t really considered the questions I may be asked at interview. It allowed me to think deeply about how I might answer the dreaded question “What is the perfect lesson to you?” I realised this question is much more detailed than just listing what a lesson includes, it is asking what I specifically think makes a perfect lesson. Thinking in a much more concise way about the question allowed me to think about the main features of the perfect lesson.
1. Making the lesson inclusive – this means making sure that the learning is accessible to all children. This means appropriate differentiation, knowing your children and having solid relationships with each of them so you know what level of learning they can access. “The concept of teaching all students at their own challenge level is one with which most teachers agree in principle…Sometimes when we try to offer gifted kids opportunities for challenge, they refuse to take us up on it. Complacency sets in… Why should they work harder if they don’t have to?” (Winebrenner, 2001, Free Sprit Publishing,31)
2. Making sure the children are engaged in the lesson as this ensures they are learning and enjoying which in turn ensures that they are well behaved and they have no time to misbehave. Gripping the children and keeping them hooked is the most important feature to me because it they are not enjoying learning from a young age they will not grow to enjoy learning. One way to engage children is to use the creative curriculum that we have looked at over the past few weeks. Wheatfield Primary School in Bristol have been using the creative curriculum “We found offering our children an element of choice in both content and methods of presentation of their learning, played a core part in raising their motivation levels.” (http://www.cureepaccts.com/files/publication/1230895566/Engaging_primary_schools_learners_through_a_creative_curriculum.pdf)
3. Assessing and monitoring children’s progress is my next most important feature. If children are to progress it is important that they know what they are aiming for, what level they are at and which objectives they have met, assessment should be explicitly shared with the children as should learning objectives and success criteria, this allows children to play a key role in their own education and learning.
“What we are essentially assessing is to what extent the children (and we as teachers) have been able to do the following:
· Reach the objectives set in planning;
· Develop appropriate attitudes and opinions;
· Reach high standards and offer quality outcomes;
· Deal with the rates at which children learn;
· Find out about children’s strengths and weaknesses; understand what learning should take place for children to progress;
· Know what activities or experiences should now be provided or repeated and what differentiated experiences are needed for individual, or groups of, children.
These are then evaluated against longer – term aims to see what adjustments are required in planning.”
(Moyles, 2007, Mc Graw Hill Education, 150)
The Deluxe lesson also helped me to develop me philosophy of education as it demonstrated the questions I should be asking myself in order to build a philosophy of education such as “Why do I teach the way I do?, What do I believe about teaching and learning?, What motivated me to choose a career in teaching?”. Before this I had no idea where to begin in developing my own philosophy of education but these past weeks have given me an excellent starting point and have led me to look closer at why I agree with certain education theories and practices.
As my placement draws to an end there is so much to reflect on and so much that I know I would like to develop before my next placement.
Skills that I would like to develop include my ability to assess children’s learning so that my feedback is more influential. I have realised the importance of being very detailed when assessing children’s learning. In beginning teaching, beginning learning in primary education Kathy Hall highlights the purposes of assessing learning which I plan to use to assist me when assessing the children’s learning on my next placement.
1. To plan the next topic or series of lessons;
2. To judge the effectiveness of teaching;
3. To group learners for teaching according to their attainment in a topic of subject;
4. To compare learners attainment with others in the class, other of the same age;
5. To monitor learners progress over the time;
6. To obtain a better understanding of learners difficulties, say, strengths and weaknesses as a reader;
7. To provide evidence tat learners themselves can use to improve;
8. To provide evidence of attainment for use as a basis of discussion with learners parents or carers;
9. To provide evidence of standards for use by the school, by the local authority, by the government;
10. To compare standards of attainment at the level of the school, local authorities and nation over time;
11. To accredit learning by providing people with certificates that can be used in the next stage of education or by employers.
(Hall, 2007, Mc Graw Hill Education, 196-7)
I would like to find various ways to make sure everyone is actively taking part in my lessons, throughout my placement I have tried to do this in many ways such as having whiteboards on the carpet, having the children doing things while the introduction is taking place, have the children sort themselves into certain groups based on criteria such as shape properties. I have found that when children actively take part in the conversation/ decision making in the introduction of a lesson they understand it better when they return to their place to complete the activity.
“Once the children are ready to learn and we begin to present some new information to them, we must ensure that they are actively involved, not just passive recipients and writers like Fisher (2005) offer lots of lively ideas to encourage active learning… Research by Moyles et al (2003) suggests that truly interactive teaching means more than children being physically involved in waving cards in the air, for instance. They must also be cognitively involved, for instance in comparing, trying out ideas or making decisions.” (Merry,Rogers, Mc Graw Hill Education, 68)
Finally, I would like to further develop my teaching of SEN children and my pitching towards their ability. This is something that I have struggled with whilst on placement, I have thoroughly enjoyed working with SEN children and EAL children on a 1:1 basis this is why I have chosen to take on an inclusion pathway throughout my PGCE as I feel those skills will be developed so that I am giving the best to those children and I am able to help them to feel included in the learning.
Could the future of ICT in the classroom be more focused on computer science?
The Livingstone Hope Review highlights that school leavers need higher ICT qualifications. It was concerned that pupils were only being taught basic office skills as opposed to how to code with computers. Software such as Raspberry Pi has arisen that may make computer science more accessible and puts programming fully on the agenda. Google and Raspberry Pi have teamed together and given 15,000 sets of microcomputers to UK schools to inspire children to learn about coding. Google is also sponsoring ICT teacher training via a scheme in conjunction with the Teach First charity.
During the first three weeks of placement I have learnt how important it is to challenge pupils. One of the ways in which I have been working on challenging my class is through intelligent questioning in the plenary or during mini- plenary of the lessons as I have found that questioning is a good way to stretch the children’s knowledge and a good indicator of what to cover in the next lesson. Questioning identifies misconceptions and/ or gaps in knowledge. My AT (Tom Denton) has helped me with this as he has given me ideas of higher order questions that I can ask to individuals in order to challenge their knowledge.
“Effective teachers who obtain an outstanding grade from inspectors add value to lessons by using special approaches and features. These are usually on top of the normal good teaching approaches and may include … intelligent questioning involving every pupil.” (http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/outstanding-lesson-11943)
I aim to get in to the habit of intelligent questioning early on in my teaching career so that it becomes natural to me and my class and so that I can improve my questioning skills in order to challenge their knowledge.
I have realised how important it is to engage children during lessons and after numerous attempts of trying to engage pupils in different ways I came to the conclusion that the children like doing things with their hands. As a class they are mainly kinaesthetic learners and so I have been trying to plan more physical learning. I have been trying to begin all my lessons by giving the children something to do whether it be writing/ drawing on an individual whiteboard or holding an object or getting into order using numbers etc. I find that it helps them to concentrate more and and become more engaged with the teaching.
“Start with something from which children can have an immediate experience – something to DO.” (Moyles, 2007, Open University Press)
Making the lessons more hands on is also something that I have talked about with my AT, we have concluded that we should always have something in the children’s hands during the lesson introductions. At first we feared it would take their attention away from the learning and distract them but with more behaviour management and expectations being clearly laid out the children are learning to keep the items on the floor until they are told to touch them.
In addition, in the last 3 weeks I think I have struggled to make all lessons challenging for all pupils I have found that to do this I need to adapt my teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils and ensures that all children are able to access the learning. I have found that one way to make the learning accessible to all children is through differentiation. “Differentiation is an inclusive strategy that enables teachers to give each child appropriate access to the curriculum. In English this is done through: the use of differentiated questions during whole class lesson; the use of ability groups; the support of an adult; or by having different levels of difficulty in tasks.” (Boys and Spink, 2011,26)
Throughout my observations I have been told that I need to differentiate not only in the above ways but I also need to explicitly differentiate my success criteria so that that individual children know what is expected of them, this will help me when completing my assessment and monitoring as I will clearly be able to see if the children have met what is expected of them.
I have also found that it is vital to be able to deal with inappropriate behaviour. I had an incident in the classroom in which I was left very shaken up and wasn’t able to stop and think about what to do to resolve the situation. It is situations like this that I feel this placement is preparing me better for and helping to find ways to deal with these situations. This experience also left me feeling as though I didn’t want to be left alone with 30 children again, but when I did return the next morning I realised that every day is a new day with new challenges and it is important to leave behind any anxieties that might arise from yesterday and enter the classroom with a fresh start and the opportunity for the children to feel confident in my classroom.
Over the last few weeks I have come to realise how important it is to have confidence in what I am teaching. When I met with my AT to discuss the medium term plans, I found out that one of the topics he would like me to teach is electricity. I am excited to teach this topic as it is something that I have enjoyed learning about and I have lots of ideas of how to make it interesting. Hopefully the children will perceive my enthusiasm for the topic and will be excited to learn about it.
On the other hand the cross curricular theme for 8 weeks is ‘Quarry Bank Mill’ I feel less confident about this and not as excited about teaching it, therefore I need to make the subject interesting for myself so that I am able to teach it in order for them be enthusiastic and enjoy the learning. During the modern foreign languages session with Katie Lowe (31/10/12) she said “Children will feel your excitement and creativity about a subject, if you are excited and passionate about it; they will be too.” This supports what I read in ‘Beginning Teaching, Beginning Learning in Primary Education’ “We need to be creative to maintain their enthusiasm and flexible to meet their immediate needs.” (Nansi Ellis) 2007 page 24 3rd edition
Throughout task and observation week I have had the opportunity to work with the whole class. Whilst doing this I struggled to manage the children when they start an activity. This is something that I will aim to work on throughout placement. My AT has given me lots of helpful tips about how to do this and assured me that it will come as my confidence develops. I aim to improve this by mimicking some of the strategies I have seen. My AT has also reminded me that I need to lay out my expectations before beginning an activity; he said this is important for behavioural management as it helps the children know how they can succeed and gain rewards.
Throughout my time on GPP I am going to work on my ability to encourage and engage the children. Regressing back to when I was in school I remember the teachers who kept us engaged helped us to enjoy the lesson more. Engaging and encouraging children is vital for them to succeed, as journalist, Chris Brown noted in this months copy of ‘The Nubian Times’, writes that black children are still failing within the British education system, he blames this on a number of factors such as lack of black role models, low expectations and self fulfilling prophecy, and these children not feeling engaged within the school environment, this highlights the importance of engaging all children in each subject area if we want them to succeed, as Brown states “Everyone should have the facilities and the support to learn and grow in a safe and encouraging environment.” The most important factor of teaching that I have learned in the past two weeks is it is essential so leave every child inspired at the end of the school day, this is what I aim to do on my GPP experience.
Sir Ken Robinson’s ‘schools kill creativity’ video highlights how giving more attention to arts and humanities as opposed to focussing solely on Maths and English can be beneficial for children that are gifted in subjects such as Dance, Music and Art. Robinson argues that the current status of such subjects doesn't represent current society “…creativity now is as important in education as literacy and we should treat it with the same status.” I want to practice this in my own classroom as I think it is important to recognise and encourage the talents of all the children even if they are not considered as top status subjects.
An article entitled ‘The Fourth R’ by Helen Ward can be found in TES (21/9/12). The article suggests that English can no longer be taught without Art, criticising that children need to learn how to read pictures as well as text. “…words free up the images and the images free up the words, so they’re both incredibly important.” – Professor Andrea Lunsford “We are entering an era of “oral visual culture” as the dominance of text recedes.” I think this is a relevant and important message to take into my teaching practice with me as I feel we need to provide children with real life skills not just information to pass exams.
After having the chance to play with the Bee-Bot's today in a maths shape and space lesson, I discovered how these friendly little floor robots can be used to enhance any lesson. The Bee-Bots are ideal for improving children's directional language and programming skills as they have to press the buttons and fill in commands to navigate the robot.
The Bee-bots come with different mats and are ideal for cross curricular learning activities. Using a Bee-Bot is a great way to inspire children and get them motivated about ICT.
The English part of the PGCE program requires us to join a Wiki and contribute to it weekly. The aim of the Wiki is to share our views about children's books and review them. We have to add an image of the book, the title, the authors name and a little bit about the book, along with what age group it would be relevant for. I enjoy contributing to the Wiki as I find it quick and easy I also think as there are so many of us contributing to the Wiki, it is developing into an excellent resource. I think it is a really good way of sharing information.
I think the idea of having a class Wiki is something that could be introduced to a primary classroom, and as children are learning vital I.C.T skills they can also be contributing a fantastic resource for their classmates that can be viewed by their family and friends at home. One useful idea would be to have a book Wiki similar to the one we have for the PGCE another idea would to have a creative writing Wiki where children can upload their creative writing poems and stories for the rest of the class to see.
OUR ENGLISH CLASS WIKI
|
