Lesson reflection and review by @TeacherToolkit


Reading time: 3

@TeacherToolkit

Ross Morrison McGill founded @TeacherToolkit in 2010, and today, he is one of the 'most followed educators'on social media in the world. In 2015, he was nominated as one of the '500 Most Influential People in Britain' by The Sunday Times as a result of...
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Here is my first attempt at sharing personal video-footage with the wider world!

I have been inspired to do this after watching headteacher, @JohnTomsett do the same. You can watch John in my visual anatomy of a Great Teacher post.

This is not posted as a solution to behaviour management; merely a post for self-reflection and genuine feedback from others.

Have you watched yourself teach?  Photo Credit: Sudden Fiction via Compfight cc
Have you watched yourself teach?
Photo Credit: Sudden Fiction via Compfight cc

Context for the video:

This is a year 9 class from April 2013. The project is an 8-week Body Adornment project as part of the students’ Design Technology key-stage three curriculum. The students have just moved within the departmental carousel structure and this is their third lesson with me.

This is the first time I have seen this group of students, as I did not teach them in year 7 or 8. Despite it being April, each carousel change in Technology is like another September start (of the year). There are 20 students present in the class with 3 students absent. From the camera angle offered, you will not be able to see the whole class or the entire classroom space. They class data/landscape comprises of 90% EAL; 75% pupil premium students and 2 school-action (SA) students. Most students are working between level 4.3 to level 6.

In the lesson:

The class have just started a small group activity to construct a small item to wear from an A4 piece of tin-foil. This is a gentle introduction into the properties of non-ferrous and ferrous metals. This is so that they can understand the constraints of the materials when designing body adornment ideas and going on to form their own practical work from a range of metals.

This will be the students’ last technology experience before they continue with their option choices in year 10. Of course, some students will not go on to study the subject.

This is lesson 4 on a Monday, just before lunch. The time allocated for the practical activity is about to come to an end – they have had 3 minutes in total – and before I lead into the feedback session, I attempt to address a student eating chewing gum in the classroom. We are approximately 10 minutes into the lesson.

Before watching this clip; please could you consider the following questions:

Teaching:

  1. Do you consistently have high expectations for all students?
  2. Is intervention sharply focused and matched to need?
  3. Do you create clever transitions between tasks?
  4. How do you know when to speak and when to pause?
  5. How do you continue the lesson without creating a further focus on primary behaviour?
  6. How do you use body language; hand signals and position to follow-up instruction?
  7. How does the teacher gently use physical gestures to encourage students to engage?

Behaviour:

  1. Is the first hint of off-task behaviour dealt with?
  2. How do you approach eating in class?
  3. Is any form of teacher-reprimand escalated by other students in the class?
  4. Is your approach to behaviour management consistent and systematic?

Attitudes to learning:

  1. Do students demonstrate high levels of engagement, courtesy, collaboration and cooperation?
  2. Is praise genuine and purposeful?
  3. Are students given independence and responsibility?
  4. Does learning proceed without interruption?

Video:

Click to play… and please do feedback using the comments box at the bottom of this page.

When clicking play, you will notice that I walk straight over towards a student at the back of the room. He has just been off-task; so I decide to simply use my physical presence to let him know I am observing his learning. This keeps him on engaged and in my opinion, reduces further disruption.

The countdown and name-selection software I am using on the interactive whiteboard is by @David_Triptico.

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Further review and reflection:

If you are interested in reflecting on your classroom practice, I can recommend the following blog and document, The 5 Minute Review Plan by @Shaun_Allison and @TeacherToolkit

Click to preview the image.

10. The 5 Minute Review Plan
The 5 Minute Review Plan

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Reflection questions:

A full set of outstanding reflection questions can be found here in this blog and a summary online at the tweet below (click to open).

Reflection Questions
Reflection Questions

Thank you to @IRIS_Connect for the video software.


3 thoughts on “Lesson reflection and review by @TeacherToolkit

  1. Pingback: Lesson reflection and review by @TeacherToolkit | @ TeacherToolkit | Create Learning Partnership

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