Category: Teaching Standards

TS 8 – Fulfil wider professional responsibilities

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Autumn and Spring Term poster advertising my ‘Get fit with Miss’ club

TS 8: Fulfilling wider responsibilities
– Make a positive contribution to the wider life and ethos of the school

Having established myself as a teacher at my block placement school, and as I am a Schools Direct student, I was required to develop and implement an enrichment activity. Seeing these student with endless energy as well as a keenness for taking pride in their appearance, I decided to utilise my fitness background and introduce a girls only fitness club.

Having started to form good relationships with some of the year 10 girls, I thought I may at least have a few attendees and the rest would follow! That was my aim!

I had quite a pleasant surprise during the last of my Get Fit with Miss sessions before my short departure. There was an atmosphere of sadness, and students were adamant they would come as soon as I returned.

Embedding an enrichment activity strengthened the relationships I built with students throughout the school year, through understanding them as individuals outside of the classroom and recognising their strengths which I could hone in on during lessons too. I used my club as a means of demonstrating a change in student engagement as I completed an essay for professional studies addressing disengagement. I asked students to complete a questionnaire about the club and how it made them feel.

Get fit with Miss Feedback-12j90jp

My club raised some great questions around health and fitness. More importantly, it gave students a safe place to come and learn more about their body and their own capabilities. Students would often talk about ‘Body Image’ and how they felt uncomfortable in their own skin. By using this time and space as a way to vent these anxieties, I found that students responded well in lessons as they grew in confidence, recognising that they should not ‘give up’ so easily. I realise the value of a wider range of enrichment clubs as I spoke with other members of staff who took students swimming, for CCF and in debate clubs.

‘Get fit with Miss’ really was a great way to establish myself in school and I am really looking forward to an opportunity to implement an enrichment activity during my NQT year.

TS 4 – Plan and teach well structured lessons

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TS 4: Plan and teach well structured lessons
– Promote a love of learning and children’s intellectual curiosity

Year 11
Topic – Christianity
Role of the Church in the local and wider community
Persecution

I have been feeling quietly confident about the improvement in my creativity and production of my lessons, and this has lead to sometimes seamless delivery. NOT perfect delivery, not by any stretch of the imagination. BUT there has been progress in the way I approach planning and it feels amazing. As a teacher, particularly a trainee, I have been regularly advised to take these small wins!

Today’s lesson was a great example. I was confident in my subject knowledge but, as always, I had overplanned. However, I am now becoming more aware of the importance of overplanning but with activities that are linked but not connected. Activities which can be picked up and instructed according to the progress of lesson, in terms of the time frame.

Persecution was the title of today’s lesson and I had researched the Open Doors project and the work they do. I found a moving video which I had hoped would engage the class, as they can usually find sitting still difficult, and actually the students were quiet and attentive during the video. This felt like another small win! Students are familiar with me now and my teaching style. They know the feeling of being in my classroom, they are still cheeky, they still talk and chit chatter. But, once engaged, they are interactive, interested and grateful for the time I give to them and the knowledge they gain. I have established routines with them, and this has informed my planning as well as my behaviour management strategies.

I organised an activity which enabled them to be responsible for their own note taking, responsible for their own learning and for the knowledge they absorb which they need to know for the assessment next week. This independent learning gave them the opportunity to speak with those next to them, without me having to tell them to work in silence; they were genuinely talking about the work. They stuck in the maps, drew lines and labelled persecution of Christians and the way it is executed in countries around the world. They were curious and engaged. By asking students to label the map, I was facilitating cross-curricular learning with Geography, and this really got their minds focusing on the task at hand.

I always create my lesson power points with visual aids which are colourful and interesting for students to look at. I make sure the task instructions are on the board as well as explained verbally, to ensure students have a point of reference if they lose track of what they are doing. As per school policy and as part of my class routine, I always have a starter activity to engage students which does not necessarily need to link to the lesson, however, I like it to as it gives students a taster of what we are working on.

[embeddoc url=”https://eportfolios.roehampton.ac.uk/papanase1/files/2017/12/Persecution-19p2yto.pptx” download=”all” viewer=”google” ]

The lesson finished within time and smoothly. I wondered to myself why today they were in such high spirits! At the end of the lesson my mentor requested this lesson to be put into the shared earlier so other teachers can use it. That for me is an amazing honour, as a student teacher and trainee.

[embeddoc url=”https://eportfolios.roehampton.ac.uk/papanase1/files/2017/12/World-watch-list-of-resources-for-10xy5-Monday-persecution-uon3k6.pptx” download=”all” viewer=”google” ]

TS 2 & 6 – Promote good progress and Make productive use of assessment

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The need for reflection in life can often be incredibly important. I realise now, as I am older (and a little wiser) that being able to reflect is a fantastic skill to carry with you at work, in your personal like and when interacting with others. It can enable you to understand where you need to channel you energy, your focus and helps you to improve. This skill needs to be taught to students as soon as they enter secondary school.

Here at my current school, we call it DIRT – Dedicated Improvement and Reflection Time. This gives students the opportunity to understand how they could improve and gives them confidence in the areas which they do well in. Often we use this after tests/assessments and also when completing the marking of their classwork, and of course, homework.

On Friday 3rd November my University observation was scheduled. This happened to fall on a day when it was fundamental I went through DIRT with the students; they had assessments which I had marked and needed to feedback to them. It just so happens that I would be reflecting with the students whilst reflecting on myself and my teaching progress. This made me incredibly nervous. However, I have found, in my short time teaching, that the process of reflection will be how I will go from a good teacher to hopefully one day an outstanding teacher.

I explained the importance of DIRT to the students. I told them how it is an important skill, to be able to reflect. They respond, complete the sheets and I am pleased. Who knows if they really do know how to understand their individual strengths and weaknesses. Only through implementing DIRT and ensuring it is an integral part of the feedback process will the students feel confident in using the skill. It would be even better if (EBI!!!!) we could be sure that students would then carry this skill with them through their lives. Into the workplace, and their personal life. We wont know, but as teachers, as we reflect on our own teaching, we can only hope that we have given them the ability to understand the complexities of recognising strength and weakness, and what to do as a follow up.

[embeddoc url=”https://eportfolios.roehampton.ac.uk/papanase1/files/2017/11/Lesson-1-Hinduism-pxl6db.pptx” download=”all” viewer=”google” ]

As I then reflected on their reflections, I recognised my own areas needing improvement:
TS 7 – managing behaviour effectively and TS 5 – differentiating and ensuring students are stretched and challenged where appropriate.

I have come to love a reflection. I have grown to enjoy knowing what went wrong more than what went right! This way I can continually improve and evolve, getting stronger and stronger.

TS 1 – Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils

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TS 1: Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
– Establish a safe and stimulating environment for pupils, rooted in mutual respect

‘A pleasant surprise’
Blog post
Year 10 Religious Studies

The day has come. My nerves, I feel, may overtake me. I wear dark colours so the nervous sweat patches aren’t visible to students. I wouldn’t want to add fuel to the fire!

Students enter. I have meticulously planned this lesson, to their abilities as I have observed many lessons with this class, taught by my mentor. They are loud, noisy, boisterous. They push, shove and show unruly behaviour. The classroom is unsettled. Miss settles them slowly, as she was to take the beginning of the lesson today for some administrative tasks. Time passes and she tells me to just crack on.

The class fall silent I look around, they are all watching me. I raise my voice, take the register. They start talking again, and as I ask for quiet, they settle. I introduce the lesson topic, incarnation. They choose a picture from their desks which I placed there, I ask them to see which they feel best represents Jesus as they believe. They do as asked, they fall quiet again as I continue a positive but stern approach. I have seen this class so disruptive and unruly, I am pleasantly surprised and feel surprisingly confident. Not only are they listening, but they are interacting and it appears, through teach and testing, they are learning.

This class dislikes making notes, and I do not want to spend a lesson asking the to copy notes from the board. They will not learn from this and this will negate my aims as a teacher for both knowledge and behaviour management. I ask them to draw the outline of their own hand. I put 5 key points on the board. I ask them to write one point in their own words in each finger. They do it. THEY DO IT! With some gentle prompting and monitoring, they are compliant and generally (for this class) settled!

[embeddoc url=”https://eportfolios.roehampton.ac.uk/papanase1/files/2017/10/The-Life-of-Jesus-Incarnation-Year-10-v3pr7i.pptx” download=”all” viewer=”google” ]

The lesson comes to the end, and I do not start a new task as time will not allow for this. Before they leave, I thank them. Lots of research into positive behaviour management has shown me that I should appreciate when they are good, reward positivity. In return, they thank me back. Echoes of “thank you Miss” and “bye Miss” fill the room. I stand there for a moment, feeling pleasantly surprised.

TS 1 – Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils

Video - Posted on by Elizabeth Andriane Papanastasiou

TS 1: Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils
– Demonstrate consistently the positive attitudes, values and behaviour which are expected of pupils.

‘Don’t smile until Christmas’
Blog post

Friday midday. Lunch time is pending and of course Friday is here again, alongside a variety of playful moods and the inability to sit quietly. I have been meticulously planning this lesson all week; I want to make a good impression, as my mentor observes from the back of the class. I also want the students to learn; the topic is Multi-culturalism. It affects all of us; it is a part of our lives here in London.

I find an awesome video. It makes me smile. It is called the ‘Happy Muslim’. An incredibly catchy and current pop song plays as Muslims of all ethnicities mime and dance to the tune. It is lively and I thought it would be a great way to hook in students for the lesson. Last week their behaviour was excellent and I was under the assumption that this would end up being my best class! Oh, how wrong was I! Students seem to appreciate the video, but the lively buzz and undercurrent of low level noise does not stop. The class really responded to me last week. What changed?

I foolishly pleaded with them, saying “I am new” and “Come on guys, I thought that you were really good, why are you not listening?” It must have been so cringe worthy to watch! There were moments of good behaviour, especially when the head teacher had come in, and I was showing them a video. I remained positive and upbeat, thinking the students would be nice to me and would like me. Slowly, I lost control of the lesson, and by the end, noise levels were high, at times I had to speak over students, which is something I have been told NOT to do! The bell goes, there is a mad rush to pack bags and a scramble towards the door.

Later on, in the staff workroom I was reflecting with another student teacher. She said to me, “Lizzy, hasn’t anyone ever told you? You are not supposed to be too nice yet, set boundaries and let the kids know that there is a level of acceptable behaviour in class. And, don’t smile until Christmas!”

TS 7 – Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment

Posted on by Elizabeth Andriane Papanastasiou

TS 7: Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment
– Manage classes effectively, using approaches which are appropriate to pupils’ needs in order to involve and motivate them

Observation – Year 10 class
Blog Post

Year 10, Friday afternoon. Energy and excitement levels are far higher than a Monday morning. This class is notorious for their lack of the following:

* Care for the subject
* Care for learning
* Lack of self-control

The class is a mixed ability Religious Studies class, with one third having SEN and two EAL learners with little English. Miss is a new teacher to the School but with many years experience and an excellent record of student achievement as well as the understanding of a variety of behaviour management strategies.

From the beginning of the lesson, when students enter the classroom, they are being generally unruly, which is nothing out of the ordinary for this class. Miss calms them, tries to settle them. There is a fun Do it Now! on the board, and a new seating plan which was created after several unproductive lessons with this class. Students mess around in the classroom, throwing lip glosses across to each other. Two girls bicker over a tin of vaseline and continue to punch each other.

Miss has raised her voice. No one is listening. She has moved on from the Do it Now! slide to the lesson title, date and objective. Still no one is listening. Only a handful of the same diligent students are paying attention, have their books open and have written the lesson title, date and objective.

Miss proceeds to move around the classroom and speak to the students who are ready to work. She asks them to come to the desk at the front of the classroom, and to bring their equipment with them. Once seated, around 12 students (less than half of the class). The students listen to Miss as she explains in a softer voice that they would be using the textbook to work on some revision of the topic including the key terms, in preparation for an upcoming end of topic test.

As I watch from the back of the classroom, students are now looking around to see where Miss is. They are trying to locate her with their eyes as well as by listening for her voice, which has now dropped to a low, ‘one to one’ level as opposed to raised to gain attention of the whole class. They look restless, asking each other “what is going on?” and “why is Miss ignoring us”. They start to shout out to Miss, “why are you ignoring us Miss, why don’t you care?”

Miss responds “I am teaching those who want to learn. You wouldn’t listen to me nor want to learn so I am leaving you to do what you wanted to do from the beginning of the lesson; Talk!” She then asked “Are you ready to listen, and learn?” They replied “Yes Miss”.

Drawing reference on Robert Laslett and Colin Smiths Four rules of Class Management, Miss had Got them in, got on with them (some) and let them get on with it (most)!

Following this, the lesson generally proceeded in a constructive way. This is not to say students listened entirely, nor did they give their 100%. But, this strategy did make them think about how much they could learn from Miss, her knowledge and excellent way of communicating information. She just touched the tip of the iceberg here, but persistence with this class will hopefully pay off as they year progresses. This begs the question; Is Ignorance really bliss?