TS 8: Fulfil wider professional responsibilities
– Take responsibility for improving teaching through appropriate professional development, responding to advice and feedback from colleagues.

As part of our professional and subject studies learning at Roehampton, I had the experience of helping to plan a trip for a group of 30 Danish students to Southall. This encompassed ensuring the day was planned effectively, securing clear learning outcomes and anticipating any problems that may arise.

Students were introduced to a Gurdwara, whereby they learnt the importance of covering themselves during their time in this place of worship. They observed prayer, the fanning of the Guru Granth Sahib and ate food from the Langar.

Following this, there was a lengthy lecture style talk by a Sikh regarding the foundations of Sikhism. In retrospect, this was not necessarily the best use of time however, these students were respectful and appreciated the time given and knowledge acquired.

We guided students to a local Mandir where we were due to receive a talk on Hinduism. Much to our disappointment, the man was not there and we were left in the Mandir with students feeling clearly perplexed about the images and statues that surrounded them. As I had been teaching Hinduism at my six week placement school I was very familiar with the Hindu Gods, Goddesses and their stories. I stepped in and guided small groups around the Mandir explaining the stories attached to each of the statues, and how they link to festivals within Hinduism. I felt overwhelmed by the knowledge I had gained up until that point, and how much more I could learn and share with students.

TS 5: Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils
– have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with special educational needs; those of high ability; those with English as an additional language; those with disabilities; and be able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them.

Now that I have improved my subject knowledge, I am able to frame questions which guide students to learn and really develop their thinking. This has not been easy, and for me going to my six week placement school was a challenge as these students were higher achieving and I knew that I would need to stretch further at the top, which demanded more depth in my own subject knowledge. However, in doing this, I have been able to understand the importance of using Blooms, carefully planning questions I will ask, and anticipating those that may be asked of me.

The contrast between my two placements meant that on return to my block placement school, I found I was still pitching my lessons too high. Likewise, teaching the GCSE content to Year 9 and Year 10, and having to make the content more accessible. These have been really valuable lessons to learn, as I continue to improve my level of differentiation. I have produced differentiated work books, EPQ frames and cloze tasks which assist lower ability students in accessing the learning material.

Relationships & Families – differentiated work book SEN & EAL-22bd0a1

TS 2: Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils
– Guide pupils to reflect on the progress they have made and their emerging needs

It is policy in my block placement school that there are ‘off the cuff’ learning walks. These are often performed by members of SLT and other department Heads and subject specialists. They spend a morning or an afternoon looking in detail at a topic linked to the Raising Achievement Plan (see below). This could be looking at students marking, stretch and challenge questions or reinforcing expectations. The walks are planned and usually begin with an introductory session with the head teacher or another member of the senior leadership team who prep the staff on what to be looking for during the walk.

[embeddoc url=”https://eportfolios.roehampton.ac.uk/papanase1/files/2018/06/Every-lesson-Every-day-1d73jjl.docx” download=”all” viewer=”google” ]

On this particular day I was teaching 1 of 3 Year 9 classes. It was the marking cycle that week and I had marked their books and planned they complete DIRT (Dedicated Improvement and Reflection Time) for 20minutes of the lesson and some exam practice questions and revision for their end of year exam during the last 30minutes. Two members of SLT entered my classroom. I was surprised with this class on that day and had been giving positive praise since the beginning of the lesson; they really deserved it! SLT looked through students books; they were completing DIRT in green pen. Student were calm, engaged and focused. I was pleased that they were asking for help with the stretch questions I had put for their next steps.

Learning Walk feedback-2eslshx

I had had a learning walk 2 weeks prior to this and that too had shown the way in which students feel calm and welcome in my classroom. It certainly has been a great help to my confidence not having a teacher in every lesson; being able to teach independently has been beneficial for me as I have been approaching the end of the course and has made the transition into my NQT year smoother as I am confident in a classroom unsupervised. I work well having to deal with situations that arise and this will help me improve my behaviour management also.

TS 6: Make accurate and productive use of assessment
– Give pupils regular feedback, both orally and through accurate marking, and encourage pupils to respond to the feedback.

Using Dedicated Improvement & Reflection Time (DIRT) in lessons allows students to reflect on their own learning. Many of my students do not know how to improve their work or how to act on feedback. Many view feedback as negative immediately, so they become closed off and think they have ‘failed’. During time at my block placement school, DIRT has been:

– Spellings
– Improvements on Homework
– Extension tasks based on Homework
– Peer assessment and feedback
– Self-Reflection
– Exam Questions
– Setting Targets

Within the humanities department, 3 goals we always to ensure are being done are the following:

– Marking (WWW/EBI) in the last 3 weeks
– Updated marks on front of books
– DIRT completed within the last 4 weeks (there does not have to be DIRT on most recent piece if you have not had time however it would be nice if there was).

During both my block placement and six-week placement I have completed marking of books, tests, project work and end of year assessments. This was an opportunity to recognise the information the students retain, and the information they find it difficult to engage with. DIRT is a school policy in both my block placement and six week placement schools, so it is fundamental that it is carried out and students find it difficult to engage with these types of lessons. However, the value of a teacher marking a students book, providing clear objectives and giving positive feedback is great. I use clear WWW – What went well, EBI – Even Better If and next steps to make it explicit to students where they have achieved and worked hard, what they could work on and the next steps allows me to link to ‘expand’ and ‘stretch’ questions in their books. We have a 3 week marking policy within humanities which I have ensured I adhere to.

Year 8 marking example-2d3fh14

Year 9 marking example-19cbwtm

Year 10 Marking example 2-1siknaf

Year 10 marking example-289tfm4

TS 8: Fulfil wider professional responsibilities
– Communicate effectively with parents with regard to pupils’ achievements and well-being.

I have ensured, during my time at my block placement school, that I establish and maintain good relationships with students and their parents. I have called home for students, to feedback both positive behaviour and issues that have arisen pertaining to poor conduct in my classroom. Having found working with and motivating 3 of the 4 Year 9 classes I teach, calling home has enabled me to encourage parents to reward/sanction their child’s behaviour at home, and I can do this in school.

The end of year assessments for Year 9 proved challenging this week; partly due to their lack of consideration for each other and also the subject, and partly due to their lack of focus in lessons throughout this academic year. One class in particular, found it so challenging to be quiet and complete their test for 40minutes. Despite the disruption at the beginning of this lesson, students were able to have the full 40minutes during the lesson. However, there was ongoing behaviour issues during the test, which I noticed distracted students who I know are keen to succeed. At the end of the 40minutes, I offered certain students additional time; those who had been affected by the behaviour issues during the test. They took the time and worked so hard to answer every question on the test paper. I was so proud of these 6 students as they can be chatty at times, but when it comes down to it, they want to do well. I told them as they handed me their test papers, that I would email their parents for them, that same day. I did, and received responses from some almost immediately.

Emails home-291mfel