This is truly awful Elizabeth — if this is really how your school intends to judge PRP then it might be time to look for a new job? A range of terrible, ok and good feedback from lessons that could also be described the same way! The last bit of it was not very good as I nervously stuck to the plan that had taken me hours to put together instead of letting the kids get on for longer with what they were writing; they were actually demonstrating their learning right there.
It really is time we starting considering our performance much more holistically. Worse than that, the flow of learning across a longer period of time is disrupted as teachers tie themselves in knots attempting to demonstrate all the strategies, skills and outcomes dictated by the ever-changing criteria against which they are to be judged. The amount of time takenoheedofher spent on her lesson planning for each observation would also be unrealistic as a method of regular working.
I chuckled as takenoheedofher beautifully described her own feedback after one observation as being given the style of a doctor giving a terminal prognosis. All children achieved but I was still graded as RI by the dreaded O because three children looked as though they should be working at phase 2 or 3.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and tips here on how to make observations more effective and rewarding for the observed. Your right, far too often observations become reduced to summative judgements and terrible feedback. A music lesson was graded 2. I asked what I could do to make it a 1. Or so I think. David Didau makes a good case for this in one of his blog posts I read a while back.
I was teaching a difficult group who are generally tough to engage. Well i am sorry! The problem with progress Part 1: Learning vs Performance […].
Hello all. Its great to hear that loads of teachers have been and are going through the SLT hoops where the interpretation of the OFsted criteria has been used to push us into an outstanding teacher. CPD on growth mind set and at the end after thanking the speaker a member of SLT reminded us that target grades needed to be on front covers for the start of term 4???!!
But on a positive note I am reminded that 14 years ago I was told that getting other students to mark students work was…………….. I really like some of the points David makes. He talks about how it is very difficult to […]. Where lesson observations go wrong Get ahead of the curve: stop grading […].
And, despite some pretty convincing arguments that attempting to show progress in a lesson is futile, it still seems to be a very common idea. Thank you for this — it has made my day and congratulations on the Ofsted book which is a gem. I have just got back from an interview today where I was asked to teach a class of year 10s and referred to the reading paper Welsh Board.
I devised a lesson based around inference which included reading, speaking and listening group work and self and peer assessment. It went well for me and every child gave me a thumbs up. I was part of the group that was shown the door within an hour and told that it was because the pupils did not do any writing. Totally agree. Have I suddenly become a rubbish teacher? My school has employed an outside person who knows niether me or the children I teach to come in and carry out observations.
They seem to take a dislike to my teaching style. The very teaching style Ofsted praised highly only a year ago for its flair and creativity. I did an identical style of lesson to my Ofsted one adapting it as appropriate to the age of my class and their particular needs.
Ofsted grading Good with many outstanding features. Recent observation grade Requires improvement. No back up. It is all wrong. Hi Everyone……………I work for a further education institution…I thought I had developed a lot of teaching confidence over my years of teaching, I have always had a grade 2 or 1. However last year as many of you are aware the requirements of Ofsted changed and a grade grade 1 last year in now grade 2. A grade 2 last year is now a grade 3.
If so how did you overcome this?. This has real knocked my confidence. I have nearly 14 years experience and find myself feeling like a complete failure. I used to be the one observing others and I gave positive feedback. Now thinking of doing supply work even though the money is rubbish.
I find the whole process demoralising and stressful. I too am thinking of supply, at least I can turn up and then go home without the constant pressure and doubts that I can actually teach anymore. This thread has given me some comfort. I have been observed 3 times and had positive not graded feedback. I was not asked if the children had made progress or to show what they achieved in the remainder of the lesson.
Now on an action plan which includes going into other schools to see how to do it. I taught a lesson to my class of 15 children. As I have a small class I am able to set individual Learning Objectives according to the needs of each child. I was given a good and not an outstanding as I did not have a learning objective written on the white board! NO NOT good enough! I have to just laugh! First and […]. Did you read this post? Once you have had your observation and no feedback given, do you allow to have another observation done if asked to do so.
My breaking point was what can only be described as one of the most horrific observation experiences of my 11 year career. My day started with a learning walk where 6 members of SLT from my school and another school walked into my classroom and questioned my students.
With the TA that meant 8 members of staff and 30 kids in my room. That afternoon I had another observation. It was 30 minutes of a 2 hour lesson bottom set year 9 history class where half the students were EAL. We were doing the Treaty of Versailles. I split the class of into groups, there was pairing and sharing and differentiation the class was a difficult one to manage. At the end of the lesson, my TA and I actually high fived each other we thought the lesson had gone so well.
I was pretty confident. I went to my feedback and was told that I was unsatisfactory. It was a scathing 45 minute session which left me in tears. That one observation and the following feedback and onslaught from SLT made me glad to leave teaching.
I became a nervous wreck. At the end of the academic year, when GCSE options came in over half of my students had picked history. Now how is that the work of an unsatisfactory teacher? I really worry for the future of education. I find the whole experience of observations equates to a nightmare. One feels like ones jobs are at stake and that to continue teaching is futile. It feels as if we are a number: a dot to the i; a cross for the t. Teachers need reasons to stay.
Thanks David. Am sending a copy of this to reviewer. Most awful practice going on. No inquiry into what I am doing or why followed by what was good then what was wrong and instruction on how to fix it referencing own practice. Rhian Williams explains how quality first teaching, combined with a team of subject specialist TAs, Garath Rawson outlines the steps Doncaster University Technical College has taken to increase female participation Share tweet pin.
But some of the highlights included: Over-packing tasks to the point where the lesson was so dense it had its own gravitational pull, which sucked in poor uncomprehending kids like popcorn up a hoover.
My board pen ran out. I only had one board pen. I regret it hugely. I felt that I had been supported and more importantly, trusted. I wish all my observations were like that. That afternoon I filled in a stationery order for board markers. Thanks for reading. Sign up here for your free Brilliant Teacher Box Set Make sure your assessment is effective with these expert insights. Share tweet pin Teachwire. Subscribe Today!
Year Manager Surrey. You can even close your Shifted Purpose Flop lesson with a share from the student you helped reach the goal. Use her work as an anchor for the reteach. Sometimes students look confused, but really many of them understood the lesson. It might not be as bad as you think.
Because it is not a majority of students, you can proceed with a small group reteach while other students practice their new skills during the next lesson. It is always important to try to assess and analyze the reasons behind a flop, especially if you must continue. However, there are several things you can do to make the experience less painful for you and more enjoyable and successful for your students. Infuse movement. Take a break. Sometimes students and teachers need to step away and come back with a fresh perspective.
You can give your students this break by having them play an active game, like freeze dance or charades. Bring some joy into the room—a stressful lesson flop is joyful for no one. Switch it up. Continuous whole-group instruction with minimal variety can easily lead to student misbehavior, so mix it up and add variety. Instead of whole-group, independent work, ask students to collaborate with a partner or small group. Usually students just want to talk.
Give students an opportunity to draw or express their ideas through art, drama, or movement. Invite them to use a different part of their brain to re-energize so they can have the stamina to make it through the lesson.
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