Week 3 Observation

Writing
Watched a short session where focus was adding detail. Rather than pressure of writng a full story, students were to write one sentence at a time based on a teacher-set subject (house, TV show...)

One thing I was reminded of was the value of having students share their writing ideas/work to the whole class. This happened in a positive environment where students felt safe to share amongst peers.

Swimming
Observed instructional teaching of swimming, focussing on technique. Three main groups. Start with one group in, others waiting. Once each group finishes short teaching session, they're free to play at end of pool or hop out if cold.

Worked well swimming lengthwise. Four to six students at a time going from each group.

Goal for release time usage

Last year I had 1 day per week release from my class as part of my beginning teacher programme. This year that time is reduced to 1/2 day per week (then none once I am fully registered). A lot of my release time last year I used for various planning and preparation. This year my goal is to spend more time observing other teachers' practice.

A particular area of focus I want to concentrate on is that of small group teaching in maths, reading, and writing. I don't feel this was a strong point for me last year, so hope to gain some helpful insight and ideas for improving this.

Different Perspectives

I had an observation of my teaching today during a writing lesson. The focus was interaction with children. Overall the feedback was very positive.

• great questioning
• supportive manner with children
• clear learning outcomes expressed
• links with prior learning made
• whole class, group, and individual interactions
• good wait times for attention and answers
• dealing appropriately with distractions
• children's input/sharing encouraged - leading to further learning

So I should feel good about it, and in terms of the observation focus, I am. However, I found myself inwardly frustrated with the progress of the lesson itself.

Yesterday's lesson was focussed on 'planning for writing an informal letter' Today's was to be 'drafting an informal letter using a plan'. I was discouraged by the small number of students who had completed their plan from yesterday.

I am unsure whether it is lack of focussed work habits or just that I expected too much? But really, I don't think I expected too much. So, one could say I could have collected all the books in to check progress - fair enough, but that can't be done everyday (I had feed back in writing the day prior).

So where to from here? Maybe it's a combination of continuing to give clear direction and learning intentions with the added and continual positive sharing of expectations in regard to quality work and good work habits.