Tutor Observation 3: It's all starting to come together.

Tutor Observation 3 19^th May 2014.

For this reflection I will be using Gibbs (1988) as a structure for my thoughts.

Finally an uneventful observation (almost)





Description.

This observation was my third tutor observation and my fifth overall.  The session was part of the Functional English level two course and fits into the SOW in the writing module for letter writing.  The group are all adult learners working towards their level 2 qualifications.  The session covered formal letter writing which the group tutor has asked me to cover as a topic which will likely come up in the exam.  The full session was to only last the length of the observation as the tutor then wanted the group to do their speaking and listening discussions and so she requested that I cover the topic quickly.  Due to this and previous observation feedback I planned the session around the Accelerated Learning Cycle.  I had taken over this group a few weeks previously and had been working closely with them since then and was beginning to understand them much more.

Feelings.

I had received an excellent grade in a previous mentor observation with a very difficult group and so my confidence had increased since the last tutor observation.  However I was acutely aware that the chances of repeating that success on the same scale were relatively small and therefore felt nervous and kept trying to remind myself not to be too disheartened if my grade went down this time.  I had researched and thoroughly planned the session and ensured I had included many tasks for the learners in response to previous feedback.  I felt relaxed and prepared during the session and kept the session condensed and succinct. The learners were all really engaged and comfortable and the whole group had a great, fun, informative session.  There was a slight issue with a dominant learner but I feel I handled it well.  Overall I felt very happy with the way the session went and felt confident the observer would be able to see my progression as a teacher.

Evaluation.

During the session the most dominant learner in the group began to question my knowledge on letter writing.  I kept my patience and referred her to the exam paper and websites in which my information could be verified.  I received great feedback from the observer on my response to this situation.  However another learner became frustrated with this learner and felt she was obstructing his learning and there was a small altercation.  The observer noted this could have been turned into a learning opportunity and I agree; given more time I would have explored this further.  I was quite surprised at the target of classroom management coming up as a target to work on as this is an area I have been working extremely hard in and have been gaining some great experience due to a rather difficult young group I have been working and having great success with.  Rapport with my learners is very important to me and I have a great relationship with this group.  There were specific reasons why each learner had issues that day and I have spoken to both learners since and am confidant this will not be an issue in the future.  

Due to feedback from previous observations and sessions I had researched Alistair Smith’s Accelerated Learning Cycle.  According to Smith (2003) Accelerated Learning is term for a series of approaches which draw on knowledge of the brain, motivation, memory and intelligence.  The cycle is broken into sections which move through concrete experience, reflection, conceptualisation to active application.

I followed this cycle throughout the session beginning with the ‘environment’ and ‘connect the learning elements’.  To achieve this I played music as the group arrived which referred to the topic (Stevie Wonder Signed Sealed Delivered) and asked learner to try and guess what the session would be on.  This was then linked to the ‘bigger picture’ of the overall qualification, previous subjects and importance to life and employability.   Then learners were introduced to the topic by being asked to reveal their own knowledge of letter writing and what it entails.  I then gave then a small group task in which they had all the presentational features of a formal letter broken into segments which the groups had to race each other to arrange the pieces into the correct format of a letter. This was done in differentiated rounds beginning with names, dates etc. and ending with un-named correspondence and reference numbers etc.  The next was section was on written format, sequencing paragraphs and formal language.  Music was again used here to allow learners to hear through mediums they were familiar and interested in the sequencing and format of a letter.  The music used here was Olly Murs ‘Dear Darlin’ and Eminem’s ‘Stan’. Each section was followed by a pause in the proceedings to reflect and discuss and ensure all members understood the concept completely and to consolidate learning.   I am very pleased with how I managed to implement this cycle with this topic as I was unsure it would fit successfully.  On reflection I feel it may be possible to fit most any subject into this cycle and as a result dry topics such as Functional Skills can be much more engaging.

I had been given targets to work on giving learners more opportunities to reflect and assess their learning so I decided to create a main task that would combine all we had learned and give learners a chance to reflect.  I wrote the learners a letter in which I asked them to respond by thinking about their learning and devising some targets.  They were also given the opportunity to give input into how they would like future session to develop.  This helped rapport and engagement as all learners were personally included in the letters which showed I had taken the time to get to know each of them individually and cared about their education.  It also showed learners that I was prepared to complete the same kinds of tasks and work as them and also gave them a working example of a formal letter to refer to. All learners were engaged and motivated throughout and wrote some excellent letters which gave some great feedback on the session and showed their learning.

Anaysis.

I am encouraged by the success I have had using Accelerated Learning and will continue to experiment with it in the future.  The incorporation of popular music was successful on many levels and allowed for many of the areas of the Accelerated learning plan to be covered.  Not only did it contribute to the classroom environment and the needs of learner’s according to Maslow’s hierarchy it was utilised as a tool for motivation and engagement and also to consolidate learning as a tool of analysis when looking at format. My creativity and innovation has been cited as a strength and this is something I am extremely motivated by as I previously felt I was suffering in this area.   

Accelerated learning insists on the importance of VAK learning and different learning styles.  I attempted to incorporate multiple uses of this style which I aligned with the other parts of the ALC; demonstration, activation and consolidation (Smith et al. 2003).  VAK has been widely criticised as a theory of learning Lofty (2006) claims VAK has “no scientific justification” (41) and that it should be put to rest.  However as a tool of motivation and engagement I feel VAK is essential.  Further more I have always tried to incorporate a visual learning element to any Power-point slides and handouts, colour-coding certain elements which link together so learners may find it easier to recall.  This appears to have been successful as the observer noted learner’s talking about how the different colours used helps them to recognise elements that link together and recall them.  The observer noted that this use of colour may be detrimental to the dyslexic learner in this group but I have enquired and he assures me it is a help.  I have also been researching this area and although there seems to be many differing viewpoints on strategies for dyslexic learners colour-coding does seem to be a recurrent theme. Schneider and Crombie (2003) write:

         Dyslexic students can also become successful in using correct sentence structure

         and grammatical word structures (…) by repeatedly practicing and memorising

         a strict colour-coding system to simplify the retrieval of different sentence

         patterns and grammatical word patterns (54).

By giving important elements of the subject specific colours learners can trace this back through all previous sessions and link the elements together.  I have also used acronyms where appropriate to consolidate this further.   This had been a success with all learners in the group for example Type-Audience-Purpose-Style is a basic framework for part of the “threshold concepts” (Meyer and Land 2003, 2005, 2006) I have devised for my Functional English groups and learners know that anything relating to each area will have a colour.  I also colour-coded the Learning outcomes so we could refer to them throughout the session and know which outcome we were currently working on.  I remembered to return to them frequently and had the current learning outcome being covered on the ‘pause for reflection’ slide so learners could gauge how they successfully they felt they were meeting them on a scale system of 1-3.  This too was another successful element to the session though on reflection I feel I will ask the learners if they would prefer to write down where they feel they are on the scale to ensure no embarrassment.

Conclusion

This session overall was very successful.  I feel I have improved massively as a teacher since my last observation and am gaining in confidence daily.  All learners enjoyed the session and participated fully.  Learning outcomes were met by all learners and learning progression was evidenced throughout and concluded with each learner completing a written formal letter.  Feedback from the learners shows they feel they are learning successfully and are being stretched and challenge.  The ALC has been a useful tool for shorter sessions.  It allows a lot of information to be covered in a short space of time and promotes a fun engaging atmosphere which can elevate the more dry topics.  I have again noticed the success incorporating popular culture into session can bring and plan to expand on this further in the future.  My feedback technique is developing nicely and my group profile and planning has been given very positive feedback.  I still have a long way to go but in comparison to a few short months ago I have progressed massively.  I am so pleased to have gained a grade one in this tutor observation and will work hard to maintain this grade in the future.

Action Plan.

In light of the feedback I will continue my research on questioning techniques and strategies.  I have really looked into this deeply and have had great feedback in sessions however this continues to come up in observations.  I will persevere in this area as it is extremely important to me. 

I will also work on methods of tracking and assessment.  This is an area I am a little unclear on.  I will speak to my tutor and mentor for advice on the best way to proceed here.  It seems tracking is not something consistently utilised in Functional Skills until assessments take place.  I will compare the difference between GCSE tracking and FS.  I have an idea of incorporating some kind of tracking system into my group profile so I will work on this in the future.

Overall the action plan is to keep on improving and learning.  I will continue my research into multiple areas and experiment with what I discover in my sessions. I will keep developing my ideas and strategies for incorporating popular culture and topics of interest to the learners and forging links between more curriculum based learning to develop a fusion between the two.  

References.

Lofty, J. S. (2006) Quiet Wisdom: Teachers in the United States & England Talk about Standards, Practice & Professionalism pp. 19-53 n.p.: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc. Education Research Complete, EBSCOhost, [accessed 8/04/14].
Smith, A., Lovatt, M. and Wise, D. (2003) Accelerated Learning: A User’s Guide. Bancyfelin: Crown House.

Smith, A. (2007) Accelerated Learning in Practice: Brain-based Methods for Accelerating Motivation and Achievement.  London: Network Educational Press Ltd.

Schneider, E and Crombie, M. (2003). Dyslexia and Foreign Language Learning.  Oxen: David Fulton Publishers.

Tutor Observation 4: Transformations and Preparing for the Future.

Tutor Observation 4 26th June 2014.

 






 I am so proud of these girls and that I got to be a part of their transformation.

 

Description.

This was my final tutor observation and final observation overall.  The group of learners for this session are young adult Childcare students, all female aged between 17 and 18 .  This group actually completed their Childcare course the previous week and have all now completed their level one English course and are awaiting results.  We were informed a few weeks previously that the learners had to stay on at college for a further 5 weeks due to funding reasons, so the tutor and I decided to do some progression sessions to introduce the group to level 2 English which the majority of them will continue on to in the next academic year.  However it has now been decided that the learners no longer have to continue attending Childcare and English sessions.  The learners that were present last week have volunteered to come in to college anyway to attend the session taken by myself for the purposes of this observation.  The session planned was an informal revision session and introduction to some level 2 topics and concepts which I had started to explore with the learners the previous week.

Feelings.

This group can be rather difficult at times and can be very talkative and disruptive.    When I first met this group in February the majority of the learners were extremely disruptive to the point, in a previous session, with a different tutor college security had to be called and many of the learners were put on report.  Learners were reluctant to participate and would simply refuse to work or participate in discussions and were not engaged in the sessions at all.  When I took over this group in February we started afresh.  I encouraged learners to offer comments and suggestions for session content.  I worked really hard to incorporate their ideas whilst still meeting the required learning and make the sessions engaging and informative.  This has allowed a rapport to build between us as a group and the improvements shown in the girls over the last few months have been amazing to see.  I have learned a lot about classroom and behaviour management with this group and the differences between younger and mature adult learners and how to teach them.  I would not have improved as much as I have without them; we have helped each other.  I was extremely proud and pleased that some of them came into college early in the morning when they did not have to so I could be observed.  This shows the rapport we have built up together and the maturity and progression the girls have made in a few short months.  While they can still be quite chatty at times and are far from perfect they have improved massively.  They are now working in sessions and are capable of quiet concentration when needed, however I was concerned how they may appear to an observer who is not aware of this. 

Evaluation.

Overall the session was a great success.  One learner is a young mother and had brought her young child to the session as she no longer had childcare funding now the course was officially finished.  I made the decision to allow the child into the session as it was the final day and the session was quite informal and as the learner had gone out of her way for me by coming into college I felt it would be unfair of me to send her home.  I had brought a large tin of chocolates as a thank you and reward for all the hard work they had done and that was enough to keep the baby occupied.  In other sessions I would have reconsidered this decision as it could produce a barrier to learning and health and safety issues but for today it seemed to be the right thing to do.  As all my previous tutor observations had been with a different group I felt it was important for the observer to see this group as they had been so integral to my progression as a teacher. I have been given a lot of freedom with this group to develop my own resources and style and as a result felt really comfortable in this session.

Analysis.

The feedback from this observation is extremely positive and I am pleased that the observer noticed the dynamic between myself and this group and the difference it has been making.  My knowledge and experience of classroom and behaviour management techniques has increased hugelt through my work with this group.  All group members had confidence issues and felt they had been let down by the school system.  There was no real rapport with the tutor and throughout the group cliques had formed and relationships were strained.  Petty (2009) writes:

    Unless rapport is established a psychological barrier is created which stops students

    taking part in discussions, asking questions or asking for help.  It also detrimentally

    affects student motivation and classroom management (102).

I recognised quickly that this was one of the main barriers to learning and set about building a rapport between myself and the learners and fostering a more positive group dynamic as a whole.  By communicating with learners and showing an interest in their lives and the topics they are passionate about a relationship began to form.  The learners offer ideas and topics which I endeavour to include which shows the learners I listen to and value their opinion and input.  I have been blunt and honest about their behaviour and how it would be viewed in the work-place and have also used humour as a tool for learning and to diffuse potentially negative situations from escalating and.  The observer noted how my skills in classroom and behaviour management have grown and commented that I have the potential to become an expert practitioner in this area in the future. I have always been able to communicate well with people and have a particular rapport with children and young adults so was determined to improve of previous feedback concerning my communication with learners as I knew it was so out of character.

As this session took place in a different room than we usually occupy I had access to Smart-board technology which I wanted to utilise not only to improve on my use of ICT in the classroom but also to add to the creativity and innovation of the session.  The board allowed interaction from the learners throughout the session and they were encouraged to get up and write their answers on the board and then discuss. According to Bloom learning is broken up into three domains the cognitive, the affective and the psychomotor domain.  I attempted to take the session and the learners through these three domains to enable them to get past the first level of the cognitive domain ‘knowledge’ and move to deep learning.  With this group I have attempted to fuse cognitivist, constuctivist and behaviourist techniques to reach learners.  By combining “learning by doing and asking challenging questions” (Petty 2009 p4) from the cognitivist school through written work and use of the Smart-board; “prior learning and experience” (ibid) and relatable concepts and resources from learner’s lives through pop-culture content and discussions of learners existing knowledge and beliefs from the constructivist school; while incorporating rewards and motivation from the behaviourist school I have managed to create a method to suit this group. This session also included video clips from a well known sitcom to illustrate bias which learners all recognised and therefore related to but now were now using higher-order thinking to analysis the clip in terms of bias and stereotypes. The learners were now looking at concepts more deeply and beginning to make insightful comments on such things as gender and stereotyping which they have all become very passionate about. . I noticed early on that this group engaged more and spoke passionately and insightfully when given a topic they were interested in and placed value on and used this as a means of motivation and engagement and to build rapport. In Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (1951) learners are expected to be changed by the educative process and this was the aim I had with this group.   All learners have gone through a transformation, some more than others but all have grown and matured and are beginning to look more deeply at the world around them and the things they take interest in.    I have had excellent feedback in my progress as a creative and innovative practitioner in this area from numerous peers and the observer in this session took note and gave high praise of my research and experimentation with popular culture concepts and resources as a tool to promote deep learning and higher order thinking.

Conclusion.

This was my final session within my placement at Doncaster college and although it was a great success and my fourth level 1 grade observation of the eight I had during my training the ending was bitter-sweet.  I have learned so much from this group and truly believe this is where I received the majority of my training; from a disruptive group of teenage girls.  I have a huge passion for literature and at the outset of my training the ideas of a Functional Skills group like this would not have been my preference.  However I have taken the time to really get to know these girls as my group profile will evidence and have worked extremely hard to ensure they were all given a voice and the best possible chance to succeed.   The learners were all disappointed at the thought of a new teacher next year and I hope this is not too much of a barrier to learning for them and they can continue their hard work in the future.   Although the session was quite informal and fun and end of term spirits were high I managed the situation well led a successful session and the learners allowed the observer to see the new dynamic we have created within this group.  I have learned a lot about classroom and behaviour management with this group and the differences between younger and mature adult learners and how to teach them.  I would not have improved as much as I have without them; we have helped each other.  I will always remember and be grateful to them.

Action Plan.

The plan from here is to take all I have learned with me into the future.  In my role as a life-long learner I will continue to research all areas of education particularly questioning as I wish to become an expert practitioner in this area.  As a means of continuing my development as a teacher I will search out CPD opportunities to help me improve in all areas.  The new post-modern theories surrounding education is something I am still hugely interested in and actively researching and will continue to do so in the future to further my improvement and keep abreast of new emerging theories and technologies.  The use of pop-culture as a teaching resource is something I will continue to implement as this has been a huge success for me through all the levels I have taught from Functional Skills to degree level English. I still have so much to learn but as I search for employment I will take the invaluable skills I have learned from these girls with me.  


 

Tutor Observation Reflection 2: Suicide, Traffic, Panic Attacks and Ambulances.

Major traffic on roads

Cause by potential sucide on road!

                                                   I MEAN COME ON!!  
                                                      What else could go wrong?

Learner Taken ill

Tutor Observation Reflection 2 using Gibbs (1988).

Description

This session was my second tutor observation and third observation overall.  The observation took place in a Function Skills English session on descriptive texts covering both reading and writing.  The session is usually three hours long but was cut short today due to group presentations so a lot of information had to be covered in a short space of time.  The cohorts are all mature adult learners preparing to move on to GCSE with hopes of moving into the nursing profession.

Feelings.

Since my previous observation my placement with Doncaster Council’s AFCL department has begun after a delayed start, in which I have been observing tutors in a range of courses in the community and taking part in some of the sessions myself.  I have also secured a new placement at Doncaster College which began in late February which has allowed me to increase my actual practical teaching experience massively since then.  I am beginning to feel much more confident in my ability to teach now that I am being given the chance to teach sessions for myself.  I have been working closely with this group for the past month and have taught three full sessions myself.  This has allowed a good rapport to be built and has had a huge effect on the problem of nerves which was hindering the teaching process massively.  As there are no longer huge gaps of time between my teaching experiences I am quickly becoming more and more confident and knowledgeable with each session I take, adapting any future sessions to reflect what I have learned.   As a result of this the observation today was overall a much more positive experience than the previous session in which I was observed.  Although there was still an element of nerves to my delivery as I am still relatively new to actual teaching, added to observation nerves this was still a huge improvement on my previous observation.  The observer commented on the improvement made here mentioning the fact that I did not seem nervous at all.  I am happy with the improvement although I know that nerves are still impacting on my delivery and will continue to improve as I become more comfortable in the environment.  I am able to recognise when my speech becomes to rushed and pull myself back and count to five in my head to allow learners to speak their answers themselves without jumping in too early with praise or follow up questions.  A technique learned from one of my mentors which I now also employ is to take a literal step back after asking a question as a reminder to give the learners time.

Evaluation.

The session brought up some issues that I have not had to deal with in my teaching experience so far.  Due to problems with traffic only two learners were present at the beginning of the session and the rest of the group arrived at the session in gradual increments.  The planned session had to be adjusted slightly to accommodate this.  The first task/game was omitted which as a consequence did not allow the leaning to be broken up as much as I would have liked.  However overall I feel that I coped with the situation well and ensured that all latecomers were welcomed and acknowledged and were brought up to date on the lesson content and direction.  During this session a learner was taken ill and an ambulance had to be called. I endeavoured to stay calm during this incident and although I had to leave the room momentarily I ensured the other learners were put at ease and the lesson was resumed as soon as possible.  According to Glasser's Choice Theory Maslow’s 5 basic i needs are at the forefront of motivation and learning he states that we must satisfy each need in turn, starting with the first, which deals with the most obvious needs for survival itself. 
This is supportive of Glasser’s choice theory (1999) in that our basic inborn needs are at the forefront of motivation and learning .  On this occasion the lower order needs of the learner concerning physical and emotional wellbeing needed to be addressed.  This impacted the other learners; all were becoming concerned, meaning they could not concentrate on their higher-order needs of learning, fun and self-actualisation. These experiences can impact on teachers and learners everyday and while it was vital experience for me, and I coped well with the situation and received positive feedback from the observer regarding this, it was quite challenging to have my first experience of this occur during an observation.   These are experiences that can impact on teachers and learners everyday and although I know it was vital experience for me, and I feel I coped well with the situation and received positive feedback from the observer regarding this, it was quite challenging to have my first experience of this occur during an observation.  

Overall I feel the session went well.  The learners all engaged with the topic, slides, sound-effects and tasks and all produced a well written piece of descriptive writing which showed the progression of their learning while also enjoying a fun relaxed but informative session.  I can already determine areas that can be altered in order to deliver a truly multi-sensory session for the learners.  Multi-sensory learning asserts learners should experience visual, auditory and kinaesthetic approaches in order to fully understand a concept or topic.  Kolb’s (1984) Experiential learning is a philosophy of education based on the work of Piaget, Lewin, Jung and John Dewey (1938) which believes learning should come through a synthesis of experience and knowledge.  To learn experientially learners must first of all own and value their experience and knowledge and understanding is constructed from what learners already know and believe based on previous experience and an effective teacher must build on exploration of this knowledge and beliefs.  Kolb and Kolb (2005) write:

        Beginning with these or related concrete experiences allows the learner

        to re-examine and modify their previous sensemaking in light if new ideas (207).

A more kinaesthetic approach would have been beneficial here allowing a more interactive experience for learners to with and describe what they feel and touch.  I convinced myself the ideas I had in this respect were too juvenile for this group and was worried about offending learners. This observation session could have been developed into a multi-sensory lesson and included objects to touch, smell and taste.  My initial idea was to have objects in paper bags for the learners to describe.  If I was working with children this would have been the method I would have used however I decided against it as I was concerned the mature students would not engage with this.  However this judgement was incorrect.  The learners really engaged with the sensory aspects of the session and this would have only improved the learning and the atmosphere of the session if I had included objects to touch, smell and taste.  I intend to research further into new and emerging technologies available in my subject area and utilise these where available; this is another target for my ILP.   My experience and ability is increasing daily and as my rapport with the learners increases too the sessions should continue to improve.      

Analysis.

The fact that my interaction with the learners was identified as a strength is a real positive for me. The observer picked up on my support of the learners and development of their skills in preparation for the exam and every day life.  My interaction with learners is something I have been working really hard to improve on as my nerves and lack of experience had caused me to talk too much and not spend enough time with the learners.  This is also continually improving I believe, due to a particularly difficult young group I have been working with in which we have been making huge strides forward.  My work with this young group is not only improving my classroom/behaviour management and questioning skills but also allows me to see the differences in the mature learners of the observation group and identify the areas where I can step back and allow these learners to take over.  I will continue to work on this in the future it is important to me to become a supportive and encouraging teacher as this is the corner stone of successful learning.  

I agree with the comments referring to continuing to improve my question techniques.  I have been researching questioning methods and am planning to devise a system in which I ensure to include at least four techniques per session in all my future sessions to determine through trial and error the best techniques for certain learners, topics or situations. 

During group work I have been attempting to ensure the quieter learners work with different group members to engage them in the tasks and discussions.  I will speak to my mentors about this and get their perspective and ideas in how to engage the quieter learners without making them feel singled out.  In previous sessions learners have written and performed radio advertisements for Sport Relief in which the quieter learners in the group really engaged and responded to.  This is something which I can attempt to build on in the future.  I also intend to ask the learners their ideas on the types of tasks done in the session and will develop the tasks round this.  Functional Skills is a particularly dry subject in which the learners understandably become bored with the content and resources.  I have been endeavouring to improve the content of the session to include more interesting and diverse resources such as the choice of text for descriptive writing, using sound effects and visuals.  During a previous persuasive writing session I incorporated a video of Martin Luther King’s famous speech to illustrate persuasive techniques which was a really successful session. 

The breaking up of the tasks is something I will continue to work on in the future. Although there would have been more time and an extra task had the session begun on time with all learners, the later tasks could have been broken up more to make learning easier for some learners.  I intend to ask advice of my mentors in this area it is also a topic I am hoping to cover in my subject specialist interview.  It is important to stop and recap and although I think I have allowed for this during my planning I need to pay more attention and allow more time for recap and tasks.  The observer has given some advice to research the Accelerated Learning Cycle as a tool to improve in this area.  

The strengths identified are positive and can be built on (appendix 10).  My subject knowledge is something that is commented on often and although this is important I am also conscious of my subject knowledge becoming too noticeable or impacting on the session too much.   Although I attempt to include a small amount of more critiquing points for differentiation and also to allow learners to think in new ways I do not want to force my knowledge on the learners or influence their viewpoints.  I am still making the transition from higher level student to tutor and although it is great to have the recognition of my subject knowledge I believe it is the learner’s knowledge that should be the basis of learning. As my research into teaching theory continues it is cognitivist and constructivist based theories and particularly more postmodern adaptations of them such as Problem/Inquiry based learning and philosophical and literary approaches from theorists first encountered in my degree study such as those of Deluze and Kristeva that I find most interesting and relevant and want to build my future practice on.

Conclusion.

As a result of the observation I have learned that although I still have a long way to go in my training and development as a teacher my skills are improving greatly.  I have learned that my attempts to condense the content of sessions and make them more learner led rather than tutor led has been successful up to this point and I will continue on working to improve this even further in future sessions.  I do not need to do all the work and can let the learners have more control of the session. 

This session introduced me to classroom issues which I had not yet encountered in my training and so I gained vital knowledge and experience on how to cope in such situations in a professional manner.  It also gave me first hand experience of how a teacher needs to be able to adjust the lesson plan to accommodate any issues which may occur.  I have learned I do not need to put so much pressure on myself to rigidly follow the lesson plan.

My interaction with learners has improved since previous observations but there is still a lot of work to be done in this area.  I can break down tasks into smaller chunks which will make them more manageable for some learners.  I have learned not to over think tasks or dismiss them as something the learners would feel is aimed at children and insulting.  The session was good but could have been great if I had included all the multi-sensory resources I had initially though of.

Action Plan.

In future sessions I intend to break up the session into smaller sections and include more tasks and activities at the end of each section to make learning more manageable, even more engaging and more learner led.  I will include more recaps in my sessions rather than just one at the start and end of the session.  This was a short session compared to the amount of time usually spent with this group and shorter still due to the unforeseen issues which occurred during and so I may have tried to move past things too quickly in order to include the important information.  In future I will omit less important information and pick them up in a future lesson.  I will research the Accelerated Learning Cycle to help me in this area.

I will also continue to improve my questioning techniques.  I will Experiment with techniques and aim to include at least four techniques per session in all my future sessions to determine through trial and error the best techniques for certain learners, topics or situations. I will continue to work on condensing the content of sessions to allow for more tasks and questioning.

I will implement a recap and assessment method which allows learners to assess and reflect on their learning and progress which I will speak to my mentors about.  I would also like an improved method of tracking and assessing the progress of learners for myself rather than relying on the information given to me.  This is a great starting point but as I am getting to know these learners more I would like some kind of record to show progression.

I also need to devise a better method of recap and assessment as question and answering is adequate for some part of the session however, the learners should have some access to self-reflection and future targets.  The target for my ILP is to develop a method for learners to reflect on their learning and progression during the session.  In my placement with DMBC learners have a Learner Journey Booklet which they complete at the end of every session.  This may be something I can replicate or use as a template to design something similar for Doncaster College students. I will talk to my mentors in the college about the best way to achieve this.

Tutor Observation Reflection 1 (13.12.14.) Nervous Chatter.

Introduction

In this reflection I shall be using the reflective model of John Dewey as laid out in his works How We Think (1933) and Logic: The Theory of Inquiry (1938).   This continues my experimentation with multiple reflective models in order to determine the most suitable method for my style. This model has been adapted and broken down into stages by numerous scholars usually consisting of five or six stages encompassing the whole reflection in experiencing, questioning, evaluation, analysis, hypotheses and experimentation.  This inevitably leads to further questions and experiences for reflection so like many others; the process of reflection is cyclical.  Reflection for Dewey is a form of learning and, experience, questioning and experiment become synonymous. Due to the restrictions of word-count I have chose to use Rodgers (2002) adaptation of Dewey in which she shows it is possible to collapse the six phases down to four;

1. Presence to experience
2. Description of experience
3. Analysis of experience
4. Intelligent action/experimentation. 

Tutor Observation Reflection 1. 13th December 2013.

The Experience in Picture form.

A picture speaks a 1000 words but I definitely beat that!

Presence to the Experience.

The session planned was a dissertation workshop designed to provide guidance and aid level 6 students in the early stages of their dissertation project.  I had worked hard on the planning stage of the session and as my aim was for a relaxed atmosphere which would cover issues dictated by the learners I had planned for many different areas which may come up.  I had been specifically asked by their tutor to cover Harvard referencing in part of the session. This was my first experience of the observation process and, due to problems with my placement only my second experience of planning and leading a session after the micro-teach assignment a few weeks earlier.  Naturally this affected my presence to the experience as I was extremely nervous and was unsure if any learners would attend as the session was not mandatory.  There were problems with traffic that morning meaning I arrived at the session 2 minutes before it was due to begin and the observer was already in the classroom waiting.  This added to my nerves and caused the session to begin later than planned; this was quite rightly commented on by the observer. Throughout the session I felt I was talking too much and felt a need to fill the silence when I asked a question.  I felt panicked and uncomfortable and was conscious of the observer throughout the whole process and although I relaxed a little during the second half of the session after the observer had left I felt the session did not go as well as I had envisioned it and was hugely relieved when it was over.  In short I thought the session was a disaster.

Description of Experience.

The session began slightly later than planned as outlined above with four learners in attendance.  The observed part of the session covered Harvard referencing and consisted of Power-point presentation integrated with group discussion and included tasks for the learners in the form of quizzes to test knowledge and tasks requiring the referencing of multiple sources of varying difficulty.  The session became very teacher led and learner’s thoughts and ideas were not given the adequate time and attention to be expressed properly.  The delivery was very rushed and the observer’s feedback indicates I need to develop a slower, more measured style which allows the objectives to be discussed with learners.  The information given in the session was all relevant and useful to the learners however, there was a lot of information to take on board and feedback indicates there needs to be more time given to learners to reflect on the information they are given. 

There were some positives to the session and feedback indicates my subject knowledge, enthusiasm and rapport with the learners all contribute to the experience of learners and the learning taking place.  The learners were all encouraged to take ownership of their learning and were signposted to learn independently which is vital at this stage in the education process and this was commented on positively by the observer.  Questions were utilised in order to enhance learning, another aspect imperative to the learning process with some good feedback given although there is huge room for improvement.

Analysis of Experience.

I feel nerves had a major effect on the way this session was delivered.  I tend to speak quickly when I am nervous and as this was my first proper teaching session and observation I wanted to ensure I covered all the content in my lesson plan.  This allowed the session to become to rigid in form and content. Feedback shows this was detrimental to the learning as I was talking over learners in my rush to get through the material and did not allow learners to adequately express their thoughts and feelings.  This is truly out of character for me and I was clearly not reflecting in practice as I did not realise at the time this was happening.

 I tried to incorporate questioning extensively to promote learning but failed to move on to more higher order questioning or ask follow up questions.  This is again out of character as I am a continual questioner myself and am passionate in my belief that questioning is the key to all learning; my dissertation was on conspiracy theory and questioning dominant narratives! I have been researching Socratic questioning as a target given by the observer and am learning that I am already a Socratic questioner (usually) and can see where I went wrong.  In Socratic questioning attempts are made to draw out the learners’ fullest possible knowledge of the topic. Individuals have the capacity to recognize contradictions, implying that incomplete or inaccurate ideas can be corrected during the process of disciplined questioning, leading to progressively greater truth and accuracy (Paul and Elder 2009). Questioning cannot work if the answer given is not considered or questioned.  I can only conclude that this too comes down to nerves which caused a kind of tunnel vision in which I was only really aware of the observer and convinced myself closed questions with a correct answer would show learning whereas my primary concern should be the learners. Although I had considered Maslow’s (1943) Hierarchy of needs in the planning stage I did not completely follow through with all areas in the session.   

Independent learning is vital at this level and the session became too teacher led which is not the session I planned.  An effective teacher should be able to move seamlessly between the two roles of instructor and facilitator depending on each role’s fitness for purpose. Problem-Based learning is a concept the lecturer had been experimenting with and introduced me to. Savvey (2002) defines PBL as an instructional and curricular learner-centred approach that empowers learners to conduct research, integrate theory and practice, and apply knowledge and skills to develop a viable solution to a defined problem. Critical to the success of this approach is the selection of ill structured problems (often interdisciplinary) and a tutor who guides the learning process and conducts a thorough debriefing at the conclusion of the learning experience. I had endeavoured to incorporate elements of PBL into the session when planning which shows my awareness and intention to teach using this method which indicated improvements would come with experience. Ertmer and Simons (2006) identify a huge challenge of PBL for instructors, is navigating the transition from teacher as knowledge provider to tutor as manager and facilitator of learning. This also affected the motivation of the learners as, although I had positive feedback for creating engaging and informative slides the learners were more engaged when they were actively taking part in tasks.  The information would have been easier to take in if I had broken it down into more tasks and allow the learners to define what they need to know.  Independent learning is vital at this level and the session became too teacher led which is not the session I planned.  For this subject a fusion between instructor and facilitator was needed.  An effective teacher should be able to move seamlessly between the two roles depending on each role’s fitness for purpose in what Petty (2009) refers to as the “instructor-facilitator continuum”.  The session I planned was based around this which shows my awareness and intention to teach using this method so I am quite positive this will improve with experience.    On the positive side the dissertation guide I created for the learners and the accompanying Power-point was praised by the tutor and the learners.  The Power-point was put on blackboard for the learners to access and the tutor has asked me to extend and refine the guidance document for future use.  

As the learners were not that far behind me in their academic career I was concerned that I would include content which was not challenging to the learners.  As a result I jumped straight in at a high level and at times the content of the session was pitched at too high a level.   Higher order thinking is the aim of university teaching and constructivist theory tells us that in order to attain this emphasis should be on the actual process of learning and not simply on the product to be learnt (Cohen et al 1977 p.183).  I had attempted to model my planning around Kolb’s (1984) theories of experiential learning modelled out of four elements: concrete experience, observation and reflection, the formation of abstract concepts and testing in new situations. Illustrated through the model of the learning cycle the theory proposes that knowledge is acquired through a synthesis between knowledge and experience:

The cycle can begin at any point but in order for cognition and experiential learning to take place learner's need to develop a clear starting point and by skimming through the purpose and objectives of the session and rushing to get through all the complicated information I did not allow this to happen.

Intelligent Action/Experimentation.

The plan going forward form here is to first and foremost gain more teaching experience so I can begin to feel more comfortable with the experience.  I have begun a new placement and should hopefully begin teaching after the Christmas break.  This will help with my nerves and help me get used to the observation process as it was commented on by the tutor that there was a vast change in my delivery once the observer had left.  I will make a conscious effort to slow down my delivery and give learners the opportunity to articulate their thoughts.  I have already been given excellent tips from my mentor about taking a literal step back after speaking and counting slowly to 10 to allow learners to answer which I will test at the next opportunity.

I recognise that I include too much information and could have stretched out the information into two sessions. I will work on incorporating more tasks into sessions to allow learners to process the knowledge in small chunks I will research and experiment with different teaching and learning theories and andragogical and pedagogical techniques in order to allow me to do this.

Finally I will speak to my mentor about ways of giving feedback and tracking learner’s progress.  I will continue my research into questioning techniques and theories of teaching and learning in order to improve on my grade.

Overall Grade 3.

Bibliography

Cohen,L., Manion,L, Morrison, K and Wyse, D.  (2010) A Guide to Teaching Practice  Revised 5^th Edition. Oxen: Routledge.

Dewey, J. (1933) How We Think, New York: Heath.

Kolb, D. A. (1984) Experiential Learning, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Prentice Hall.

Petty, G. (2009) Teaching Today A Practical Guide 4^th Edition.  Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Ltd.

Paul, R and, Elder, L. (2006) The Thinker's Guide to the Art of Socratic Questioning Based on Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools. USA: The Foundation for Critical Thinking Press

Rodgers, C. (2002). Defining Reflection Another Look at John Dewey and Reflective Thinking. Teachers College Record, 104(4), 842-866.

Rushton, I. and Suter, M (2012) Reflective Practice for Teaching in Lifelong Learning.  Berkshire: Open University Press