Tutor Observation 3 19th
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.
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.
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