Importance Of Key Starter

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Reflective Journal

Introduction

The purpose of this reflective journal is so that I; a reflective practitioner can reflect on my teaching experiences across a series of maths lessons within placement A. Using research methodologies and teaching theories, this reflective journal will enable me to identify how my teaching can be improved.

Reflection can be defined by a number of different people. Harvard and Hodkinson (1994) defines reflection in three conceptual orientations; reflection as a instrumental mediation of action- where knowledge is used to direct practice; reflection as deliberating among competing views of teaching- where knowledge is used to inform practice; and reflection as reconstructing experience – where knowledge is used to help teachers apprehend and transform practice. This reflective journal takes on the later definition, so that future lessons can be improved.

There was a choice of topics which could be covered for this journal (English/communication/language and literacy or maths) .In relation to maths I conducted a series of four numeracy lessons, which took place on four consecutive days. The children were learning written methods of multiplication and division. I was entirely responsible for the class and their learning. The first lesson was planned in advanced and then delivered; subsequent lessons were altered based on the outcomes and feedback received. The feedback came in different forms but stayed consistent for each lesson; after each lesson I completed a lesson evaluation, I received a lesson observation (carried out by the class teacher) and focus group (pupils) feedback (thinking fish). All of the feedback gathered enabled me to identify thoughts about each lesson and it allowed me to improve the future lessons with the feedback received. This process allowed me to develop individual lessons and gain key information of how the pupils learn. Through delivering a series of lesson and receiving feedback it highlighted several themes which ran though each lesson, this reflective journal will address these issues and how to improve my teaching in the future. An action plan will be created in order to continue teaching development.

This reflective journal will identify some successful and unsuccessful elements of my teaching practice, during the series of lessons. The elements will be related to how education theory can support my learning in order to further improve/support my future lessons. These reflections are supported via evidence from practical teaching experience.

Time management

Time management can be an issue within the lesson. With Each Maths lesson being 60 minutes long. On occasions the full content which was planned hadn’t been delivered or the children hadn’t had enough time to complete the task. Brown and Ralph (1998, p3) say that time management is to do with making the best use of our time, as time is a valuable and a unique resource.

Within the lesson it’s important to complete all that you have planned, so that the right outcomes can be achieved. Kyriacou (2009) says a key task as a teacher is to ‘elicit and sustain pupils’ involvement in the learning experience throughout a lesson which will lead to the learning outcomes you intend’. One lesson the pace was delayed, when the children were set a task which was displayed on the interactive whiteboard; I had several pressing demands which had to be dealt with during this task; one child who struggled with learning the new method so required extra input from me as the teacher, other children who had finished the task in hand were holding their individual whiteboards up for me to assess. Whilst still working with the child who needed extra attention, those who had finished started to distract other pupils. On reflection and feedback from the class teacher (appendix) the next lesson, I was able to set extension work and move on pupils to continue their learning.

After reviewing the lesson observations from the class teacher, it was evident in areas for development that time management specifically pace was a key issue, appearing three times (See appendix). According to Kyriacou (2009) say that pace can refer to a particular activity which is being employed for too long, or it could be the general pace and flow of the lesson is either too fast or too slows resulting in the whole lesson plan not being delivered or finishing early. In my case the pace and the flow of the lesson was too slow, which meant that children’s work didn’t get completed due to slow pace of teacher input.

Gererd (2011) says that a lively learning pace is critical feature of a disciplined classroom, with this in mind he goes on to say that if children are busy there is very little time for off task behaviour. This links in very well to the low level behaviour issues that were a continuous problem during the series of lessons. This will be discussed later in the reflective journal.

Moving forward to rectify this Gererd (2011) describes some practical steps in how to improve teacher pace within a lesson. This starts with the planning, the first step should be the pupils and to make their learning the central of your planning. He notes that teachers should always give the pupils opportunities for ‘focused thinking time’ and provide the students with a question/viewpoint to focus on. My main problem with pace comes within the main part of the lesson, where explanations and misconceptions can be time consuming. Gererd (2011) explains that as the teacher you should give instructions for the main activity/ learning points both verbally and visually. It is important as pupils learn in different ways and need to hear and see instructions before taking them onboard. During teacher input Gererd recommends employing a policy to deal with individual queries until the class is settled and on task. This will allow you to further explain any issue which may have arisen. Some children have a habit of asking off task questions as a method of delaying the learning. By taking on board Gererd’s advice I should be able to deliver appropriate paced lessons by having established routines within the classroom and considered planning allowing pupil learning to heart of the lesson.

Behaviour management

In a report by Education Committee (2011) reports that a conference by the NASUWT found that on average teachers loose an average of 30 minutes a day due to low level disruption and Low level disruption can be very stressful and can have a harmful effect on teaching and learning experiences.

Over the series of lessons, I had issues with low level behaviour with a few children, which were distracted / unsettled or talked whilst I was talking. Overall classroom behaviour management ranges from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘Good’ (See appendix) by the class teacher.

On the first lesson, there were occasions where some students were talking whilst I was teaching. This could be due to a variety of different reasons, a new exciting starter of times table bingo plus the snowy weather conditions. On the Lesson observation (see appendix) it was noted that I reminded pupils of their expected behaviour within the classroom.

Haydn (1951) says that the weather can be a contributing factor to a good working atmosphere within the classroom. During my series of lessons which were delivered over consecutive days, the weather over these days impacted on the children’s behaviour. An experienced teacher in Haydn (1951, p5) said ‘the time of day, the weather, the area of school’ can have massive difference in children’s behaviour. I noticed the change in the pupil’s behaviour from previous weeks.

The second lesson saw an improvement in behaviour within the lesson; the children were a little fussy but reminded of expectations. Whilst teaching I was able to pick up on lapse of concentration of a few children and remind them to stay focussed. When receiving feedback from my mentor, he mentioned to keep an eye on key pupils who misbehave often.

The third lesson saw a ‘good’ behaviour management lesson, with me reminding pupils throughout the input, feedback was similar and told to really home in on key individuals when teaching (see appendix). Disturbances caused by chatting and playing with whiteboard pens though out teaching.

The fourth lesson saw a improvement on the key individuals with reinforcing the behaviour management scheme within the classroom and good monitoring of key individuals. In the feedback it was noticed by my mentor is that there was a good controlled method of transition between activities. However low level disruption did still occur, the children were slow to settle within the lesson at times. My experienced mentor said that possibly could be down to the weather conditions. In the Lesson observation behaviour management was viewed as one of the strengths of the lesson.

Cowley (2010) Says there are 3 ways to react when pupils do not meet your expectations; the instinctive reaction, the rational reaction and the creative reaction. The instinctive reaction is to head for the sanctions; however Cowley suggests using low level ways in dealing with the behaviour by using the rational or creative reaction. The rational reaction can be looking for what is going right within the classroom and praising it and the creative reaction is to distract pupils and have a signal for them to be quiet. Cowley (2010) claims that being calm and consistent is the key, so that the pupils always see the fair choice and this allows the teacher to diffuse situations using low level tactics. Cowley gives several suggestions of creative reaction; by moving a child to the front and helping the teacher – this diffuses the incident of said child elbowing other children around them. Another way is distraction eg. Charlie whilst you’re up can you hand out the sheets then sit back in your seat when you have finished.

Cowely (2010) says it’s important to have routine within your classroom, by establishing this you can minimise low level disruption. Often students call out to answer a question, Cowley suggests rephrasing the question and saying ‘who can put their hand up and tell me….’ Another low level disruptive behaviour happens when the teacher is giving instructions, as some students are keen to start. The teacher should say ‘when I say go, I want you to….’. By combing these ideas and changing the way I speak as a teacher will help me diminish low level behaviour within the classroom setting.

Taking the two themes already discussed (time management and behaviour), can be linked to educational theorists. Firstly these can be related to Lev Vygotsky’s social development theory and his zone of proximal development.

According to Vygotsky (1978), important learning by the child occurs through social interaction with a skilful tutor (the teacher). The tutor may model behaviours and/or provide verbal instructions for the child. Vygotsky refers to this as co-operative or collaborative dialogue. The child then seeks to understand the actions or instructions (often from the teacher) then internalizes the information, using it to guide or regulate their own performance.

The two themes (time management and behaviour) which have been described above can affect this process. If the teachers’ teaching (verbal instructions) is interrupted due to deploying behaviour management strategies to keep the class calm, it interrupts the flow and pace of the lesson. This could leave the child with disjointed information, which has an effect on the child internalizing the information, which results in affecting the child’s work. After looking at theorists and putting this into an action plan, my teaching in the future can be more effective which will allow and improve social interaction process between the teacher and the child.

Vygotsky, mentions more terms which can improve my areas of development (time and low level behaviour management), the more knowledgeable other and zone of proximal development. The more knowledgeable other is someone who has a better/higher understanding than the learner with respect for the task in hand. The more knowledgeable other is related to the second important principle of Vygotskys work, zone of proximal development.

The zone of proximal development relates to what the child can learn independently and what the child can learn with the help if a more knowledgeable other. Vygotsky (1978) sees the Zone of Proximal Development as the area where the most sensitive instruction or guidance should be given - allowing the child to develop skills they will then use on their own - developing higher mental functions.

From a combination of low level behaviour disruption and time management, the children are experiencing disrupted teaching within their zone of proximal development. With the teaching being disrupted, the teacher is taking more time to go over learning the new skills, which results in the children having less time to develop the new skills they have learnt. However from looking at the literature, I’ve learnt multiple ways to resolve issues so therefore the children will learn in their Zone of proximal development and have time within the lesson to develop their new skills.

Importance of key starter

The Starters though out my series of lessons engaged the pupils in their learning and got them using the key skills (multiplication) which would be needed in the lesson. The starter was times table bingo. The feedback from the focus groups of children after the lesson was that they all enjoyed the starter and liked the competitive games element within the starter. The starter was fun way to start the lesson and the children enjoyed learning through the game. In the second lesson observation (see appendix) the fact that the mental starter covered the key skills, which would then be used in the lesson was considered a strength of that lesson. In the third lesson observation (see appendix) having feedback with the mentor, they suggested making the starter harder by only writing down the sum only (3x7) on the Smart board. Instead of giving the pupils the sum then writing the answer on the Smart board after about 10 seconds, this was then adapted for the next days lesson.

Brown (2009) says the first few minutes of a lesson are highly important, as within this period students can be highly engaged or switched off. Students get an idea of what to expect from the lesson and the teacher can also establish themselves so that the teacher can set expectations. Within my teaching series of lessons I kept the starter activity of times table bingo, within the first few minutes the children were highly engaged and had settled to start the game. The Children knew that I wouldn’t start till I had my expected behaviour of the children.

Brown (2009) goes on to define what should be in a good starter. A good starter should include some If not most of the following; a clear aim, clear instructions, pace, participation, engagement, access, challenge, creativity, variety, assessment for learning and reflection.

My starters contained a clear aim and had clear instructions, the starter was delivered with pace with enabled it to fill the short time allocated to the starter. The children were given a choice of 3 different times tables which they should know (e.g 3,5,7 times tables). With the competitive nature of the game it evoked engagement and challenge. Later in the week the times table bingo was adapted to challenge more and create variety within the starter. By delivering and observing the starter it enabled me to assess the children’s learning of the times tables and how quickly they could recall times table’s facts.

Conclusion

The process of reflection has enabled me to recognise which areas of my teaching need to be developed further and what are the positive parts of my teaching practice. Through reflection it’s helped me gain an understanding of what went well/didn’t go well and why this was the case. By including educational theory it aids understanding why areas were unsuccessful and it has included several practical ideas of how I can improve my teaching.

I really enjoyed teaching a series of lessons and seeing the children develop their mathematical abilities. The starters were a positive success and the feedback highlighted this fact. I’m aware I need to develop the pace aspect of my time management skills and improve the low level behaviour issues which occurred during the lessons. By reading educational theory, I noticed that pace and low level behaviour issues are closely linked and could be resolved by following advice from Gererd (2011) & Cowley (2010). I’ve noticed that my reflection was critical in enabling my highlight my strengths and weaknesses, as when at the delivery stage I was unconscious of these issues arising within my teaching. By relating my teaching to educational learning theorists (Vygotsky) enabled me to understand that the children need a more knowledgeable other, which could consist of the teacher or a class peer. The more knowledgeable other has a significant role in helping the child learn in their zone of proximal development. Children need time to help build the skills they have learnt then time to practice. By improving my teaching pace and improving behaviour, the children will receive a higher quality of teaching and learning, which they will be able to practice within the lesson. I’m now more knowledgeable and have a better understanding as to why these parts of my lessons were highlighted as areas of improvement.

The issues discussed within this journal, will be put into an action plan, so that I can improve my future teaching and become a successful practitioner. (appendix)