Lesson observation service (follow-on)
Creative Learning Teams – Follow-on observations
Whilst it would be beneficial for staff to take part in the initial round of Creative Learning Team observations without any additional preparation, further rounds of observation would benefit from a specific focus. This focus can be determined during the evaluation at the end of day one, with teachers choosing techniques they would like to explore and develop in readiness for subsequent observations. All of the following help teachers to raise expectations and develop learners’ independent learning skills.
Effective openings: harnessing curiosity
- Is there a way of choreographing learners’ discovery of aims and objectives that grabs their attention, makes them curious and is unmissable?
Coaching techniques
- Are teachers too focused on expediency during Q&A at the expense of coaching for understanding? How can ‘resource learners’ be used to ensure no learners are bruised by poor questioning techniques?
Feedback, and avoiding the ‘but’
- Has the feedback sandwich had its day? Does use of the word ‘but’ undermine your credibility and sincerity? There is another way..
Preventable contact
- Have your staff analyse their lessons for ‘desirable’ and ‘preventable’ contact? High levels of preventable contact are often signs of a dependency culture and systemic failings in the managed learning environment.
Volatile indicators
- Imagine spotting the very first moment a learner begins the spiral down into underperformance.
Using the formula for happiness
- Csikszentmihalyi’s formula for happiness can be used to create learning experiences that will never be forgotten.
Differentiation
- Is your staff’s planning for differentiation no more than a bureaucratic exercise, or do they liberate their learners from the shackles of the scheme of work?
Higher-order questioning
- Research shows that 94% of questions are at Bloome’s taxonomy levels 1 and 2: knowledge and comprehension. How good are your staff at asking spontaneous higher-order questions to stretch their advanced learners?
Independent learning
- How would lessons be different if the main aim was to get learners to learn more between lessons than in them?
And many more..
Once staff have chosen the strategy/s they would like to develop in advance of the next observation, they will be given a brief information sheet to help focus their preparations.
It is easy to see how transformational this approach to lesson observation can be when compared to the no-notice inspection-style. Observation systems need to enthuse staff to invest their own time in developing and crafting their skills. This does not happen when staff feel they have to pass a test.
Contact
To discuss your requirements in detail, please phone or drop us a line.