All my organising habits using post it notes finally paid off today. Reading Brandes and Ginnis' 'A Guide to Student-Centred Learning' prior to my Functional SKills session today gave me a brilliant and what proved to be a very effective idea. A contributor to thier book described a lesson where they gave a post it note to their students upon which the student could anonymously write thier comments on the session. The idea was for the teacher to see what the student would take away from the session and as part of making the lessons student-centred, the learner's were able to be in control of part of the session knowing that thier opinion on the session would be valued.
Since coming back from the Christmas break, I really have found a great difference in my session planning, the layout of the lessons and the feedback I am getting from students. I made a concious effort to not only take on board what my Mentor has suggested and encouraged throughout the first term but also what the students had to say at the end of last term. They were given a session to discuss their thoughts on the course so far and although some of thier comments were irrelavent and noisy, it was incredibly good material for me, the trainee teacher, to get some honest and critical feedback from my teachees. Finally, it felt that the messages I sending out were being received and being received well.
Last Wednesday was the first official lesson I taught post-Christmas and feeling a bit rough from a lingering cold, I went in with a 'take no prisoners' attitude. But it wasn't needed. I had planned my lesson thoroughly, not only with the general layout of the session but the instructions I needed to give, some example answers similar to those I wanted to illicit during the later discussion and the ground rules we have agreed going around in my head. By being that prepared, so much more than I usually am, the lesson went really well. The students understood the task, to complete a test on previous work we had covered, and they kept to usual examination protocols. I was so impressed with them, and I told them so. I am generous with positive praise and I find now that with a detailed lesson plan, (both the written one and the pretend one that plays in my head) it means something. The students no longer stick thier heads up when I'm saying something nice and then go back to thier conversation but consistently work hard and in silence if requested and smile warmly when they have understood and gotten something from the hour's literacy lesson. It really is a great feeling.
Trevor Wright wrote in 'How to be a Brilliant English teacher' that if you are facing a disruptive class on a regular basis there is usually something wrong in the planning. By not being certain what I wanted to get from the students during our class discussions and not fully in control of the lesson objectives, I was letting myself worry and like dogs and horses, the students were picking up on this and reacting to it. (They would not mind me comparing them to such noble creatures, plus I tell my learners that I love them on a regular basis!) If you as a teacher are not confident in your subject, then why should new learners to it be confident in you? And from that, why should they put their full trust or concentration into your hands? This is something that has taken me a while to really get my head around but I think I'm onto it now and hopefully it will continue.
But I digress.
The importance of the post it notes was not just a check for me that I am doing a good job in Functional Skills. During the session, I handed out a revision booklet I had been requested by the class to construct (all too lazy to take notes during the previous sessions). I went through this in brief to start the session and then focussed on the 'Exam Tips' at the end of the session. The central part of the session was a reading task, which I had sourced especially for the class. In the TES Magazine recently, there was an article on the new generation of youngsters who think that becoming a celebrity requires no effort and many Performing Arts teachers had been interviewed on the impact such programmes as 'Big Brother', 'Britain's Got Talent,' and 'The X Factor' were having on their students and lessons. In some ways it was a good way to be positive with my students, highlighting to them that they themselves are putting in the hard work now in order to work to become a star but also a good way to say that Performing Arts students across the board are good at the performance aspect but 'hopeless' (the article's words, not my own) at the portfolio and deadlines side of it all.
Using the article, with the reading at the student's own speed the first priority, completing the questions less so, they had to answer questions on it. They all got into the task and concentrated, listening to music quietly if they wished but I have never had such a focussed group. Last week they were silent due to exam protocols. This week they worked quietly because they were so absorbed in the task.
(I don't care I lost my weekend due to the preparation: today's class was so worth it!)
At the end of the session, I got them all to write on the post it notes what they had found most useful from the session. This meant that they had to find something from the session (or not, I added) that meant something to them. In this way, I managed to make sure I completed a Learning Objective, even though it may not have been on my original plan, but very much overdue, that the students left with something new to them. They all contributed, got down and wrote something and very cheerfully handed them in.
On reading them after the class, there were many good things there. Many had written 'Do Not Panic!', comforting words from 'The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy' that we had called out confidently whilst reading through the revision hand book. Others said that they felt more confident with test papers, coping on the day, what to do if they weren't sure about something. Only one said that they didn't learn anything new, that they were sorry but I should still 'have a nice day'. Sweet.
This was a truly great session and my tutor gave me very detailed and positive feedback. She is always an inspiration and a brilliant safety net but I think she is getting ready to let me have free reign even more now and this has really boosted my confidence. We are thinking about me teaching on my own, as I always do but with her popping in and out of the session rather than being there full time. I was also paid two big compliments this week, as my mentor has copied the revison handbook for future use and another teacher in the department has borrowed my resources for her sessions. This is really good, I think, that I am being useful in the depatment whilst I am here. Fingers crossed that by September they cannot bear to be without me!
