Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
<The next part of this lesson is being omitted in detail. The teacher repeats their process to find 1% of an amount, which they then demonstrate how to use in order to find 4%. The structure is as described before, although they do not move the class to independent work. They state that due to time constraints, this was just an introduction, and that there will be a recap and more time spent on this next lesson.>
Given there was apparently not enough time for the teacher to give as much depth to this section as they wanted, were they correct in moving to it? What else could have been done, or what could have been done differently, in this part of the lesson that related to what had come before?
The teacher praises the class for their work today and states that before the class packs up, they want to do one final check for understanding of today’s work. The teacher says that, as usual, they will write a question on the board and the class is then to answer on their whiteboards, using the normal revealing procedure, and that once again they should remember to show all of their working out. They write ‘30% of 120?’ on the board; when students reveal their answers, the teacher comments that the vast majority of the class has the correct answer of 36.
So not all of the class obtained the correct answer; regardless, what does the teacher do with this information? What does it tell them about today’s lesson, and how does it inform their planning of the next lesson? What is the purpose of this final check?
The language of “as usual” implies that this check is done at the end of a majority of the lessons. Is it always done no matter what, and if so - why?
The teacher stated that they were checking “understanding”. Is that revealed to them here in this check? What does ‘understanding’ look like, and can it be accurately assessed with one question immediately at the end of a period of teaching and follow-up questions?
The teacher then deals with the administration of the students packing up and their dismissal. Before the students exit, two are asked by the observer to describe what, if anything, was different about today’s lesson compared to their other lessons; they both independently respond that nothing was different, and instead that “every” lesson is “exactly” like this one.
How may such a comment influence teacher and student perceptions? If this claim is correct, is this desirable?
Reflection
I have posed a large number of questions here, far too many to process together at once; I will be exploring many in more depth in future writing. But I would encourage the reader to reflect on just how much was asked, and your reaction to these questions. Some may have been frustrating, some you may have felt were unimportant, some you may have felt were not valid to be asked, some you may have felt cannot be answered. You may have other questions I did not pose, and some other questions may occur to you (and me) later. I hope you found that some questions carried merit and have inspired further consideration, and that part of this consideration is why these particular questions resonated with you.
Once again, the point of these questions was never to judge; the point was in their asking. Learning and teaching are complex endeavours and a teacher who is in development is a teacher who is intellectually curious about both learning and their own practice. No matter the origin of a particular lesson plan nor, indeed, the particulars and decisions in its teaching2, there will always be a wealth of questions to be asked about the learning and teaching that (hopefully) took place.3 These questions may be posed by an external observer, but it is essential the teacher accesses their internal observer so that personally important questions can be marked for future further contemplation and hopefully also discussion with others.
A teacher may find themselves in a situation where such potential personal professional growth and challenge is not supported or, worse, is actively discouraged in the aid of an apparent ambition for the vision of all lessons within a department or a school. If such a teacher is required to acquiesce to this, I would invite the teacher in question to consider the nature of their situation and what could happen to their practice in the long, and even the short, term and consider what is important to them and their identity as a teacher.
What type of teachers do students deserve?
2I have encountered many teachers who would instead have used the word ‘delivery’ here; what does that implicitly reveal about the practice of their lessons?
3Which is why as part of an observation/coaching process, having decided upon which of these questions may be most desired within a discussion, it is important that sufficient time is set aside for a timely, genuine, conversation
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