Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Has been submitted in paper format to the course tutor.

Observation Record (OR)

Records of observation are recorded in the TRL section of my blog. Scroll down past the 15 weeks of Recorded hours and the Feedback from Horticare. This includes my personal feedback and reflection on the assessment.

Record of Development (RoD)

Course Feedback Record 1
Feedback on the 3PF January 2014 can be seen here: Feedback Record 1

Thank you for this useful feedback on this first stage of the course Tam. It should help me make the necessary adjustments to improve my course work during the weeks ahead.

Action Plan:
Maintain a strict schedule of work, reviewing all classwork, recording to my blog with additional research. Keep up with each weeks work, including post lesson and teaching reflection and again, recording it all to the blog.

I also need to prepare a CV. Bit of a challenge seeing as I have been Self Employed all my life.

We prepared a bit of a plan during the lesson on 7/01/2014

Horticare Meetings:

Meeting with John Taylor and action planning

Course Feedback Record 2:  See here

Reflection: 

 Actually this course feedback is invaluable in helping establish areas for attention. Tam is a great teacher and even though I'm pretty sure she is run off her feet, she always finds time to attend to my learner needs. Overall this feedback did confirm my own feelings, that I am keeping up OK with the course work, though there are some of the finer details of my teaching practice and related record keeping that need some attention.

Course Feedback 11/03/2014 Action Plan/ILP

See here

For details of peer observations and mini teach sessions 

For teacher development and experiences

Peer Observation for week 25 mini teach

Resources Review

Part 1: The Overview at Horticare

Resources Used in My Teaching

I decided to use and adapt a online resource provided by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). The RHS run the Campaign for School Gardening. This aims to encourage and support schools to develop and actively use a school garden. One of the main aims is enriching the school curriculum, teaching life skills and contributing to children's mental and physical health. This PDF contains the main scheme on which I will build my Scheme of Work and Lesson Plans. The RHS Gardening for Schools is designed to integrate well with the curriculum and that there is strong focus on Reading, Writing, Maths is particularly useful for the group I am teaching.

I am utilizing presentations and almost entirely produce the lessons that way, but they have to be printed and handed out because there are no technology resources at Horticare.

Much of the resources I used are sourced online, usually images that lend to the understanding of a topic. These are then embedded in to a Presentation which has to then be printed out for the students.

I do make use of games such as Scrabble, Dominoes, Jigsaws and such. That can be used in Numeracy and Literacy development. These are available at Horticare. I have outsourced some sowing modules for the students to practice sowing seed and then follow the progress week by week.

I utilize the printing facilities available at Kendal College, as well as the Library Computers.

The following image is an example of some laminated flash cards I used during the RHS Horticultue Skills course:

The 'Key Weeds' sheet was used with an outdoor collection activity during week 15. The log of that lesson can be found in the following TRL section. The selection of Fruit, Trees and Shrubs required word association and were also used in week 15.

Room for Improvement:
I was able to keep making improvement to my use of resources, based on reflection of each lesson, on feedback from students and with the help of peer assessment from my tutor Tam. Resources were limited at Horticare and it might be possible for Horticare as an establishment to seek to improve such provisions. But at a personal level, I'd say I'd like to see some ICT in use there. Certainly it could help with embedding the minimum core subjects.

Part 2: In Teaching IT at Kendal College

In teaching students about Linux and it's deployment in business, gives me opportunity to feature a much wider range of resources, especially IT based. I have a series of 4 lessons (mini course) with 2 different groups. My teaching will make use of slideshow presentations and live demonstrations. Students will be grouped for the 3 main teaching lessons (lesson 1 will be more of an introduction), and each group (3) will have access to old PC hardware/system for use during their mini course. Additionally I have prepared access to multiple CD's and DVD's to provide live Linux distributions for the students use. I have colour card assessment being used in Lesson 1 and a question sheet.

1. Colour assessment sheets
2. Wide spectrum Live Linux Media CD/DVD
3. Live Demonstrations (via the OHP)

The colour assessment sheets offer students a means of self assessment and at the same time it offers an indication to the tutor of each individuals level of understand and or confidence. The only things I don't like about this assessment method, is there seems to me to be the possibility of peer pressure affecting the choice of some students who don't want to appear 'unintelligent' to the their peer group, and as a result might pick a colour that reflect a greater understanding or confidence than is really true in their case. I have used it nevertheless, it's a method of self directed learning and should encourage active learning. Combining it with the question sheet in the same lesson should offer a summative assessment of the given lesson.

The Wide spectrum Live Linux Media offers students a range of Linux distributions that can be described for sake of the layman as: Easy, Medium, Hard. In that, this technology resource provides for entry level up to expert. The above image represents a small section of the overall collection and some media has been manually downloaded and written to CD's for student use too. It will allow for an inclusive learning environment and at the same time permit a development of ICT skills as well as related areas such as literacy, language and numeracy. There are some limitations of this resource in that it's response time can be slow when compared to the same media on a USB. However USB booting ready machines could not be confirmed and the cost of using USB's for each student had some cost issues.

Live Demonstrations, is a utilizing of the white board/OHP. It's not a slideshow, but a live feed directly from the demo machine to the OHP, used in conjunction with teaching discussion. Offering the student step by step walk thru instructions/directions to follow/practice. It's used equally to demonstrate what not to do on what is effectively a 'sandbox' machine. The teaching process is very adaptable to include the learning needs of all students. It's probably one of the most effective teaching methods I have used before when dealing with the subject of partitioning and system admin. It will be interesting to see how well it works in this setting at Kendal College.

Room for Improvement:
Through my reflective practice on the IT lessons I quickly established that for the sessions and teaching I was doing there were several improvements that could be made.
1. We needed to provide individual resources (1 PC per learner), which was only possible by dividing the group. Splitting the group was not ideal.

2. The classroom layout was also not conducive to the method of practice. In future I would seek to equip and layout a room specifically for they type of learning session being used.

Review Ways in Which Elements of the Minimum Core can be Demonstrated in Planning Inclusive Learning and Teaching

‘Embedded teaching and learning combines the development of literacy, language and numeracy with vocational and other skills. The skills acquired provide learners with the confidence and motivation necessary for them to succeed in qualifications, in life and at work’ (The National Research & Development Centre, 2004).
The above quote demonstrates how literacy, numeracy and IT skills can help support the learner as they progress to further study or the world of work. We looked at LLUK too. And during our sessions we learned of the importance of incorporating all aspects of the Minimum Core. We might for example use IT during teaching sessions, use an activity to have students do research, which involves reading and writing and even calculating. I did in fact use a good example of embedding numeracy during my IT teaching at Kendal College, where students used IT resources and had to calculate percentages when dividing HDD's for installations. Details of the IT lessons can be seen in my TRL and RJ. We discussed embedding the minimum core here.

During my teaching at Horticare there was ample opportunity to embed minimum core elements, though it was at a very basic level. For example in week 6 lesson we had word to cut out and associate with aspects of life, this involved a discussion of the meaning of words and images, recognition of words and spellings. In week 8 and 9 we actually did minimum core specials. The details are listed in the TRL. 

Teaching Role and Log (TRL)

Horticare Teaching Hours:

RHS Horticulture Skills at Horticare Kendal:

Scheme of Work

RHS Skills Curriculum Map

My work at Horticare Kendal as part of the practical training for the Level 4 Ascentis Certificate in Education and Training focuses on a small group (6) special needs learners with profound learning difficulties. It requires a thorough preparation for each lesson and a need to focus on ways to make lessons simple, practical and enjoyable. I'm working with John Taylor, a full time member of Horticare staff to adapt a Royal Horticultural gardening for Schools curriculum and deliver it to this learner group. John has years of experience with the members of the group and can offer valuable guidance to help build effective lesson plans. Clearly we all work within the framework of legislation that protects the needs of vulnerable adults with such profound learning difficulties.

Hours 0-2 : 13/11/13  (Week 1)

This is my first week of teaching practice at Horticare Kendal. The Aim of this weeks lesson was to break the ice and make introduction as well as make a assessment of learner cognitive ability/ differentiation. This is my Lesson 1. My completed Lesson Plan is here, which includes my post lesson assessments. Overall the first lesson went well and at least the objectives were covered. I've had to make some adjustment for the next session to allow for some significant variation in differentiation. 

Hours 2-4 : 18/11/13  (Week 2)

Week 2 and already I know my student group by name. Not such a spectacular achievement as it sounds, there are only 6 to remember. I was able to make some adjustments based on week 1 reflection, to cater for the differentiation. This involved writing main points down on the white board for some students to copy and during that time I could enhance the points with more advanced students by discussion. This is my Lesson 2/3. My completed Lesson Plan is here and includes post lesson assessments.

Hours 4-6 : 25/11/13  (Week 3)

This week was catch up from 18/11/13. It's still a big learning curve for me to just find the right level to pitch with the group at Horticare. We took the lesson much slower and simplified the projected objectives. It's becoming apparent that learning is greatly increased by the use of practicals. Next week has been simplified even more and contains practical lessons.

Hours 6-8 : 02/12/13  (Week 4)

This was my first assessment week and the adjustments I had made to the lesson worked well, though I still see the need to bring the learning level down a little, at least for the most part, but that there is room to push at least one of the more advanced learners on an individual basis with extension activities. The group weren't surprised to see Tam because I had informed them the week before. This was the Lesson 4 and my completed Lesson Plan.

Hours 8-10 : 09/12/13  (Week 5)

This week was a continuation of the previous lesson (week 4), looking at plant growth from seedling, then linking in the times, seasons, months etc. Some of the open discussion was very useful for the students and it lead to a productive discussion of the 12/24 hr clock over and above the original lesson. By using one of the more advanced learners in a leading role, it was possible to stretch his potential whilst at the same time allow the others in the group to keep up. This was the Lesson and my completed Lesson Plan.

Hours 10-12 : 16/12/13  (Week 6)

I brought this lesson down to the very basics and inserted practical activity this week. The students seemed more at ease with the practical elements and the level of learning. This is the Lesson and this is the completed Lesson Plan. It was clear through the questioning that the students were more comfortable and they were more inclined to participate as a result. I want to build on Maths and English elements in the Horticultural curriculum because there is a general weakness here, though two of the stronger students could be used to lead groups and at the same time push their own boundaries.

Hours 12-14 : 06/01/14  (Week 7)

It looks like I'm one student down, probably for the remainder of the course. This evens out the ability levels a little, leaving me with just one really weak student. This weeks lesson continued with a large practical element which continues to help the students attention and level of learning. This was my Lesson Plan and it pretty much went to plan. I want to try and keep up the success of theses last few lessons, especially over the next couple of sessions which are looking at building on Maths and English but with a Horticultural twist.

Hours 14-16 : 13/01/14  (Week 8)

Only 4 students this week. This weeks Lesson was difficult for the group and I needed to improvise the original Lesson Plan. The lesson did though reveal the differentiation more clearly, which given some reflection will help with the planning of future lessons. It was obvious early in the lesson that the students were uncomfortable with Maths. It was actually partly just the sight of numbers that seemed to be the trigger. Once we took numbers out and started counting blocks and dots, the group relaxed some.

Hours 16-18 : 20/01/14  (Week 9)

This was the flip side from last week (Maths), this week was English, at it's very basic. This is the Lesson and the Lesson Plan. It was as much a flip side too in that where last week the students struggled, this week they really enjoyed it. The lesson achieved it's objectives and left room for related discussion that helped maintain their attention. I had 5 students again this week, with the possibility that all 6 will be back next week, which is my second assessment. All in the group were excited to know Tam was coming next week.

Hours 18-20 : 27/01/14  (Week 10)

The students really enjoyed the lesson again this week, partly perhaps because Tam was assessing me again and they do enjoy her visits. The bad parts about this lesson were:
1. I was really poorly and albeit Man Flu, I did not perform too well.
2. I was being assessed so point 1 above kind of mattered.
Nevertheless, I carried on like a trouper.
The lesson was about pests in Horticulture. I had brought in some physical samples too for the students to handle and view. The plan was to have the students identify a small selection of pests, damage and control, and whilst doing that, improve their word/picture association. Tam came up with a couple of suggestions to improve the differentiation approach that I can try in next weeks lesson. This is the Lesson Plan with reflective feedback. See also the second assessment reports and feedback from Tam in the section below.

Hours 20-22 : 03/02/14  (Week 11)

This weeks lesson had some adjustments based on feedback from Tam's visit on week 10. The main lesson was Like This. I had though made some differentiated lesson plans:

1. Less able: Lesson
2. More able: Lesson

The lesson plan with differentiation and reflective feedback Looks like this.
Overall, I was pleased with the changes and the learners certainly benefited from the adjustment for differentiation.

Hours 22-24 : 10/02/14  (Week 12)

Weeds were the focus of attention in class today and the two hours went quickly as the students were attentive and eager to be involved, although I was one student down. The standard Lesson set out some key weeds and I had an Adjusted lesson for two of the students. Learning covered 2 main points:
1. Identification
2. Weed Control (with some added understanding of good and bad)
We used a happy face for control methods that were good/natural
And a sad face for control methods that were bad/chemical
We then used a 10 min practical hands on for identification to enhance learning outcomes.

Hours 24-26 : 17/02/14  (Week 13)

A full house of students for this weeks Lesson. Largely consisted of images for discussion and reasoning of the topic. Students were able to draw on previous learning which helped greatly with reaching the learning outcomes. The results of the lesson can be seen Here.

Hours 26-28 : 24/02/14  (Week 14)

All students present for this weeks Lesson, which was also in a differentiated form Here. Students worked well with the subject PPE and already had a reasonable understanding of the topic. The lesson plan can be seen Here. We also made some closing preparation for next week, being my last session with them and also my final assessment. Additionally, we organised their files. It was a good and productive lesson.

Hours 28-30 : 03/03/14  (Week 15)

My last week and lesson at Horticare.It should have been my last assessment too, but that was cancelled due to illness. A slightly delayed Lesson and differentiated Lesson*. Students were congratulated for their hard work, especially this lesson. The Plan went well and it was evident that the students were sad to have the course end:

Feedback from Horticare:
Following the completion of my 30HRS teaching. John Taylor submitted feedback to my tutor at Kendal College. It was as follows:

Further to our telephone conversation yesterday, I would like to give you some feedback regarding Carl Fletcher's Teacher Training placement with us.

Carl has proved to be a big hit with our service users. He has successfully motivated the group to attend each week and provided stimulating activities that have integrated the whole group. Many people have said they are going to miss him and the lessons.

Some people have even managed to remember some of the weed names that Carl has been teaching them (for our group that is significant).

I have appreciated Carl's efforts which have supplemented our normal activities, but from a different perspective. He has always kept me informed and taken on-board any advice that was given.

We wish him well in gaining his qualification.

Kind regards

John Taylor

Supervisor | HORTICARE

Adult & Local Services| Cumbria County Council

54 Wattsfield Rd | Kendal | Cumbria | LA9 5JN

I submitted a reply to John's feedback:

Thank you for providing such positive feedback in response to my Teacher Training practice at Horticare. It's always encouraging when something works in teaching and whilst it was always a challenge to produce interesting and engaging lessons at Horticare, it was nevertheless a pleasure to do, especially with such a friendly group as one could ever hope for. You personal observations and recommendations were really appreciated, as we usually managed a little chat before and after each session.

_______________________________________________________________

Observed Teaching Reports

Week 4 Assessment  02/12/13:
This was my first assessment in the teaching workplace and I found it very beneficial. I'm actually quite looking forward to the next one. My only concern is the amount of work. Some people say teacher have a cushy number... think again, they work very hard. My assessor Tam gave me a Report and I have followed this up with the Candidate Reflections.


Week 10 Assessment 27/01/2014
My second assessment and feeling under the weather. I had some useful observations and feedback from Tam, her report and my reflections can be read Here. It was a lively class and the students really enjoyed themselves as usual. More on this lesson can be read just above these comments and in the Reflective Journal.


Week 21 Assessment 19/03/2014
My third and final teaching practice assessment was done not at Horticare, but at Kendal College where I am doing a special Mini (IT) course over four weeks. Tam observed one of my weeks two sessions. The details of the lessons are recorded just below here, under the heading Linux Basics. Tam sat in on the first of two classes I had back to back today. Her report, which includes my feedback and reflection is here

________________________________________________________________

Linux Basics Teaching at Kendal College

Scheme of Work

This course is over 4 weeks. Each lesson is 90 mins.
Two different groups are taking the course. The lessons are on Wednesday afternoon and are back to back, making a total session of 180 mins.

12th March 2014

Lesson 1
Lesson 1 Lesson Plan

Lesson 1 Group 1
Overall the lesson went according to plan. All students were able to grasp the basic details being presented on Linux and it's use today. We used an assessment of learning at start and finish as well as a question sheet and all learners agreed they had a better understanding by the end of the lesson. The question sheets, which I reviewed afterwards, also indicated an 80% level of understanding.

Lesson 1 Group 2
Quite a different group from the first group. Much more self confident though not offering a better understanding of Linux. Overall the lesson with this group went pretty much as with the first. Whilst like group one, their self assessment indicated little knowledge of Linux, most did actually know some of the basics. Actually both groups, I know, have been working with Raspberry PI and a version of Linux for those devices.

_________________

19th March 2014

Lesson 2
Lesson 2 Lesson Plan

Lesson 2 Group 1
Today's lesson was 90% practical, with groups of 2 or 3 stationed at a Linux Box. The students were then following the practical from my lead. Compared to last week their behaviour was disappointing, as quite a number were messing with mobile phones. I found myself using proximity to address the situation, moving around the room. However, in practice, this wasn't too easy to do as the lesson required me sat at a computer too. As far as teaching was concerned, the group did well and the main aims and outcomes of the lesson were achieved. I need to have a chat with their course tutor though regarding their behaviour.

Lesson 2 Group 2
These are a more mature group. Well, only by a year or two I think. On a Linux skill level though, the first group has some stronger students in there. Group 2 also seem to be less focused. However, although they also suffered from some mobile phone mania, they likewise were successful in demonstrating a practical understanding of partitioning as outlined in the Lesson 2 above.

_____________________________________

26th March 2014

Lesson 3
Lesson 3 Lesson Plan
50/50 Split Questions

Lesson 3 Group 1
I had made some dramatic last minute changes to this planned lesson as a reaction to my observation last week. Splitting the group in half, leaving 5 or 6 in each half. This meant for better resources for the work on the PC's, leaving a PC for each student. Doing this solved another issue from last week, meaning where we previously had 3 students crowded around the PC monitor and becoming distracted, we now had just one per PC and the others in the group were engaged in another related research activity. Overall the results of the changes were positive and certainly the students were much better engaged and learning improved.

Lesson 3 Group 2
Ditto as above regarding the changes. Some in this group, who last week were somewhat scathing about Linux as a OS, had made some adjustment in their opinion, or at least in their outward negative way. The better conditions for the lesson surely helped with the overall learning and this group were a marked improvement on last week. I did notice a point, and something I need to watch in future, where they engage you in a debate/discussion, I just need to be careful that it doesn't go way off track or basically torpedo the lesson plan.

2nd April 2014

Lesson 4
Lesson 4 Lesson Plan
50/50 Split Questions

 Lesson 4 Group 1
Students were more engaged this week, getting to grips with Linux and this lesson was a practical they seemed to enjoy. I had come in early to set everything up, which involved completely re-installing 6 machines. They were all up and running when they arrived, which is what I wanted. I had also taken the power away from all the other machines in the room, as given a moment they'll try switching them on.  There were some puzzled looks at first, then the penny dropped and they realised there was going to be no messing in this lesson.

Lesson 4 Group 2
There were a few absent from this group this week but it wasn't a great problem. Of the two groups that I teach, these started out the most sceptical of the value of Linux, but it became apparent that their attitude was feigned. Both groups admitted they had learned some interesting new things and a few of this group, one the most sceptical, actually lingered on after everyone else had gone. They actually wanted to talk about Linux.

____________________________________________

Equality and Diversity in Education:

A discussion of this can be found here:
Equality and Diversity 1
Equality and Diversity 2

Promoting Safe, Secure and Supportive Learning Environment - Respect for Others:

These areas are discussed here:
Legislation, Class Rules
Inclusive Practice



Complete Blog Trail:
1 2 3 4 5/6 6/7 8 9 10

Planning, Delivery and Evaluation

Planning and Assessment of Micro Teach (Week 5/6)

This weeks session was really an extension of the Learning Outcomes since the whole point of Outcomes is to achieve a standard, though it is necessary to assess if that standard/goal has been reached with a view to improvement by use of Reflective Practice. The details of the micro teach can be seen HERE and the Reflective Practice HERE.

We had prepared our teaching session the week before. The purpose of this session is to use types and methods of assessment, to conduct and record assessment in accordance with internal and external processes and requirements and to evaluate assessment practice. We had looked closely at learning outcomes HERE in week 4. For our Micro teach we had a Proforma Lesson Plan and also a Peer Observation Sheet.

The whole practice was extremely valuable in that it familiarized us with:
Types of assessment: e.g. initial, diagnostic, formative, summative.
Assessment methods: e.g. question and answer, discussion, multiple choice questions, short answer questions, essays, projects, coursework, examinations, practical activities, role play, simulation, worksheets, observation of tasks and participation/interaction against external specifications and criteria and learning.
Purposes of different types of assessment: e.g. identifying existing level, identifying prior knowledge and skills, identifying individual learning goals and needs, measuring/recognising progress and achievement, comparing learners, motivating learners, informing evaluation of teaching and learning, planning teaching and learning. Full details of the Outcomes for this session are listed HERE.

As a peer group we were well prepared and that was evident by the quality of the teaching. Each of us were able to make initial assessments, followed by a more diagnostic approach as to how each student fulfilled the criteria of the Lesson Plan and Outcomes. A open discussion of each students presentation helped all to reflect on how improvement could be made. As a whole, these practice sessions gave us all first hand experience of Improvement through Feedback in a way that isn't always available in a Real learning environment. Probably, we all feel these first 5/6 weeks have provided a good foundation for the course proper. I certainly feel better prepared for the Planning, Delivery and Evaluation of my coursework teaching sessions.

Scheme of Work, Session Plans and Rationale:

The scheme of work and lesson plans are recorded in this Section. The Rationale for the Scheme of work is base on the following: RHS Curriculum

The learner group at Horticare come under a very special category of learners with profound learning difficulties and the facilities are very limited as far as including ICT. To some extent I'm able to improve on the facilities by preparing material off site and bringing it in. In particular I am able to use printing facilities at Kendal College to provide worksheet handouts in a form such as they would see by using a presentation. I am also preparing some flash cards in colour and then laminating them, also with the help of the college facilities. Having the worksheet handouts is useful and helps the students with simple copying tasks. To illustrate the level we are at here: It's really difficult for some of the students to even copy their name.  It's a simple approach but it doesn't intimidate these sensitive learners, who in the most part, really just need to build on their basic reading, writing and numeracy skills. This basic curriculum from the RHS offers some great entry level horticultural skills that can readily work with the development of reading, writing and numeracy. All students are encouraged to keep the copies of their worksheets for future reference.

Assessment and Feedback:
A review of assessment and feedback lectures is listed Here

In my teaching program I used the initial lesson to assess the learners and plan the next lesson. Each lesson has a Lesson Plan with feedback and reflection towards planning the next lesson and providing the most effective teaching. These lessons are recorded Here (TRL). In the TRL I use reflection to analyse the effectiveness of the teaching and learning used and at the same time see how that can meet individual learners needs. This also includes teaching observations and the use of feedback and reflection there too.

The teaching environment at Horticare is a special one and demands a very simple approach to the subject matter. The original RHS theory has been adjusted greatly to make the material for the scheme of work and subsequent lesson plans, at a level that considers the needs and abilities of the learner group. In addition to addressing the Horticultural aspect of the course, great effort has been made to integrate literacy, language and numeracy in to the lessons. Every effort is made to adjust the program through reflection, to provide the best possible development of individual students. This will include lesson differentiation, supporting the weaker ones and pushing the stronger ones. All students are encouraged to be involved in practical sessions and all lessons are designed to have a real purpose, where all can feel comfortable and an important part of the learning program.

Since the whole scheme of work and subsequent lesson plans at Horticare were not based on an actual curriculum, we need to remember that under normal circumstances we have to consider both internal and external assessment requirements. That internally a teaching establishment (school/college) will have in place internal assessment methods to ensure an effective delivery of any given curriculum. This might include following curriculum based assessment procedures, peer assessment and self assessment through reflection. We have discussed assessment during our course that covers a variety of methods used internally. Additionally, it will be a requirement to provide evidence of course work on an individual level for external assessment by the examining body. In both cases (internal and external) we need to keep records. The awarding organisations (AO's) or (HEI's) will provide guidance.

LLUK (2007)

LSIS (2013) Teaching and Training Qualifications for the Further Education and
Skills Sector in England, Guidance for Employers and Practitioners. www.lsis.org.uk/publication-content/teaching-and-training-qualifications-further-education-and-skills-sector-england (accessed July 2013).

Ofsted (2012) Handbook for the Inspection of Further Education and Skills –

Part 2, Section B: Quality of Teaching, Learning and Assessment, www.national-training.com/Handbook-Inspection-FE-and-Skills-Sept-2012.pdf

(accessed June 2013).

Assessment is a powerful way to increase achievement, be it the learner or those tasked with being tutors.

Assessment and Feedback Presentation 28/01/2014

I have a Teaching Presentation based on Assessment and Feedback. This presentation is homework from 21/01/2014 and will be presented on 28/01/2014, it lists the assessment and feedback methods used in covering one topic. In particular the presentation shows:

• Initial Assessment (Self assessment of confidence with the topic)
• In session questioning and feedback (Theory)
• In session questioning and feedback (Practical)
• End of session assessment of learning (Self assessment of confidence - Now?)
• Re-cap and targeted feedback where required.

Video can be seen here

_______________________________________

Evaluation of teaching and learning, feedback and reflection - Click > and Click

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Week 24 Collaboration, Boundaries and Points of Referral

Collaboration/Boundaries and Referral in Practice

Just to add some comments here.
I have come to appreciate that differentiation means inclusion. You can't have inclusion without differentiation. In connection with the lesson linked above (week 24), it's vital that we utilise all the resources available to ensure inclusion. This would mean identifying points of referral. We looked at some case studies that demonstrated the need for referral, we discussed and analysed these. Other professionals such as those mentioned in the case studies and in the week 24 summary, are a vital part of identifying areas for differentiation and so inclusion. I also read some interesting thoughts on the subject by Carl Rogers.

Reflective Journal (RJ)

Reflective Journal Week 3

Reflecting on how you did something > How you might do it differently next time > With a view to improvement.

Reflection on long past events may be equally beneficial. We established that it was something we all do or can do. In the lesson we considered (reflected) on teachers from our formative years that left a positive impression on us. Reflecting on any experience, it's outcome and how we might do things differently next time to improve the outcome, is a really interesting and important practice in the teaching environment.

Our work in the classroom on Legislation and our 5 min presentations, certainly gave me reason to reflect and consider how I might do it better next time. Added to this, an earlier discussion that raised my awareness of Health and Safety also caused me to reflect on an event from long in the past where someone nearly died as a result of my ignoring H&S practice. Reflecting on this, even though it happened long ago, has raised my awareness of H&S, particularly in my profession - Horticulture .

We looked at some examples/studies of the Reflective Process. See the following images:

Donald Schon (1987)

Borton (1970)

Gibbs (1988)

David Kolb: (ELC)

Reflective Practice gives you the opportunity to reflect on action so as to engage in a process of continuous learning. It is widely accepted and used as a developmental practice.

As you reflect, you become not only more effective but also more adaptable and better able to solve problems. Effective teachers are always changing what they do; this is because they are continually learning how better to teach. Learning never stops.

Geoff Petty (2004). Teaching Today. 3rd ed. Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes. 487-488. 

Reflecting on Mini Teach Week 5/6

Overall I was fairly happy with the way my teach went and the peer comments were quite positive too. I know I have some mannerism issues to work on, though only one person mentioned this, it is a concern to me. My feeling is that nerves get the better of me. Regretfully, when asking 'Nominated' questions, I failed to pick up on that one student really didn't know the answer. It was commented on later in the review of my teach. Mentioning no names, please accept my apologies! 

Having the peer feedback was particularly useful, it more than complimented the personal reflective practice. On reflection I feel I handed the test sheet out too early, this was evidenced by the fact that some started to complete it immediately, which was not the intention. It did though establish that the students had understood and learned the intended outcomes.

Reflecting on Week 1 Teaching Practice: 13/11/13

The first lesson went well. It was necessary to make some adjustment to allow for differentiation, which was not known of beforehand. The Lesson 1 did achieve it's objectives/outcomes, even though I had to scale down the learning to cater for the cognitive levels of the group. I did benefit from peer feedback in my Mentor (John). He was pleased with the outcome but agreed we need to bring the learning level down. All in the group were attentive and involved but were easily phased by technical talk, actually this was easy to read in their expressions/reactions. My next lesson will be simplified considerably to meet the needs of the group.

Reflecting on Week 2 Teaching Practice: 18/11/13

Week 2 at Horticare was much more relaxed. Already the students have formed a bond with me their teacher. I was concerned this week to manage better the differentiation in the group and the implemented methods to manage it did seem to work. In a curriculum based setting with students all on a similar cognitive level, such an extreme differentiation is unlikely to exist. Meaning, that whilst I'm not following a curriculum I do need to be concerned that I move the group as a whole forward as quickly as differentiation will allow. We didn't cover all week 2's lesson due to the adjustments for differentiation. I will manage the lesson for week 3 to hopefully get the balance nearer the mark. The group prefer a open discussion, less formal approach, and this worked well for all the learners.

I think by using some careful grouping, using a stronger student in each group, will help arrest the situation where I'm trying to engage with everyone at once, all the time. If I can continue to weave practical (hands on) tasks in to the lesson, this would be good, as the students all work on a much closer level like this. I want to bring small table top practical tasks in to the classroom to try and make the association between the theory and practical.

Reflecting on Week 3 Teaching Practice: 25/11/13

With some tasks taking longer in week 2 session, this week proved to be a catch up extension. One thing I did learn in this session was that the group is easily distracted once you leave the classroom. We made a brief trip outside to take soil samples and some effort was required to keep everyone on track. I used this session to briefly prepare the group for a visitor next week. Some positive comments were made by the students about the lesson with thanks too, which must be a fairly good sign.

Reflecting on Week 4 Teaching Practice: 02/12/13

Can be seen here: Teaching Observation.

Reflecting on Week 5 Teaching Practice: 09/12/13

I was 2 students down out of my 6 which required some adjustment to the planned grouping. That being said, the lesson went well and the group were complimentary about the session as we brought things to a close. I need to keep reminding myself 'Keep it Simple'. Even the smallest progress is progress indeed. More activities is better! I noticed one student with heavy eyelids in this session. I might have been rambling just a little, so I checked myself and switched tack.

Reflecting on Week 6 Teaching Practice: 16/12/13

I was really happy with the changes I had made to simplify the lesson and to make it more practical. The students responded well to it and it was evident by the participation. The real challenge here is to build a lesson that can be used with the whole group, be simple enough for the less able and yet have room to stretch the more able. This lesson really did seem to do that. I had a concern in preparing the lesson as it required the use of scissors. The group were so engrossed in the activity, I had no reason to be concerned. I did question them beforehand about using them and was able to establish confidence to proceed with the planned lesson. Now, if I can just integrate Maths and English in the lessons, it will surely be helpful.

Reflecting on Week 7 Teaching Practice: 06/01/14

First week back after the holiday and all the expected students were in attendance and eager with it. John, the Horticare supervisor also found this encouraging, apparently they can easily loose interest.

The session went according to plan. Just one small loose end to tie up next week. The silt didn't settle out of our soil and water mix as quickly as I had expected. The lesson had a good mix of hands on activity which these students really like and it helps them make the link to related subjects.

Now that the course has been running for some weeks, it is also useful to refer back to our previous subject/topics. And just offer a little reminder/re-cap. I'm enjoying the process and finding it a useful practice to go over these lessons in my mind and consolidate on my teaching practice.

Reflecting on Week 8 Teaching Practice: 13/01/14

This week was quite different. We were taking on the challenge of Maths. I had prepared what I thought was a very basic Maths lesson/activity, based upon my earlier lessons. On reflection I think I over estimated the abilities of individuals in the group. This left me making adjustments on the fly in the classroom. Maths it seems is quite scary. Nevertheless, we were able to accomplish the objectives, it just needed some improvising during the lesson. One thing this lesson really brought out was the differentiation between the individuals in the group. Made me think this is why we had this sort of assessment at Kendal College at induction.

Reflecting on Week 9 Teaching Practice: 20/01/14

If anything was Chalk and Cheese it was last week and this week. Maths last week and English this week. What a contrast. The lessons are recorded of course in my Teaching Log. Actually this weeks lesson was a great encouragement to me as a teacher, because everyone responded well to the lesson and plan. My students are a challenge, but really easy to manage. It kind of has me thinking, I hope (with the help of Tam) to get some practice in at the college, with a different student group, that might challenge me a little more on the classroom management side. Not that I relish that thought, but my current group totally respect my authority, so it's really easy. Next week though will be another challenge as Tam is assessing me again!

Reflecting on Week 10 Teaching Practice: 27/01/14

This was my second assessed teaching evaluation. The full review of that can be seen in the TRL section of my blog. On reflection I probably would have been better not even turning up for work today. I was really poorly and it didn't go unnoticed. It was a bit of making the best of a bad lot today. Although the students did have a good time and they eagerly return to tell John all about their lesson, so maybe not so bad. I just need to tweak some more on the differentiation. Tam gave some good pointers there.

Reflecting on Week 11 Teaching Practice: 03/02/14

This lesson was my first attempt at the adjusted differentiation based on the feedback from my 2nd teaching assessment. The difference can be seen in the TRL section of my 3PF at week 11 and dated as here. On reflection I can see the advantages of the changes made and need to work on these for each lesson. We have now covered a good quantity of material and where we refer back to previous lessons, the students do have good recall. This is encouraging.

Reflecting on Week 12 Teaching Practice: 10/02/14

Learning went well and it was apparent that the absence of the strongest student in the group was giving others in the group, either confidence or at least opportunity to answer. Some of the discussion lead to extensions of learning. John, the Head of Horticare, is keen to have the groups skills and knowledge extended and improved. Inserting everyday bits of knowledge in to the lesson is often entertaining and actually a great method of learning, but you absolutely have to have it under control. It worked well in today's lesson though, on a couple of occasions.

Reflecting on Week 13 Teaching Practice: 17/02/14

A full complement of students and a slightly different lesson this week, which required more reasoning from the students. The lesson did intentionally draw on previous learning and required the students to consider how certain horticultural practice could affect them or others and that the choices we make can be for good or bad. This teaching did differ from previous lessons and it did work, in that it helped students to reason on a wider perspective than self.

Reflecting on Week 14 Teaching Practice: 24/02/14

Once again all my students were present and happy to be there too. The balance of differentiation is about right now, although one student is way ahead of the main group, which in normal circumstances would have him in a different group, so it's a challenge to task him without it becoming a distraction to the main lesson and group. There was some sadness among the group when they realised next week was my last session with them. It's a special teaching environment at Horticare.

Reflecting on Week 15 Teaching Practice: 03/03/14

It was quite an emotional last lesson. The small group I teach at Horticare are Special Needs, but they are really quite special in a more important way. As people they have such great qualities such as: Respect, Kindness and Love, such as is not common in students generally. They were always happy to be learning something new and teaching them had it's challenges, particularly in getting differentiation correct. In all, this has been a valuable experience in my Teacher Training.

I guess too, it shouldn't go unmentioned that the permanent staff at Horticare were most accommodating, particularly John Taylor, to whom I express heartfelt thanks.

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Reflecting On Teaching Practice - Linux Basics - Kendal College

Week 1

• Group 1

I had thought I wasn't sure what to expect. But post reflection suggests I was blackmailing my mind in to as state where it wouldn't worry. In reality, I did know what to expect and that understanding wasn't left wanting. Actually though, I think the group were so intrigued that it kept them attentive. My mind goes back to the days I went to school....so very different. Not only was it 40 years ago, but it was a Prep School and then a Grammar School. From that perspective, students today seem unbelievably disrespectful, rude and uneducated. Having said that, this group were kind to me, they listened, expressed themselves, asked questions. Give them an inch... and yes, you know what will happen. That's a feeling that is very much impressed upon me.

• Group 2

Quite a different group of learners to Group 1. They were clearly more knowledgeable both in their subject area and is their understanding of Linux. However, they were also somewhat nonchalant. There was a definite peer grouping that needs to be managed. Subsequent lessons are all group based, pretty much for the entirety of each lesson (groups of 2 and maybe some 3). Well, we have 5 Linux Sandbox Machines and approx 11/12 students. Something I noticed in both groups, which on reflection could prove to be a distraction is: Once we started working with the Linux Boxes, their main interest was just get on to the Internet. This will need some ground rules establishing at the next lesson.

  

Week 2

• Group 1

The main aspect of reflection for this weeks session is 'Mobile Phones', which made an appearance on several occasions. Whilst the learning outcomes were achieved, the assessment of learning established that, the number of times I had to address the phone issue was unacceptable. In this instance I have brought the matter to the attention of their course tutor before establishing a definitive course of action in next weeks lesson.

• Group 2 

I can basically restate the comments above from group 1. This group also has mobile phone issues. Learning outcomes were met here too though. There are in this group one or two very sceptical students, sceptical about the significance of Linux to their study subject (IT). These students have little to Nil workplace experience and think only in terms of Home Computing. This presents a challenge to have next weeks lesson more engaging.

Week 3

• Group 1

Comparatively, to last week, this lesson was much better. I feel the main uphill with this entire mini course is that the students know it's not part of the course they signed up to and as a consequence, they really don't put much effort in to it. I suppose I should see this as a challenge, to engage a group of uninterested students.... Probably needs some innovative thinking and a touch of something 'OMG that's Amazing!' - Well, I have some ideas.

• Group 2

I was really feeling much better after the lesson this week. The group had warmed a little and we were able to exchange some 'conversation' of a general nature 'life and all that', between waiting for PC's to do their bit and at the end of the session. As per group one, I need to make the next lesson stimulating. But let me caution myself about drifting away from the topic and outcomes!

Week4

• Group 1

This lesson was more interactive for the two groups and their attention was much better. Makes me feel a little pleased with some of the tweaks done to improve matters. Feedback from the group was positive in that they did feel they had learned some useful skills. It's a constant battle to keep these youngsters focused though.

• Group 2

At this the last lesson, compared to week one, this group were now the more focused and less disruptive. They had certainly come to see that this was interesting and not some 'tin pot', 'half baked' excuse for a OS. They enjoyed using the machines and testing different ideas, but then, any excuse to actually get on a computer attached to the internet is a 'no brainer'. I was encouraged by the small group who lingered after the end of the lesson to talk about Linux and what I did (work) etc..

Reflecting on Mini Teach: 29/04/2014

This is a reflection on this mini teach from 29/04/2014
Overall I was quite happy with the session I presented and I was interested to read all the peer feedback. Someone else always sees things differently and can offer comments that lead to improvement. On a personal level, I always feel I start with the best intentions but then forget to implement some of my ideas. Even though it's all down in writing, somehow I let it slip. I know too, I'm usually so nervous that my presentation suffers from a lack of enthusiasm. Nevertheless, I did get some good feedback during the lesson and all made the connections with the learning outcomes. Using the video record of the teaching session is useful and I can see a need to liven it up a little. The main problem I see too is that the session itself required so much in such a short space of time, leaving you cramming in material and as a consequence, being somewhat tied to the control for the slideshow presentation. Having said that, one of the peer group 'Dan' was very slick with all his IT skills and had the resources to enable remote control of his slideshow. I have to say, without prejudice, I did find it difficult to keep up with Dan's presentation, again in part down to so much material being presented in too short a time. At times Dan was 2 slides ahead of me and I wasn't really taking it in. We can reflect on others experience as well as our own. I was really impressed with Dan, I can see he is an excellent teacher, probably one of the best in our peer group.

Going back to my own presentation, I can see a degree of nerves playing a part. It's clear that as the session progresses, the presentation becomes more relaxed and flows better. I know from my IT teaching too, that was the case. It just takes me a little time to settle down. Reflecting on this brings to mind a commonly held belief, that women can multi task much better than men, seeing that it's actually quite an accepted understanding, there is likely some truth in it. Teaching really requires the ability to multi task and the women in our peer group seem to do it really well. Does that mean women are likely to make better teachers? I don't know, and it would be politically incorrect to make such comparisons.