Observation 8 - 3/12/21

Subject (Practical or Theory): Practical - Art

Class Profile & Details: TY class, 24 students, mixed ability, mixed gender

Duration of Lesson: Single (1 hour)

Professional teaching skills and ability

• Ability to help students at any stage as well as the class as a whole by projecting any useful pieces of advice to the room if they applied to a group of students

• Created a productive working environment, with students working at different levels, able to converse with each other quietly without getting distracted off task

Classroom management

• Sense of mutual respect between students, each other and the teacher - productive + focused atmosphere without feeling a sense of authoritarianism

• Very big emphasis on differentiation - students all following the same course of activities at different paces - 1st to make a pinch pot, then to proceed to making a slab pot with added low relief 3D decorative shapes, then making a lid, then painting finished pots

• Strong sense of choice + personal responsibility (key skills being used) - students could work at any pace they wished, could skip / repeat steps based on interest / ability, students could ask each other / teacher for help at any step, and some exceeding students were able to create some beautifully made + intricately designed pots in the given amount of lessons (I was observing one of the last few lessons)

• Peer teaching & learning - students who had progressed forward being asked to help students behind by explaining how they did each step

·

Presentation of learning content

• Evidence of effective explanations & demonstrations of steps to make each kind of pot as those students who were farthest ahead had created very structurally sound + balanced pots

• Teacher asked students to assert their understanding of what they had to get done in this lesson / within these last 2 weeks of school before Christmas (effective recalling of prior knowledge)

• Effective time management - students given optimal class time to work on pots - not too much time spent on theory as students have moved on to making final pieces - giving responsibility to students over their own work

Effectiveness of planning

• Smooth + swift entry system - students came in, put on aprons, got clay boards / paints / tools depending on where they were in completing pots, and got to work immediately

• Rolla + any other things to be said to the class were done after class had settled down & were working quietly away on their pots - working environment created through pacing

• Cleanup + exit system were also planned excellently as to give students the most time possible to work on their pots - students all knew where to put their equipment / materials / how to carry out cleanup - evidence of effective teaching & reinforcement of entry + exit systems

Assessment and evaluation of pupils work in class

• Any students really struggling could come up to teacher’s desk + ask for help - were given 1 to 1 instruction & teacher made sure they knew what to do next and weren’t stuck on any step

• Less walking around the class + looking at student work in this lesson, strong sense of cooperation between students as they helped one another + conversed

Any additional comments on what you learned from the observation class?

• Really valuable observation of such strong differentiation and of a 3D clay project, with a TY class new to art - very skilled delivery of this project by the teacher is evident

• Differentiation of tasks + outcomes allowing students to reach their fullest potential - very evident with the work of 2 students who have exceeded expectations - made slab pots of quite a large size that are excellently made - very balanced, very smooth surface, seamless application of medullas, etc.

• The type of working environment created by the teacher at this stage of their project with quite a sizeable class is something that I would really like to emulate in my own clay UoLs.