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
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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.