Observation 1
Date 24/11/2009
Author: Gareth Jones
Observation of an Experienced Teacher
An Evaluation
Introduction
My first observation was at a4e, which is where I volunteer for 5 hours per week. These hours count towards my teaching hours as part of my PGCE. The teacher delivering the session was Charlotte Faichney who is the Skills for Life specialist. She delivers the Numeracy and Literacy modules at the a4e Wrexham office.
The students’s ages ranged from 16 to 18 and were at Entry Level 2 and 3. The session was held in Basic Skills Classroom, which is well equipped, well lit and well maintained. This showed an understanding about ways to maintain a learning environment in which learners feel safe and supported (BK 1.1)
This was my first observation and would count towards the PTLLS module of my PGCE. The session ran for 95 minutes.
Planning
The aim of the lesson was to introduce the learners to different aspects of handling data through the use of circus skills. The learner’s objectives were to record numerical data, extract and interpret that data and to make comparisons with the use of bar charts. They would have to find the average and the range for a set of data.
The lesson plan showed a logical flow from introduction of the session, to the practical exercises, collecting and interpreting the data and the final Q & A session that evaluated the success of planned learning activities (DP 3.1). These Q & A sections were relevant and acted as a natural stepping stone to progress the lesson. The first Q & A established prior knowledge, while the second assessed the newly acquired knowledge before starting the main activity. The next session re-capped the activity and gave the learners the opportunity to analyse their results. The fourth session enable students the knowledge to calculate arithmetic averages for their sets of data and the last session was a summative assessment of the whole session.
This detailed plan really showed how to
References: Biggs, J (1999) Teaching for Quality Learning at University, Buckingham: SRHE and Open University Press. (Gibbs, G. (1981) Teaching Students to Learn. Milton Keynes and Philadelphia: Open University Press Reece, Ian and Walker, Stephen, (2007) Teaching, training and learning, 6th Ed. Tyne and Wear: Business Education Publishers Ltd. Appendix Evaluation Sheets Session Plan Handouts