Leeds SCITT Newsletter
Issue 4 Spring 2016
Welcome to the Leeds SCITT Newsletter
Welcome to the Leeds SCITT Newsletter. Our aim is to share good practice across our Partnership, keeping all interested parties up to speed with key information and share tips on how to become outstanding trainee teachers. This is your newsletter, so please feel free to email and share your experiences of how you or your colleagues have used innovative strategies/resources which have contributed to pupils making excellent progress.
Helpful reminders and points to consider!
This week…
- Continue to set focused targets during your mentoring meetings to support you in addressing key areas. You could use the language of the Teachers' Standards as outlined in the placement report (also located in the Stage 3 Manual pages 65 -80) to aid you and your SBT in the writing and evidencing of these targets. Remember it is important to share these targets with all of the host teachers in the department to ensure lesson observation feedback is focused, to allow you to evidence the targets you and your SBT have set.
- Continue to email your SEF to your SBT 24hrs prior to your mentor meeting and cc your Link Tutor in too.
- Speak to your English department and ask them how they get pupils to structure their written and oral answers. For example, what resources do they use to support pupils with low literacy in accessing the lesson.
- Try a new questioning technique, see below for some ideas.
- Update your subject knowledge audit / tracker. Ask for support in those areas which you feel, still need to be developed. Speak to your colleagues and enquire which topics they will be teaching this week. If these topics cover your area for development, ask to observe the lesson. During the observation focus on: the questions asked by the teacher / pupils, what were the common misconceptions of the pupils, what analogies / models did the teacher use to overcome these misconceptions, did the pupils enjoy their lesson, what further questions do you need answering to be able to teach this topic better in the future?
Stage 3 Priority – Becoming an Outstanding Trainee Teacher
Precise Target Setting
Pupil Progress
Oustanding Trainee Teacher
Evidencing the Teachers' Standards
Each week we will focus on one of the Teachers’ Standards, to look at ways on how this specific 'Standard' could be evidenced in supporting you in becoming outstanding in this area. This week we will take a look at TS3 - Demonstrate Good Subject and Curriculum Knowledge
How can we evidence TS3?
For your SEB, the TS3 Standard can be evidenced in your Lesson Observations, Lesson Plans relating to two or three Key Stages, your Progression Map and your Subject Knowledge Audit. Take a look at this link, as this may provide you with some additional ideas of how to gain evidence to achieve this 'Standard'.
Question time!
A Precise Well Timed Question
Learning to Ask Important Questions
Questioning
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.” – Albert Einstein
Questioning - Gaining Evidence for Teachers' Standard 3
Questioning Ideas
Here are a few ideas for you to try!
Here's the answer, what is the question?
Thought-provoking questions are posed that make people think differently about everyday things. Here is a link to their website: http://www.thunks.co.uk/
Here is another link to a PowerPoint found on TES, which has some 'Thunks' / questions you may wish to use https://www.dropbox.com/s/odjdklv2c1t5qos/Thunks.ppt?dl=0
These questions could be used as a starter, a plenary or to encourage a class discussion.
If you were to use this resource, how could you use it effectively in your lessons? How would you pose the questions - individually or in groups? How and when would you structure your feedback? How would you organise class discussions to allow all pupils to give their view?
Once you and your pupils become more confident with 'thunking', pupils can begin to formulate their own 'thunks' – a great way to get pupils to think about higher order and open questioning.
Initiates deeper thinking
Sparks thinking and dialogue
Can be targeted to the topic or subject in hand
Stage 1 Materials - Subject & Curriculum knowledge
Here are some of the resources used during the Subject Study sessions during Stage1. These may be of help.
SA1 module booklet
https://www.dropbox.com/s/33s4u4tejhwce1z/SA1%20Module%20Booklet.pdf?dl=0
SA1 PowerPoint
Over to you!
Leeds SCITT hope you have found this newsletter helpful. If you would like to send your suggestions, ideas, videos, sharing of good practice to include in the next newsletter please let me know. There are still a limited number of amazon vouchers available for your contributions, so please email your ideas!
Have a great week and we look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sinead