Monday, 21 May 2012

Learning Walks: Week Beginning Monday 14th May 2012

This week twelve different lessons were seen.  The best learning was active, purposeful and challenging, giving opportunity for analysis and reflection.  This was good to see.  Some lessons could have been more effective with:
§  less teacher talk
§  more challenging activities for students
§  further planning for questioning activities to prevent students from being passive during discussion work

The effectiveness of learning varied between lessons, therefore we have to work hard to ensure that we have as much consistency as possible as we try to ensure that all students have first class learning opportunities. 

We have a really clear learning and teaching policy that we have branded Agile Teaching.  This can be found in our Agile Teaching Handbook.  This is a really useful document that not only sets out our policy but also gives guidance on PLTS and sets out teachers’ and students’ expectations for learning entitled Cheney Expects.  Further to this document we have updated our homework policy.  These documents are available on Agility the Blog! http://cheneyagility.blogspot.co.uk/   

In addition we have tried to supplement our own learning and teaching initiatives by distributing multiple copies of Jackie Beere’s The Perfect Ofsted Lesson and Jim Smith’s The Lazy Teacher.  I am raising this because I believe that Learning Walks are evidencing that learning happens best when we apply the principles of formative assessment sometimes referred to as assessment for learning.  This is the approach to teaching that we have adopted through Agile Teaching.  Thus it is important that we are all familiar with our policy and build its principles into our planning. 

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