Just an observation...

And that's all it was. I got myself a little bit worried about this morning, because my link tutor from college was coming to do his first formal observation of my teaching. As it turned out, I had no cause for concern. I was in the ASC (Autistic Spectrum Condition) class, which was a bonus because I feel much more confident in there. I'd planned an activity, and the kids actually whizzed through it, which was a miracle in itself; they all sat at the table and did the work. I found another resource that we could use for a numeracy lesson, so we did that, and then did some individual work programmes; such was the effeciency of the pupils this morning. All this contributed to the rather pleasing report that my tutor gave me at the end of the session. I'll let you read it:

Professional values and practice: High expectations of all children. Demonstrates positive values to all children.

Knowledge and understanding: Good knowledge of what constititutes an appropriate learing environment for children with particular needs.

Planning, expectations and targets: Detailed planning in place to meet specific needs of children. Challenging expectations set.

Class management: Good selection of resources. Teaching and learning time managed effectively. Purposeful learning environment.

Teaching: Work had pace and variety. You gave careful attention to pupil errors and helped to remedy them.

Monitoring and Assessment: Monitored children's responses in detail to activities throughout the session. Used a lot of constructive feedback.

Inclusion and equal opportunities: Clear understanding of how children's learning is affected by their intellectual development.

Targets for development: Consider how you could identify a specific 'learning objective' within your planning for this session.

I'm not sure how much sense that makes to you. Basically, he was also ticking little boxes that referred to certain targets which I must acheive in order to gain Qualified Teacher Status. The comments are in keeping with the standards that I have achieved during the lesson that he observed.

I actually really enjoyed the lesson, and the feedback he gave me is very useful, but I only realised after I'd finished talking to him (after he'd done the observation) how tired I was. It had really taken it out of me. I think that the thing I can most easily liken it to, is taking your practical driving test. I was pretty calm about the whole affair, and I wasn't particularly worried about it, but I was aware that he was there, making notes on everything that I was doing, so I made sure that everything was done by the book. In the same way that when you take your driving test, you concentrate very hard on making sure that you check your mirrors at exactly the right time, keep both hands on the wheel in the correct position, and generally drive with more caution, perhaps even than you had when you were learning. And it's a pretty tiring experience.