Kaizen Teaching

Reviewing Half Term on VideoScribe. Sorry about the typos!

2014-10-22T19:00:00.001+00:00

Teach Meet, 3D Images and Video Scribe

2014-07-08T17:27:00.000+00:00

I'm attending a Manchester Teach Meet at Levenshulme School tomorrow. I have a five minute slot talking about using 3D images to stimulate creative writing. I shall finish off with a brief summary, using VideoScribe, of how to create these images. I mentioned VideoScribe in my last post.

I have attached my first video attempt. It didn't take long to create and I look forward to making more detailed videos in the near future.

I found the customer support very helpful. They have plenty of useful tutorials available, too.

Video Scribe

2014-06-29T21:12:00.000+00:00

You may already be familiar with the RSA animations that can be found around the web. If not, there's an example here.

Well now, you can make your own, somewhat less elaborate animations via videoscribe.

I've just prepared one to revise what my class have read of Macbeth so far.

I first used it on my iPad, with a free app. It is much easier to use on the PC, but you have to pay.

I'm trying out the free trial...and will then see if I can persuade my school to invest.

Crafting Sentences

2014-06-12T22:51:00.000+00:00

In the feedback I give my pupils I have often suggested they need to 'craft their sentences' for effect. Typically I might suggest moving a subordinate around to change the emphasis.

However, I have long suspected that many children who don't read very widely simply don't have enough of a repertoire of sentence patterns to draw on to create variety and effect.

Recently our department has been adopting ideas on slow writing that you can read about here and
here.

I have gathered a wide selection of sentence patterns e.g. The more, more more pattern such as 'The more I ate, the more weight I gained, the more depressed I became.' or the X wasn't the word patter e.g. 'Angry wasn't the word. I was furious'. I ave about 50 of these that I have graded into levels of difficulty and produced for the pupils to use when writing.

So far I, and my Head of department, have been very encouraged by the difference it is making to their writing.

Do It Again and Routines

2014-05-28T07:44:00.001+00:00

I've decided that I want to improve one of my regular classroom activities: collecting in books at the end of a lesson. I feel that if I could improve on how I organize this I could probably save several minutes every time.

So, I have adopted two ideas from Teach Like A Champion.

First I need to scaffold the steps. So, I need to be clear in my own mind just exactly how I want the books gathered in. I think in the past I have switched from one method to another without really establishing any consistency. Lemvo suggests numbering the steps aloud to establish the stages in the process. He also suggests that the focus be on speed. Pupils love a challenge, so using a stop watch and keeping a record of out times might well help there.

In order to help establish the routine, I will also adopt his 'Do It Again' tactic. Basically, this means insisting that where the standard is not acceptable, the pupils repeat the process. However, the aim is to do this in a positive way and not to accompany it with a moan or any negativity.

There are several reasons to adopt a Do It Again strategy in the classroom:

1. It makes a closer cognitive association between the behaviour (or misbehaviour) and the consequence. The shorter the time lag between an action and a response the the more effective will be the response in challenging/changing that behaviour.

2. This approach is not only used when something is done wrong. It is applied when something is done acceptably but could be done better.

3. There's no admin follow up (letters home, detention slips etc.)

4. It ends with success. The last thing they do is done successfully.

5. Consequences are logical: they are directly related to what happened (or didn't happen) before.

6. You don't have to keep think up new consequences. Just keep using the same one.

Well, that's the plan for next half term. I'll keep you posted.

Progress Report

2014-02-16T17:22:00.000+00:00

If you take proper exercise three or four times per week, then have kebab and beers on a Friday night, they probably won't do you much harm. If you have kebab and beers three or four nights a week and go for a run once, well, the run probably doesn't do you much good.

What matters is what we do consistently.

Since I last blogged I have been using my lolly sticks and persistent questioning consistently. I have been very pleased with the results.

Sometimes I meet staff who don't like the lolly stick approach because they feel they want to direct certain questions to particular students. But the two approaches aren't mutually exclusive. I use the sticks to ensure a spread of people are asked and that by the end of the lesson everybody has been spoken to at least once. However I am still at liberty to pursue a line of questions with any pupil I feel will benefit from it.

So, these two approaches are now embedded into my practice. I don;t really need to think about them any more; they are just what I do.

So, as I approach the end of this first half term, I am beginning to plan for my next area of improvement. Kaizen is a never ending process. I have returned to Teach Like A Champion mentioned in my last post.

I will post again shortly and outline my next Kaizen project.

My Current Kaizen

2013-10-29T22:59:00.000+00:00

At Marple Hall School, where I am an English teacher, we have recently re-established our Teaching and Learning Community. We meet and work together to develop our practice.

I am working on a couple of areas at the moment, both related to asking questions.

First, I have bought some lolly pop sticks, a set for each group I teach, and allocated one stick to each pupil. The idea, which I first saw prompted by Dylan William, is that instead of deciding on which pupil to ask a question, or responding to hands up, I will pick pupils at random. This ensures that I don't use the same pupils all the time. It is very easy to resort to simply asking the pupils who you know will come up with the right answer rather than enduring a long wait (and we know already that most teachers do not wait very long between asking a question and revealing, via a pupil or themselves, the answer. It also keep the pupils on their toes since they have no idea who will be asked next. Of course, I can still select particular pupils to answer if I wish.

The other strategy is that I am not allowing pupils to opt out of answering a question. When I receive a shrug or a 'I don't know;' I refuse to let them off the hook. My first response is to say, 'Well, I know you don't know but I'm asking you what you think' or 'I know you don't know, but what do you think I think?' If that gets me nowhere then I ask another pupil the answer. If this is correct, then I ask the first pupil to tell me the answer now. This encourages them to listen to their classmates.

If neither pupil can answer then I teach the point and again, come back to those who couldn't answer and have them tell me the correct response. This a) shows that they can only delay answering and not avoid it entirely and b) develops some sense of self-esteem as they find that they can answer once they have learned.

I have been trying this for a couple of weeks and am impressed by the results. I realize how much in the past I've been relying on a relatively few pupils. By persisting with my questions today a pupil really pushed himself to find an answer and when he succeeded the look on his reaction was a delight. Not only did he get the answer but he could see why I had pushed him. .

I have been working on asking pupils to answer in complete sentences to help develop their skills at articulating an answer.

I have come across these ideas on various blogs and twitter accounts I follow. Many refer to Doug Lemov's a very useful book called 'Teach Like A Champion'. It has 49 techniques that have been used successfully by staff in USA schools, under challenging circumstance. You can find it on Amazon and read a sample chapter. I bought a copy and expect to be delving into it a lot in the coming weeks.

A Model Lesson Part one

2013-09-08T17:33:00.000+00:00

David Didau's 'The Learning Spy' is a superb blog fiull of ideas for teachers who want to improve their practice.

In today's post he describes how he demonstrated a 'model lesson' on his first day at a new school in front of the entire teaching staff. So, no pressure!

You can read about it here. His explanations for what he does in the lesson contain plenty of practical advice. For experienced teachers the account will act as a quick refresher; for those who are new you will certainly find some ideas you will want to apply in your own work.

End Point Planning

2013-08-23T09:49:00.001+00:00

As we approach the start of a new term many of us will now be in the early stages of planning. This video from Mr. Bruff has a helpful strategy to keep you on target and avoid getting into a mess.

The Learning Spy on Marking

2013-07-25T12:29:00.000+00:00

I blogged back in June that our department is changing the way it approaches feedback. I have come across a very interesting post on this here.

I particularly like the simple three stage approach advocated in the middle of the post.

Never Underestimate

2013-06-24T21:52:00.000+00:00

Never underestimate the power the following can have in a classroom: 1. Getting out the highlighters 2. Getting out the scissors 3. Metaphor 4. Team Building 5. Praise to Parents 6. Modelling 7. Distributing new folders 8. Telling pupils about a story from your life 9. Letting a pupil type on your laptop/PC 10. Using mini whiteboards

Haiku Deck

2013-06-20T22:48:00.001+00:00

John Medina emphasizes the importance of the visual when learning.

So, I have tried out my first presentation on Haiku Deck, a free ipad app.

Here is a summary of the advice I give students who are writing advice. Of course, like the best presentations, it needs the speaker there to make complete of it.

Created with Haiku Deck, the free presentation app for iPad

Interview with John Medina

2013-06-20T19:29:00.001+00:00

John Medina is scientist whose research has thrown up lots of ideas for ensuring what we teach is more memorable.

He is an engaging speaker on his subject. listen to him here.

2013-06-19T21:52:00.000+00:00

One of the things our department have been looking at recently is feedback from teachers to pupils. Book scrutiny suggested that whilst the staff were working very conscientiously in leaving feedback, there was little evidence that the pupils were responding to it.

So now we are trying out a new approach. Once per fortnight we will spend part of a lesson giving the pupils time to respond to our comments. Where possible we will try to create a dialogue or leave some action for the pupils to do once their books are returned. Here are some of the things we are suggesting they can do.

Are there any marking symbols in the margin guiding your corrections? Correct your SPaG mistakes.

Answer any questions your teacher/peer has asked you, giving detailed reasons.

Have you got any spelling mistakes?

Create yourself a personal spelling list and learn them

Write a question to your teacher.

Improve work by re-writing words, sentences & paragraphs focusing on

your targets.

Highlight where you think you have met the SUCCESS CRITERIA or

where you have met your PERSONAL TARGETS...

Ask your partner to quality check your Respond and Review work

2013-05-01T21:02:00.002+00:00

Well, it may be only be May but the end of the school year is already hoving into view and that means exams.

One of the goals I have set myself is to work with my exams groups on regular exam practice. In the past this meant writing timed essay every week or so. What I want to do now is introduce the pupils to regular timed practice on the reading comprehension questions (section A Unit one AQA).

I have explained that they need to write for about one and a half minutes per mark. So an 8 mark question is given 12 mins max of writing.

This intense, brief writing activity can act as a starter to a lesson or as a final activity. It's also proving a popular Home Fun (no home WORK in English ;)) because they are FORBIDDEN to spend more than 12 minutes on it. This goes down well.

I had already embarked on this when I came across this blog post

Effective Exam Revision

I showed the video of the footballers practising as a starter asking the class to see if they could work out a link to English. One pupil got 'practice'. I then made the point that even multi-million pound players have to drill but it is because they do that they can play so creatively in their game. The pupils really did seem to grasp the point and understand why we are drilling these short answers, aimed at having them achieve the top band marks every time.

2013-04-21T14:12:00.002+00:00

My book of teaching quotes is now avaialble on Kindle:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CB4J3A6

Teaching Writing to Disengaged Boys

2013-03-17T22:27:00.001+00:00

There is just so much good stuff on the internet for teachers at the moment.

I find that Twitter is turning out to be an excellent way to key an eye on what's happening. It seems to be even more convenient that Google Reader...which is probably just as well since Google have announced they are pulling that service.

If you're thinking about how to improve the way you teach writing to disaffected boys (or any boys, for that matter)then I recommend John Tomsett's latest.

Overcoming Errors

2013-02-13T13:39:00.001+00:00

The 'marginal gains' attitude is entirely in keeping with the spirit of Kaizen.
Read Zoe Elders thoughts on how we can help achieve success through re-framing our questions.

Here's an excerpt

So…
“Who’s got it?”
“Is everybody clear with this?”
“Who thinks they have the right answer to this?”
“Is everybody clear on what they have to do?”
“What made it work?”

BECOMES
“Who hasn’t quite grasped this yet?”
“Who is nearly stuck?”
“Who thinks they’re in danger of coming to a complete halt any minute now?”
“Who is not clear on the first thing that they need to do now?”
“What prevented this from working?”

Error Seeking: This Marginal Learning Gain is probably one of the purest as it really is tiny…but with big effect. Frequently, quality learning and thinking opportunities are missed when students’ misconceptions are overlooked or not recognised. Continue reading →

A Universal Panacea? Homage to Twitter

2013-02-11T22:21:00.001+00:00

I was an early adopter of Twitter and well remember people scoffing about the whole idea of tweeting, 'I'm on the train.'

In fact, it is a superb resource. Read The Learning Spy on this here:

A Universal Panacea? – my homage to Twitter

Challenge Teaching Kaizen Tip #2

2013-02-11T21:11:00.001+00:00

Give students a list of five random words,
e.g. Box; Cow; Sunshine; Beyond; Fence
And ask them to:
-          Show how any or all of the words connect to one another.
-           Explain how they may influence one another.
-           Suggest how they might link to the learning.
-           Create a story encompassing all the words.
-           Mind-map the connotations of each word and then analyse the links between them.

Challenge teaching Kaizen Tip #1

2013-02-07T22:29:00.000+00:00

You know who the most able pupils in your class are, don't you?

OK. Next time you are preparing your lesson plan THREE questions you will ask them.

Example of an Outstanding English Lesson

2013-02-06T23:03:00.001+00:00

I'm finding David Didau's ideas really inspirational and I've been trying them out already.

He has a rich stock of ideas that are engaging, practical and purposeful. By 'purposeful' I mean that there is a reasoning behind them that concentrates on WHY he introduces an approach to the lesson. It must pass the test of improving learning. Being 'fun' or 'different' is not enough.

Here's link to a post on a lesson he gave that was awarded 'Outstanding'.

Just read through it to see the level of engagement form the pupils: intellectual engagement, not just activity. There are some great links on the post to show ideas that fed into the planning.

Tips To Make Your Lesson Better

2013-02-05T23:34:00.000+00:00

The original idea behind this blog was to look for those small steps we can take to continually improve our teaching.

The other day I came across this post Marginal Gains on David Didau's excellent blog The Learning Spy. The tips are at the bottom of the page..but it's ALL worth reading.

Stacks of things you can try out that require little or not preparation that will lead to improved learning in your lessons.

The Web 2.0 Connected Classroom: Formative Assessments Are Easier Than You Think!

2013-01-21T19:29:00.001+00:00

I just came across this.

Blogging About The Web 2.0 Connected Classroom: Formative Assessments Are Easier Than You Think!

It has suggests very useful web services. Apart from the fact they are free, what appeals to me about several of them is that they make it simple for pupils to participate. If pupils need to register before they can join in, you may run into school policies that require you to obtain parental permision first. All this is time consuming and there is every chance momentum is lost and it just never happens.

I shall be trying out lino tomorrow.

Taking Control of the Noisy Class

2013-01-20T17:04:00.000+00:00

I've posted about Rob Plevin in the past. I think he has some very good behaviour management advice. He's just uploaded a new video which tackles dealing with a noisy class. It's free and you can watch it here:

Noisy Class