CA observation of LJH.
Lyndsey was using questioning strategies with her Year 7 class. They were recapping their prior learning on Macbeth. There were seven pre-planned questions on the board which allowed the students to see the questions they could be asked and therefore gave them thinking time to consider their response.
Lynsey used ‘No hands up’ and selected students that she wanted to answer. Students were given clear thinking time and questions were re-worded if necessary. To allow keen students to participate further Lyndsey allowed them to put their hands up and volunteer information to develop more in depth answers and to provide support to other students. Praise was used consistently to encourage students throughout the questioning session. Students were clearly engaged in the discussion and were keen to contribute their ideas when asked or when they could help to develop the discussion further.
MAY observation of JW
Josh was questioning his year 8 class during a plenary session after an energetic and competitive game of dodgeball. His questions were focused on the teams’ attempts to improve their team-working skills and therefore their overall team performance. I imagine that some of the more competitive students wanted to comment on their own heroic exploits but Josh’s precise questions restricted their abilities to consider anything other than team performance.
Ignoring hands-up, Josh ensured that a range of different students were encouraged to take part and I was impressed by their understanding of how their team had performed in the game and the improvements they had made compared to previous weeks. This was my first experience of viewing questioning in a PE lesson and I was pleasantly surprised by the willingness of the students to reflect on their performance in the lesson. Based on my own experiences in PE lessons in the distant past, reflection was only ever shared with your mates and consisted of “I played really well today” rather than the detailed comments Josh succeeded in coaxing from year 8!
Learning and Teaching at Abbot Beyne 