Refusing to teach the same methods

[SunnyCritic]

I’m an English teacher. We’ve just got a new head of department. She wants us to all teach the exact same method because apparently it’s “the best way” I don’t like that. I don’t like it at all.

I don’t think we can all use the same methods and expect it to work effectively. I hate the idea of being “told” how I need to teach my lessons too.

I raised it in the meeting and said “surely that can’t work, we can’t all teach the same method and expect it to work?” Apparently it worked before so it must magically work again.

AIBU for just saying no? I said I’d try it but I’m used to teaching things my way.

How would the same method work for all children?

I suppose it might depend on what 'the method' is. As teachers, we should be reflective practitioners and sometimes be open the the fact that the way we have always done something is the best and only way. I have been teaching for 30 years and have made changes in that time!

I do agree though, that sometimes the way we teach is what works for us - as long as it also works for the children, that's ok.

Just say yes and do what you like unless you are being observed. Or try it, it might work better than you think and if it doesn't then you have evidence to refuse.

It's bloody Ofsted. They want consistency. Apparently that means that every lesson in the department is exactly the same including ppt.

I completely agree with you by the way. Utter crap that's draining the life out of the job.

Most teachers I have worked with find the methods that works best for them. As a newbie you’ll try methods that look like they work well for more experienced teachers and sometimes they work well for you and sometimes they don’t. Experience over time develops your own teaching style.

YANBU. As long as you are following policy and procedure, the curriculum and aligning yourself to the professional standards you should have autonomy over how you teach.

Is this a MAT? They often require this. As a teacher I disliked it. But as a parent I have seen the other side and the inconsistencies from year to year have made me cross. In maths for example, in some years teachers have made the more able children work through very simple worksheets on a daily basis before they were actually challenged with work at their level. In other years, teachers have set work at the right level of challenges straight away. In their currently, the teacher let the children choose the level they want to work at.

YANBU. Sharing resources and ideas, yes. Being made to teach identical lessons with identical methods? Hell no! My school is not part of a MAT and doesn't tend to do things this way. We have a new Head though. HoDs were asked what they thought of having a set 'routine' for lessons across all departments and apparently the answer was a resounding 'Nope'.

@SunnyCritic I am not a teacher, I am a retired nurse. when lockdown happened, i was looking after my bereaved grandchildren. the youngest aged 9 was sent a new kind of maths with example of the working. I could not fathom out this method at all. I was if they had to pluck a random number out of the sky and plonk it down on the page. I showed him how to do it the simple way which I had been taught nearly 60 years ago. He easily understood my method and did the whole work sheet then submitted it online. I then messaged the teacher to say that I had done this because I could not understand the method being used. she replied the method which was on the sheet was the way they had to teach but not to worry because the next thing the were being taught was how to do it the easy way which I had used!! why make things difficult and get kids confused? they say standards are slipping in maths and no wonder if this is the way they are carrying on! thank goodness I became a nurse and not a teacher because I just could not put up with that rubbish! the old ways were the easiest

Consistency doesn't work if we're also employing adaptive teaching. I believe the latter trumps the former when it comes to Ofsted.

Making everyone teach exactly the same way is a lazy way of showing that things in a department are tackled in a consistent way. Much better to have some core must-do activities (and ways to lay out books etc.) and leave the rest up to the professionals in the room.

It depends on what you mean by 'the exact same method'. Can you explain further?

There are things that you can do in teaching that objectively help kids learn better than others so I'm not sure you should be resistant just because you've not done it that way before. Is she asking you to look at Rosenshine or does she want to bring back card sorts?

It depends what you mean by "the same methods".
I don't know anything about teaching English in secondary schools (know a lot about EAL, but that's different) but if I think about Maths instead, consistency is essential and so each teacher in the secondary school needs to teach the same method of doing particular problems so that there aren't inconsistencies from class to class and difficulties when moving into the next year group.
Is it something like that? A particular method of analysing a text, for example?

Or do you mean each teacher has to teach in the same way - ie. present the material in the same way, using the same teaching techniques/methods?

It absolutely is not what ofsted want.