If I receive any more stuff on how to deliver an outstanding lesson I am going to scream

[orangeandlemons]

...and scream!

I can only do so much in one lesson. I am so sick of OFSTED being rammed down our throats.

I used to enjoy my job

Now, we can do a reasonable amount by letting them discover things for themselves in practicals (not everything mind you, but a fair bit), but not if we give teh game away in our LO, and not in 20 minutes!

I am not one for jumping through artificial hoops in my lessons.

I am quite relieved, however, that when the Head came into one of my lessons this week, that the first thing he did was to look at my board to see some LOs. He didn't notice that they were from a different lesson and didn't stay long enough to find out. As a historian, he was rather pleased that I was waxing lyrical about Sir Isaac Newton in my lesson (physics, d'oh). He left a happy man.

My main objective in KS3 lessons is to make Science fun. I have fun, even if the students are bewildered. The parents are convinced I spend my time blowing things up, and then I show them I still have all ten fingers. :). I think this pays off in KS4 because the pupils enjoy the subject and so are happy to absorb all the facts they need for the exams.

Yes, fun. That's what I like.

500 mini plenaries are not fun

I agree with you so much, Knowsabitabouteducation! I saw a wonderful lecture about bulk solids handling, where the lecturer exploded some custard powder. The fact I can even remember what the lecture was about, years later, says it all really...

I did my teacher training before the three part lesson plan and was on my very long maternity leave when it was mandated.

Mini-plenaries are what we do without thinking about it. Checking children's understanding as you go does not require a label. It is just what teachers do.

I am striving to go the extra mile to understand how I can teach 'Romeo and Juliet' in a series of looped independent learning episodes, where the focus is on learning not teaching. I just can't understand what it would look like in 'real life'.
Do we read 5 lines, then do a mini plenary, then read from line 2 to line 7, then mini plenary, then lines 4-9 etc etc?
Or I give them the full text, the DVD and some websites (multimedia approaches v good), and ask them to discover it themselves, and then feed back to the class, who ask questions and explore collaboratively, while I facilitate by confiscating their phones?
And how do I signpost the sustained and rapid learning they are doing to 'anyone who might be in the room'? Because all my learning episodes must now be for the benefit of the audience, real or imagined.

Strive for adequacy, that's my motto.

Now there's a motto worth having. You'd probably get an occasional sense of success with that one.

Don't forget, adequate is no longer adequate. Everyone must be above average.

I have occasional delusions of adequacy.

Then there'll be a learning walk & Naveed will shoot the Deputy Head in the face with the wall stapler he's stolen from my desk, or something, but occasionally I manage adequacy.

Doesn't matter if Naveed shoots the DH in the face as long as he has independently discovered the stapler and has learned to spell stapler (and shoot straight) within the last 20 minutes..

@ handbag most are run as charities and do offer some bursaries to low income families. There is no getting away from privilege, but the kids don't ask to be born into privilege and they aren't without their issues/individual characters. I have worked in both and the opportunities offered with independents have lured me - probably for good.

I've been teaching since 93. I am ofsted outstanding. I have no idea what a three part lesson even is.

It's obsolete, is what it is.

The lesson Ofsted last observed me in was graded outstanding too, but I wouldn't label myself as 'Ofsted outstanding'. It was a snapshot of one section of one lesson with one class. Maybe 'ofsted lucky' would be more appropriate!

We had a training day recently. Now we have a 'lesson cycle'. In 50 minutes, as well as teaching whatever Engish I am doing, I also need to to teach them some maths and PSHCEE. I'm not even sure what all the letters stand for. Anyway, I must get off MN because I have several hours of marking to do before tomorrow.

OFSTED lucky is definitely the way it is!

We were inspected to within an inch of our lives when we were in SM. OFSTED, LA, IEB - you name it, they sat in our lessons and judged us. I had two by the same inspector. One outstanding, one inadequate. I still can't figure the second one out - something to do with having put the Level 4 assessment criteria on the board (differentiation - thought that was a good thing - mixed ability class with levels 3a-5a) and that not being aspirational enough, so it does seem to depend on how it is on the day. Luckily for me, the HT fought my corner over the assessment criteria thing - the inspector insisted that it was enough to deem the entire lesson inadequate. Grrrrrr.

I had a maths lesson with a bottom set judged good. When I asked what I could have done to improve I was told I should have put more emphasis on spelling.

YY to Ofsted Lucky.

We are floating just above Special Measures (Notice to Improve last October, which we have, massively; waiting for the inspectors to descend again in the near-future and deem us however they feel on the day...)

Last time I was graded Outstanding. Lovely, bright, responsive Yr12. It was a good lesson, sure, but a great deal of the credit goes to the kids. This time I have the same group as Yr13, another Yr13 who are pretty good but a disengaged Yr12, bottom set Yr11, bottom set Yr10 and 2 middle band Yr 9 groups. I'll be satisfactory with good features at best if observed with anyone but the Yr13 groups. I've NEVER got less than good with outstanding features.

Apparently according to our BLP sessions, at the end of each session the teacher/TA has to ask what the children have learnt. (TIL - Today I learnt). This includes TA thrice-weekly 10 mins sessions on trying to drum in full stop/capital letter/spaces. So a 10 min session is now reduced to 7 mins because it takes 3 mins for the children to try and think of something they've learnt.

Sassy- no such thing as satisfactory any more. It's outstanding, good, or requires improvement. Oh joy.

Yes of course. Teaching - the only situation in life where being satisfactory is unsatisfactory...

And everyone has to be above average.

I had similar Noble. Very tricky bottom set Y9. I did a challenging lesson, not English. We did some extended writing, peer assessed it, I checked it for SPaG. We also did some numeracy, as well as my subject content. I got Good, because not enough Literacy work. In 20 mins. How much more could I have squeezed in? Girls and boys were stars though!

Yes i have plentyt of lessons that involve being crap obviously

usual disclamiers

sheesh