Remote Learning Week 4- Mentoring an ITT

Week four of lockdown has now finished. We currently run a four week timetable so I have covered all of my timetable now remotely.

I my a Geography Subject leader in a Secondary school and one of my roles involves the responsibility to mentor geography ITT students. I find this a really rewarding part of my job, but as I was observing and hopefully supporting my current ITT student as she delieved her Year 7 and Year 8 lessons, it got me thinking how odd a year it is for ITT students.

Lets face it, so far they have had to cope with a global pandemic the scale of which has never really been seen before. As a result our whole way of teaching has been transformed this year. I guess you could say that our ITT students are developing some skills that hopefully will need be needed again – unless we have a snow day – which due to global warming is less likely in the South where I teach and of course perhaps now it will be just a remote learning day…

“Snow day – that wonderful moment in the past when you wake up and see a blanket of snow and then wait to hear your school name on the radio / get that email or text message to say the school is shut – bringing joy that you have a day to play in the snow with your children or just chill”

Using the remote lesson to your advantage.

The fully remote lesson – what a different way to teach! However as I have watched and listened to my ITT deliver her online lessons it has struck me that yes, it is different and difficult but it can also be really really usefull too.

Research-informed teaching.

The EEF’s Rapid Evidence Assessment of Remote Learning  highlights several key points which we should all take into account:

1. Teaching quality is more important than how lessons are
   delivered.
2. Peer interactions can provide motivation and improve learning outcomes.
3. Supporting pupils to work independently can improve learning outcomes
4. Different approaches to remote learning suit different types of content and pupils

Teaching quality is more important than how lessons are
delivered.

Point 1 reminds us all that there is more to teaching than the environment or platform that you use. The key to successful teaching remains the same whether in the classroom on online – clear explanations, scaffolding when required and meaningful feedback. The EEF suggest that there is little different between synchronous and asynchronous teaching where these three elements are concerned. If they are clear then it will not matter whether the lesson or part of the lesson is live or recorded.

For the ITT students, the current lockdown provides flexibility in developing their practice – For example, they could pre-record an explanation of a key concept and then listen back and refine until happy with it. This could then be inserted into a live lesson. The key thing to remember – does the explanation build on prior learning – or link in to how the students will be assessed in the future.

As a mentor, I can focus on the discussion and the quality of explanation that the trainee is delivering, when using MS TEAMS. There are no distractions of others talking so I can focus solely on what the trainee is saying. This really highlights the quality instruction that is taking place.

Peer interactions can provide motivation and improve
learning outcomes

One area that I think I need to develop in the online environment is peer interactions. I have started with my Year 13 students as they started to produce a peer revision document via Google slides.

I have noticed that students to listen to the feedback you give other students and then they will often go back and change answers based on the feedback just given. For example, when I have used nearpod and then comment on a piece of work that a student has done, I can see other students editing their answers. When I share a good piece of work, students will be encouraged and through the message chat, ask if I can review their work, and share it with others too.

My next development will be to try and encourage some peer work in groups using google docs – as our students are used to using this in the ICT room.

Supporting pupils to work independently can improve learning outcomes

Currently I am thinking of ways to improve the opportunities for students to work independently online. As most students will be working from home this will generally see students working independently as they perhaps sit in front of their computer/tablet/phone and complete work, so how can we maximise this time?

The research from the EEF suggests that one way would be to encourage students to reflect on their work. One way that I have tried to encourage this is by using Nearpod or FORMS, while colleagues have used google docs – we then comment on the students as they write and offer feedback. We then encourage them to think about how they could improve their work by using questions such as,

“You have mentioned x but do not provide an example. Which example would help make your argument stronger A or B? Think about why that might be the case.”

Another consideration is how students can seek support if they are having difficulties. Perhaps a sheet the students can refer to if having issues with technical issues such as uploading work – or where to get help if needed – Hand up, Group chat, email teacher perhaps? I think colourful icon based help sheets really do help and as students are spending alot of time of the screen at the moment, something that can be printed out / posted home that is short and clear like a checklist will really help.

Different approaches to remote learning suit different types of content and pupils

In this new world of remote learning, there are so many different approaches, all of which have their different strengths and weaknesses. As a teacher we need to consider the best approaches to match our classes and the students learning needs, just as we would when considering different approaches in the classroom.

In geography I use card sort activities and while this works well in the classroom, I have had to adapt the approach for online learning. So I now use Nearpod and the draw it slide. I create a photo of my card sort and then ask students to colour code the cards using the drawing tools – Thanks to Mrs Rush for sharing that approach with me!

Some students like to have a sense of competition and online games like Kahoot can really help to consolidate knowledge – but it needs to be the right knowledge – and other forms of assessment need to also be used to create a snap shoot of the students understanding of the topic. Using Kahoot, or FORMS to generate MCQ are an excellent way to help students retain key ideas and knowledge but don’t forget assessment is more than just quizes…

So when planning online lessons, consider how you might try to develop different activities and assessment opportunities so students have a varied online diet…