I was thinking about mentors supporting trainees recently and came up with a couple of diagrams which I thought helped with that blog.

However, on reflection, I started to think more broadly about personal reflective journeys and how this impacts on teaching practices. I’m going to assume, from the outset, that anyone destined to be a successful teacher has a number of specific qualities, as described by the Teacher Standards, shown in this diagram; an organised, responsible person, who understands how to organise and run a good classroom for learning.
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It is then a truism that every class being taught will be different, whether a teacher is new or experienced, the difference being that experience of a particular year group sensitises the teacher to possible expected outcomes, which, in practice are refined with subsequent experiences. Changing class, or school during, or at the year end, puts knowledge of a specific group of children into a new phase; a period of extended reflection.

Why did I link reflection with assessment? For a very simple reason that that’s exactly what any teacher is doing; thinking about what they know about a class of children and deciding on the best means to promote learning progress across all of them.

The “thinking standards” I’d see as 24652. The whole being a linked series of consequential decisions, premised on one particular; How well do you know the children in the class?  
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If you look at the diagram above, it appears linear, but that might help to describe time, which is never circular. Every teacher starts a year with information, data, from a previous year. This may be simply numbers, or ARE (age-related expectation) statements. If they are lucky, this will be supplemented with additional information that builds a much broader picture of each child and their continuing needs.

The header in the diagram looks at the developing curriculum. In a blog on planning, I advocate the creation of an annual plan to look longer term, to ensure appropriate coverage, as well as consideration of the interlinked potential across the curriculum. As this was done as part of a closure in the July before the new year, one layer of planning was clear from the outset. As it started with a two-week, teacher-devised topic, as a “settler”, teachers could focus in that timeframe on getting to know the children better; putting flesh on the generalities of data.
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Shorter-term planning, based more on the known needs of the children could, over time be more nuanced and focused on specific needs. Within the earlier blog on mentoring, I looked at the potential for a reflective partnership, with the mentor coaching and guiding the trainee along a thought process, which passes from the original plan into classroom action, where in-lesson thinking is seen.

Described as Teacher Standards 6 and 5, these are assessment and adaptation. I’ve always seen these as the thinking standards, in that they represent, to me, those points in a lesson where the original plan meets the reality of learner needs, causing the teacher to wonder, to themselves or aloud, what is causing an apparent issue for one or more learners. These are the “decision-making” points; intervene and address, leave and watch, do nothing, any of which could be a right or wrong decision. This is often only clear at the point of intervention. To me, this starts to meet with Dylan Wiliam’s description of the “reflective-reactive” teacher.

The reflective outcomes from any lesson can be simply summarised; did they “get it”? If the answer is yes, then there’s a point to move on; no, move back one place; some, how to address the evident need and at the same time cater for those who are secure. I would say that these decisions have always been the case, throughout my career, and probably always will be.

Some commentators see inherent bias in teacher actions. While we have a system that puts one adult in charge of the learning journeys of a cohort of children, we probably must accept that decisions are seen through their eyes, with or without their bias. Having been a classroom teacher before the National Curriculum in 1987, the language of progression, through the level descriptors did offer clearer criteria against which to make judgements.
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Some also wish to promote testing as the only real route to assessment. Tests, to me, have always been just another point of information, to be used to inform decisions. If information that informs teacher decisions and subsequent interactions with learners is not forthcoming from a test, then I’d always question its utility. Summative points are only classroom MOTs; only really good on the day.
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The reflective cycle is one of constant refinement, supporting the teacher rationale for decisions, in terms of task challenges and subsequent interactions. Every interaction is a chance to question, to respond, to model, reflect with the learner, alter course. The diagram above looks at trainee need. We cannot assume that every trainee is always thinking at this level, they need to be challenged to do so. For a significant period, they are making sense of the structural elements, before getting to those parts that really matter; the children.

Progress can be a difficult word to describe, but, if process and outcomes combine, with a sense of achieved criteria within a particular task, at least the learning journey of the children can be described, with an overview over time supporting that analysis.

Unpicking Standard 2 of the Teacher Standards with a trainee.

A feature of recent visits to ITE trainees has been the difficulty in evidencing Teacher Standard 2, Progress and Outcomes, yet it is the most significant of the standards, as teachers are always judged on their outcomes.

Many ITE routes require trainees to keep portfolios of children’s learning, and in fulfilling these requirements, often end up with a disparate collection of work, which has little meaning and limited impact on their understanding. It can have the appearance of busyness, but becomes a futile exercise in file-filling.

Annotating work collected with notes that describe the context of the learning, such as time taken, support and guidance given, as well as a qualitative assessment, helps with later reviews.

Formative thinking can be captured in annotated lesson plans, indicating where in-lesson decisions were required, to address evident needs and issues carried forward into the next lesson. This would highlight both the in-lesson thinking, and reflections after the event.

As a training exercise, the trainee and mentor should meet to discuss pieces of work from a focus child, recording their discussion outcomes as the basis for a future, short summative oral “report” from the trainee on the pupil. If this become a regular feature of the weekly review, it would inform both formative and summative assessment, supporting standards 6 and 5 as well, both of which can be more difficult to evidence as they are the “thinking” standards.

A trainee, especially on a Primary route, when asked at any point, to talk about a child, should be able to come up with a short summary. In the early days, it will necessarily be a little generic, based on early exposure, but, over time, becomes much more nuanced, enabling more refinement of the teacher-child interactions.

A simple summarising question, to stimulate discussion, might be; what impact have you had with (child)?
 

​See earlier post if interested.

The words coaching and mentoring seem to be regularly passing through my experience at the moment, partly as I am responsible for training mentors within a Teaching School Alliance and in my role as a university link tutor, but they also passed through a presentation by a colleague at Winchester University.

The role of a coach or mentor is focused on the person whom they are seeking to develop. The University example drew from sporting situations, where the guiding person is regularly seen as a coach.

Wondering what the difference is between a coach and a mentor, I came to the following conclusion; a coach is someone who supports development of discrete skills through exploration and improvement advice in each area, whereas a mentor, to me, signifies someone capable of nurturing a whole talent, always focused on the bigger goals, helping the trainee to maintain their own focus on agreed targets.

Being a coach and mentor is not unusual. Teacher mentors are, at one and the same time, coach and mentor, keeping the bigger picture in sight while exploring the details along the thinking journey. It is a positive, developmental eye kept on the process of becoming a teacher, as well as the outcomes.

Below is a diagram exploring the thinking process within teaching; based on the analyse, plan, do, review, record idea that I have explored in other posts. These statements link with the Teacher Standards as they currently exist; 2 Progress and outcomes (know your children), 4 Planning (order and organisation for lessons), 6 Assessment (thinking in and between lessons), 5 Adaptation (spotting needs and doing something about them). A return to 2 will be based on a more detailed understanding of the children, allowing subsequent information sharing and challenges to be more refined to needs and achievements.

The mentor role is to unpick the detail of each element within the whole, engaging in a reflective dialogue with the trainee, so that it can be put back together within the agreed lesson structure. I was introduced to the “whole-part-whole” approach by a PE inspector early in my career. While it can be overt in a PE lesson, it can also apply in any other learning situation.  

​But, and it’s a big but, the difficulties arise within the complexities that exist in several areas.

Consider again; 2 Progress and outcomes (know your children), 4 Planning (order and organisation for lessons), 6 Assessment (thinking in and between lessons), 5 Adaptation (spotting needs and doing something about them).
The first (2) encompasses the whole of child development for the age groups being taught, across a wide range of subject areas within the Primary Curriculum.

Subject knowledge, standard 3, as a teacher must include the pedagogy of how to teach the subject, across the age range, understanding the steps that children have to take to acquire proficiency, selecting of appropriate vocabulary to aid the narrative of the lesson and also having a good understanding of the available resources that are available in and outside the school.

Standard 4, planning, needs to consider planning over different timescales, long, medium and short term, to ensure coverage, use and application of the known in challenges. Planning structures can be a variable between schools, and imposed structures can become limiting factors for individuals. Plans should support the order and organisation of learning.

Standards 6 and 5 may well have to be the subject of much coaching, as they constitute the thinking teacher skills, inside and between lessons; reacting to evident needs and doing something about them, to affect the learning dynamics for individuals, groups or the whole class. Checkpoints and interventions (please don’t call them plenaries) to need are positive. Just stopping the class to show that you can is a waste of time.
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And then we’re back to 2, a reflection on the lessons from the lesson, that will guide decisions for the next lesson, where adaptation may be required. It’s the get it, got it, good approach to assessment; get it, move on; not got it, review next lesson before moving on.

The essence of all good coaching and mentoring is communication, mutual understanding of the job in hand and how it will be tackled. Dialogue is, by far, the strongest approach, with the trainee and the mentor working out together the needs of the trainee and the best training path over the agreed timescale.

The plan is for the trainee to enact and the mentor to oversee and provide a developmental commentary, together with personalised areas for further development, which, in the case of teaching, can be areas to reflect on, to read about or signposting to discuss with a knowledgeable colleague.
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The mentor role will always be to make the trainee as good as they can be. Limitations can be very personal, in understanding the complexities within each of the simple statements, such as planning and subject knowledge. It’s sometimes like having all the jigsaw pieces but not a clear picture of how they fit together. That’s a significant part of mentoring; holding onto the bigger picture. They are, after all, good at their craft.

​Shared experience is excellent CPD.

​Think, talk and play together; that’s life.

59th Street Bridge Song Simon and Garfunkel

Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last
Just kicking down the cobblestones
Looking for fun and feeling groovy
Ba da-da da-da da-da, feeling groovy

I’m not sure about the feeling groovy bit, just now, as, somehow, a few weeks ago, I managed to do something to my hip or thigh muscles that has resulted in significant discomfort. I have certainly slowed, but I’m hoping to work/walk through it. Ibuprofen does help on occasions. Yesterday morning, I took my own advice and walked the length of seafront from Hill Head to Lee on the Solent, to enjoy the sunshine, the sound of the waves and to test out my strain. Shouldn’t have done, as I may have overdone things… I won’t be running any time soon…

Having a gammy leg has made me think about things, such as making extra time to get from one place to another, especially if it involves some walking. It’s not just an age thing!

My Twitter timeline regularly tells of teachers working considerable hours, feeling exhausted, then having to do some more. Sadly, even with such things as PPA time, the demands, or the pressures of apparent demands, appear to have grown. It’s worth noting the exponential rise of the weekend conference and the number of chats on Twitter that can appear to add to the already busy working week. I am sure that some see these as helping their down time, as, especially in real life, the social side certainly adds to wellbeing.

Busyness is tiring and we have been through a very extended phase of being kept busy by arms of Government, with significant busyness associated with massive changes that came into force in September 2014 and which, in reality, still require thought, work and embedding into practice. 

Interpretations by subsequent layers of responsibility, of Government/external requirements can be a very significant part of the problem. It always has been the case. The Government’s latest bright wheeze, often shared just before a weekend or holiday, enables regional or more local “experts” to share their wares, which they willingly do, as they are on a self-determined fast track to promotion. It happened through the National Strategies, effectively crippling, for a while, my excellent teachers, who taught down to the “expert” advice. It had to be right, as it came from the Government; wrong. It took even more time to turn things around again, to regain and embed the former excellence.

In my own mind, I am wondering if the growth of the besuited management layers in larger schools may inadvertently have added to this, in that everyone then has to prove that they are doing their job, often needing to bring colleagues into the “initiatives” that are central to their CV.

It took me twelve years to become a deputy head, with a further four until headship. That was a sufficient apprenticeship, encompassing 16 years as a full-time classroom teacher, across every age group in Primary, to hone and refine my ideas about what could be achieved. Even then, I still acknowledged the expertise and experiences of others; as a first school deputy, I was almost the youngest member of staff.

I also knew the value of streamlined systems that allowed classroom teachers to do what they are paid to do; teach the children for whom they were responsible.

During my final teaching practice, the head offered some sage advice as I was planning to be married in the January following the experience; to make sure that you always washed up together. It might be one of the few times during any day that you had time to talk! That was something to follow, although slightly abandoned during headship and the purchase of the dishwasher, or the dirty crockery cupboard, as it came to be known.
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Hello lamppost, what'cha knowing
I've come to watch your flowers growin'
Ain't you got no rhymes for me?
Doo-ait-n-doo-doo, feeling groovy
Ba da-da da-da da-da, feeling groovy

On taking up my headship, it was clear that much had to be done, to change a “coasting” school into the success that it could and should have been. Within a year, my youngest was born, which was a cause of celebration, but also another, very important demand on time. It’s so easy to miss out on children growing up.

Term time could be difficult, I’ll admit, as work demands don’t diminish because you have your own children. Weekends always were, but became more important; opportunities to get out, to walk and talk. We had taken to camping as our summer holidaying, allowing us to tailor holidays to suit the whole family, which for a few years included the Sidmouth and Chippenham Folk Festivals, where I ran workshops as part of the children’s festival in exchange for free camping, or I played as part of the Woodfidley musicians for the dance group.

On our 20th wedding anniversary, when the youngest was three, we heard the diagnosis of breast cancer. This gave greater urgency to personal time, as stock was taken, decisions made and dreams and plans executed. We had very good friends who had moved to France a few years earlier, and we had visited to camp on their garden or at a nearby campsite, run by people whom we also knew from our town. The Easter following diagnosis and surgery, we were invited for a rest, to stay with them and to be looked after for a week. Before the week, we had discussed the possibility of following a dream to buy a small house in the region; it would cost about the price of a smaller caravan.

By the end of the week, we had viewed, mulled and made an offer on a small two-room house, with a grenier attic that might become future bedrooms. By June, we were the proud owners of the house, with waist high grass and a lot of internal work to be done. We had walls, a roof a sink with a cold tap and an outside toilet. Electrical fittings had all been removed, leaving wires from the ceiling. It would be a summer of camping in the house.

Carpentry, plumbing, electrics and gardening became the stuff of holidays, with plans made in between, materials and tools purchased to need, so that every day would be productive, but also allow time for walking, cycling, swimming and picnics. Yes, it was distraction, but, surprisingly, school impinged in the strangest ways; for example, I “wrote” an improvement plan while strimming, rushing in to write down the details.
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Creating significant periods of time at the house during school holidays became an essential to maintain stability and sanity, as periods of hospitalisation, surgery and recuperation became part of life’s pattern. Life in school was often 60-70 hours, including parts of weekends, as is still the case now. Getting away was a form of personal safeguarding. Those breaks where travel wasn’t possible often meant time in school, rather than R&R.
 

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I got no deeds to do, no promises to keep
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep
Let the morning-time drop all its petals on me
Life, I love you, all is groovy

I’m looking back on a lifetime in education. It wasn’t going to be that. The original plan was to be a scientist. A year as a lab assistant showed that a lot of lab work was largely very much the same every day. Teaching offered the chance to be a thinker, in a sort of workshop/laboratory, with a plethora of variables to consider and account for. It suited from the beginning.

But, looking back, it strikes me that we often lose sight of some essentials, particularly at a point where it can appear that education is in danger of becoming “scientised”, picked apart to look at the minutiae, sometimes, in the process, enlarging these to such an extent that they don’t fit any more and make extra work for everyone, until someone find time to rethink them and put them into better perspective.

·         Teaching and learning is a people-centred act, with the young supported to create a taxonomy of the world around them from a very young age and to start to be able to differentiate within that through exploration of similarity and difference.
·         Children (generally) carry with them the capacity to engage with their world, from birth.
·         Communication is key to every aspect of learning. Therefore, vocabulary and articulacy both receptive and expressive are fundamental. Teachers are/should be models of these skills, being able to impart knowledge clearly, logically and succinctly, with the age/stage of learners in mind.
·         At the same time, being able to show something clearly and unambiguously enables sustainable mental models. Being able to use artefacts and apparatus effectively, supported by static or moving images, and to be able to structure diagrammatic models in front of/with the children offers insights to add to prior understanding.
·         Teaching and learning planning takes account of what has gone before. Understanding the stages of children passing through the knowledge experiences of the subject at hand enables fine-tuned interactions, from challenge, through activity to outcomes, asking focused or open questions en route to determine next steps.
·         For the teacher, being a knowledgeable investigator is a large part of the role. If children show anomalous learning behaviours, unpicking these and seeking alternative approaches has always been the norm. Engaging with the process and the outcomes, in different ways, allows insights into a child’s thinking.
·         Thinking about children’s needs requires time. This is often at a premium, in the busyness of school and family life. For this reason, I would encourage staff not to feel guilty if they have the time to do so. As a head, I’d try to find ways to facilitate thinking time, either by taking a class, or buying in supply for a purpose, and taking in student teachers, adding to the staff contingent.
·         Teaching is a team game, all the better from the collective thinking of colleague professionals, able to offer their knowledge and expertise to the group, to challenge and clarify points, to develop clear strategic ways forward. Developing and supporting colleagues, at every stage of their career, is key to sustaining longer careers. Teaching attracts thinkers; let them think.
·         Teaching is a team game, with parents, Governors and the wider community needing to play an active part; after all, the children are theirs and for teachers passing through their care for a while. For parents, it’s a lifetime.

Which takes us back to communication. There are so many ways to communicate easily across many people. If it doesn’t happen, it’s usually down to human error within life’s busyness and can be addressed.

​Think, talk and play together; that's life. Give the next generation the world that they'll inherit.