Writing Motivation Video Reflection

Watch my motivation video on you tube click here.

Picture used as motivation.

What behaviours in your teaching did you notice that you weren't previously aware of?

- Continually twisting the pen in my hands.

- Say ‘OK’ way too frequently.

- Talk as I am turning to the board.

- Shrug

How might you respond to this knowledge?

Now that I know I am subconsciously doing these things then I will try and stop myself if I notice I am doing them. I will video myself again in 2-3 weeks to see if these behaviours are still present in my teaching.

What behaviours of students did you notice that you had not previously been aware of?

When I gain children’s attention I have them put their hands on their heads and then fold their arms. I noticed several children on the mat leave their hands on their heads for several minutes.

How might you respond to this knowledge?

I will be reinforcing the behaviour that they fold their arms once I start talking.

After watching yourself teaching on video, what is the one thing you wish to focus on developing? Why?

I feel that my instructions for most activities are clear, however I did notice that some were not clear enough. The instructions that weren’t clear enough did create some confusion. I believe I need to focus on providing clear precise instructions and not only in writing but in all other curriculum areas.

Who might help you (and how) to develop the above focus?

On Thursday I have my tutor teacher observing me and this is one of the things she is focusing on. So it will be good to get feedback from her on whether my instructions are clear enough from her point of view. I can also start checking with students by having them repeat back to insure they understand.

What went well from what you have observed?

The children worked with me in developing a WALT and unpacking it in order to identify a Success Criteria which in turn they then used to guide their own writing this worked well as it allowed the children to take ownership. I also think my image that I used as a motivator worked well as children could all draw on some sort of prior experience with a dog and recreate it into a story.

Any other notes?

During our staff meeting we had to decide on two next steps for our writing.

My first is in regards to motivating students and it is:

Use text or student models. I believe this is important because in order for children to produce rich outputs they need rich inputs.

The second in regards to planning writing is:

Create in-depth plans using a variety of graphic organisers.