The East Northamptonshire Initial Teacher Training College: Graduate Teacher Training Programme

Lesson Observation Proforma

School HFNI Lesson time 10.50

Date 4/4/11 Year group Yr 1
Observer: name Karen Draper Number of student numbers
role M F
Trainee teacher Glenn Billingham Student ability
Subject Maths Other adults in the room TA came in ½ an hour in
Focus of observation

Time Commentary Evidence to support commentary re learning styles,

Planning
You have put a box for prior learning on your plan like we discussed &
referenced Open questioning as well & given yourself a box for next steps.
You have thought about differentiation
resources, differentiation, AfL and assessment
(This could also include points to consider re moving the
trainee forward)
Actually fill in the prior learning part! Looking through the
children’s books, talking to their teacher (I know you have a
new member of staff in there but she could have pointed you
in the right direction.)
By looking through their maths books I was able to find that
they had done work on symmetry(so may have been aware of
the term half at least) and halves of numbers in January. AFL!
(you mention symmetry in your plan as a potential question-
‘what do we call a shape that can be split into 2 equal parts?-
symmetrical)- this could have been a good starting point if you
had known that they had done symmetry already.

Be careful about how you define your differentiation- by

Starter
Good use of strategy to calm the children down (playground hats &
listening hats)
Showed ch your dominoes box & someone recognised it had a slider lid
you asked ‘How do you know?’
Showed ch the dominoes & used the dots to make a number sentence
‘quantity of work’ is not really a good enough benchmark for
deciding who is attaining average/ above av or below av.
(Working on just halves, halves and quarters, writing the
fraction numerically might have been better ways of
differentiating)
GOOD! You have remembered to push the children for
answers and explanations in their answers.
Good modelling of writing a number sentence & good use of

The children had to do mental addition with their domino
As the ch were putting the dominoes back, 3 children took themselves off
to get water.
Someone shouted out
Main activity
You introduced it through the LI & STS on the Learning board, which
helped a child to say ‘half’ in response to your question about how you had
folded the square.
You went around the tables and talked to the children and extended one
child by asking if he could show you another way of folding it in half using
another line of fold. (you were asking him to fold it into ¼ s)
You stopped the whole class with the shaker and reinforced good working
you had seen, then you modelled the problem of a triangle that was folded
incorrectly (a child had brought it up as a problem.)
11.20- the TA came in and asked you what she was doing…..
You stopped the class again a bit later on, but the children didn’t respond.
whispery voice to control the class.
Good awareness of whole class, you spoke to the 3 children &
brought them back to the lesson.
(The whole class was a bit restless, don’t be afraid to stop &
get them to move around & shake it out.)
You reminded them of expectations and asked them what
they should be doing (hands up) Consider using no hands up
as a tactic, that would eliminate the calling out a bit more too.
Lots of talk about folding- push the relevant voacb as much as
you can throughout the lesson.
You have written about folding shapes into quarters on your
plan, but didn’t touch on it in your introduction. Think carefully
about what you ask the children to do- They had cut their
shapes and stuck them in their books, so doing anymore folds
on top of the half they had attempted was actually impossible.
Great!! AFL- good use of mini plenaries :O)
Your TA should have known what she was doing before the
children came into school, or certainly before playtime. Think
about how you mange support staff in the best way to aid your
teaching and the children’s learning. (we’ve talked about this
before!)
You reminded the children about your expectations, and gave
them a quick rehearsal to reinforce your expected
response :O)
11.25- mini plenary; you used the children’s work
GB“what have you done?” ch- “folded them up” “she’s done it like that”
Child 2 “ I folded the shapes in half” (rectangles)
GB “Tell me something else” child was able to & you were able to use the
responses to demonstrate to the class that the chid had reached step 3.
Child 3- you drew out ½ from the child, then went on to say ‘we folded the
square and it made 2 rectangles, when we folded the circle it made… who
can tell me what we call this shape? (holding up half the circle)
You demonstrated folding a4 paper in half, then in half again, and asked
‘how many shapes have I made?’
You invited K to draw a line on the shape you asked how many shapes
you had now & K was able to tell you 4
Plenary
You asked the children to colour in half a circle, then ¼ of a square- you
went to the tables and helped some children by saying ‘we’ve made 4
shapes’
You then asked the children ‘What have you coloured in on your circle? &
the children said ‘one bit’ You asked the class what the word for that one
There were lots of references to the folding and sticking the
children had done. (Think about this- How could you tweak the
introduction to focus more on the learning? You referred to the
LI & STS at the beginning, you need to make sure you use the
correct language throughout your explanation & plenaries &
really push the learning you are expecting the children to do.)
AFL! Good use of STS to demonstrate learning.
Be careful, there was lots of talk about making shapes within
shapes when the children folded them in half- this detracted
from the LI and may have caused some
confusion/misconceptions. The focus of the lesson was ½ and
¼ not 2D shapes.
Remember what you are teaching! This is a prime time to
repeat all the relevant vocab and push the LI you are teaching
eg “X had a whole Square and when they folded it in half
they had 2 equal parts.”
Not shapes!! How many equal parts (when you introduce
writing fractions as numbers this will be important- for example
¼ will be explained as 1 of 4 equal parts) You have to be
specific, young children need to be told things correctly,
otherwise they will remember the wrong things and it can
takes years to iron out misconceptions.
Plenary provides a good chance for you to reinforce the
learning- remind them that half I ‘one of two equal parts’
Think technical vocab! E.g ‘We have divided this whole shape
into quarters- what is a quarter? Yes! 1 of 4 equal parts’
You used the chidren’s work to demonstrate this- be careful!
 bit is, and with some big clues a few said ‘half’
You then showed another child’s circle and taught that half is 2/4 – you
introduced this idea to the whole class & drew it on the IWB
Many of the examples you used were not showing half of a
circle, they were showing 2/3 or something else. Telling me it
was the child’s version of half won’t do- Maths is a specific
subject, there is a very precise definition of a half and you can
not make it up to suit the children you are working with. It was
good that you didn’t embarrass the children by highlighting
their error infront of the whole class- and good that you were
using children’s examples but pick ones that are correct.
Good- extending the children’s learning- but this could have
come earlier in the lesson to extend the more able.
Remember to make your drawings big enough for everyone to
see when you are modelling something.

How do you know which step each child in the class has
achieved?
Making notes through the lesson is a good way of keeping a
track of interesting things the children say and any
improvements they make to their understanding in a session.
Annotate your lesson plan as you go.
Learning objectives

Learning outcomes (What have the students achieved in this lesson?)

Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Progress All pupils making considerably
better progress than expected.
Achievement Achievement is very high in
relation to their capability – good
added value.
Most pupils make good progress
and achieve well.
Almost all students achieve well
in relation to baseline data.
Most pupils’ progress is at least
satisfactory.
Students are generally achieving
in line with expectations shown
in baseline data.
Many pupils make little or no
progress.
Most pupils are achieving below
expectations shown in baseline
data.

As far as child progress is concerned I am awarding this lesson an Unsatisfactory, too many misconceptions taught and only 3 children demonstrated their progress in the session,
but have awarded you Satisfactory for all the other elements of the lesson I observed today.
Lesson observation continuation sheet available
The East Northamptonshire Initial Teacher Training College: Graduate Teacher
Training Programme

Please refer to the full Standards and ‘OfSTED Characteristic of trainees’ when completing the documentation.

Summary
Standards Comment
Please circle Standards achieved
Please tick Standards working towards (This section must be completed)
Subject Knowledge, SK (Professional knowledge)
Q11 Knows the assessment requirements of
subject/curriculum
Q12 Knows a range of approaches to assessment

Q13 Knows how to use local and national data to

teach/monitor students’ progress
Q14 Possesses a secure knowledge/understanding
of subject
Q15 Knows/understands relevant statutory/non Work in progress
statutory frameworks
Subject Pedagogy, SP (Professional skills)
Q10 Understands and uses teaching, learning,
management and behaviour strategies
Q17 Knows how to use skills in teaching literacy,
numeracy and ICT to support their teaching
Q22 Plans for progression across age and ability You need to do this all the time, we will work on differentiation and
ranges tailoring planning for groups of children next term
Q23 Plans opportunities for pupils to develop
literacy, numeracy and ICT
Q24 Plans homework to sustain progress/ N/A
consolidate learning
Q25 Teaches lessons and sequences across
age/ability range
Q25(a) Use a range of teaching strategies and
resources
Q25(b) Build on prior knowledge, enable learners to You need to do this all the time, we will work on differentiation and
apply new knowledge and meet learning tailoring planning for groups of children next term
objectives
Q25(c) Adapt their language to suit learners, introduce Good use of plenaries today, and some good use of questioning, but
new ideas and use explanations, questions, consider the language you use when teaching a specific subject- the
discussions and plenaries effectively children need to hear the correct language all the time, if they don’t
understand it, then you can re phrase, but always start with the correct
vocab.
Q25(d) Manage learning and modify their teaching

Q26(a) Makes effective use of assessment, Not consistent at all. Take notes as you teach, get TAs to take notes
monitoring and recording strategies for you- during carpet sessions and while they are working with a
group.
Q26(b) Assesses learning needs to set challenging Not consistent- think about prior learning every time you plan.
learning objectives
Q27 Offers timely, accurate, constructive feedback Not today- think about what you can say to move children forward
on learners’ progress and development when you go round and look at their work individually with them.
Q28 Encourages pupils to reflect on their learning
and identify emerging learning needs
Q29 Evaluates impact of teaching on pupils’
learning
Q30 Establishes purposeful, safe learning
environment
Q31 Establishes framework for classroom discipline
The East Northamptonshire Initial Teacher Training College: Graduate Teacher
Training Programme
Q32 Works effectively as a team member

Q33 Collaborates effectively with colleagues to Tell the TA what you want them to do, and what you need them to do
support learning to further the children’s learning and what you need them to observe so
that it furthers your knowledge of what the children have learnt/ been
stuck on etc in that lesson.

Summary
Standards Comment
Please circle Standards achieved
Please tick Standards working towards (This section must be completed)
Attitudes, AT (Professional attributes)
Q1 Demonstrates appropriate expectations and You were well prepared for your lesson today, but weren’t able to
commitment demonstrate the appropriate expectations as you didn’t know where the
children were at with fractions before you started teaching.
Q2 Demonstrates positive values, attitudes and
behaviour
Q3 Adopts workplace policies and practices

Q4 Communicates effectively with children and

other professionals
Q5 Recognises and respects others’ contribution to
raising achievement
Q6 Committed to collaboration/co-operative
working
Q7 Reflects on and improves practice

Q8 Constructively critical, creative and innovative You need to start giving the children more constructive criticism and next
steps to work on, especially at this age, where they are not as able to
read written feedback you give them.
Q9 Acts on advice and feedback, open to guidance

Pupils’ Development, PD (Knowledge and skills)

Q18 Understands how pupils’ learning is affected by
key factors
Q19 Makes effective personalised provision for all Continue to work on
pupils/SEN/EAL/G&T
Q20 Recognises roles/responsibilities of other
professionals
Q21 Fully aware of legal requirements, national
policies and ECM issues that affect progress
Q16 Passed professional skills tests (literacy,
numeracy, ICT) not relevant for this
observation

OfSTED grading Progress being made at the time of the observation

(please tick) (please tick)
Outstanding Trainee making excellent progress
Good Trainee making good progress
Satisfactory  Trainee working towards some aspects 
Inadequate* Trainee experiencing serious difficulties*
* Copy of observation sent to the ITT Co-ordinator for discussion and action

The lesson evaluation and reflection proforma should be given to the trainee at the end of
the observation for completion prior to feedback.
The East Northamptonshire Initial Teacher Training College: Graduate Teacher
Training Programme
Feedback should be given within 48 hours.

Signature
Observer Date 6/4/11

KD (verbal feedback given on 5/4/11 whilst helping Glenn to

plan his next Maths lesson for his observation)
 The East Northamptonshire Initial Teacher Training College: Graduate Teacher Training Programme
Lesson observation continuation sheet
Time Commentary Evidence to support commentary re learning styles,
resources, differentiation, AfL and assessment
(This could also include points to consider re moving the
trainee forward)