Personalising for more able pupils in Maths

12th February 2013

What makes good practice? Clips from lessons to get you thinking. 

Watching other teachers teach whilst focusing on particular aspects of teaching can be a really useful way of developing one’s own teaching.

We’ve therefore decided to post weekly videos of teachers teaching or talking about their lessons.

This video shows a teacher working with a more able pupil during a Maths lesson:

–          What do you notice about the pupil?

–          What issues do you think could arise as a result?

–          What could the teacher do differently?

Now that this video has been on for a week, here are some of our thoughts on the questions, although we’d like to hear more from you too! Either add a comment at the bottom of this page or tweet #MyLesson.

–          What do you notice about the pupil?

The pupil spends a lot of time observing the teacher carrying out the exercise but takes little ownership for the activity herself. The teacher offers a series of closed questions to guide her through the process which she is able to answer. 

–          What issues do you think could arise as a result?

Demonstrating the task for her and then leaving her to try on her own could lead to her struggling when she is left to her own devices without leading questions to take her though the process. 

–          What could the teacher do differently

Start the process for the student and then hand over responsibility so that she can continue the process independently whilst the teacher is still there. This would ensure that she can ask questions if needed but she can still demonstrate her ability to complete the task. A prompt sheet of questions could also be used to help students when they need additional support.

If you’d like to send in a video of you in action or just describing something you’ve done recently in class then upload it to YouTube and email the link to [email protected] or tweet @LKMco #MyLesson (if it includes pupils then make sure you have consent!)

This video is a clip from a series of full lesson observations produced by MediaMerge. Full videos are available here and make a great addition to CPD.