Evidence 7: Lesson observation by Head of Teaching and Learning 

(4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5)

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Annotation: The practice of classroom observations is a requirement of all teachers at Daramalan College. I have set out to observe and be observed by skilled teachers so to see best practices shared across the school community. I frequently observe my coleagues and welcome observations, even with little to no notice. This transparent view on our shared classrooms and students is at the core of my values as a teacher. By observing the teaching practices of Joe Woodward and Lucy Cronan I have adopted the best practice of skilled teachers, so to better cater to the needs of my own students, our shared students and uphold the standards set by them for our department. 

 

This lesson focused on ritual, symbol and representation in Drama. It was attended by Chris De Britt, head of Teaching and Learning at Daramalan College with a specific focus on spaces and representation. Students were encouraged to consider their own lived experience and the“lens” through which we understand the signs, symbols, representation which contribute to our unique understanding of our own worlds. This Students learning to understand that there are intended and unintended consequences of artistic representation on their audience. Students will use spaces and movement to create their own artistic representations.

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The artefact from Chris identifies the standards 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, and 4.5 specifically in the attached document and identifies where I have achieved these standards at either a Proficient or Highly Accomplished level. All students were able to fully participate due to the high level of teacher input and facilitation (4.1) and the management of the classroom activity (4.2). I was acutely aware of student saftey as they navigated a darked space and I was observing closely for mask correct mask wearing, as noted in Chris's comments (4.4). I managed low level disruptive behaviour with non verbal cuing-something that has become a signature of my style in the classroom (4.3) and reminded student's to upload their final product videos to Daranet using ICT in a safe, responsible and ethical manner (4.5). 

 

Impact on your own learning, student learning and the learning of others: This lesson worked effectively in terms of content and learning. Students were engaged and behaved accordingly to our shared expectation, as was set up by the ritual at the beginning of our lesson. This ritual is synonymous with the Drama Course at Daramalan College. Chris stated that my content knowledge was invaluable and that he too had learnt something about the topics covered. He complimented me on my 'mastery' of the space and my clear student relationships.  Using the observation notes I can analyse the effectiveness of the content with students. 

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I enjoy setting up  spaces for my students, to guide their critical and creative thinking- whilst allowing opportunities of activiating the imagination and sense of play. These experiences facilitate deep discussion and assist with cultivating surface-deep transfer of knowledge. 

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In a previous lesson with this class I was commended for my students obvious and clear engagement and my deep knowledge of my students and how to teach them content. My lesson was filmed and shared with all Daramalan Staff, as an exemplar for the online learning period. If I did not have strong rapport with my students I would not be as successful in managing them in this free setting, where they can safely explore their self expression (and form their adult identities) in formative years of development.

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