Pimp Your Lesson!
The main features of outstanding teaching So here is the exam paper you are actually allowed to read before the exam – the most important tenets of outstanding teaching that survive the chops, changes and shifts of focus in any inspection framework. Refer to these frequently during your preparation-pimping because, well, you know how you’re always going on about the importance of revision…
Great expectations Your high expectations are not only of your students’ standards of attainment, but also of their involvement in the lesson and, by proxy, their behaviour. The latter can undoubtedly be one of the most daunting aspects of an observed lesson, because we just don’t know what the little rotters are going to do, say or – in the worst-case scenario – throw. However, if you have just found out that you are going to be observed with your very own ‘class from hell’, do not despair. Take a deep breath, step away from the bottle and outwit your little devils with the following: Spend the next lessons that you have with this class being as happy and endlessly positive as one of Santa’s little helpers on Prozac. Tell the class how much you love teaching them, how great they are, how proud you are of what they are achieving. Yes, it is possible to feign an appreciation, even for that class. Even if it makes you feel really stupid at first and you just can’t imagine it working, the power of positive suggestion is incredible and it is no secret that fostering positive relationships with your classes is the best way to ensure good behaviour. Believe it or not, you may actually find yourself liking them slightly more too because, weirdly enough, through this simulation of affection for a class, our underlying attitudes can be fundamentally altered. This leaves us far more open to experiencing for real the positive feelings that were originally merely a facade. Okay, we admit it sounds like an airy-fairy, nambypamby load of tosh, but in our experience it works – so give it a try. In a confident and happy way, make sure all pupils are aware that there will be a visitor in the classroom next lesson. It usually works
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