Feedback

Sheehy, Jason (Playford Primary School) <Jason.Sheehy809@schools.sa.edu.au>

Thu 11/06/2020 12:56
To:

  Kennedy, Amber (Playford Primary School) <Amber.Kennedy873@schools.sa.edu.au>

Cc:

  Bitzios, Vicky (Playford Primary School) <Vicky.Bitzios516@schools.sa.edu.au>

Hi Amber
 
Thanks for the opportunity to let Vicky and I watch yesterday. I’m still getting my head around Initialit, so please take
my feedback as that (from someone with minimal knowledge, yet could see some areas / things could be altered)
 
Overall, in my opinion it was a good lesson. The students have learnt the terminology and are well on their way to
understanding the content – great job, especially so given the short time frame and the surreal year this has been.
Your lesson showed the fidelity of the program, in that you are following the script to engage and improve student
outcomes. Your classroom was well presented and structured. You moved through the students on the floor,
checking their work and had a good management system, as the students seemed to know what was expected of
them. You made the learning intention clear, so that students knew what they were learning this lesson. You
obviously know the content as you were quickly able to flip between long and short vowel sounds, and the
associated terminology required for Initialit. You explicitly modelled new learning with the students and supported
them in grasping the concepts.
 
The remainder of the email may look as though I have only focused on the deficit areas, but am writing the
modifications / areas to consider based on Student Engagement as you requested. You are the only one that actually
requested specific feedback (well done) so here are my thoughts; (Vicky and I briefly chatted and she identified a lot
of these as well)
 
         Floor time to desk time ratio – 45 mins on the floor vs 5 mins at their desk. They were quite engaged and
relatively on task for such a long period of time and their age – can this be changed to mix things up a bit?
         Rather than write on the carpet – could they have used the whiteboards – then they could show you, as
from where I was sitting, I could see some kids not doing it
         Rubi?? – connection to self – in my name, I have a ‘y’ in it, but it sounded like an ‘e’ – what a great teachable
moment that clearly, she is ready for and could have been extended – what other words can we find etc (not
sure of the spelling of her name (Ruby / Rubi)
         The only movement break they had was to retrieve their whiteboards and come back to the floor – suggest
possible breaking up session, so that students are provided with a movement break to retain their
engagement
         Consider the use of popsticks or a name generator – so everyone knows that they could potentially have
their name called out
         Students held their whiteboards up – blue vs blew. Some students had it incorrect, yet they didn’t get
feedback that what they wrote was wrong. How will they learn, if they aren’t made aware?
         I think some of the brighter students weren’t overly engaged in the end, as I couldn’t see the challenge or
stretch (differentiation). Granted, we didn’t see any small group tasks, where perhaps those kids, and you
will know who they are, could be extended by finding other words with similar digraphs, trigraphs, blends
etc.
         Stop and Spell – kids could have marked their own books if you had the words written on the board, or
marked a peers. Holds them to account (and saves you some work as it can be a quick scan to check after)
         My understanding is there is floor time, small group instruction and story book in every literacy block? The
ratios of time may need adjustments to keep the students engaged and the pace moving. I didn’t see any
differentiation, which may have increased some students engagement (especially the brighter ones)
 
Whilst not engagement, a couple other noticings that stood out that you may like to consider;
 
         Kids writing / language books – hadn’t been marked since 10 th March – date stamped. There were stamps
prior that said feedback, I assume this means you gave verbal feedback?
          You asked the students to put the date on their books, then later said, if you haven’t put the date on, don’t
worry, ‘I’ (you) will do it for them. This doesn’t hold them to account for your expectations if you are going to
give them an out.
 
As I prefaced the latter part of this email may appear negative (and it’s not intended that way). It’s not nice being
observed and you did a stella job at that, as if the tables were turned, I wouldnt like it – so keep that in mind also. I
think you are doing a great job and it was obvious that the students are making growth and that you were using the
right terminology to which they generally understood, keeping in mind the short time that it has been happening –
so accolades to you!
 
I’m happy to sit with you and go through my notes to share my noticing’s if you like rather than try and write
everything down. Keep in mind, this feedback also comes from someone who has a real fear of teaching JP students,
so I fully acknowledge that you are in a far better position to know the students, the pace, their understandings and
where they are at.
 
Keep up the great work