Dorset Education Authority
Education Directorate
Pupil and School Improvement
Key Stage 3 Strategy
The Handbook
for Leading Teachers and
Leading Teaching Assistants
All you need to know about being a
Leading Teacher or Leading Teaching Assistant
and more…..
Fourth Edition
29.07.2004
General information
As a Leading Teacher or Leading Teaching Assistant you will offer other colleagues the
opportunity to see you teaching a lesson based on the principles of the Key Stage 3 strategy. In
this way you will supplement the opportunities for demonstration lessons offered by the KS3
consultants.
As a Leading Teacher or Teaching Assistant you will have undergone the following selection
procedure:
Recommendation by your Headteacher/KS3 Strategy Manager.
Observation by LEA KS3 Consultants and/or KS3 Strategy Manager.
General training and subject specific training.
Possible further observation by KS3 Consultants.
Agreement with KS3 Consultants on particular strengths/areas you wish to demonstrate.
You will teach demonstration lessons in your own school with a class that you select. You will
need a little extra time to prepare these lessons, to brief visiting colleagues and to discuss the
lesson with them afterwards. Your school will receive funding for this extra time.
The aim is to show teachers and teaching assistants how to plan and teach lessons which are
interactive, engaging and challenging. When you are deciding what to include in a
demonstration lesson, your first priority, as ever, should be to enhance the learning of your
pupils. We are not looking for perfect lessons; the emphasis is on helping others feel they can
do it. Don‟t rehearse a lesson; it will lack spontaneity. The lesson should be a real lesson, taught
in the normal way. From the pupils‟ point of view, it should seem much like any other lesson
they would have with you.
The visits will be arranged through the Dorset KS3 administration team. (01305 254032)
Preparing for a visit
Writing lesson notes
Lesson notes are usually personal and do not have to be in a standard format. However, for a
demonstration lesson you are writing for an audience and so the lesson plan will probably be
more detailed than you would usually write. It should aim to give enough detail to place the
lesson in context but not be overlong!
When planning a lesson remember these points:
Planning needs to start from objectives.
It is the teaching, not the activities, that really makes a difference. It may be helpful to jot
down how you will explain or demonstrate a concept or skill.
Try to identify and record key questions you might use to help stimulate dialogue, get pupils
to think and make links, and identify misconceptions.
Think about how any activities will be differentiated and if necessary how any teaching
assistants will be used.
A pro-forma of a lesson plan is given in Appendix 1 along with completed examples for English
and Mathematics.
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Before the lesson
Practicalities:
Check that visitors know where to go and what time they are expected.
Prepare seating arrangements for the visitors whilst making sure that all pupils still have a
clear view of the board and/or resources to be used.
Brief any Teaching Assistants on the lesson and their role.
Where possible, make sure that wall displays are stimulating.
Meeting with visiting colleagues before a lesson:
Describe the composition of the class e.g. class size, level of set and the classroom
arrangements.
Introduce and explain the role of any support staff.
Give out any documents such as the lesson plan.
Explain what you are going to do and why, by taking them through the lesson plan
highlighting the key points of the lesson.
Comment on particular features of the KS3 Strategy that you are hoping to demonstrate.
Mention anything that you are uncertain about in terms of pupils‟ responses and alternative
strategies which you might then use.
Say that you do not pretend to have all the answers, that there may be things which do not
work as well as you hope and it will be interesting to talk about these after the lesson.
Explain where the visitors should sit.
Identify parts of the lesson where it would be appropriate for the visitors to interact with the
pupils and comment on what kind/level of interaction you would find appropriate.
During the lesson
You have been selected as a Leading Teacher or Leading Teaching Assistant because of your
ability to teach well and challenge pupils, so you should aim to teach your lesson as you would
usually do. However, when people are observing the lesson things do sometimes feel different.
Here are some suggested DO‟S and DON‟TS!
Do:
make a point of introducing the visitors to the pupils;
concentrate on teaching the pupils and take little notice of the visitors;
stop the lesson if the class start to play to the gallery and deal with it.
Don‟t:
keep rigidly to your lesson if the pupils‟ responses mean it needs to be adjusted; change
your plans and discuss the change afterwards. Remember it is good practice for short-term
assessment to inform your teaching.
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After the lesson
The discussion after the lesson provides an opportunity for:
professional dialogue about teaching and learning;
clearing up any misconceptions;
reflection on what has been seen.
The aim of the discussion is not about agreeing an evaluation of the lesson that has been
observed; it is about everyone learning from an exchange of ideas stimulated by the experience
they have shared.
The visit record focuses on what the visiting teacher/TA will do as a result of observing the
demonstration lesson. (see Appendix 2)
Ways to start a discussion
Say that you are going to chair the discussion and tell the visitors the time that the
discussion will finish (allow about 30 minutes).
Encourage visitors to make notes to take away.
Say that the discussion is not meant to be an OFSTED-style judgement but an exploration
of the teaching approaches used.
Explain that you want to structure the discussion on each part of the lesson in turn (starter,
main activity, plenary) with an emphasis on the particular focus of the visit .
Ways to maintain momentum in the discussion
Maintain the flow by asking open questions or inviting comments, for example:
Is this something you already do? What about the rest of you? Could you try this? What do
other people think?
When one person comments don‟t always reply yourself, try and bring in some others.
Steer people away from anecdotes about their own class or school.
Avoid spending time talking about resources/textbooks/schemes unless the focus is clearly
on approaches to teaching and learning.
Ensure one person does not dominate the discussion (including you!).
Ways to draw a discussion to a close
After about 25 minutes, summarise the main points of the discussion.
Ask each visitor to note on their visit record up to 3 points for action for themselves. Ensure
they are specific objectives which are both achievable and measurable.
Ask each visitor to share one thing they will try.
Try to give particular encouragement to visitors who seem anxious, lack subject confidence,
or think their pupils will not cope.
Visit record
Each visit record needs to be signed by you and the visiting colleague, a copy given to the
visitor plus an extra copy for their school strategy manager. Another copy needs to be sent to
LEA. (Send to Kay Kearsey, KS3 Admin Officer, Dorset KS3 Team, Hammick House, Bridport
Road, Dorchester. DT1 3SD. Tel: 01305 254032 Fax: 01035 757106) If you do not have easy
access to photocopying facilities before your visitors leave, then collect the record sheets and
post/fax later in the day to Kay who will copy and distribute to all involved.
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What to do if things don’t go according to plan!
Situation:
One person arrives in good time for the pre- discussion. With 15 minutes to go two people have
still not arrived.
Possible solution:
Begin to talk through the lesson whilst waiting in the reception area. If in 5 minutes the other
visitors still haven‟t arrived then ask reception staff to look out for them and bring them to the
room. Move to the classroom and finish briefing the one visitor. Leave chairs near the door with
a lesson plan on them for the visitors, if they do arrive, to minimise disruption.
Situation:
A visitor whispers constantly during your teaching input distracting you and the pupils.
Possible solution:
If the usual eye signals don‟t work (!) try giving the class a two minute paired discussion activity.
This will give you the opportunity to speak briefly with the visitors and remind them of the
protocol for visiting demonstration lessons. (see Appendix 3)
You may come up with more scenarios in the future!
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Appendix 1
Demonstration lesson plan pro-forma
(one example of a form for your guidance)
Exemplar lesson plans for:
- English
- Mathematics
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KS3 Strategy – Lesson Demonstration
The purpose of this lesson is to demonstrate: (Please insert the key focus for teaching
and learning that you wish to exemplify)
Teacher: School: Date:
Class: Set: Additional adults: Time:
Resources:
Context:
Outcomes: All students will be able to…..
Most students will be able to…..
Some students will be able to…..
Objectives Activities
Starter:
Development:
Plenary:
LT1
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KS3 Strategy – Lesson Demonstration - English
The purpose of this lesson is to demonstrate how shared reading of a literary text can help students to
improve the structure of their own narrative writing.
Teacher: Lyn Gaudreau School: Date: 24/5/02
Class: Year 9 Set: m/a Additional adults: Time: 12pm
Resources: OHTs of three extracts from Brighton Rock and `The Short Story Book`
Context: Narrative writing project
Outcomes:
All students will be able to understand the narrative structure of a story
Most students will be able to apply conventions and features explored to their own writing
Some students will be able to develop these conventions in a sophisticated and original way
Objectives Activities
Starter: Display the following:
Wr. 5: explore different ways of opening, structuring „At last, John and Jane walked hand in hand into the
and ending narratives. sunset.’ Ask students, in pairs, to write a possible
opening line to a story that ends in this line. Feedback
ideas. Do the same for the following last lines:
„Jason had come home at last!’
‘Kate clutched her prize, vowing that his was the
happiest day of her life.'
Development: Brainstorm: What makes a good story? Whole class
W7: Recognise layers of meaning in the writer’s discussion.
choice of words Share lesson objectives.
S6: Compare and use different ways of opening, Shared reading: Display opening paragraph of „Brighton
developing, linking and completing paragraphs Rock‟ – students, in pairs examine language features
Wr 5: Explore different ways of opening, structuring (opening line; adjectives; description of setting; sentence
and ending narratives length; similes; metaphors; adverbs). Feedback in whole
S&L 2: Use standard English to explain, explore or class question and answer session. Annotate OHT.
justify and idea Shared writing activity – next paragraph – focus on
S&L 7: Identify the underlying themes, implications linking to the last paragraph and the opening sentence.
and issues raised by reading Introduce narrative structure. Display OHT of extract
from the middle of „Brighton Rock‟ (the „crisis‟) and ask
students to speculate upon the plot. Then, show the
ending. Ask students, in pairs, to guess the whole story.
Feedback ideas in whole class discussion. Focus on
features of both extracts e.g. the „crisis‟ often introduces
a conflict between the main characters and the ending
(resolution) usually echoes an important line from the
story and an action or speech from the main character to
show how s/he has changed. Draw out the following:
Composing a good story means: setting the scene;
introducing a problem; intensifying the plot; having a
crisis; introducing an adjustment; finishing with a
resolution. (Use OHTs from „The Short Story Book‟ to
illustrate).
Plenary:
Drawing on the lesson‟s activities, ask students, „What makes a good opening to a story?‟ (ie what can we see, hear,
smell, touch, taste? The impact of a powerful opening line. Introducing a character…) Ask them to write an opening
to a mystery story (no more than two lines). Feedback and discuss. Tell them that they will continue the story using
the structure explored in the lesson.
Follow up: Focus on characterisation. Use extracts from various literary texts as good models.
The following sequence of lessons will take each part of the story, in turn, and students will be supported in guided
writing sessions.
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KS3 Strategy – Lesson Demonstration - Mathematics
The purpose of this lesson is to demonstrate an objective based three-part lesson.
Teacher: E Jackson School: Date: 23-05-02
Class: 7 Set: 3 of 4 Additional adults: none Time: 9-10am
Resources: Large quadrilaterals cut out on card; sets of small quadrilaterals on paper for pupils to fold;
„quadrilaterals‟ worksheet with table to complete(x32, 1 each + 1 on OHT); circles challenge (x8, 1 per group
of 4 + 1 on OHT)
Context: Second lesson on properties of 2D and 3D shapes. The previous lesson focused on learning the
names of 2D shapes and some of their properties.
Outcomes: All students will be able to use correct notation to mark parallel sides & sides of equal length.
Most students will be able to find the number of lines of symmetry and order of rotation for the
quadrilaterals given.
Some students will be able to prove whether statements are true or false.
Objectives Activities
Starter: (≈ 7 mins) (From FW p. 284) “Imagine a square. Cut one corner off. What shapes
Identify properties of triangles and could you make?”
quadrilaterals. Pupils to record ideas in their book.
Take feedback – pupils to be chosen to draw shapes on board.
Encourage the use of correct vocabulary.
(Repeat with an equilateral triangle - if time)
Development: (≈ 35 mins) Use the three shapes on the board from the starter to show the
Know and use the correct notation for parallel lines and
notation for parallel lines and lines of equal length.
lines of equal length.
Recognise and visualise line
symmetry and order of rotational Look at a parallelogram. Ask for suggestions from pupils as to how two
symmetry for quadrilaterals. different pairs of parallel lines might be shown on the same diagram.
Use the parallelogram to review lines of symmetry (none!) – perhaps also
look at a rectangle to show dashed notation.
Draw around the parallelogram and ask a pupil to rotate it round. The
class to count the number of times it fits on itself exactly (2). Explain that
this is called the „order of rotational symmetry‟ of a shape.
Complete the first line of the quadrilateral sheet on the OHT with pupils.
Give students 10 mins to complete the rest of the table. More able
students to look at proving whether the three statements on the bottom of
the sheet are true or false:
1. All trapeziums have one line of symmetry.
2. All kites have one line of symmetry.
3. The order of rotation of a quadrilateral is always less than the number
of lines of symmetry.
Discuss proofs.
Plenary: (≈ 15 mins)
What have you learnt today which is new? Pupils to write down a sentence or two in their exercise books. Ask
some pupils to share them with the class.
(From FW p.186)Circles challenge in groups – In the pattern of seven circles, how many different triangles and
quadrilaterals can you find by joining three or four points of intersection?
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Appendix 2
Blank Optional note-taking form for visiting teachers
Blank Visit Record
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KEY STAGE 3 STRATEGY
VISITS TO LEADING TEACHERS AND LEADING TEACHING ASSISTANTS
OPTIONAL NOTE-TAKING FORM FOR VISITING COLLEAGUES
School:…………………………………… Date:………………………………………….
Leading Teacher/TA:…………………………..
Lesson Focus:
Key Objectives:
Starter Activity:
Main Activity / Activities:
Plenary:
LT2
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KEY STAGE 3 STRATEGY – VISIT RECORD
VISIT TO LEADING TEACHER OR LEADING TEACHING ASSISTANT(TA)
Host Teacher/TA:……………………………… School: ……………………………………………
Visiting Teacher/TA:…………………………… School: ……………………………………………
Subject: ………………………………………… Date of Visit: ……………………………………
Outcomes:
ie: up to three points that I will try to implement as a result of the visit
Signed: ………………………………………… (visiting teacher / TA)
Signed: ………………………………………… (host teacher / TA)
NB: The host teacher or teaching assistant will arrange for copies to be made for / sent to:
yourself
your school KS3 strategy manager
him / herself
the KS3 Team, Hammick House, Bridport Road, Dorchester. DT1 3SD
LT3
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Appendix 3
Dorset Education Authority
Education Directorate
Pupil and School Improvement
Key Stage 3 Strategy
Visits to Leading Professionals
Guidance for visiting teachers, teaching assistants and
school strategy managers
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Dorset Education Authority
Visits to Leading Teachers and Leading Teaching Assistants
Guidance for visiting teachers, teaching assistants and school strategy managers
What is a Leading Teacher or Leading Teaching Assistant?
They are:
experienced teachers or teaching assistants whose teaching has been observed by the KS3
team and who have undergone further training;
willing to share the KS3 Strategy‟s principles and practice;
committed to developing and supporting good classroom practice by hosting visits to their
classroom and leading a discussion afterwards.
Demonstration Lessons
The purpose of demonstration lessons is to share good practice and facilitate a constructive,
professional dialogue about teaching and learning.
Before a visit, Leading Teachers and Teaching Assistants will:
plan the visit so that their time and that of their visitors is used efficiently;
ensure that visiting teachers are made welcome by alerting school reception to the visit;
ensure that the work they demonstrate is based on the principles of the KS3 Strategy;
make relevant documentation available to visiting colleagues;
provide opportunities for discussion;
complete a brief record of the visit jointly with the visiting colleague.
As a visiting teacher or teaching assistant, please:
arrive at the school in good time;
ensure, in advance, that you are clear about the purpose of the visit;
be prepared, in discussion, to reflect positively on the work you have seen;
be ready to report back to your colleagues and engage constructively with any implications
in developing your own teaching;
complete the visit record and take back to your school two copies, including one for your
Strategy Manager (if the Leading teacher or teaching assistant does not have easy access
to photocopying facilities he/she will post the record later in the day to the KS3 office; Kay
Kearsey will then distribute copies to all concerned).
GENERAL ADVICE AND PROTOCOL
In order for the experience to be as supportive and constructive as possible, please avoid the
temptation to:
talk to other visiting colleagues during whole-class teaching;
intervene in any behavioural issues;
be negative or judgemental;
make unreasonable requests (eg copies of resources).
Remember: the host teacher or teaching assistant is not claiming perfect practice, but is
prepared to share his/her approach to teaching and learning. It is expected that during the post-
lesson discussion you will reflect on how you might use particular strategies in your own lessons
and also how you will feed back to your colleagues in school.
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