Three dimensions of effective teaching

Ofsted's annual report 2010-11 written by HMCI Mirian Rosen in November 2011 has identified three dimensions of effective teaching: 














Planning: appropriate pace and challenge

• "The right mix of activities chosen to sustain pupils’ concentration and develop their understanding ....
• "High expectations of all pupils’learning and .... appropriate support and challenge.... rather than  insufficiently challenging activities which "occupy pupils" and are "not well matched to the needs of the pupils and often based on procedural and descriptive work" including  "an emphasis on low level tasks" and including "an over-use of worksheets and an over-reliance on a narrow range of textbooks"
• "The pace of learning is well-judged and there is no wasted time in lessons;"such as copying out the objectives for the lesson, completing exercises without sufficient reason, or simply spending too long on one activity"
• "The sequence of lessons and activities is well planned, and teachers use a good range of resources ....
• "Lessons are interesting .... and include a range of activities, including practical sessions and out-of-classroom activities ....
• "Imaginative and effective use is made of the internet, interactive whiteboards and other technical resources .... 

Interaction and dialogue

• "Where teaching is outstanding .... teachers explain things clearly, anticipate pupils’ misconceptions, select their teaching strategies judiciously, and target the use of high-quality questioning ....
• NB: It might be useful here to consider work on pupil misconceptions and threshold concepts  
• "There is a creative and appropriate balance between teacher-directed learning, which sets the framework .... and independent learning, which allows pupils to explore questions and solve problems" rather than lessons in which "pupils listen to the teacher for too long" 
• "There are good opportunities for pupils to make choices, ask questions, find answers, collaborate, listen, discuss, and debate and present their work to their peers so that others can comment....
• "The interaction between the teacher and the pupils is positive but challenging .....  teachers take care to build up pupils’ confidence and encourage them to take on new challenges ....
• "Support staff, where available, are well directed, have clear roles and provide good support for individuals and groups, which deepens their understanding.
• Questions are open ended rather than "focused on low-level cognitive activity"  which encourage pupils to "give simply factual low-level responses"

AfL

• "Assessment that clearly identifies pupils’ starting points and understanding, checks progress, establishes what has been learnt and can inform the next steps in learning" rather than assuming that "because one pupil has answered a question successfully, the rest of the class is ready to move on." 
• Effective assessment "enables pupils to demonstrate their understanding and ensures that teachers can adapt" the "direction or pace of learning within a lesson and for particular individuals"
• "Pupils receive clear feedback and understand what they need to do to improve" rather than "the imprecise marking of written work, lacking subject specific comments"
• Effective assessment "may include peer and self-assessment"
• "Differentiation is a challenging but essential task for teachers" and requires continual assessment.