Weekly Professional Development Cycle - 5

Mentors to provide weekly feedback to share with the Beginning Teacher ahead of the
Professional Development meeting. Feedback should reflect a series of informal
observations of the Beginning Teacher’s developing practice over a period of one week to
inform the Professional Development meeting discussions. This provides a holistic view of
the BT progression across the week.

Step One - Before the meeting

Holistic Feedback (completed by mentor)
Commentary on developing practice (completed by mentors, BT should have time prior to
their weekly development meeting to reflect on this feedback):
Discussions around developing practice observed informally over a one-week period.
Key points for discussion to include, where appropriate, Behaviour, Pedagogy,
Curriculum, Assessment and Professional Behaviours. Please include impact as a result
of engagement with opportunities to development programme curriculum knowledge.
Feedback should include reference to the Subject Snapshot and Core Area of Teaching
Focus, as necessary.
Behaviour: Impact on learners/learning:
You began the lesson with a short video This engaging start helped students settle
and a series of open questions, which quickly, piqued their curiosity, and
captured students’ attention and set a encouraged even quieter students to
positive, curious tone for the lesson. contribute their ideas about rainforests and
animals.

Used incentives for quieter learners during Promoted inclusive participation.

plenary, ‘If you haven’t answered a
question today, but choose to present your
fact file, I will give you +20 points’.

Pedagogy:
You provided sentence stems and visual The scaffolding and CCQs ensured that
examples, and checked for understanding students understood the structure and
by asking students to give their own expectations before working independently,
examples for each sub-heading before building their confidence and supporting
moving to group work. successful group collaboration.

Active learning strategies (relay race, group Differentiated instruction (visuals, reading,
presentations) catered to multiple learning speaking, physical movement) supported
styles. diverse learners. Students included and
motivated through dynamic, varied
activities.
Curriculum:
You made explicit cross-curricular links to These connections deepened students’
science (animal adaptations) and understanding and engagement, as they
geography (rainforest locations), helping could relate English tasks to their broader
students see the relevance of their learning. knowledge of the world.

The lesson was closely aligned with

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curriculum objectives, focusing on reading Students practiced key English skills in a
for information, organizing facts, and writing meaningful context, reinforcing their ability
non-fiction texts. to read for detail and structure their writing
effectively.
Assessment:
You used questioning throughout the This real-time assessment allowed you to
lesson to check for understanding, such as address misconceptions immediately,
asking students to categorize facts and ensuring students were on the right track
explain their choices during the relay race. before moving to independent work.

During group work, you circulated to Your feedback during group work helped
provide feedback and support, and the students refine their fact files, and the
lesson concluded with group presentations, presentations gave all students a chance to
allowing you to assess both content and demonstrate their learning and practice
speaking skills. public speaking.
Professional Behaviours:
Your lesson was well-prepared, with a The range of activities ensured that all
variety of resources and activities that students could access the lesson and
catered to different learning styles and remain engaged, regardless of their
abilities. preferred learning style.

You encouraged collaboration and This approach fostered a supportive

inclusivity, offering extra points for groups classroom culture, encouraged quieter
where all students participated in the students to participate, and ensured that
presentation, and adapted your support everyone had a role in the group’s success.
based on group needs.
Areas of Strength:

 Effective modelling and scaffolding  Enabled all students to understand and

(Pedagogy) apply strategies for extracting and
organizing information, leading to more
confident and independent work.

 Engaging and inclusive classroom  Fostered high participation and

climate (Behaviour) motivation, while maintaining focus and
respect during both high-energy and
collaborative activities.

 Purposeful formative assessment  Allowed for real-time feedback and

(Assessment) ensured that all students had the
opportunity to demonstrate their
understanding and skills.

Area/s for Development from Core Areas Suggested actions (How?):

of Teaching:

1. Continue to develop strategies for  Apart from appointing a group leader,

supporting quieter students to participate use other structured roles within groups
confidently in group presentations to ensure all students have a speaking
(Behaviour/Pedagogy) part during presentations.

2. Explore additional ways to challenge

higher-attaining students during information  Plan extension questions or research

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 gathering and writing (Pedagogy) tasks for higher-attaining students.

Mentors should pass the feedback to the BT to allow them to reflect prior to the
Professional Development meeting.

BT Reflection (completed by BT)

This week’s lesson on rainforest fact files provided a valuable opportunity to trial
and reflect upon targeted strategies aimed at engaging higher-achieving students
during pair and independent work, while also ensuring equitable participation in
group and class discussions.

Building on last week’s target, I planned structured roles to challenge more able
learners and give them extra responsibilities. Each group had a leader who
oversaw the distribution of resources for their team and helped with instructions
during activities. Also, I buddied high-achievers with lower-attaining students,
encouraging them to work together and support their classmate, particularly with
language and vocabulary. This sustained engagement of my more confident
students, who thrived with the extra responsibility, and who otherwise sometimes
lose interest when they are not stimulated in lessons.

At the same time, I saw higher engagement from less confident learners, who
benefitted from the support of their buddies, which allowed them a higher level of
access to the lesson. I also saw a considerable increase in work completion rate,
with these learners completing 95% of their fact file – which they would not have
been able to achieve independently.

To improve whole-class and group discussion dynamics, I used targeted

questioning and positive reinforcement—such as awarding points during the
plenary—to motivate quieter students to share their ideas. I also made use of
sentence stems to scaffold responses and boost confidence among less vocal
learners. These approaches led to visibly increased participation from students
who are typically quieter, particularly during the group presentation segment of the
lesson.

The lesson was well-received by students, with the balance of challenge and
support promoting both collaboration and independence. Higher-attaining students
were notably more invested in their tasks due to the differentiated extension
prompts, while structured group roles and supportive scaffolding helped ensure all
voices were heard. The open-ended questioning during the video starter and real-
time formative assessment through CCQs and group feedback provided
meaningful insight into student understanding and allowed for responsive teaching.

This week has highlighted the importance of deliberate planning to meet diverse
learner needs. I will continue to refine my questioning techniques and explore
more varied ways to stretch higher-achieving students without deviating from
whole-class accessibility.

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Step Two - During the meeting
Review progress from previous week’s core area/s for development (taken from the
week before and to be completed by the BT during the weekly development meeting,
informed by the professional discussion with the mentor):

Core Area/s of Teaching for Progress made against area

Development: (praise)
1. Continue to develop engagement Extension prompts during fact-gathering (e.g.,
strategies for higher-achieving students comparing adaptations and classifications of
during pair and independent work. animals – amphibian, reptile, mammal etc).

Used open-ended questions and targeted

feedback to encourage higher-level thinking
and vocabulary.

Deeper engagement from more able learners

as they supported weaker students in their
group.
2. Explore additional ways to ensure all Used sentence stems and visual scaffolds to
students are equally involved in group support quieter students during whole-class
and class discussions. discussions.

Positively reinforced participation with points

incentives during the plenary to encourage
quieter learners to present.

Increased confidence and verbal contributions

from typically quieter students.

Step Three - During the meeting

Areas for development for the forthcoming week (to be completed by the BT during the
meeting, informed from the professional discussion with the mentor):

Core Area/s of Action steps Supporting resources / activities / wider reading

Teaching for (what, how, (model/ practice)
Development when?):
(probe):
1. A - Include an A - Doug Lemov – “Teach Like a Champion 3.0”. A
Assessment. explicit teacher- highly practical source with real classroom strategies
led plenary and examples for closing lessons effectively.
reflection or
exit task to B - Provide a simple rubric or checklist tied to the
more formally lesson objectives. Ask students to evaluate how well
consolidate and they met each objective (traffic light or emoji scale).
assess learning
outcomes.
2. Pedagogy. A - Explore A - Incorporate higher-level writing frames. Offer
additional ways frames that prompt comparison, evaluation, or
to challenge justification (e.g., “The most significant adaptation is…
higher-attaining because…”).
students during
information B – “The Challenge Toolkit” (Durrington Research

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 gathering and School). A practical, research-informed guide offering
writing. challenge strategies for all learners, including those
working at greater depth.

https://researchschool.org.uk/durrington/resources/
the-challenge-toolkit
Date Friday 30th May
Beginning Megan Leigh Gowmen
Teacher
Mentor Daven Phillip