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What teachers with 4+ years experience said about change
Most experienced teachers made comments like:
"I am having more fun as a teacher - it has just clicked in", "I give them more time to think things through: the more they think together the better their thinking will become"
"I am better at 'bringing students on mathematically'", "I am less prescriptive this year, both with my class and with colleagues. I am less inclined to make judgements such as 'X can only do textbook work'", "My inspection grades have gone up; I feel I have been given a new lease of life working this way. I teach differently for all years, not just years 7 and 8. I am more open to kids taking the lead, while being more able to see when more structure is needed.", "I work with more authority, but am less directive".
There were a very few negative comments - this was the strongest:
"It was a disaster: teachers teach differently and people learn differently. I go back to my standard ways which have been successful in the past. I don't know what happened in year 7 - it isn't working"
"I am still trying to get them to work successfully in groups."
