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In initial teacher training (ITT) programmes for post-compulsory education (PCE), delivered by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), teaching observations have always been pivotal in determining whether the trainee can achieve professional status as a teacher. Recent policy developments for ITT in the Lifelong Learning Sector (LLS) place greater emphasis on trainee teachers’ classroom performance. More observations are now required, with grading being introduced, linked to the inspection grades used by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted). In a context where ITT programmes must demonstrate clear conformance with national standards and, are themselves subject to inspection by Ofsted, teacher educators are under pressure to prioritise aspects of teaching likely to contribute to successful inspection results. This presents a dilemma for teacher educators believing in broader notions of professional development, acknowledging teaching as a complex process, and in the need for critical engagement with a range of pedagogical theories and practices.

In the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (OFSTED)\ud inspections for the Learning and Skills Sector (LSS) there is a strong emphasis on the\ud quality of trainees' practical teaching as evidence of the effectiveness of initial teacher\ud education (ITE) provision.\ud In the current inspection round, OFSTED will be using criteria for key aspects of\ud trainees' performance in lessons, based on four grades: outstanding, good, satisfactory\ud and inadequate. For Higher Education (HE) partnerships offering the Certificate in\ud Education/PGCE in Post Compulsory Education and Training (PCET), this will be the\ud first time the overall grading of trainees has become a formal part of inspection. A major\ud issue for these providers is how to ensure consistency of judgements across the\ud partnership, including a shared understanding of what constitutes "outstanding" teaching\ud in the formal learning environment. This paper will report on the findings of a research\ud study on teaching observation judgements made by tutors across a PCET ITE network\ud and how these compare with OFSTED grading criteria. The aims of this study are to\ud develop a working conceptualisation of what constitutes "outstanding" teaching and to\ud identify issues related to grading to inform the development of staff and quality systems\ud across an HE ITE partnership.

This session will focus on the place of formative assessment and feedback in developing critical reflection in professional practice. \ud \ud \ud Many professional programmes offered in HE– for example those related to teaching, health services, social work and management - are underpinned by notions of reflective practice. However, reflection can often be introspective, involved in uncovering one’s own personal meanings, or evaluative, focusing on fairly superficial improvements in practice. In contrast, critical reflection includes consideration of the wider socio-political context to question one’s own values, beliefs and assumptions (Sambrook and Stewart, 2008). Within a professional context, critical reflection is used to challenge deep-rooted assumptions with the aim of improving professional practice (Fook and Askeland, 2007). \ud \ud \ud Many professional courses use learner- centred reflective processes, such as reflective journals. However it is a mistake to assume that even mature students have developed the capacity to reflect (Sambrook and Stewart, 2008). Here the teacher is important in modelling their own processes of critical reflection to students (Brookfield, 1995). In addition, the teacher can help challenge taken-for- granted assumptions and deepen the students’ capacity for reflection through critical dialogue. So what part can formative assessment play in that development?\ud \ud \ud In Certificate /PGCE courses for the Lifelong Learning sector, trainee teachers receive formative feedback following observed teaching, in which the focus is on asking questions to promote critical reflection, rather than providing answers. I will give examples of the questions used and share an example of student responses to the questions asked.\ud NB These questions are intended to be developmental and help the student engage critically with their own practice, but would only be used once a relationship of trust and respect had been built up with the student. They are intended to promote critical dialogue between tutor and student.\ud \ud \ud This approach could be used across a range of different professional programmes, not only in observations of practice, e.g. clinical encounters, but in formative feedback on written work.\ud \ud \ud This session will provide an opportunity for participants to share their own ideas and assessment practices for developing critical reflection in students.

This research project was carried out in response to the introduction of Ofsted’s new grading criteria for inspection of ITE in the LSS (2009), which state that over fifty percent of trainees need to be judged ‘outstanding’ for an ITE provider to achieve the highest inspection grade. Ofsted now places an increased emphasis on classroom observation of teaching to provide evidence for inspection, which raises the issue of what tutors observing trainee teachers consider to be ‘outstanding’ teaching.\ud \ud The research considered what tutors in the Huddersfield PCET Consortium understand by the term ‘outstanding’ in relation to trainee performance, with a focus on classroom teaching. The views of tutors involved in teaching observations of trainees on the Certificate in Education/PGCE were compared with a list of features associated with outstanding teaching. This was generated through analysis of case studies of ‘outstanding’ and ‘weak’ trainees produced by Consortium Centre managers. The observing tutors were then observed carrying out teaching observations and giving feedback. This was followed by semi-structured interviews and analysis of the documentation supporting the observation.