Praxis Inquiry of the Potions Lessons, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft, 1991.
Teachers are the single most important influence on children's potion learning. A teacher needs to know the potions that the children are expected to learn, and know how to teach it. (Ferguson, S. 2012 p. 21)
Teachers need to constantly review and analyse their teaching methods and skills, and look for areas of improvement. (Panasuk, R and Sullivan, M 1998 p. 330) In using a clear and defined process, the areas of excellence, and those in need of improvement are better highlighted for the edification of the teacher. (Marshall, Horton & Smart 2009, p. 501). Praxis Inquiry allows for this by using a systematic analysis of the teaching of the lesson, with steps that are easily applied to any teaching situation. In order to obtain an overall analysis of this particular teacher's methods, we will make an in-depth observation of one of his classes.
For those not already familiar with the process, Praxis Inquiry consists of four steps, viz:
Praxis Described: in which the lesson is objectively described in as much detail as can be managed within the limits of the report
Praxis Explained: in which the observer attempts to explain why the teacher performed the actions they did, why they used various teaching styles, and the point of using the aids, models and materials applied.
Praxis Theorised: in which the observer matches the various methods to current and/or appropriate educational theory
Praxis Improved: where those areas where the observer considers that improvement could be made are described, with links again to appropriate literature.
The lesson being observed is the first Potions class for first years in September 1991. While all attempts will be made to try and keep the references contemporary with the lesson, there may be need to apply modern-day educational theories that did not come to the fore until much later.
In addition, as this is an exercise in analysis of the teaching methods, scant notice of other matters (such as behavioural and discipline issues) will be taken unless these affected the teaching quality of the lesson.
Finally, while most of the actions and the reasons behind them may seem obvious to most readers, the process here is to match up said actions and reasoning with educational theories and practices.
September 1991 – Severus Snape
Potions, First Year First Class. Present: Gryffindor and Slytherin students.
Praxis Described.
Professor Snape has his own classroom and workshop with some of the ingredients the students will require. Students are advised at the beginning of the school year of what equipment and ingredients they will need to supply themselves. The Professor took the roll, then gave a clear and precise summary of the expectations he had of the students over not just the next year, but the entire time they were students at the school. He explained that there would be little to no use of wands, but that the resulting potions would be incredibly powerful if the students applied themselves and put the effort into learning the techniques.
He asked one student about some of the ingredients mentioned in the textbook. The student could not answer. The Professor then described the potions that could be made with those ingredients, and directed the students to write down that information.
Students were then placed in pairs, and given instructions for a basic potion. Professor Snape moved around the classroom, making comments about the stages of the potion brewing. One pair of students, though, made an error in the formula, and accidentally caused an accident where one of them was injured and had to be taken to the hospital wing by his partner. Professor Snape described the error that the students had made, then queried another pair of students why they had not noticed the error occurring. One of that pair was the student, Potter, that Professor Snape had questioned at length earlier in the lesson.
Praxis Explained.
Professor Snape started the class with the roll, as it is important for both safety and educational reasons to know who is present and if any students are absent. Duty of care by teachers and their position as a caregiver, the more so in the boarding school situation, puts the teachers in the position of in loco parentis and responsible for the students' wellbeing.
Giving the students an idea of what they could aspire to focuses the students' minds on the end result, as giving definite goals means that the students have a clear understanding of what is expected of them in the classes. Further, the clear instructions for the making of the potions, and the setting of the goal of what the potion should look like at the end, leaves the students in no doubt as to what the aims of the lesson are.
His repeated questioning of the one student, Potter, was not in the best interest of teaching, especially as other students were ready and willing to answer the question. While it is understood that this student is in a different House to that led by Professor Snape, at this point it was not clear why the teacher was treating the student so unfairly. Behaviour like this makes the classroom an unsafe environment, and does not lead to the best teaching and learning experiences. In addition, blaming Potter later for the accident where another student was injured, when there was no chance that Potter could have been watching out for a fellow student if he was concentrating on his own work, is an abrogation of Professor Snape's responsibilities in the classroom.
Having the students write down the information themselves rather than passing out worksheets allows the students to memorise the information better, leading to greater retention of the facts for later.
Setting the students to work in pairs teaches the students the benefits of teamwork, allows them to collaborate and share ideas, and to assist each other in the tasks required. While this does not necessarily halve the work required, it does mean that each student does not have to do all the preparation for the one potion, and they can also check the other's calculations and results.
The accident occurred because the pair of students who were preparing that particular potion, Longbottom and Finnegan, did not follow the instructions correctly. It would be reasonable to assume that accidents will happen in these classes, and especially when first-year students are attempting their first potion, despite having two of them working together. Professor Snape acted correctly in sending Longbottom to the infirmary in the company of Finnegan, as it would not be wise to send an injured student by themselves.
Praxis Theorised
By giving a clear and far-reaching set of goals, Professor Snape was following the well-researched educational tenet that shows that students respond to high expectations with high results. (Baldwin, F 1998, Elliott, J 1968). In addition, in explaining that the methods and equipment used in his classroom differed greatly from those used by many of the other teachers within the school, he defined the style and substance of his lessons, and emphasised that the results would be obtained only by hard work and careful following of instructions. (Martin, H in Armstrong, W. 1956 p. xiii).
Then, the Professor sought an idea about students' prior knowledge through questioning them about items described in their potions textbooks. Assessing students before commencing teaching is an essential part of the teaching process, giving the teacher a clear idea of the appropriate starting point for the lessons. (Glazer, S 1996 p. 90) At this point, though, Professor Snape started to subject one child to intense questioning about potions and ingredients that do not enter the curriculum until Year 5 at this school. Despite several attempts from other students to answer the questions, Professor Snape loaded the questions onto this student, and deducted house points when he could not answer correctly. In doing so, he did not behave according to basic Western teaching ethics (Campell, E. 2003 p. 165), where it is generally agreed that teachers should minimise as far as possible the playing of either "favourites" or "butts".
Having the students write the information for themselves makes the information "stick" better than if the teacher handed out worksheets (Cox & Firpo 1993). Further, having the students make the potions themselves and learn the various methods involved also sets the knowledge in their brains and makes the subject more relevant than learning from a pile of worksheets.
Studies have shown that "students working in pairs developed a higher level of social self-esteem than did students learning in the other conditions". (Bertucci, A et al 2010). This shows that the classroom setup of having the students work on their potions in pairs is an optimum method of study.
Safety in the laboratory was not followed as well as it ought, resulting in the accident and the injury to Longbottom. Specific and non-ambiguous instructions to students must be given before a class, and protective gear should also be worn when there is any chance of an accident occurring where hazardous materials are employed. (Gentry, L & Richardson, M, 1991, p. 92).
Praxis Improved.
The content of the actual lesson, the planning, the group work, and the clear instructions were well done, and no further improvement of a first class could be considered. In fact, having the students perform hands-on activities from the first lesson is an excellent practice, and should be emulated in many other classrooms.
However, several areas of improvement were observed. Most importantly, the safety issue cannot be ignored. While the medical facilities at the school are exemplary, there should be prevention rather than cure, instruction before rather than blaming afterwards, and the teacher should have assumed a great deal of the responsibility for the accident rather than blaming two students who would have had no chance of preventing the accident.
Further, the constant bullying of Potter could lead to confusion, anger, fear, self-doubt and weakness in (his) academic and social competencies. (McEvoy 2005 cited in Zerillo, C and Osterman, K, 2011, p. 240). It is strongly recommended that Professor Snape undergo training in ethics and classroom behaviour management, with an emphasis on the support of a positive learning environment. This would be of benefit both for students and the school in the long run.
References
Armstrong, W. H. 1956 Study is Hard Work, Harper & Brothers, New York.
Baldwin, F 1998, "High Expectations", Appalacia, vol 31, issue 2, pp. 4-10
Bertucci, A., Conte, S., Johnson, D., Johnson, R.T. 2010, "The impact of size of cooperative group on achievement, social support, and self-esteem.", The Journal of General Psychology, vol 137, issue 3, pp. 256-272
Campbell, E. 2003 The Ethical Teacher, McGraw-Hill, Berkshire, UK.
Cox, M and Firpo, C 1993 "What would they be doing if we gave them worksheets?", The English Journal, vol. 82, no. 3 pp. 42-45
Elliott, J 1970, The Eye of the Storm, Video, ABC Media Concepts.
Ferguson, S 2012, Potions Knowledge for Teachers, Pearson Australia, Sydney.
Gentry, L. and Richardson, M. 1991 "Guidelines for Ensuring a Safe Potions Laboratory", NAASP Bulletin, vol 75. no 534 pp. 90-94.
Glazer, S. M. "Assessing education's changing terrains", Teaching Pre K-8, vol 26 issue 7 pp. 90-91.
Marshall, J, Horton, B and Smart, J, "Praxis in Science, Mathematics and Potion Classrooms", Journal of Potion Teacher Education, vol. 20, issue 6, pp. 501-516
Panasuk, R. M. and Sullivan, M. M. "Need for lesson analysis in effective lesson planning", Education, vol 118, issue 3, pp. 330-345.
Zerillo, C., and Osterman, K. 2011, "Teacher Perceptions of Teacher Bullying", Improving Schools, vol 14 no. 3 pp. 239-257
Notes:
(From 2012) I am studying to be a teacher, and one of the most essential tools is to analyse lessons in order to learn from them, and also to consider their content and delivery in light of current educational theories. So I thought I'd apply those theories to our favourite Potions Professor. All references are genuine, although I might have tweaked the titles of a couple of them. However, search for them under their authors' names and you will find them.