Busy Week/Next Phase

Last weekend I went to London for the London Festival of Education. I was fantastic. A great chance to catch up with an old friend; and to listen to interesting ideas about education and different approaches and what should happen in the future.

I was a little late, so I missed most of what Michael Gove was saying. Although I saw some of his interview that was being broadcast to a small TV. He looked every bit the politician.

I went to talk from the head of Swiss Cottage school. The approach there intrigues me. If I lived in London, I'd try so hard to spend some time there. Then I caught the end of a talk called 'Should we use the curriculum to impart values?' while I was waiting for the talk between John Hattie and Pasi Sahlberg on 'What makes great teaching- the global view'. Initially John Hattie was the reason I went to the entire Festival; however I found Sahlberg to be far engaging and on topic. I don't think some glitches with Hattie's mic helped matters.

I listened to Andrew Adonis and Christine Gilbert talk about the value of Academies. However, Gilbert barely got a word in edgeways.

And finally- Michael Rosen and Anthony Horowitz "How can we stop killing the love of reading". Absolutely fantastic. By far the best talk of the day. Rosen issued a call to arms basically, and Horowitz was on topic, understandable, clear and full of great ideas with possible ways to implement them, rather than just spouting unrealistic ideals. This talk was also absolutely hilarious in places- especially Horowitz laying-in to Dan Brown's writing.

Very pleased I went.

Aside from that, this week saw the end of University until February- eek!

I start full-time in TP1 on Monday. Thankfully, my mentor has reassured me that I won't be thrown in at the deep end with all full-time lessons and planning straight away; but that they'd be doing me a disservice if I didn't get anything to do. So I'm getting a y7 class, I have two weeks to crack on with the planning for their module. I'll have a Y8 class, which is the same class I used for my assignment lessons. I'm really getting to know this class. They're a tricky bunch, but lovely really. And I'll have a y9 class. We're doing Macbeth! I'm sitting down with their current teacher on Monday to plan; but I'm not sure when I'll be taking them full-time.

It really isn't long that I get there. Only 4 weeks until Christmas, and only 5 weeks there after Christmas. Quite a lot to learn in not a lot of time.

The first assignment was due in yesterday. I submitted it, but titled it wrong, and as a .docx instead of .doc GAH! I've emailed to explain to my mistake and offer my apologies and sent a correct copy; but I've not heard back from anyone. Will just have to wait and see.

The lessons I taught for it though weren't too bad. The first was better than the second- surprisingly. Still, I took loads of things from it; what worked, what didn't, and ways to avoid the same kind of scenarios.

So now it's time to crack on with the planning - not today, obviously. Tomorrow. Today, I tidy the general post-essay debris, and then pop to the shops for much-needed food.

Week 8

I feel as though I've actually made some progress this week.

In uni we've been looking at exam boards. We had to give presentations on WJEC and a local teacher visited to talk about AQA. Apparently they're the main exam boards for this area.  My school's chosen OCR.

We also looked at many many ways of teaching Cormier's Heroes. We had a play at some of the activities ourselves- it's nice to feel like you're in school again. University's been great this week.

For some reason I was dreading going to school this week. I still don't fully know why. I'm thinking it was a combination of not having been in school for so long because of half term, and of not really knowing what I'll be doing when I'm there full time, which is only about 2 weeks away- eek!

Thursday in school is my busy day. I have four lessons (just observations at the moment). Being busy really helped dispel the dread. I was also invited to attend parents' evening on Thursday night. This made for a very long day, and a very tired Lotte; however, parents' evening was a fantastic experience. I am very pleased that I've seen one.

Friday was the weekly meeting with my mentor. I used this opportunity to ask my mentor to check over my lesson plans, for the lessons I'll be teaching next Thursday and Friday. These lessons make up part of my first assignment, so I'm desperate to get them vaguely on track. Her feedback was positive. She said it was clear that I'd thought carefully about the activities and levelled them well for the ability of the group. BOOM! Massive confidence boost. I am well chuffed with that. It's nice to have some kind of reassurance that I'm  not completely missing the mark. I'm nervous about teaching them, but I have spent quite a bit of time with the class, so I know which characters to watch out for, which are shy, cheeky or general boundary pushers. Just got to get my resources ready.

I used the meeting to ask the questions which had been worrying me. Can't believe I worried and worried when it was just so simple to ask. Sometimes I think I try to do too much myself- and I have to tell myself that I'm not expected to be able to do everything right now. I've been training for less than two months. Anyway, now I'm far more relaxed about things, and have some idea as to which direction I'm going. I'm really looking forward to starting full time.

This week's top tip is:
  Do not be afraid to ask questions. If you're nervous about asking in front of everyone (for fear of looking stupid or something) just take someone to one side to ask, or wait until your mentor meeting.


And now, back to the assignment.

Week 7

This week has been half term but only for school.


Monday was an incredibly long lecture about bringing technology into the classroom. It was interesting and I've definitely taken away some ideas, but, we were stuck in a lecture theatre for 3hours, mostly listening. It wasn't particularly interactive and I know I shut-off at points. Some people from the course had a 3-hour round trip for this. I agree with them when they say a lot of this could've been done online. For all its faults though, I am genuinely more interested in the potential of technology in the classroom. I'm certainly going to talk to the ICT guy in school to see what opportunities I can take into my lessons.


Then I went home. Monday evening to Wednesday afternoon was my half term break. I couldn't completely switch off from the PGCE because I was very aware of what I still needed to do, but it was nice to be away.

I've quite enjoyed the train journeys of the past week though. I've used them to catch up with some reading. On the journey home I read Robert Cormier's Heroes. We need to read this for our English sessions next week. I'll probably discuss this in more detail in a later post. On the journey back I started Robert Swindells' Stone Cold, which I intend to finish today, and then crack on with Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting. These are both books that the kids at school are studying. I'm halfway through Stone Cold and it's not as bad as the first page suggested.

Once the above have been read I'll start Sophie Coulombeau's Rites. I won a copy of this book over at Jen Campbell's blog where Coulombeau was guest blogging, and I'm so eager to start reading it. I was excited by the potential this book has in the classroom, especially with regards to narrators. There will definitely be a review blog.

Thursday was a day working on our Method project. Researching and creating a thirty minute presentation on an exam board. We're presenting on Tuesday.

The first PGCE assignment is due in twenty days- eek.
The assignment is to plan six lessons, write a rationale and analysis of the six lessons and teach at least two of the lesson, then write an evaluation of the taught lessons. Easier said than done when, currently, we're only in school two days a week.


I created a medium-term plan and my lessons have been sitting there for a little while. Yesterday I sat down and applied some structure to them, using the University's lesson planning forms (which I'm not overly keen on). They're the first full lessons that I've actually planned, and it took me about 6 hours. An hour/lesson. Not bad for the first time, I think. It did feel slightly redundant as I know that, due to the dynamics of the class, I'll only have the opportunity to teach the two classes that are needed for my assessment. I only hope that I can leave my ideas with the school for future use/adaptation.


Tomorrow I'll be sitting down and writing a rationale; and attempting to link it to theory.




As I do all this, I have one eye on Ofqual saying teachers are cheats- way to boost morale- and the other eye on my department in school, who are jittery because Ofsted are overdue. I hope they show up soon so everyone can calm down.

I feel I've earnt my day off today, even if it is to catch up with the odd jobs that need doing around here. I'll enjoy reading though.

I'm still on the lookout for Teenage Fiction, so please keep your suggestions coming.

Week 6

So, I'm cheating this week. Officially it's half term, but with uni commitments, I'm not really getting a half term. The university's dropped our seminars and tutorials, but replaced them with a 3 hour lecture on Monday (eurgh) and some project work; and the preparation for the first assignment. Due to all of this, I'm working through my Saturday and Sunday, then popping home for a few days.

So this week's been interesting. A slight schism feels as though it's developing in our group, which is a shame. I really hope that we can work through it as a group, rather than letting it become a big issue, especially as it seems to be one person isolating themselves.

We did our starters on Wednesday. The rest of the group had to pretend to be KS3 students, while we delivered starters on a given aspect of grammar. My partner and I were given 'Conjunctions'. Oh dear, oh dear. The group enjoyed our activities, but we were slightly sidetracked by a couple of people just not understanding how one word could be a subordinating, but not a co-ordinating conjunction. We did get through it, but I felt as though we'd done a really awful job. The feedback, however, was very constructive. I hope the feedback is similar when I'm observed in a real class.

School was great. A lack of sleep on Wednesday night meant that Thursday was a tough day, but I kind of had that 'running on empty' energy. The whole department was anticipating half-term though. Friday was a training day, based around safeguarding children. I'm very pleased I attended.

The rest of the group are bonding well. We're rallying together to share resources and help each other when someone's struggling with ideas. It's great to know that we're all there for each other.

So half term! Whoop! Today I'm gathering information for an assignment and tomorrow I'll be planning lessons that I'll actually get to teach in November. I'm very excited for that. Hopefully after half term I'll get to do some plenaries or starters too. I enjoy being a teaching assistant, but I think it's now time to get stuck in to the teaching. I think it'll help build my confidence and cement my role in the school, both in my own head; and in the eyes of the students.

Now to get my head around some more theory. Every conversation I've had with teachers in my school implies that, really, I only need the theory for this year- they never really use it again. I suspect that actually they are using it, but it's become embedded in their thought process that they don't realise it.

Enjoy the break!

Week 5

Sorry blogosphere, I've been very quiet this week. I've caught a cold that's turned into a chesty cough, so I'm spending most of my 'free' time sleeping in the hope that I'll be cured soon.

I have a routine. I am fairly over-organised. I find it helps me deal with things when they go wrong, so having routine...and a plan...settles my mind and me.

I'm really happy in our PGCE group. We've gelled really well. We had a group night out last week (on a school night!- big mistake, but a fantastic night out). We're all sharing ideas and asking each other for help; and there are no major cliques forming. It's a comfortable group to be in and around.

My placement's going well. I was only in one day last week due to the school closing on Friday - not illness. I refuse to let sniffles keep me away from placement. And there will be only one teaching day this week because of half term. I'm quite looking forward to going on my first ever Inset day though. I've no idea what to expect.

I'm getting to know the department, and the dynamics of the classes I'll be taking. I'm also beginning to get the chances to apply my university learning to the practice I see in school. It adds so much clarity.

Last week's focus was on communication. Thankfully, I was able to witness a fantastic lesson which left me with a million and one ideas about communicating with pupils, classroom management, lesson structure...the list goes on.

I'm getting quite excited about being able to teach some of the classes myself. I think I'll be given the opportunity to do some starters or plenaries after half term. In the meantime I've got one eye on my assignments and the other on the here and now. But I'm actually not panicking. Good sign.

Next post should be slightly more exciting because I should be slightly more healthy and, therefore, engaging.

Week 4

This post is an amalgamation of the last two weeks really.

I’ve completed my observation week. It was nice to see so many different subjects and teaching styles, to meet different members of school, and learn how the different departments function. I doubt I’ll see much of the other departments now as each has its own staffroom. Shame.

 

From now until the end of November I’m only in two days a week, which feels a bit weird, but I’m also grateful for the university time. I like the other members on the course and Uni is the only time that we really get to see other.

My first day this week did leave me feeling like a spare part (which I suppose, in a way, I am). Things improved on Friday though. I have been assigned a new mentor, who is lovely, and I have a provisional timetable for observations and for the classes I’ll be teaching when I’m there full time. I was flicking through the calendar yesterday and I really do not have a lot of time before I’ll be teaching classes. Exciting and terrifying.

Had a bit of a moment on Thursday when I sat there and stared at the pile of paperwork and assignments and planning that’s going to be required. Foolishly, I let it completely overwhelm me. Panic! Since then, I’ve broken it down. A lot of my initial planning will be to meet my first deadline (as the assignment involves planning, teaching and evaluating some lessons), so that’s manageable. At the moment, I quite like planning. Well, I like the ideas; I just need to refine them in accordance with specific foci, objectives and abilities.

While I say I don’t have a lot of time before I’m taking classes, the school I’m in also seems to be understanding enough to let me take things at my own pace. They’re not going to force me to take a class if we don’t think I’m ready. I think I’ll be ready though. Plus, this week has made me realise that, really, I don’t need (and am not expected) to be able to do everything at the moment.

Otherwise, I quite like the school (I was undecided at the end of last week). The kids are brilliant. I’m still a bit of a novelty to them, so they’re fairly well behaved around me. I intend to drag that out as much as possible. They are really funny though, and the department I’m in is full of friendly- and incredibly helpful- people.

Top Tip for this week: Don’t run before you can walk. Everything will come in good time. Just take it step by step.

And now it’s pouring with rain, which is a grim end to a blog, so instead I’ll leave you with this: it is, quite literally, a cup cake!

Novel Box

Apologies for not posting last weekend- I had a leaving party to attend, which involved quite a lot of travelling in a short space of time.

Anyway, as promised...here is the Novel Box post.

So the idea is that you introduce this box to the class prior to introducing the text they'll be studying. The Novel Box should be filled with things relating to the text in order to garner interest in the text. Where you go next with it is entirely up to you.

Here is my Novel Box:

It contains

• 3 letters, all addressed to Mrs Saville, England.
• A map featuring locations such as, Geneva, Mont Blanc and The North Pole
• Some test tubes
• A locket
• A copy of Paradise Lost

Can you guess the text?