Week 6 - A Taste of Teaching

As I sit down to write this post, there's a little bit of me that is extremely happy that it is the last thing I need to do before my weekend commences. This isn't anything against teaching, but more against my desire to sleep. Lots.

Sleep-deprivation aside, this week has challenged me academically, mentally and physically. Allow me to divulge my crazy week which is no doubt a sign of things to come:

We're stepping up the studies for the PGCE component. Lots more in-depth chat about lesson planning, PLTS, the differences between objectives and outcomes (that I perennially switch for some reason), differentiation by about 10 different methods, and many other activities that can be used in the classroom to bring languages to life. Our tutor is still finding placements tricky for the group; I'm glad that I'm on the School Direct programme and know that my location is secure, but I'm also empathetic towards the fact that some students may have to travel up to an hour and a half away in order to get to their placement!

We also took a look at the National Curriculum, both past and present (well, when it's not disapplied, that is...), what forms the "curriculum" and its timetabling*, and how it can be interpreted. I did enjoy the lecturers' sly jab towards Mr Goves' ideas of 'knowledge knowledge knowledge,' and the formers' interpretation of the guidance of the NC showing that it, indeed, should not be the whole curriculum but merely a component in the education of any pupil (e.g. including the "informal" and "hidden" curricula as well as the "formal" curriculum).

Once studying was done with, it was time to move on to the biggest shift in pace I've experienced in a long time. Thursday and Friday saw me observing multiple language lessons, and... for the first time in the course... TEACHING! -insert hallelujah chorus here- Okay, so it's maybe not that much of an issue to most, but to me it was a chance to take all of that theory, observation, "what ifs" and doodles into an environment where I would be making an impact and shaping the minds of those who will take languages into the future.

Just to add a little more difficulty to this nerve-wrecking task, both days were wrapped in the event of the Eurpoean Day of Languages. So, it was time to bring out the big guns...

Yes - I dressed up as a French Stereotype; beret, stripes, and all, in front of a sea of teachers and pupils who I've never seen before but I'll more than likely be seeing again. If that didn't push me out of my comfort zone, nothing would have!

On Thursday, I spent time teaching Y7 and Y11 French, took the starter for a Y7 Spanish class and took 10 minutes out of a Spanish GCSE class to teach a prepared** lesson on Japanese numbers. It was an excellent opportunity not only to speak to the team I worked with last week on their current projects and progress, but to also see how well I fared in front of a sea of eager faces. Beforehand, I was extremely nervous, but I found these nerves dissipated within about 20 seconds of talking. To sum up the key points:

• What went well:
• The prepared lessons worked very well on the school computers and all the pupils were engaged
• I was able to project my voice clearly and explain tasks 
• I adapted to tricky situations where one computers' USB ports had failed and I used an alternative method to obtain my lesson materials
• My level of Spanish instruction was high enough to satisfy the needs of the pupils and be commended by the Spanish teacher
• Even better if:
• I had remembered to use AfL methods more (e.g. "thumbs up/down")
• There was a moment where I didn't know how to introduce myself to the class whilst setting up my presentation, leaving them a little bit lost

Friday gave me the opportunity to try my language teaching ability to a group of Y5 pupils. Despite being on a Secondary PGCE, it was worthwhile experiencing this as I cannot remember a thing about my Primary schools or to what level I was learning at that point. It was certainly an experience for us all as a group of MFL students, and despite the initial shock of having several hundred primary school children sharing at you whilst you introduced yourself in another language, it was great fun once we all got into it.

This teaching was a little different to normal, as we were teaching in pairs, with the assistance of the 'usual' classroom teacher and a teaching assistant to help with behaviour and logistics. Our aim was to get the pupils to be able to introduce themselves and count from 1 to 10 in Japanese, make some sushi and even write their names in Japanese.

In less than two hours.

Admittedly, this is an awful lot for anyone to learn and/or do in a classroom situation. Nevertheless, despite not sticking to our times as we expected, we were able to get through everything we had planned. Not only that, but the pupils showed excellent signs of progress, excitement and intrigue.

Following the above model:

• What went well:
• The activities kept everyone engaged at all times
• The language was pitched at just the right level for the majority of the class
• I was able to identify those who needed more assistance once we had started going through the more challenging items of vocabulary (this is something I feared I would miss having so many students in the class)
• The method used to learn the language (PPP) worked very effectively, and a final 'quiz' showed us that the knowledge had sunk in
• Both my colleague and I were able to bounce ideas off of one another to cope with timekeeping issues
• Even better if:
• Again, the technology failed on us several times (an omen?!) so we were nearly left in a tricky situation
• Retiming/restructuring the lesson to allow for more time to clean up after the sushi and calligraphy sessions
• All aspects and resources need to be found out in advance in a classroom where you don't usually teach; the idea of how the lesson would go in my mind was very different to the reality!

If there happen to be any Primary teachers out there reading this, I take my hat/beret off to you! It was a lot of fun, but trying to keep track of everything going on in the room at once was possibly one of the most tiresome tasks I have performed in a long time! I suppose this was coupled with the thought of having to attend a lecture immediately afterwards, but I now have a newfound respect for all Primary staff!

Now, if you'll excuse me, there is sleep to be had...

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My goals for this week were:

• To be successful in the lessons I took - Very happy with how they went and have received some great feedback so far!
• To get more involved in CPD discussions - Getting there...
• Improving Spanish to be able to teach - Y7 Spanish was a success, with a pupil believing I was Spanish at one point!

My three main achievements for this week were:

• Moving from "substantially nervous" to "smiley and confident" before and after teaching respectively
• Breaking out of my comfort zone with regards to teaching, appearance and interaction with pupils
• Having my paperwork and notes looking professional and content-rich

For next week, I hope to:

• Start getting into my first assignment properly, rather than just surface research
• To improve my punctuality in the morning (specifically, getting out of bed when the alarm goes and not half an hour afterwards!)
• Survive "The Studio!"

*Side note: Timetabling is HARD. How on earth all these schools can do it effectively is something that remains beyond my mental grasp thus far... 

**"Prepared," as in, I was able to adapt the lesson I made for Friday and increase the difficulty for the group as to not bore them but still get them engaged.

Week 5 - Observations, SEN and Intelligence (Caution: gratuitous use of acronyms ahead!)

Strap in; this is gonna be a long one...

Definitely back into the swing of studying with Uni (perhaps even more so than I was during the majority of my undergrad...?). We've got our plans underway for teaching a lesson at a primary school next week to celebrate the International Day of Languages and, for the MFL team, we're all learning more tips and tricks to teach some interesting lessons, including the dos and don'ts of Interactive Whiteboards.

Our first "school observation" day came this week, too. I had the opportunity to work with a wonderful set of MFL teachers in an academy that, despite not holding any kind of status for languages officially, really pulled it out of the bag when it came to making languages fun (e.g. effective use of AfL, engaging activities interspersed within potentially tough/dry topics, and the wider school aspect of language clubs and how their actions from a meeting can affect school performance). It also stretched me outside of my comfort zone as all lessons I observed/participated in were not my strongest language. Pile that on top of the fact that I will be returning there next week to perform parts of lessons... well let's say that I'm throwing myself in at the deep end...

...but I'd be lying if I said that I'm not loving it so far!

Aside from dipping our toes into the practical side of things, we also got stuck into two topics this week, the realm of Special Educational Needs (SEN) and the concept of 'Intelligence'.

When I was in school, I had no need for learning assistance, thus I never really got the chance to explore much around the aspect of SEN. I never made much of a sound at all, to be honest, so whether I was just unnoticed or otherwise is a matter of debate, nevertheless that fact remains that the SEN area of the school was just a door into a big colourful room that I never got to see the inside of.

Our session with an incredibly knowledgeable SENCO (who also just happens to be my mentor for the year; what luck!) led us to finding out more about just what SEN encompasses, who is responsible for SEN in schools and why these myriad of needs are important to know about and take into account every day. To expand upon those points somewhat briefly:

• SEN involves a multitude of aspects, from developmental issues, to cognitive assistance, to just having someone to talk to if your home life is less than ideal and working is the last thing on your mind. Of course, there are a tonne of acronyms to go along with this, such as CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services), NSSEN (Non-Statemented Special Educational Needs) and SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning). I'm sure we won't need to know these by heart, but as I said, there's a lot that can be encompassed within this realm!
• SEN doesn't begin and end with the SENCO; it is the responsibility of all members of the school faculty to get involved. If a child is known to have issues, the teacher and SENCO must collaborate in order to ensure appropriate teaching and differentiation (something exemplified to me this week in an observation of a Spanish class, where a teacher set the class up with an independent learning task and then spent that time helping a child who has extreme dyslexia to ensure he could access the learning)
• As teachers, it is important (and a part of the Teaching Standards) to be able to teach to all children, no matter what their level. If we are not able to appropriately and thoughtfully differentiate our lessons to cater for a wide range of abilities, yet still challenge our students to be the best they can be, then we're doing something wrong...

I was surprised by the difficulty encountered by students who require SEN and assistance. In my naïveté (en français, bien sûr!) I thought that equal time was allocated to each student by a team of teaching and learning assistants. Of course, you need money for that, and many establishments don't have that kind of money to spend... neither do the government want to give out that much money, either. Ergo, it could be that some people who do need the most help may not have access to these fantastic resources, and that's pretty sad. But as my second bullet point indicates, it's just as much the teachers' responsibility to help all children as much as any support they have in the class and school.

Now, moving on to the other big topic mentioned in bold above...

I typed 'Intelligence' in inverted commas as this weeks' readings and studies have made it really, really tough for me to define what it is. Many people may think of things such as IQ to begin with, but then you must consider that any IQ test will only examine a finite number of aspects in any one persons' range of capabilities. For instance, some may call Beethoven a musical genius, yet any modern IQ test would not examine his flair for composition.*

There seems to be a common issue with an agreed upon definition the world over. With the UK and USA, we seem to be fixated on this idea of IQ, it seems. However, in some areas of the world you are deemed to be more intelligent when you can appreciate others' point of view, or indeed show benevolence towards others. It even goes to the extreme where, in some parts of the world, you are only 'eligible' to be intelligent if you form a part of the higher social classes! Now, I'm saying that this is totally false, but I've seen some pretty well off people do some pretty poorly planned actions in the past...

Within education systems, it seems as though theories are called upon to shape the way in which learning occurs. For example, the stages that a child goes through within the UK system (school years, Key Stages, etc.) seem to more or less mimic the structure behind Piaget's Cognitive Development model. This has been in place for decades, perhaps to the point where it's just part of our culture.

The weird thing is, before this week, I had never really questioned why the UK has a Primary/Secondary system that is so different to, say, Finland's methods. Now that I am more conscious of these theories on learning, such as Gardner's Multiple Intelligences, especially when coupled with Bloom's Taxonomy, it throws all sorts of questions into the air: Are we really following the best method? Are we doing the children of the country a disservice in following a method that could be perhaps too prescriptive? Do we have the money, logistics and trust to change our system into one such as Finlands', who underwent an enormous shake up of their education system 40 years ago to develop into one of the top countries for education today? 

Maybe not right now. But who knows what the future will bring...?

I refer to one of my favourite quotes (found in the quotes section of my site, surprisingly enough!) to end this post:

Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid (Einstein)

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My goals for last week were:

• To keep up with note-taking and summarisation of lectures - achieved!
• To think more critically/at Masters level - getting there... I'm questioning EVERYTHING!
• To watch more Educating Yorkshire - haven't had the time!

My three biggest achievements were:

• Creating a Japanese lesson, including resources and visuals, for next week 
• Receiving some incredibly positive feedback from the team I worked with during observations
• Having a general feeling of preparedness before going into seminars and feeling able to access the work involved

For this time next week, I hope that:

• The two lessons I will take will go well and that my confidence is therefore boosted
• I can get more involved within seminar discussions around CPD (this will come with more critical thinking, I'm sure!)
• I can improve my levels of Spanish to a point where I am happy to take a lesson or a "micro teaching session"

*Hypothetically, if he were able to take the test, there may be increased scores within pattern-spotting or mathematical prowess, as these are required in some manner by composers to create a piece of music. Nevertheless, just because you can wield a calculator doesn't mean you can write a symphony...

Week 4 - Hello Again, Uni!

After spending so much time with the initial group of trainees pre-PGCE, it was really, REALLY weird to find myself going from being amongst about 25 people to around 170! It also felt a little bit like we were cheating on Monday...

Picture it - back at university again after time off from studies, surrounded by many strangers and a new building whose 'ground floor' is actually 'level 2' (?!) and unsure of the path in front of you, both figuratively and literally!

This was not the case for us, however. Our team has built up such a rapport that we were able not only to identify each other in this sea of trainees, but also merge and mingle into different subject areas and meet new people with aplomb! We all had the 'in the same boat' feeling, too, which helped to ease the first day nerves.

At a personal level, the MFL trainee team are incredible. A mixture of native speakers and English polyglots, with 7 out of the 21 of us being male (which is almost unheard of in many PGCE MFL groups!) and a collective knowledge that must be close to 20 individual languages, we are definitely in a like-minded environment. Once again, I'm never ceased to be amazed at the astounding level of English competence and fluency that native speakers have over the English speakers' knowledge over their L2s and L3s (secondary and tertiary languages). It makes me wonder from what age people learn English abroad, the techniques used (e.g. immersion, situational, or the dreaded chalk-and-talk) and how much time is devoted to their studies... perhaps English being perhaps the lingua franca gives it higher credence in studies for foreign students, rather than French has for those in England?

The series of tasks performed this week have taken me back to my secondary language learning days. It has been great to meet our obviously experienced tutor (who seems to have a desire for accuracy in all aspects of the word) and to garner many hints and tips in this short amount of time. Nevertheless, our Wednesday's are devoted to 'Professional Development,' rather than subject knowledge, so it's always a pleasure to be reunited with the team whom I started with. It sort of feels like meeting back up with your family again after time spent apart (d'awwww...)

Styles of teaching vary greatly between tutors, from the engaging and bubbly to the more sedate. We've now completed our UWE induction and are aware of the assessments, timetables and expectations of us throughout the year. We've had the high points of getting to know new people and really share our strengths, but also the lows* of realising that some kids don't have it good and that we will be confronting issues that many of us have had the fortune to never experience (e.g. forms of abuse, its impacts and what our professional stances should be when we inevitably confront them).

For now, my tasks for the weekend are few and I'll be treasuring this little bit of free time! We have a school visit in the next couple of weeks where a colleague and I will be teaching Japanese to a group of Y5s (which, to me, is exciting and terrifying** beyond belief!) so there is content to prepare for that, and of course I'll be on the literature trail to improve my theoretical knowledge upon aspects we learned this week, such as professional identity (see this post for my ongoing thoughts on "What makes a great teacher") and how to effectively transmit new vocabulary to students of all ages.

...because I'm a little bit of a geek like that.

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I am happy to say that all three of my targets for this week I have hit. They were:

• To keep up with my academic reading
• To get back into my studying routine, and
• To keep in touch with the original cohort during time at UWE

Woo!

As for this weeks' other successes:

• Meeting new people (and remembering names) has been a breeze, which can only be a positive thing!
• I am happy with my work-life balance and I can't see myself being at risk of collapsing too early
• I can feel my professionalism and purpose re: why I want to teach, increasing daily which adds to my confidence no-end

My targets next week shall be:

• To keep up with note-taking and summarisation of lectures and seminars
• To start "thinking at M level" ... in other words, to be critical of opinions and have clear, valid and original reasoning of my own views
• To watch a few more episodes of "Educating Essex" and "Educating Yorkshire" (this isn't a cop-out... it's remarkably helpful to see how teachers deal with behavioural and classroom management in some of the most realistic contexts imaginable)

* I refer to this as a "low" only due to the content of the lecture. Nevertheless, it reinforced just why we need to be effective, caring and responsible teaching professionals - it really is all about the kids!

** Yes, I know they're not going to bite, but this will be my first teaching time to pupils!

Week 3 - "It was the 'why'"

Yep, I'm a little early this week given our tasks for tomorrow. Plus, there's just too much going on right now in my mind not to get it down on this blog! Make sure you've got a cuppa or some snacks; this could be a lengthy one...

Our final week of induction has revolved around a different aspect each day that - luckily - have links intrinsically, such as effective teaching and planning, emotional intelligence, and behaviour management. These have all built upon and added to the information we learned last week and I have already spoken about some aspects in an interim post. In fact, it's crazy to think about just how much we've been through in what is effectively less than 3 weeks! I'm not inferring that we're anywhere near ready to qualify, but I think we're certainly in a much more informed and prepared position than many of our soon-to-be colleagues who are following the traditional PGCE route.

The week gave us an opportunity to experience life in different academies. As this was the week where pupils are just returning to start this years' studies, we found that the buildings - some quite traditional and some akin to a 'space age teaching realm of tomorrow' - were relatively empty for the most part. This gave us a great opportunity to feel like new students each day; to make our own first impressions and to have that slight fear of "where am I going?" or "who are all these people?" Despite the fact that the rooms in which we studied heated up quite quickly* we were able to discuss, understand and recap multiple aspects of teaching before we all got a heat-induced glazing over of the eyes, such as:

• Creating the ideal lesson plan, which not only describes what you're going to do and why, but it also self-reflects to ensure that this lesson in the greater scheme of things will give the pupils the opportunity to try out and improve upon core skills
• How IQ and EQ (emotional quotient) are inherently different yet complimentary; in other words, it's one thing to know your stuff, but it's a whole different ballgame to be able to get that stuff over to a group of people who are probably not as focussed as you'd like them to be
• Thinking carefully about differentiation and the idea of differentiated outcomes that would suit all learners in the classroom and without stifling any pupils' abilities (which inspired me to create another page on my blog of quotes and comments I find relevant to my style of teaching that can be found by clicking on this here bit of text)

Being in different academies also gave us the opportunity to speak to other members of staff and some SLEs (Specialist Leaders of Education) on both practical and theoretical knowledge. Being reminded of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Bloom's Taxonomy, and being introduced to SOLO Taxonomy has once again increased my desire to research and read in the hopes of being able to apply these in the near future. I'm hoping this means that my transition back to Uni to start my PGCE next week will be a little easier too! However, it wasn't just the staff we got to speak to... my biggest surprises and eye openers this week came from two students and a few facts from an SLE who deals with some of the most challenging students imaginable. 

We had the opportunity to ask some students what they wanted in a good teacher. At our main academy, we spoke to four Year 9 pupils who eloquently and very maturely put forward their desires. I was astounded to hear things such as "I just want to be treated like an equal" and "someone who can create justified rules in class and apply them fairly" - I wasn't sure what I was expecting them to say, but to hear such things started to flick a switch in my head...

Later in the week, we spoke to a Year 7 boy who was only halfway through his very first day in an enormous secondary academy. We asked him the same question, and after a moment of deliberation, innocently and truthfully said, "I want someone to look after me." Again, that switch was being pressed with more and more force...

And finally, today, we had an introductory session on behaviour management, from perspectives of the prevention of challenging behaviour, to 'what to do when it all goes wrong.' It's impossible to fit each class into the same mould, and the things we learned are certainly adaptable to multiple situations, but it wasn't this "how" or "what to do" that got me; it was the why. It was the 'why' that showed me that many kids nowadays are living in areas and situations that are so abhorrent that they might not wash, eat, or sleep soundly for days. It was the 'why' that made me realise why kids want to be treated like equals, and why they desire to feel safe. And it was the 'why' that flicked that switch in my head and made me remember something that an old friend of mine told me the night before I had my first interview for this position. To paraphrase:

It doesn't matter how much you specialise in your subject. It's not enough to know what you think you know. You need to have to be emotionally-aware as a teacher, and understand that you are giving hope to people through education who may not have hope at all in any other aspect of their lives.

No matter how tough it gets, I hope I'm able to remember this on my journey.

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My three areas to work on last week were:

• To get more involved in activities - much happier with this weeks' performance
• To maintain curricular reading - still need to work at this
• To improve methods of confidence building - again, much happier with this!

My three achievements this week have been:

• Successfully navigating to and around different academies without getting lost
• Having the individual bits of the course so far all start to fit together
• Feeling more in-touch with lunchtime conversations (unrelated to teaching, I know, but socialising in groups I find tricky to do at times, especially with the leader of the course (and I'm not overly sure why (argh, too many parentheses!)))

My goals for next week are:

• To once again maintain a level of reading commensurate with the amount of work that's about to hit me
• To get back into the swing of studying at University
• To maintain communication with the rest of the cohort during our first week at University

*Interesting digression - why do classrooms the country over never seem to have good ventilation!?

Traits of a Great Teacher

Just like every other person, I have got some fantastic memories of some incredible teachers. Throughout my school career, I have looked up to numerous people (and not only for the fact that I grew to 5'7" and then inadvertently forgot how to get any taller...) who have all played memorable parts in my life. There have also been the ones who I'd prefer to forget, but we're focussing on the positive here!

Even though my journey to teacherdom is still in its infancy, I'm really starting to understand just how much is required of a teaching professional. Today was certainly no exception; in fact I think I've learned more today than I have in quite a while!* Reflecting in groups, and personally, about what makes a great teacher was no small task...

It was hugely beneficial to think about the perceived good and bad traits from a trainee's point of view, but by no means was it the most insightful. We were able to remember our time in schools and the good points that had stuck in our minds - the friendly teachers who kept a positive atmosphere, those who always gave us a challenge, and the brilliant ones who never followed a 'robotic' method of teaching but a more human, down-to-earth style. The biggest learning curve for me today was when we were given opinions from other areas of the school, notably: seasoned teachers, NQTs, SEN staff and a group of pupils.

The seasoned teachers showed us that everyone makes mistakes, and an excellent TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson (available to watch here) gave us the idea that mistakes should be made in an ideal class. Of course, that's not to say that the mistake should be left unattended; the important part is learning from the mistakes you make, whether you're the pupil, the teacher, the head, the governor... and a little humility definitely goes a long, long way!**

The NQTs gave us a glimpse into how they found their training year. Unsurprisingly, the keywords of "tough," "difficult" and "stress" were prominent, but it was easy to tell from their positive demeanours and the job satisfaction they spoke of that the job they were now doing meant that the training was definitely worth it! They too were graduates of the School Direct programme and showed professionalism and creativity akin to that of teachers who have been in the job for years! I hope we get to feel like that this time next year =D

The SEN staff provided an insight to school life that I had never really considered, never having to interact with any SENCOs or LSAs during my time in education. This was my first of two shocks during the day. They told us of how important it was to be emotionally aware of what was going on, not only as a classroom dynamic, but for each individual student. It was a wake-up call to realise that if a student is not having the best time at home, and all you are doing as a teacher is emulating a negative  atmosphere - albeit familiar to the pupil - then you're just perpetuating a stereotype in the young persons' mind that all adults are the same. If we as teachers can break this cycle and show that our classes are places of safety, creativity, mutual respect and collaboration, wouldn't we be showing them what life is like outside of their four walls, their street, or even their town?

The second shock came when the pupils came in to tell us about what they wanted from their teachers, or who they enjoyed having teaching them and why. Despite it being not that long ago, I struggle to remember the little aspects of my daily life at school (e.g. issues of fairness and justice) but these kids were incredibly eloquent with their responses; a desire for teachers to have an acute sense of fairness in the classroom, someone who doesn't lose their temper, a teacher who can draw the line, keep control and show confident authority in a classroom without being an authoritarian. When it came down to it's simplest form, the pupils just wanted to be treated like equals, and so they should be! The days of "I'm the teacher, you're the pupils; fear my wrath and shut up" are loooooong gone, and we should be nurturing, if not provoking, ideals such as equality, fairness, and the right to an opinion.

To round this up, it all revolves around one overarching concept: respect. This is a word that is seen around countless schools, doctors surgeries, bars and restaurants, public transport... the list goes on, but this basic human trait is one that is too often overlooked and forgotten about. It's a two-way concept; one of my favourite quotes is that "respect is earned, never commanded"and this is no more truer than in the classroom where a complex interplay of negotiation, authority, creativity, confidence, positivity, personal styles - and a multitude of other aspects - all wrap around a climate of respect.

I could take 10 of the items in bold above and summarise it as "what kind of teacher I would love to become," but I know that the reality is far more complex and different contexts will call for different measures. Nevertheless, the insights of today will stick with me for some time, and will remind me that any lesson will only ever be as great as the attitude you apply and share within the classroom.


*Not to the detriment any of the training I've been through so far; it's all been really interesting!
** The video in the link also discusses some excellent ideas around how teaching and learning, in an ideal context, could be geared more towards the needs of the pupils rather than "stifling" them into academia and putting the ones that don't excel into a SEN programme, but that's for another blog!