Teaching Styles - The Complexity Conundrum

One of the most fulfilling exercises I've performed during my training so far is to think about how I want to be perceived as a teacher. All the trainees and I have had multiple discussions on strictness, school and class ethos, behaviour management, ideology... you name it, we've fleshed it out! However, the layers of complexity keep on appearing, sometimes imposed by the situation, other times imposed by myself.

Prior to my first placement, I thought about the multiple ways in which a teacher could be perceived. For me, being the "strict authoritarian" was out of the question, as was the "do whatever you want" style. These are two points of a seemingly endless continuum with all kinds of variations and combinations in-between; enough to make the radiation spectrum look quietly understated (go geeky physics pun!). Put this alongside the fact that style will most likely change down to surroundings, and it starts become tricky...

My first placement showed me what happens when you don't adapt to surroundings. I spent time working with a KS3 group of students and adopting an approach too far on the "easy-going" side, resulting in what was a wonderful class for a few weeks as they sized me up, becoming a situation where it was difficult to regain class control as they weren't taking me seriously. Granted, this wasn't the whole class, but it left me kicking myself, saying "If only I had started more intelligently..."

First impressions really, REALLY count, and I think this is my biggest concern so far. Having now commenced my second placement and meeting my extremely lively tutor group, I already find myself in a tricky bind that I'm not 100% sure how to deal with. As if fate decided to throw me a curveball, this group contains a small number of students who are challenging to calm down and engage, just as I experienced in my first placement KS3 class. This caused me to have a déjà vu flashback to what went wrong in my first placement and throw me completely off course, resulting in it becoming almost impossible to get them to be calm, stop throwing things, not interrupt others, etc. I left feeling as though I had taken that first chance and thrown it away, with these questions floating around my mind:

Does this mean that I've blown my first chance? Can I regain control in time? What teaching and behaviour management style suits liveliness? Will the students want to engage with this stranger who's suddenly rocked up to their class? Is it necessary, and can I commit, to being more authoritarian? Will I risk losing the rest of the class if this occurs? What about continuity between teachers and the behaviour management policy of the school?

See what I mean about complexity? While I'm not afraid to take on this challenge, I am afraid that I will end up being known as the "trainee who couldn't control his class." 

Onwards and upwards...

Data, Diversity, Double-checking and Delving into the World of Employment

The post-Christmas stint back at University has been very welcomed. Lots of information to mull over, chances to flex our brains in various ways, time to relax and panic (a little!) and I think we're all prepped for our next placement.

Lectures and experiences in data management and diversity have really got me excited about the 'other parts' of being a teacher. I'm no maths buff (a.k.a. 'mathlete') but I'm pretty nimble around an Excel spreadsheet, and my experiences of school have shown me that inclusion is something that really needs to be focussed on. From a personal perspective, the LGBT areas are ones that need support (come on, now, using 'gay' as an adjective to describe something negatively is so 1990s!) and I would very much like to offer my support wherever possible.

We've all completed our Masters-level assignment, too! I'm hoping that it gets me a pass at M-level as the guidance was a little bit contradictory, but only time will tell. The nice thing about this was, as I handed the assignment in 4 days before deadline, I was able to offer my assistance to others that were finding the project difficult and non-native speakers of English who wanted their language double-checking. It was nice to be called upon and to be able to help!

The only thing worrying me, more than anything possibly in my life right now, is what the future of my teaching career holds. I'm about to start a placement with a team and in a school that I'd more than happily want to work in as an NQT and beyond, but in reality, the job scene in Bristol for MFL teachers right now seems... well, non-existent. I, like several others on the School Direct course, are nervous as we thought that the SD route included employment at the end of the year, but it seems as though we may have all misinterpreted this.

I know it's only January, but it already feels scary.

Applications and Interviews and Jobs (Oh My!)

It's all starting to get a little hectic again. Even more so now that job adverts are starting to appear and all us PGCEers are feeling the bite of assignment deadlines, preparing for Placement B and thinking about getting a good start in the very career that we're learning so much about.

To put it in a 'light' way, I'm feeling something like this right now:

Ok, so maybe that's a little dramatic, but all this talk of jobs is making me a little nervy. Many questions, lots of preparation and no guarantee of employment is a very scary position to be in...

Anyway, below is some information that's currently being discussed online about job applications in the teaching world. I thought I'd summarise it here to get my thoughts in order and to help any readers if they're in a similar situation:

• When looking at ads, ask if you are right for the job and if the job is right for you. If either of the answers is no, don't go for it. It's better to concentrate on one 'dead cert' than it is to waste employers' time and money
• Have a sceptical eye in interviews; scope out the school and make sure it's right for you
• Read and use the Person Specification carefully for each application; they look similar but can differ substantially, so a 'blanket application' won't work
• Try and visit the school if applying to it; it gives a good impression and allows you to do the aforementioned scoping!
• Remember that the children come first. We are here to teach kids and help them to develop all manner of skills, not just 'develop our own pedagogy'
• A mismatch between degree title and the subject you want to teach is not always a disadvantage; use specific examples and enthusiasm to make the application shine through
• Be confident in the use of data interpretation and analysis; apparently heads of department love it!
• Don't share out your personal statement too much. While it's good to have it double- and triple-checked, it also means that too many amendments lead it to being not as personal as it should be...
• Check your SPaG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar); a large majority of applications will be binned on the basis of small errors
• Have these questions in mind during the process: Why your subject? Why this school? Why this post? Why teach?

Year 8 Aspirations - An initial analysis and call for assistance!

So that Christmas break went extremely quickly...

I'm find myself feeling gradually more and more confident within the classroom after completing Placement A and being back with my colleagues at Uni. As the course is progressing, all of these pedagogical terms, phrases and acronyms are really starting to sink in, and I can see how being a "reflective practitioner" is contributing to my development day by day. It's also great to see my colleagues experiencing the same thing and to observe how we're moving away from the shy, new trainees into professional purveyors of education. High 5s all 'round =D

This week I am in a different academy, looking at Y8s in particular. The trend so far seems to be that Y8 is nationally (if not internationally) the Year in which things start to 'dip,' particularly around attendance, aspirations and engagement. In fact, in asking a few friends and reflecting upon Y8 myself, we can't seem to remember much about that time at all... to us, and to many others, it seems a bit of a non-year.

The question I have been posed with is: how can Y8s regain their motivation for learning? They're no longer the babies of the school, and they haven't quite reached GCSE Options stage yet. To them, it's another year in the education cycle but it's also a time of change, particularly biologically. 

Not identifying and intervening with 'the dip' can lead to a negative learning cycle, details of which I won't go into here as I need to do some more research first, but I would like to ask any readers these two questions:

1. Can you remember what Year 8 was like for you? Do you agree that it was a year in which nothing much happened, or were your experiences different?
2. If you teach now, what are your opinions on your current Year 8? How do you motivate them to remain impassioned by learning?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Thanks!

Harsh Realities

As Placement A draws to a close, a few harsh realities of my teaching are coming to a head. Despite the positives of my work so far, it tends to be the things that I haven't done well that stick with me the most. Here are two that have stuck with me the most...

• You cannot win over every pupil. As much as I try to be a professional, yet not a dictator, there are always a few pupils who will not warm to my teaching, no matter what I do. Perhaps this is a curse of joining a class and disrupting the teaching mid-term? Maybe my teaching style hasn't been strict enough? Or maybe some kids just plain and simply don't like me?

In my previous job, and throughout my life in general, I've promoted friendliness and a sense of mutual respect. That's not to say I don't do this at school, as I see these as a big part of a pupils' learning with regards to social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. The biggest difference is that a lot of the people I now work with are teenagers, complete with all kinds of life-baggage and mood swings. Having never really dealt with this before, it has caused me to rethink a lot of my behaviours. In other words, it will be the case that I will have people who won't like me. My challenge is to find a way to maintain the mutual respect between myself and those who aren't too keen on me without it leading to a breakdown in behaviour.

It's a weird thing, having someone against you rather than with you. But it must be learned that it's impossible to be all things to all people.

• You are going to receive feedback that you will not like. This comes specifically from a particular review I received of one of my most difficult classes. Of course, I am thankful for the feedback; I enjoy being observed  because I can obtain the opinions of those who are more experienced than I, and it's like having an extra pair of eyes in the room who can see what I frequently miss.

However, it always comes as a bit of a blow when you see a sheet of paper riddled with notes that seem to identify all the "bad bits" of a lesson, using direct language, pinning you as the one who couldn't control the class or you who didn't showcase progress explicitly enough. As much as you want to defend your corner*, you can't help but think that the observations are in fact a true reflection of how well (or poorly!) your lesson progressed.

Similar to the first item discussed above, it's not easy to take these criticisms even if you know that it wasn't a spectacular lesson. Again, the challenge is viewing these not as weaknesses, but as areas to develop. 

For some people, these would be seen as defeats. I won't lie; when I first realised that I wasn't viewed positively by some of my students and when I read a selection of my feedback, my immediate reaction was that I had failed. But then discussions occurred with teachers, mentors and friends, and it made me realise that it is not a failure; it is an opportunity. As long as I can develop from these, then I shall continue on my journey towards being a great, if not outstanding teacher (I hope!)

* If there happen to be any people reading who observe student teachers, I just have one request: please remember that we have only been teaching, in some instances, for a matter of weeks, if not days. Constructive feedback is always appreciated, but remember that we need time to develop, so please cut us some slack if we can't do everything first time =]

Being a Team Player? The Pencil Analogy.

I found this on Twitter today, and as I love a good visual analogy, I thought I'd share it with anyone willing to read!

This particular image is biased towards the use of technology, but it can be used in many more senses. In this instance, try and think of it as what part of the team you feel you fill...

The model above also shows an excellent distribution method for who would currently fit where in most environments (e.g. there would be more of the 'ferrules' than 'erasers,' and the majority tend to be 'wood') ... but wouldn't it be great if more could move from the 'eraser' to the 'lead?'

I guess, then, the only awkward thing would be trying to draw an effective pencil...

Weeks 14 and 15 - The Background and Beyond of Education

I don't know if I've mentioned this in my other blogs, but time seems to be travelling at an accelerated rate since this course began. It's close to 4 months since the course started and we're nearly at our first 'proper' break.

4 months. One-third of a year. Roughly 120 days. Madness!

These past weeks have seen me teach more, adapt my behaviour management strategies, increase my resources and knowledge of pedagogy, struggle to keep my cool and fairness, and even help those who have broken down into tears for one reason or another. Again, it's difficult to sum up two weeks in a few paragraphs, but this had been the fortnight of being stretched to my limits. Perhaps this is due to numerous observations? Perhaps the pressure of a sudden OFSTED visit caused panic and preparation leading to burning the candle at both ends? Or perhaps it's just that we're now 5 weeks into our placement. We have two weeks to go, the pressure is on to complete tasks and assessments, and the promise of two weeks off is too good to ignore!

Anyway, I wanted to focus briefly on the "background" to education; the often forgotten part of any teachers' life that students, parents, and even teachers ourselves, tend to omit from our responsibilities. There is much more to teaching than just standing in front of a group of eager/awake/unenthused pupils and imparting knowledge, juggling questions, managing behaviour and promoting progress. My mantra for this week, and what could possibly be for the rest of my career, is:

Everyone has obstacles. What gets us through is not by complaining about them or your circumstances, but by figuring out how to get around them using what you have.

Indulge me as I attempt a train of thought here...

A teacher must develop continuously. There is no point to standing still on any aspect, from subject specific information to government - or even worldwide - developments, such as OFSTED and the Pisa Tests. 

Thus, a teacher must be aware of changes and innovations. These may not be given out in a pack or leaflet, and despite the many meetings that occur after the school day is done, sometimes must be sought or distributed otherwise.

Thus, a teacher must share and be willing to cooperate. There is no use to being selfish or one-track-minded when it comes to development. If a resource, a measurement, a tip or a trick comes to mind, there will be far more benefit to distributing the knowledge than keeping it locked up in a safe that only one person can access.

Thus, a teacher must be a team player. It doesn't matter what part of the team you are more suited to, you must be self-sufficient at some times and a mentor, a guide and a rock to your teammates at other times, using a variety of methods, intelligences and positivity to be a reliable teammate.

Thus, a teacher must be innovative. How will an idea grow from a concept to a school-wide non-negociable? How do you bring your school/academy from a "Needs improvement" to an "Outstanding?"

Thus... no matter how much the seemingly endless meetings come around, no matter how many times you have to analyse your class progress, and no matter how many times the goalposts are moved, we as teachers must use the above (whether or not these also comes into the "teaching" aspect of our jobs) to ensure a well-oiled machine of education to benefit the pupils whom we develop and ourselves as educational professionals, from the newest trainee to the highest person in government.