Reflection on Placement

Strengths / areas with the most progress During my time on placement I noticed that when I talk to primary 1 the pitch within my voice is a lot higher compared to the pitch, I have with primary 7, I think this is due to how young the children are, it just comes naturally like … Continue reading Reflection on Placement →

Strengths / areas with the most progress
During my time on placement I noticed that when I talk to primary 1 the pitch within my voice is a lot higher compared to the pitch, I have with primary 7, I think this is due to how young the children are, it just comes naturally like it does with a baby. I also noticed having a higher pitched tone was more of an approachable voice for younger children as it doesn’t appear threatening which allowed them to feel more comfortable to answer with questions I was asking. I thing I tended to see a lot was that no matter what stage the child was at they still seemed unsure on certain aspects and had to ask the teacher to reassure them. This further links to whenever a child would ask me a question, I tended to reply back with a question which would allow them to figure out the answer without actually telling them it, this then was followed by another set of questions which allowed the child to expand on their original answer. I found this technique most effective as it allowed the children to do all the thinking without the answer being given to them, it also allowed the child to think beyond their first answer and really think about what they are doing but also will prevent the child continuing to ask more questions as you have already helped them answer them which could save time in the long run and allow it to be spent with other pupils struggling. When it comes to speaking the language used with older children is different compared to the language used with younger children. The language used with younger children isn’t as complex it is more broken down however the language with older children isn’t as they are able to understand without it needing to be broken down into sections. I noticed specially within maths and English that the language I use depending on the stage changes dramatically – for example, children in primary 1 don’t understand letters, A B C D, but rather letter sounds, a b c d, whereas the more you go up the school children are spelling with letters rather than sounds. Therefore, I found I had to change my language accordingly but also following the language that the teacher is using. Yet another thing I realised is that when speaking in front of a large group of people I find it difficult to give everyone eye contact however when I was talking to the children it tended to be in smaller groups which allowed me to give everyone eye contact which ensured all children felt included.
Area requiring progress
One area in which I feel I need to improve on is the volume of my voice as when I am speaking to the class I feel some may struggle to hear me especially when reading a book. When reading a book to the class I should quickly skim the book before telling it to the children or tell little parts at a time so that the children are able to hear the full story clearly and properly but also allows me to face the children and give eye contact but also get them involved by making facial expression. When it comes to speaking to the class I should practice speaking in a louder voice, projecting my voice so all are able to hear. Another area I feel I need to improve on is facing the class when speaking, I find it easier in groups however I feel in a bigger group it is harder to get all of the individuals attention hence I feel I need to improve on ways to keep the children engaged in what I am saying but also attention techniques which hand in hand will help make it easier when talking to the children in a big group and will allow me to feel more confident facing them when I’m talking as I know I have their attention.
Action plan
So that I am able to speak clearly and loudly for my prestation but also for my next placement when speaking to the children I aim on practising speaking at different levels to see which best suit. I will also look into different attention techniques and try some out to see which work best to allow me to have the attention of the class during any time not just only when I am speaking.

Reflections on Placement

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience on placement and it was brilliant to be back in the classroom. The school I was placed in was relatively small with just over 200 pupils. Everyone in the school, both staff and pupils, could not have been more welcoming. I worked in P3 and P7 classes and, although different, …

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I enjoyed interacting with and getting to know both pupils and staff. I attended two staff meetings throughout my time on placement and these, alongside general conversations with staff, gave me a different insight into school life. I also supported learning in classes and gave an exposition for a maths lesson regarding mental maths strategies in a P3 class. It was great to have a chance to assess my own communication skills and get the opinions of others, i.e. peers and teachers. Placement also gave me the opportunity to observe and apply the knowledge and techniques I had gained at university in the classroom.

One of the primary self-observations made during placement was in relation to communication behaviours. I have identified one primary strengths and one area of development.

Strength
One of my biggest communication strengths, noted by myself, my peer and teachers, was the use of my voice to showcase my enthusiasm. It is extremely important to engage pupils in lessons and one of the best tools that teachers have to achieve this is their voice. Very few pupils will engage with a lesson if the teacher appears disengaged and disinterested.

Area of Most Progress
I understand the importance of building confidence and showing children that they and their opinions are valid and valued. A large part of building this self-confidence is ensuring that children are included and have the opportunity to share their views.

During group/class discussions, there are often a few pupils who are very confident and who may dominate conversations. Previously, I have always been hesitant to prevent pupils from dominating discussions as I did not want them to feel that their opinions were not valued and/or discourage them from answering in the future. However, I also knew that it is important to draw non-participating pupils into conversations and activities. Teachers need to strike the balance between ensuring all pupils are included and making sure confident pupils can still voice their opinions, without dominating activities. This is something I was conscious of and improved upon during placement. This was noted by my peer during my observed lesson.

Area Requiring Progress
I make a conscious effort to use accurate spoken English when in school, avoiding the use of slang. However, I have a bad habit of using colloquialisms like ‘kinna’, ‘gonna’ and ‘wanna’. This is something I am now aware of and will make a conscious effort to improve upon in everyday conversations before next placement.

Action Plan
Thanks to my self-assessment, peer assessment and teachers’ assessment, I am aware of the areas I need to improve upon with regards to communication. This now means that I will be conscious of them when talking to people or presenting.

The way individuals communicate changes depending on the situation and the feelings individuals have about communicating will impact on how effect they are at it. For example, I would feel far more comfortable teaching a class full of children than I would presenting something at a staff meeting and thus, my communication skills would be more effective in the first context. I have noticed that most of my communication errors occur when I am nervous. Overcoming nerves is something that I am going to work on before my placement in BA2 in the hopes that this will help with my communication skills in general.

Overall, I adored my time on placement and cannot wait until I am back in the classroom again!

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Reflections on Placement

The last two weeks I attended my first school experience placement. This experience for me was thoroughly enjoyable, yet challenging in pushing me out of my “comfort zone”. One strength I found I developed over the course of the two weeks was getting to know each pupil in my class (P.2/3) individually e.g. I knew …

Continue reading “Reflections on Placement”

The last two weeks I attended my first school experience placement. This experience for me was thoroughly enjoyable, yet challenging in pushing me out of my “comfort zone”.

One strength I found I developed over the course of the two weeks was getting to know each pupil in my class (P.2/3) individually e.g. I knew every pupil by their name. I could change my register in how I spoke to the class and then how I spoke to the class teacher. When presenting ‘mini’ lessons to the class I ensured every pupil was involved, I used their names to ask questions when carrying out a “show me, tell me” lesson.

I feel I made most progress when taking smaller groups of students for reading and mathematics tasks. I enjoyed doing these tasks as I got see a variety of abilities within the class as a whole.

One development I have realised I need to work on is my teacher voice/presence. The teacher I was working with could get the class under control by using a simple ‘class call back’ e.g. the teacher would shout ‘STOP’ and the class would stop what they were doing and repeat back to her ‘COLLABORATE AND LISTEN’. Although, when I was in control of the class I found it difficult to get the attention of the whole class at once. I have took note of all the ‘class call backs’ my teacher used and hope to make use of them on my next school experience placement.

Placement Experience

During the last two weeks of school placement I have learned a lot about myself and the school enviroment. I was able to experience every level of the curriculum and allowed myself lots of time to reflect. This experience allowed me to gain new skills and experiences that will help me on my path to be coming the teacher that I want to be. I feel my confidence has grown in many ways from being able to talk infront of groups of children to being able to make conversation in the staff room. However, this experience allowed me to identify certain aspects of communication I need to work on. Overall, this experience has allowed me to reflect on all of my strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths

Over my time on placement I identified many strengths I have. One of my strengths was having good use of eye contact. From this I felt like I was able to ensure the pupils were listening and engaged in the conversation I was having with them. By engaging them I was able to make sure they were gaining the best quality of learning and that any “straglers” to the class were pulled right back in to the conversation. Another strength I identified was my use of body language. From day one in the school I made sure that my body languae showed that I was willing to learn and help further the education of the children. As I was so open this made it easy for children to come to me and ask me any questions they were stuck on. They saw me as a teacher figure when they’re own teacher was out the class.

Area of Most Progress

I personal felt like I most progressed on my confidence. Before going on placement I was very shy and always reluctent to answer questions during classes or offer my opinion. On placement I was able to communication and take the role as a leader in many group situations. I feel that this has helped me improve my confidence and I will no longer be as afraid to speak out infront of others.

Area Requiring Progress

One major area that I require progress in is making sure I use less filler words. Through out my placement i found myself stutter with my words and filling it in with “um” or “like”. I found in many cases this confused children and made it harder for them to understand my explanations. I also dicovered that I found it very difficult to stop certain children “taking over” group lessons. It would always be the same children leading and the same children sitting quietly. This would overall have an effect on the quieter childrens learning.

Action Plan

My action plan is to continue to work and focus on improving my weaknesses. I can continue to grow my confidence by practising speaking infront of large groups even if this is my friends or family. Also, I will try my best to make sure I am confident in what I am saying so I do not feel the need to add in filler words to support me. I aim to also use eye contact and good body language consistenly to ensure children that I get to teach are always engage in the lesson.

Reflections of BA1 Placement

On the 29th October, I began my first student teacher placement for two weeks! I worked with the primary 3 class on week 1 and for week 2 I worked in a composite class of primary 5/6, which allowed me to see a variety of teaching styles and methods. I had the opportunity of going on school trips during my placement and this experience was really interesting to see how both the pupils and teachers act outwith the classroom environment. Throughout both weeks, I worked closely with small groups of pupils who needed more support. This challenged me to think about my oral language to ensure that I used language that they understood, in order to engage the pupils and work effectively with them.

Strengths

Well-Spoken – good pace, clear voice, good pronunciation –
Eye Contact and Facial Expressions

When working with small groups, especially for the primary 3 class, I spoke clearly and at a slow pace to ensure that the pupils could understand everything that I was saying. The class teacher pointed out that I was a good role model by pronouncing all my words correctly, because many pupils have poor speech mainly due to the fact that they don’t get corrected at home, in most cases. I made good use of eye contact with children and in doing this I also received good eye contact back from the pupils which showed me they were listening. I was engaging positively with the children through my effective use of facial expressions to show my feelings about their effort when working in the groups.

Areas of Most Progress

Enthusiasm
Use of Language

During my two weeks on placement, I realised how important enthusiasm is in the school environment. Through discussion with class teachers they explained to me how much of teaching is acting and putting on a show in order to engage the pupils and provide a safe, positive environment for them (which they might not all get at home.) With the primary 3 class, the enthusiasm came quite natural to me and i found it much easier to convey to them than i did to the primary 6. At first, I was unsure how to show enthusiasm with the upper classes because I didn’t want to come across as patronising. Throughout my second week with the primary 5/6 class, I became more comfortable with showing enthusiasm to older pupils and noticed that the main way to do this was to involve them in discussion and show your interest in their thoughts. I also think I coped well at using the correct language for the different levels and stages I worked with. I was challenged to try and find more than one way to explain something so that another pupil could understand and this is something that came up quite often. The more experienced i had with this, the more comfortable I was which increased my confidence.

Area Requiring Progress

Projecting my voice and using a wider range of tones
to use more body language e.g) gestures

After discussing with the class teacher, we both agreed on these areas of development. The teacher explained that she found it quite hard to observe this because I was never addressing the whole class and only ever worked with small groups in a quite area so there was no need for me to use a louder voice. I admitted that I found it hard to know where I stood in the classroom, as I have had previous experience working in a school as a helper but this was my first time portraying the teacher role.

Action Plan

I think that my areas of development and confidence will improve with experience and also by receiving and responding to feedback from peers, when doing presentation work so I can see any progress I have made and those areas that I still need to work on! Overall, I really enjoyed my two week placement and I can’t wait for my next placement in BA2 to develop more skills and gain more experience.

Reflection on Placement

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2 weeks ago, I started placement in a school in Wishaw and it was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had to date. Working within a Primary 3/4 class was both exciting and challenging, however, I would not change this opportunity at all. This placement allowed me to pick up some new teaching strategies which I will use in my future career and also allowed me to work on my own communication skills. From taking a small reading group outside for some comprehension to teaching an Art lesson to the full class, my confidence has grown and I was able to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses which I will work on in the coming years of the course.

Strengths

A strength that I identified when I was on placement was my eye contact. This was a surprise to me as throughout high school and college, it was something I really struggled with however when in the classroom setting I ensured that I was giving eye contact to all individuals when I was talking and explaining specific information. I also was able to use my eye contact to engage individuals who would get distracted and pull them back into the class discussion or activity. I would also say a strength that was highlighted while on placement was my use of pitch and tone. I was able to easily adapt the pitch of my voice depending on the situation as well as my tone. When enthusiastic and promoting positive energy, I was able to make my pitch higher and my tone more optimistic. An example would be when I was rewarding a reader in my group who usually struggles to make it through paragraphs. He was able to complete the page and I showed the praise he deserved. I can also deepen the pitch and lower the tone when giving out verbal warnings as instructed by the class teacher. This allowed children to identify the mistakes that they had made and promoted that they should try harder.

Area of Most Progress

The area in which I would say I had the most progress while on placement was my confidence with speaking in front of a large group and also making decisions where I felt confident within my own abilities. As mentioned in the introduction, I was able to teach one afternoon for the curricular area of Expressive Arts. This allowed me to talk in front of a class of 25 pupils which is a skill I never thought I would be able to achieve quickly. I was able to talk with a good volume and also a good pace allowing children to understand all the information I was giving them. In terms of making decisions, I quickly realised that I would have to make my own decisions and try to stick with my judgement. This was an experience which allowed me to make many decisions such as when to note a concern, give out verbal warnings and also ensuring I was praising when all children had achieved something that they were individually capable of. I was also able to make decisions for my reading group and during my lesson. This was rewarding.

Area requiring progress

A skill I still need to master in my enunciation and not using words like ‘aye’, ‘like’ and ’em’. I quickly learned while in placement that I don’t always pronounce my ‘d’, ‘t’, ‘ing’ and ‘en’. This sometimes confused the children as they were used to hearing fully enunciated words within the classroom which enabled them to understand instructions. I also noticed my use of ‘like’ and ‘aye’ within the first few days of placement. This was mostly when explaining tasks to children or answering questions. I will be able to work on these skills within the next few years of the course.

Action Plan

My action plan for these communications skills are to continue working on my confidence as I know I will be different in front of a group of adults and different in front of a group of children. This comes through practice, so I am going to try speak up more in group situations. I also need to start pronouncing my letters and will practice this with daily conversations and when doing some presentations over the course. Finally, I will try to increase my vocabulary by reading more books and trying to get rid of terms such as ‘like’ and ’em’ when explaining answers or information. These are all achievable and I will try my best so that when I am next out on placement, I can provide the best practice.

2 Week Placement Experience

Throughout my 2 week placement I got the chance to visit four different classrooms to observe. Those were primary 1,3,5 and 6/7. From these classes I gathered a substantial amount of information when observing on communication from both the teachers … Continue reading →

From these experiences I managed to identify that in the verbal communication section one of my strengths is that I always have clear pronunciation of my words. This was recognised both by myself and my peer. For example in the primary 3 class many children asked me to spell out words to them, at these points i was able to break up the word to clearly pronounce the letter sounds and how those sounds blend to create the word. I know this was a strength as the children could successfully copy town my pronunciation of the word first time without needing to ask again.

On placement I also identified a weakness of mine within the non verbal section of communication such as eye contact. Throughout the period of placement my peer and teachers noticed that sometimes I struggle to maintain eye contact with the kids often when it’s one to one. I started to pick up on this myself as I noticed during the primary 6/7 maths task I looked away from a child to figure out the answer whilet still talking therefore the child didn’t really feel engaged as I wasn’t explaining to their faces I was speaking to the paper rather than the child themseleves. In order to improve this particular weakness of mines i am going to try my best to look at everyone in my group whilst doing both the practice oral assessment and the real oral assessment. I will practice in the mean time by presenting to friends and family without presenting my explanations to the ground or board I will try to engage the group with my eye contact.

overall, during placement I gathered lots of strengths and weakness I have within the communication section however these were the 2 that stood out to me most and that I also managed to pick out myself aswell as hearing it from peers and teachers.

My Experience!

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Placement for me was very enjoyable as I learnt so much over the two weeks that I was there. I was eager to give 100% into everything but was also pretty nervous at the thought of being seen as a student teacher. I was placed in the Primary 6/7 classroom for a week and then I spent a week in the Primary 1/2/3 classroom – both entirely different from one another. Since I had never been in a Primary 6/7 environment before I was very much out of my comfort zone on my first week but felt very welcomed and soon didn’t want to leave.

Strengths

My first strength was the way that I spoke to each individual in the class about their work. I was enthusiastic and commented differently depending on what each child had done, this resulted in pupils around them praising them also. I also gave useful feedback which encouraged the pupils to do their work. Another strength for me is that I bent down to the pupils eye level so it showed my interest when they were needing help with their work. I spoke clearly when discussing what they were doing and was patient when they didn’t understand.

Area of most progress

In my opinion my area that I developed the most was being able to confidently speak to staff and pupils around the school. As I said above I was nervous since I was going in as a student teacher and was worried that I wouldn’t do it right. However, after being welcomed the way I had, I was quickly able to get out of my worried mindset and felt like by the end of my two weeks my confidence grew vastly.

area requiring progress

During my two week placement I was becoming aware of what I had to work on. The use of some of my language for the lower classes sometimes confused them. I was able to get them to understand after realizing I may have rushed or was too complex.

action plan

In the future I hope to be aware of what I am going to say before explaining something and remembering what level of pupils I am talking to. I also hope to improve my confidence levels more and to trust my professional judgment when in a school. I am also going to work on not worrying about what will happen and to just embrace it.

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