Reflection on Placement

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 …

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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.

Reflections on Placement

I have just completed my first school experience placement and I cant believe that it is over already. Two weeks within my local hometown primary school absolutely flew in. Me and my placement partner were placed within the Primary 5 … Continue reading

I have just completed my first school experience placement and I cant believe that it is over already. Two weeks within my local hometown primary school absolutely flew in. Me and my placement partner were placed within the Primary 5 class for the duration of our two weeks with the exception of one morning where we were in a Primary 1 class in order for us to complete one of our placement tasks. I was pleased about this as it let us build connections with our class teacher and pupils and really understand where they are with their learning and allow us to see that progress. However it would have been good to get a scope of the whole school by visiting other teachers/classes however this year it was not meant to be. Overall I was really pleased with how my placement went. Each day seemed to fly in and it was 3 o’clock all of a sudden. Through observation, which this placement was based heavily upon, I have been able to define my strengths and areas for development in terms of communication and implementing this within the school setting.

An area of communication that I feel I excelled at and was highlighted to me through my peer observation was my verbal communication in particular my pitch and tone. I was able to change my pitch and tone as I needed dependant who I was interacting with. Within our Primary 1 class I was obviously interacting with small infants aged just four or five. This was a complete difference from working with my Primary 5’s who were mainly 8 however there was one child who was 11. And then again when talking and interacting with staff and assistants around the school, I didn’t talk to them like I would the Primary 1’s. Changing my tone and pitch was also crucial within group work and helping individuals. My peer feedback form highlights that when talking to the group I was more louder and open so that all members could clearly hear and understand me however when helping an individual child I went down to their level and spoke to them one-to-one so they could hear me but I also wasn’t disrupting the rest of the group or class. I feel this is a major strength within teaching and different ages and abilities need to be communicated to differently. It is by doing this that they will understand and eventually develop and grow.

An area that I feel requires progress in relation to my communication is my public speaking. When talking to an individual or small group, I feel confident in what I am doing however if I was to stand up in front of my peers or a whole class, I become nervous and anxious. This has always been a fear of mine from a young age and I have tried many times to overcome it, but to no prevail. I think because it was school children I was dealing with and I only ever had a maximum of six children, I felt fine as I was the “superior” in this situation so my nerves were calm. However I am extremely anxious about my upcoming university presentation as I need to stand in front of adults and talk about this exact fear. I think if I was to overcome this it would probably be one of my biggest achievement to date and it would make me such a better person and in the long run a more effective teacher within the classroom.

In order to overcome my fear of public speaking, I just need to do it. That is the worst thing about it that to overcome it I just need to keep doing it over and over again. Practise makes perfect in this case. By doing this confidence will grow and I will be a better and more effective communicator. Another strategy to overcome this is to basically know what I am talking about. If I know the material, then saying it should come natural and will make me a better presenter for example not reading off the screen or cue cards. Knowing the material off by heart then practising in front of a few people that I am comfortable around will help build confidence also.

My whole school experience was a joy. My class were just full of energy at all points throughout the day and were genuinely sad to see me and my partner leave. I have learned a lot about myself, my future career and the people I will be dealing with throughout this first year placement. I aim to continue to develop my strengths at the same time build upon my areas of development. It is by doing this that I will really become an effective and efficient communicator, not just within the classroom but in life.

Situated Communication Study Task – Feedback

After watching the video with my partner Julia, we compared our notes which were closely aligned. We observed that the teacher spoke at a suitable volume and pace while using language appropriate to the age and stage of children in the group. We recorded areas of improvement, he struggled to get the class’ attention and …

Continue reading “Situated Communication Study Task – Feedback”

After watching the video with my partner Julia, we compared our notes which were closely aligned. We observed that the teacher spoke at a suitable volume and pace while using language appropriate to the age and stage of children in the group. We recorded areas of improvement, he struggled to get the class’ attention and lacked positive body language; this could be improved by standing up demonstrating more authority over the class. The teacher therefore has areas of improvement in the non-verbal communication category although he did maintain eye contact with pupils. We both realised how important it is to reflect on personal and peers teaching practice as you can improve from watching back on yourself.

I was surprised that in the video the teacher did not stand up, I felt this gave the class a more relaxed feel and this is possibly why he struggled to gain the children’s attention. My partner had the same notes about the body language of the teacher due to the lack of standing up therefore there was a lack of engagement with the class.

I did not find this study task difficult; I found the task very useful and interesting as the video was a practice to observe a fellow teacher in a classroom environment. I will take this experience of observation forward to placement which will assist personal reflection and peer observation.

I am clear about the difference between feedback and judgement. Feedback is the foundation of improving teaching skills and is more positive than negative. It consists of improvements and suggestions you can take on board to enhance your teaching. Judgement in my opinion is more critical and negative which can lead to the person receiving it having low self-esteem and possibly decreasing their confidence.

The suggestion that I would take from this task to my forthcoming placement would be to ensure that I take feedback constructively to progress my teaching practice and improve my skills.

I am looking forward to placement as I enjoy being in a classroom environment. I have had many positive experiences in schools which I have helped in and all the teachers are very appreciative of assistance. I am looking forward to observing a variety of various aspects of teaching and observing lessons in a wide range of classes.

Reference List:

TED Talks Education (2013) BILL GATES: Teachers need real feedback[Online] Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_teachers_need_real_feedback#t-70065

Behaviour2Learn (2011) Behaving With Cowley – Classroom Routines[Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v5UVdyu8Y4&feature=youtu.be

EDCHAT (2013) Relationships for Learning – Effective Feedback [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWBW_cbP86Q&feature=youtu.be

BA1 – Situated Communication Independent Study/Reading Task

‘Finding out about others: the skill of questioning’ Hargie, O. (2011) Skilled Interpersonal Communication: Research, Theory and Practice. Chapter 5 The main aim of chapter 5 is to highlight the importance of questions within communication. Hargie also focuses on the types of questions and how they may be asked depending on a specific situation and …

Continue reading “BA1 – Situated Communication Independent Study/Reading Task”

‘Finding out about others: the skill of questioning’ Hargie, O. (2011) Skilled Interpersonal Communication: Research, Theory and Practice. Chapter 5

The main aim of chapter 5 is to highlight the importance of questions within communication. Hargie also focuses on the types of questions and how they may be asked depending on a specific situation and what kind of response the questioner requires.

There are a few main themes within this chapter. Hargie highlights that questioning children enhances their learning process and answers their curiosity. “It is very important for the child’s development that parents take time to answer these questions.” (Cook, 2009) Some students did not want to answer questions in class as they were worried they would get a pessimistic response from their class peers – Tizard et al. (1983) conducted an experiment to prove this. I agree with this conclusion from Tizard et al. as I was hesitant as a pupil to ask a question in class in case it was a silly question or my peers thought I was not coping with the work.

Hargie compares several types of questioning with doctors and patients and explains how the questioner (doctor) has more control over the conversation. The respondent may feel under pressure to answer the question as the questioner may already know the answer. Brashers et al. (2002: 259) discovered that doctors ask the most questions and patients contribute with explanations. It was found that when patients did ask questions the doctor was wearisome and uncomfortable. I agree with this as some doctors in the working profession may feel intimidated by a patient asking questions. But, I also disagree as any personal experience I have had the doctor has always been willing to answer any of my questions with a sufficient explanation.

Hargie discussed the advantages and disadvantages of open and closed questions by comparing them. Closed questions usually have a correct response whereas open questions, the response is left open and the respondent is in more control of the conversation. This is a substantial claim as closed questions keep the respondent  on the topic of the question while open questions can be answered in more detail and are more likely to veer from the topic. They are also more time consuming as the respondent’s answer tends to be longer.

Overall, by reading this chapter my knowledge of questioning has expanded and I now have further understanding of the importance of questions in everyday situations. In teaching practice, I will ensure I answer each child’s question carefully with a full explanation and ensure they understand before moving on.

Reference List
‘Finding out about others: the skill of questioning’ Hargie, O. (2011) Skilled Interpersonal Communication: Research, Theory and Practice. 5th ed. London: Routledge.

 

Reflections on Placement.

On the week beginning the 31st of October I went on my first of many weeks of placement within the BA Education course. I went to a small primary school minutes away from me and learned a lot whilst I was there. I really enjoyed my placement and am looking forward to the next one. … Continue reading “Reflections on Placement.”

On the week beginning the 31st of October I went on my first of many weeks of placement within the BA Education course. I went to a small primary school minutes away from me and learned a lot whilst I was there. I really enjoyed my placement and am looking forward to the next one.

Strengths

I realised that I was more confident at interacting with pupils and staff than I thought I would be. I consistently was able to communicate clearly and loudly enough for pupils to hear and understand what I was saying. In addition to this I also made eye contact with who I was communicating with and used positive body language all week. For example I was not sitting with my arms crossed. As I was in every class in the school throughout the week from nursery all the way to primary 7 I realised that I was able to adapt my language to suit the pupil that I was talking to with ease. The staff within the school were all very welcoming and encouraging which gave me more confidence to push myself outside my comfort zone when communicating and approaching the pupils and other members of staff.

Area of Most Progress

The area that I feel I progressed the most in was simply my confidence. At first I thought that children would rather interact with their own teacher who they are used to rather than me but as the week went on I realised that the pupils also valued my opinion and wanted my help as well. In addition to this I noticed at the beginning of the week that I was not really using hand gestures a lot which may have come across as showing that I was not as enthusiastic as I wanted to show. I worked on this throughout the week and by the Friday I felt as though this had significantly improved, and will continue to improve with the more practice that I get.

Areas Requiring Progress

During the week I had to complete two self evaluations. I found this challenging as it was hard to judge what I had done well and what I had not done well as I can not see myself communicating from an outsiders point of view. However the help of the peer evaluation and advice from teachers assured me I was on the right track with my self evaluation. Furthermore, I had a bad habit of asking pupils a question and not giving them enough time to think of an answer, instead giving them another question to help them answer the initial question. I have learned that it is important to allow children to think and give them time as they can not always come up with an answer straight away.

Action Plan

As my next placement is a long time away I want to work on my communication skills in my everyday life so that when the next placement comes around I am more than prepared to go feeling very confident in my communication skills. In order to do so I think my part-time job will come in very handy as it involves serving customers and also being out on the shop floor welcoming customers and interacting with them. I think this will massively increase my communication skills as I will be able to get a lot of practice with a huge range of people. In addition to this I will also get to practice my communication skills with the upcoming situated communication presentation assignment, which will test my skills in front of an audience, something which I do not have a lot of practice in. The previous points mentioned should help me to strive to be a more effective communicator in the future.

 

 

Reflections on Placement

    My placement was an incredibly positive experience. Being in an area I was unfamiliar with allowed me to meet many new teachers and pupils which allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and make the most of my school experience. Strength Throughout my placement I felt my language was appropriate for … Continue reading “Reflections on Placement”

 

 

My placement was an incredibly positive experience. Being in an area I was unfamiliar with allowed me to meet many new teachers and pupils which allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and make the most of my school experience.

Strength

Throughout my placement I felt my language was appropriate for the age of those I was speaking to. When speaking to younger pupils I would use more basic language and vary my tone of voice much more than I would when communicating with older pupils. In addition to this, when speaking to teachers my language would vary from the classroom to the staffroom or playground. For example, in the classroom calling the teacher by their surname and in the staffroom calling them by their first name.

Area of Most Progress

The area I feel I made most progress in was in my confidence when working with groups of children. In previous work experience I have been rather intimidated at the thought of taking small reading groups and helping a child when they are confused. Prior to my placement I felt I was in no position to help a pupil as I am not a qualified professional. However, I now realise that I do not need to have this mentality as any help, no matter how big or small, is benefiting the child. This is the mentality I will always have from now on as it is important to remember to always put the pupils first.

Area Requiring Progress

An area requiring progress is the speed at which I speak. Although I try to speak slowly I often find this difficult, particularly when nervous. I will make this an aim of mine in future placements to speak slower in order for the pupils to clearly understand what I am saying.

Action Plan 

I think that having more school experience will help me to develop the areas of communication I am weaker in, such as pace. I aim to be more mindful about the pace at which I am speaking and the audience I am speaking to. I also hope to step out of my comfort zone more often and develop areas of my communication.

Reflections on Placement

As part of the BA1 Situated Communication module I took part in a whole school placement. During placement I was able to observe a number of different lessons and the techniques how they were carried out. By observing all primary classes … Continue reading

As part of the BA1 Situated Communication module I took part in a whole school placement. During placement I was able to observe a number of different lessons and the techniques how they were carried out. By observing all primary classes … Continue reading

Reflection on Placement

I found that placement was very worthwhile and beneficial for myself. I found it very useful to see the different variations of methods that teachers use and how the theory of our lectures and workshops are put into practice and … Continue reading

I found that placement was very worthwhile and beneficial for myself. I found it very useful to see the different variations of methods that teachers use and how the theory of our lectures and workshops are put into practice and context.

I found that primary schools have changed a lot over the years as there is far more interactive learning an pupil involvement rather than copying and listening. It was great to see the way that children of different ages and abilities engaged with learning.

Overall, I enjoyed my placement, however I felt that one week was not enough to gain a lot of benefit from what we have been learning at university. I felt that this may have impacted on the ability to complete the eight placement tasks to a high standard as we had such a short time to gain and condense specific information relevant to the tasks. It was challenging as classes may not have been doing any lessons on what the literacy and mathematics tasks were referring to. It was also challenging, personally for me as teachers were asking me to work with groups within classes so it was difficult to observe a wider range of pupils.

I had a very positive experience as the school I was placed in made me feel extremely welcome and relaxed. I felt that the teachers wanted me there and so this boosted my confidence which impacted on my interaction with the children and staff. I also felt extremely comfortable asking questions in the school which was beneficial and useful on placement.

Strength –

I found that my main communication strength within the classroom was the way in engaged and interacted with children and teachers and the way that I was able to vary my vocabulary and different ways of engagement when speaking to different ages and different abilities of children. An example of this is when I was working with a reading group in P1 that were not as advanced with their phonic sounds and so I still included the action after saying the word that goes with the phonic in order to show them it physically written down in a word but did not need to with another group who were more advanced. I feel comfortable in engagement as I did previous work experience in a primary school. I also found that I took a bit of a back seat in my work experience and I was more of a peer to children rather than a teacher or authority figure. Evidence of this is that I was able to speak to children easily and confidently. I also found that children knew that I was a student teacher or an authority figure as they spoke to me respectfully and appropriately whilst still being able to talk about things outside of classwork. I feel that I have established the appropriate teacher-friend balance with children in the classroom setting.

Weakness –

I found that an area of development needing to be worked on is my tone and pitch. I found that teachers pointed out that I should vary my tone a bit more and be more dramatic when working with children to keep them more engaged and enthusiastic about their work. I also found that I need to avoid using ‘yip’ and ‘a’ instead of yes and I. I was not even aware that I overuse these errors in my language.

Area of most improvement-

The area I feel that I improved most upon was not using slang words when in the classroom. This was a huge challenge for me as I have been bought up using slang words my whole life. I also found that I was able to give more clear instructions to classes by avoiding using slang, especially in the infant classes. I slowed my pace down for the infants and seen a huge improvement of their interaction with me as they had a clearer understanding of what I was asking them to do.

Strategies-

I will form an actions plan to put in place from now onwards which will also help with my next placemen. As part of my action plan I will practice giving clear, paced instructions further and not use slang words to certain audiences and not as often in general. I will also practice varying my tone and dramatizing my actions in certain situations when working with children. I will also practice saying yes and I instead of ‘yip’ and ‘a’ when working with children. I could also ask my peers and teachers for advice of how to improve my weaknesses. Another way to improve my weaknesses is trying to imitate teachers tone of voice, expressions and reactions in certain situations.

 

Reflection on Placement

The school I visited for my 1st year week long placement was a small rural primary school with an incorporated nursery that had approximately two dozen pupils split into two classes; P1-3 and P4-7.  I worked alongside both teachers and a fellow student throughout the week, interacting with all the pupils of the school and … Continue reading Reflection on Placement

The school I visited for my 1st year week long placement was a small rural primary school with an incorporated nursery that had approximately two dozen pupils split into two classes; P1-3 and P4-7.  I worked alongside both teachers and a fellow student throughout the week, interacting with all the pupils of the school and of the nursery as well as interacting with the teachers in the classroom and staffroom.

Strengths

I would say that my main strength is that I am an effective communicator, I can effectively explain to children what their tasks are and what is expected of them throughout these tasks.  I can also successfully describe to a child the steps for getting to the correct answer of a question using creative and interactive methods.  For example, there was one child; let’s call her Jane.  Now jane was stuck on the following mental question 5 – ? = 0, she was struggling to mentally subtract to get to zero.  I came up with the idea to use concrete material (pencils) to physically show the calculation needed, the situation went as follows.

Jane – I’m stuck on this question (5 – ? = 0)

Myself – alright, well if I have 5 pencils (holding 5 pencils in my hand) but I don’t want any, how many do you have to take away from me so that I have no pencils.

Jane – I’m not sure

Myself – ok well you take them from me, physically take the pencils out my hand and count as you do so.

Jane – one (takes away 1 pencil), two (takes away another pencil), three (takes away another), four (takes away another), five (takes away the last pencil, looks up and smiles).  Five, the answers five.

Myself – well done that was good.

I used this process repeatedly when Jane became stuck on similar questions and also when other students in the class became confused as well.

 

Area of Most Progress

I would say that my confidence in working with the children, using behavioural management techniques and also interacting with the teachers on a professional level as I had never experienced anything like that before progressed as the week went on.  At first I struggled with interacting with the children as I didn’t know them, as in the school I previously did work experience in I knew 90% of the students which made connecting with them particularly easy, but in this case I had no prior knowledge of any of the children which made me less confident in interacting with them.  This lack of confidence did however decrease over the course of the placement as I spent more and more time with the children every day and built up trust.  I also became more confident in using behavioural management techniques as the week progressed as in the beginning I was reluctant and unsure whether to use them as I am only a student and I am not yet qualified so don’t have the authority to punish bad behaviour.  I was however reassured by the teacher that if I saw any bad behaviour I was to deal with it in a manner I saw fit, this usually consisted of me having a quiet word with the misbehaving pupil.  Interacting with the teachers on a professional level was quite difficult to get my head around at first because I had never experienced anything like it before, but after a few days I realised that I was viewed as an equal to the teachers and was trusted with personal and sensitive information about the students and was also asked for my opinion on situations and how to handle them.

 

Area Requiring Progress

I would say that the area that needs the most improvement is my ability to self-reflect on my experiences.  At the moment I can reflect and find all the negatives of what do but I really struggle with identifying the positive aspects, this is probably due to a lack of self-confidence and self-worth.  This lack of confidence also affects my ability to present in front of my peers.  Children that are younger than me and my elders don’t make me nervous at all but when it comes to presenting to a group of people my own age that I don’t know or aren’t comfortable around I get really nervous and sometimes I’m even ill from the stress.  So this is one area that I would really like to improve on as it will be relevant to my future career and experiences.

 

Action Plan

My plan of action is to film myself presenting to groups and watch it back and note down what I did well and what I didn’t do so well, I’ll also do this when I’m in everyday situations such as paying for shopping.  This practise in everyday and formal settings will give me the chance to review everything I do right and wrong and should hopefully help me get better at giving myself positive feedback.  For the confidence side of presenting I’m going to practise talking in front of a mirror and also build myself up to presenting to groups I am uncomfortable rather than jumping in at the deep in.

Placement Reflection

I found it extremely difficult during placement to find my place in the classroom. The last thing I wanted to do was to step on the teachers toes. I wasn’t keen on disciplining pupils in her class, as it felt like I would be undermining her authority. Eventually – with the teachers help – I quickly found … Continue reading Placement Reflection

I found it extremely difficult during placement to find my place in the classroom. The last thing I wanted to do was to step on the teachers toes. I wasn’t keen on disciplining pupils in her class, as it felt like I would be undermining her authority.

Eventually – with the teachers help – I quickly found my voice in the classroom and found myself at ease. One of the main things I have come to realise is that teaching is most definitely my comfort zone.

One of my communication strengths is the ability to connect with the pupils and to convey my instructions effectively. Whilst on placement I was often asked to take reading groups, and one day I was asked to run a learning activity about addresses on envelopes. It was my responsibility to engage the pupils and to assist them in learning how to write an address. In order to do this, I had to make sure that my instructions and my explanations were crystal clear. During this activity, my mentor assessed me against the mentor evaluation checklist. She was very impressed and highlighted that my instructions were good.

Also highlighted in the evaluation is my good use of questioning the children, but the teacher highlighted that this could be developed further by providing more in depth questions to the children and really making them think. I feel I can develop in this area by questioning myself all the time – really understanding why things happen. Also with some practice; I’m new to teaching so of course I’m not going to be ‘the best teacher ever’.

During my time on placement, I learned more than I can say I imagined to.  I was given so many ideas about how to engage learners in mathematics, literacy and how to engage them in the world around them. One of the main ideas that I was intrigued in was the use of video to engage in number songs and literacy rhymes.

Overall I would have to say that placement was an amazing and overwhelming experience. I am now telling myself more than I ever did – “This is the job for me.”

Sean

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