I took part in a whole school placement as part of the BA1 Situated Communication module. I was placed in a rather small school of about 180 pupils with around 9 teaching staff as well as 5 teaching assistants. During the course of my week I was able to observe a number of different lessons and the techniques in how they were carried out. Although this placement was meant to be whole school, I spent my full week in a primary three class with a great teacher who I have learned so much from. I was met with several different challenges regarding myself and the pupils during this placement. Due to me lacking in confidence I had to overcome a number of obstacles in terms of my communication skills but I was given nothing but praise from my teacher and the teaching staff on the way that I conducted myself, despite me being terrified to start. I was able to witness the lectures at UWS come into play, with active lessons/learning and numeracy and literacy throughout the curriculum being explored in every lesson.
Strength
I found that my main strength was how I interacted with the students, staff and parent helpers. I spend my whole week in primary three, where I witnessed a number of different lessons/teaching techniques, as well as accompanying the class on a trip to the local hospital. During class time, it was primarily just myself and the class teacher (my mentor for the week) as well as the children. I was lucky enough to be given so many opportunities to improve my communication skills with not only the children, but with professionals as well. My teacher allowed me to take small reading groups, where I felt my ability to ask relevant questions and give adequate thinking time was increased. On the hospital trip, it was the class teacher, myself and two parent helpers. We each had a group of six children that we were put in charge of. It was my duty to ensure that each of the pupils were paying attention to what was going on, that their behaviour was good and that they treated the staff with respect. I got good feedback on how I conducted myself during this experience, especially on how I interacted with not only my little group, but also the parent helpers and the nursing staff. Due to me remaining in the one class all week, I believe that I developed a bond with the class teacher and the students. Each of the pupils treated me with the respect they gave their teacher, asking me for help and allowing me to explore and develop my skills in communication, literacy and mathematics.
Area of most progress
I feel that I made the most progress in my non-verbal communication. I am well aware that I am not the most confident individual but upon taking part in the situated communication module I have found myself evaluating and analysing my body language. I received excellent feedback on my ability to hold eye contact with the children and the use of my facial expressions and hand gestures to enhance the children’s engagement. In terms of body language, I used the theory, fake it till you make it. If I were ever in doubt I would stand with my hands on my hips or cross my hands together with my feet apart. This allowed me to re-evaluate my emotions and calm down before proceeding with the activity. However, towards the end of the week I no longer had to do that and found myself relaxed in the classroom environment. I also noticed that I began mimicking the teachers body language. This must have been a sub-conscious thing as I looked up to the teacher so much.
Area requiring progress
In terms of feedback, I was never given any solid evidence or anything that I needed to work on but I am well aware that I need to vary my tone more when speaking. To begin with I didn’t vary tone and kept my voice at an upbeat pitch but never having any change. I feel this made me look unenthusiastic toward the class or lesson although I could not be more involved than I was. This will come down my confidence again and the way in which I always feel judged but again, I found that towards the end of the week I was really going for it in regards to tone, I was changing my voice regularly and witnessed that the children were a lot more willing to engage with me.
Action plan
The majority of my developments stem from my lack of confidence however I am aware that is something that I am going to need to overcome. To ensure my enthusiasm is recognised I need to work on my tone. Though there is nothing in paper that I can do to help improve my tone, I can start interacting with people more. Having and holding conversations is one of the best things I can do. I could also read an extract from something a couple of times a week and film myself whilst doing so. That way I will be able to observe and record my progress and maybe even highlight other problems that I didn’t know existed.
