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.
