Throughout my two week placement, I was given the opportunity to work in a school that is situated in a very deprived area. This gave me an insight into what it was like to teach in different areas, as it was very diverse in comparison to the last school placement I was involved in. I really enjoyed this experience as both the staff and pupils were both very welcoming of me to the school.
Whilst working in this school I was given the opportunity to observe teachers in practice when dealing with various behavioural incidents. All teachers had the knowledge and ability to effectively try and control very tense situations, and I was very intrigued by how they were able to do so. There were various strategies to help combat bad behaviour and calming children at the start of the day such as peer massaging and the reward systems such as the use of “dojos”. This all helped try and control the type of behaviour observed in the classroom.
I feel as if a strength I had whilst on placement was my ability to interact and engage with learners using the appropriate language and tone. For example, pupils and primary 1 had a more limited vocabulary and therefore had to be addressed using more basic language, in comparison to that of the primary 7 students.
Throughout this placement I felt a lot of progress in my self-confidence when leading and teaching small groups of children. I was very apprehensive before I started placement about talking in front of groups as I was unsure how they would respond, considering I was not their usual class teacher. Despite this, once I began to get used to this I became a lot more relaxed about leading groups, and it felt a very natural environment for me to work in.
As indicated in the report from the school, an area that I could possibly progress and become more involved with would be the planning and assessment of lessons to see how children’s next steps may be completed. By doing so, this would help my future practice when I am in a full-time teaching post.
After reflecting on my placement, I am very glad I got to work with other teachers to see their lessons in practice and also the children’s engagement with certain tasks. Overall this experience was very enjoyable and I am definitely looking forward to my next one.
