I carried out a one week placement in a primary school which gave me great insight into the environment of a primary teacher. This definitely increased my confidence and has really inspired me and confirmed in my mind that this is what I want to do in life.

I spent my week observing from primary two, to primary five which allowed me to see the difference  in teaching and learning from the teachers and pupils. During this time I completed placement tasks, plus a peer observation sheet and a self observation sheet. I really enjoyed my experience due to the lovely staff and pupils and would of loved to have stayed a while longer.

Strength

During my time on placement I would say that my biggest strength was that I engaged confidently with pupils and staff. This helped develop trust in teaching and answering questions. This was mainly shown through my adequate volume, the use of my pitch and tone and also helping without being asked.

Area of most progress

Throughout my placement I worked on my eye-contact. Before my placement I found it awkward to look at people in the eye when speaking to them. However throughout my placement I knew this was something I had to work on. I used eye-contact when speaking to a group to grab their attention. This showed the children that I had an interest in the teaching and that I wanted to help. This also helped me grow my confidence within the classroom.

Area requiring progress

Throughout my placement an area which requires more progress would be enunciating  words more clearly. Even though I spoke at an adequate level I think I need to work on how clear my instructions are. This is very important as this helps children understand the task at hand, this also helps the work to be done faster and also children feel more confident in their work when they do not feel confused. This is something I would love to work on and tackle.

Action Plan

My action plan is to pace my spoken communication and not speak too quickly which will help children understand more. I usually speak faster when I am nervous, so before a class or lesson I should breath – to transport more oxygen to my brain – which will help relax my train of thought and also drink some water so I can speak more fluently. I believe these action plans will really make a positive impact on my communication.