Initial thoughts

If I’m being perfectly honest, I was not particularly anxious embarking on the BA1 placement. I was aware that our role would primarily be centered around working with small groups of children and not any actual teaching as such, and due to my prior experience as a Support for Learning Worker, I had a good idea of what that would entail. The 8 tasks we were to complete whilst there were new however, and I was concerned about managing my time effectively between working with the children and supporting them properly while also gathering the information I needed to complete the tasks.

Despite this, I felt that I went into placement ready to listen and observe, but also to participate, which to me seemed to be the most crucial aspect of this placement. I personally find that I learn and adapt quite well when I am put into a situation and expected to at least partially learn by doing.

Regarding the value of the placement experience for me, I think it all comes down to seeing concepts actualized, which forms the connection between something I had heard about in a lecture or tutorial, and applying them in practice. An example of this would be using relevance to teach mathematics, which I was able to observe and support in my time on placement through a lesson on co-ordinates, using a grid on a printed football pitch to allow children to play a game using co-ordinates. I found this to be extremely beneficial to me, as seeing practical examples of topics covered in lectures helped to solidify my understanding.

Placement

I found that staff and pupils were very welcoming, that I was well received in the classes I was working in and that I felt able to ask questions when I had them, and staff were willing to discuss them with me. I felt a little hesitant in the staff room initially and was quite quiet, but I was aware that engaging with staff was a crucial part of placement and did not want my nerves to get the better of me.

I pushed myself to talk and by Tuesday lunchtime, felt quite able to strike up a conversation with the members of staff around me. I did wonder at one point if I was making a nuisance of myself once I was past my hesitant stage as I was asking a lot of questions about the school, its curriculum and the surrounding educational community, but I am an inherently curious person, and the staff didn’t seem to mind. One of the teachers I worked with suggested that it just demonstrated that I was actually invested in my placement experience and keen to learn, so I intend to keep asking (relevant) questions.

Area of Strength

Through discussing my mentor observation, it was brought to my attention that an area of strength I demonstrated was in questioning children. I was working with a small group of children on a mind-mapping exercise, and one boy in particular seemed to be coming off task quite a bit, so I worked a little more closely with him to try and help him complete his task. My feedback from this was that I demonstrated a good use of different question types, and that I was not giving the child the answers, but rather questioning in such a way that he was encouraged to think a little harder about his answers.

It was also noted that I was able to rephrase the question in an appropriate manner when it became apparent that an initial question was not quite understood, which I think tied into being able to use appropriate language for the children you are working with.

Area of Most Progress

I believe the area I progressed in most was being able to push past my initial nervousness in the staff room. I know it is a normal aspect of entering a new environment, but I wanted to make the most out of my placement experience and to do that required me to make the effort even though I was nervous. I wanted staff to feel as though I was happy to be there and interested in what they do, and I think I successfully conveyed that in my short time in the school.

Area for Development

An area which was highlighted for me to develop based on my mentor observation was being able to ensure that I did not focus too much on one pupil in a group when there are others present. I accept that whilst working with a small group of children, one child did take most of my focus as I felt I had to keep coming back to him to ensure that he stayed on task and understood what he was being asked to do. At this point, I did find it quite difficult to ensure that I focused enough on each child, as there were members of the group who were staying on task and understood what they were to do.

Action Plan

To continue progressing, I intend to build on the factors highlighted above. For questioning, my mentor recommended planning questions when I am planning the lesson, as this will allow me to consider the appropriate language and level of questioning to use.

For engaging with staff, to progress in this I think I just need to feel confident going into placement, accept that I am in a new environment and just go for it, as there is really no point in sitting quietly when I could be participating fully in the school environment. I think I could miss out on valuable insight that way too.

To progress in my ability to keep non-participating students engaged, I have been advised to look into Assessment is for Learning (AIFL), which will allow me to ensure that I am not always going to be choosing the same pupils to answer questions and focusing less on other students. My initial understanding of AIFL is that it promotes moving from looking at how ‘intelligent’ children are, to a view where effort and participation are the main focus. It will be necessary for me to look into suggested strategies to exemplify this, and I intend to read further but at the moment, this is how I understand AIFL. I may make a further blog post once I have clarified this for myself.

I know now that I need to work on equally sharing out my attention as much as possible, and being able to identify when it is needed and when I can afford to step back a little.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I found my placement to be an incredibly valuable experience, and an enjoyable one at that. I enjoy the school environment, as hectic as it can be, and found that I had my belief confirmed that I had chosen the right career for myself. All that’s left to be done now is take the experiences and feedback from this placement and build on it to ensure that I keep progressing the way I mean to.