During my recent placement, I spent one week with a Primary 4 class and the second with a composite Primary 5/4 class. I thoroughly enjoyed my time working with this age group although I did have a few challenges it was very rewarding to see the children achieve and improve on their learning.
Strength
A strength I felt I portrayed within my placement would be maintaining eye contact with both the pupils and the staff as well as displaying positive body language. I felt that this is an important strength to have as when working one on one or in a small group of children who needed extra support it was beneficial for them to see that I was fully listening and was interested in what they had to say. Within and outwith the classroom environment I would display good body language as I would bend down to the children’s level which ensured they could see I was giving them my full attention and was not seen as standing over them which can come across as intimidating for some pupils.
Development Weakness
One area I feel I need to develop on would be the language I use when communicating with the pupils. During my placement I noticed myself saying words such as “like” or “um” a lot to fill silent gaps. For example when I was working with some of the pupils in the class, one child asked me for a suggestion of what she could write in her poem however I responded with “um” before giving an answer. I would try and improve this by asking the pupil what she/he thought and encourage them to think on their own which would therefore allow me some time to think of an answer if they were still stuck.
Action Plan
When I begin my next placement I will try to keep up my good eye contact and body language as well as trying to improve my weaknesses. I plan on doing this by filling the silence with a question which would give me more time. This would be better for the children to hear as I would not be saying “like” and “um” as much.
