Protected: Week 1 – 11.09.18 – Integrated Arts
Protected: 14th September 2018 – Sustainable Development (Trial Post)
Reflections on Placement
Placement was an inspiring experience and enhanced my understanding of how a classroom environment works daily. Before starting placement, I was really excited and looking forward to new experiences as I love being in the school setting. Having seen the school’s website before starting my placement, gave me an idea of what the school ethic would be like. The website was very informative and interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the children and the staff in the school.
I was based in a Primary 2 class with my peer for the two weeks of placement, this was beneficial as I got to know the teacher and the children really well. I have had previous experience in a Primary 1 class and found it very interesting seeing the next stage up.
I quickly got into the daily routine of the class. The class teacher was in school around 8.15am every morning to prepare for the day ahead. Every Monday morning the teachers had a meeting with the headteacher for 15 minutes before the school day started at 9am.
Throughout the placement I observed many numeracy lessons. The teacher used a variety of songs that children sung along to, this helped portray the lesson content. The teacher constructed the end of the numeracy lesson with activity based learning, there were directed tasks that children could carry out through play to consolidate learning. The directed tasks included; using fake money and adding it together to make up a certain sum of money; shoe laces that numbers could be threaded on to make a calculation or number pattern (odd/even); numeracy jigsaw; and laptops with ‘sumdog’ and ‘education city’. The children all participated in the directed tasks and were engrossed throughout the activities.
In Primary 2, I perceived numerous, assorted literacy lessons throughout the two weeks. At the start of every week children would get a new list of spelling words. The first week was ‘ff’ words and the second week was ‘ll’ words. As a class the children sound out the word phonetically and then say it 3 times fully – this assists the children’s understanding of how the word forms. The children copy 3 of the spelling words directed by the teacher in their homework jotter and writes them again at home – this is done Monday to Wednesday. The children have a spelling test every Friday and peer assess each other after the test is complete. Children were introduced to a dictionary for the first time, this was a very interesting lesson to observe and the children understood how the dictionary worked, they demonstrated this through tasks directed by the teacher.
The Primary 2 pupils had PE once a week. It was a fantastic opportunity to observe how another teacher dealt with the same class. The children loved being active and releasing energy.
The subject of French is covered orally in Primary 1 to Primary 3. Primary 2 have covered days of the week, and numbers 1 to 10. They have just started to learn the months of the year. The subject French was presented by using songs. The teacher regularly used ‘très bien’ and other French phrases throughout the French lesson and other lessons therefore carrying French across the curriculum.
Overall, the teacher of Primary 2 was very helpful and assisted myself and my partner in anything possible. I feel I supported the learning taking place in class to my best ability and demonstrated effective communication skills. My experience in the staffroom was lovely and interactive, the staff are all very welcoming and interested to hear about our course at UWS. I feel I adapted to the school and smooth running of it and became very comfortable with my surroundings after the first day. I have extremely enjoyed my placement at the school, and will take all my experiences and observations into my future practice. The primary school, staff and my partner have all been very reassuring and supportive. Having more experience in a Primary School has made me realise that I truly want to pursue a career as as Primary Teacher.
Situated Communication Study Task – Feedback
After watching the video with my partner Julia, we compared our notes which were closely aligned. We observed that the teacher spoke at a suitable volume and pace while using language appropriate to the age and stage of children in the group. We recorded areas of improvement, he struggled to get the class’ attention and lacked positive body language; this could be improved by standing up demonstrating more authority over the class. The teacher therefore has areas of improvement in the non-verbal communication category although he did maintain eye contact with pupils. We both realised how important it is to reflect on personal and peers teaching practice as you can improve from watching back on yourself.
I was surprised that in the video the teacher did not stand up, I felt this gave the class a more relaxed feel and this is possibly why he struggled to gain the children’s attention. My partner had the same notes about the body language of the teacher due to the lack of standing up therefore there was a lack of engagement with the class.
I did not find this study task difficult; I found the task very useful and interesting as the video was a practice to observe a fellow teacher in a classroom environment. I will take this experience of observation forward to placement which will assist personal reflection and peer observation.
I am clear about the difference between feedback and judgement. Feedback is the foundation of improving teaching skills and is more positive than negative. It consists of improvements and suggestions you can take on board to enhance your teaching. Judgement in my opinion is more critical and negative which can lead to the person receiving it having low self-esteem and possibly decreasing their confidence.
The suggestion that I would take from this task to my forthcoming placement would be to ensure that I take feedback constructively to progress my teaching practice and improve my skills.
I am looking forward to placement as I enjoy being in a classroom environment. I have had many positive experiences in schools which I have helped in and all the teachers are very appreciative of assistance. I am looking forward to observing a variety of various aspects of teaching and observing lessons in a wide range of classes.
Reference List:
TED Talks Education (2013) BILL GATES: Teachers need real feedback[Online] Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_teachers_need_real_feedback#t-70065
Behaviour2Learn (2011) Behaving With Cowley – Classroom Routines[Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v5UVdyu8Y4&feature=youtu.be
EDCHAT (2013) Relationships for Learning – Effective Feedback [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWBW_cbP86Q&feature=youtu.be
Supplementary Task – Experiences at UWS
My experience at UWS so far has been thoroughly enjoyable. The first few weeks have gone in so quickly; I can’t believe we will be starting week 4 on Monday. I feel privileged to have a place on the BA Honours Education. At first, I was apprehensive about starting as I was unsure of what to expect, and being one of the youngest students (17), I was uncertain of how I would fit in with student life.
Since starting the course, I have learned a great deal about myself and overcame my anxieties. The module Situated Communications has helped myself to come out of my comfort zone especially in the workshops; it has built my confidence considerably. In addition, I felt a little uncomfortable about the Mathematics for Understanding module as I never really liked Maths it was a subject I struggled with at school. But, with lots of challenging work and determination I managed to get a B in Higher Maths. After having a few weeks of Mathematics for Understanding lectures and tutorials, I feel more comfortable with Maths and I feel able to ask any questions if I do not understand a certain concept.
Overall, I feel I have settled in very well to the University of the West of Scotland and have met many wonderful and inspiring people.
BA1 – Situated Communication Independent Study/Reading Task
‘Finding out about others: the skill of questioning’ Hargie, O. (2011) Skilled Interpersonal Communication: Research, Theory and Practice. Chapter 5
The main aim of chapter 5 is to highlight the importance of questions within communication. Hargie also focuses on the types of questions and how they may be asked depending on a specific situation and what kind of response the questioner requires.
There are a few main themes within this chapter. Hargie highlights that questioning children enhances their learning process and answers their curiosity. “It is very important for the child’s development that parents take time to answer these questions.” (Cook, 2009) Some students did not want to answer questions in class as they were worried they would get a pessimistic response from their class peers – Tizard et al. (1983) conducted an experiment to prove this. I agree with this conclusion from Tizard et al. as I was hesitant as a pupil to ask a question in class in case it was a silly question or my peers thought I was not coping with the work.
Hargie compares several types of questioning with doctors and patients and explains how the questioner (doctor) has more control over the conversation. The respondent may feel under pressure to answer the question as the questioner may already know the answer. Brashers et al. (2002: 259) discovered that doctors ask the most questions and patients contribute with explanations. It was found that when patients did ask questions the doctor was wearisome and uncomfortable. I agree with this as some doctors in the working profession may feel intimidated by a patient asking questions. But, I also disagree as any personal experience I have had the doctor has always been willing to answer any of my questions with a sufficient explanation.
Hargie discussed the advantages and disadvantages of open and closed questions by comparing them. Closed questions usually have a correct response whereas open questions, the response is left open and the respondent is in more control of the conversation. This is a substantial claim as closed questions keep the respondent on the topic of the question while open questions can be answered in more detail and are more likely to veer from the topic. They are also more time consuming as the respondent’s answer tends to be longer.
Overall, by reading this chapter my knowledge of questioning has expanded and I now have further understanding of the importance of questions in everyday situations. In teaching practice, I will ensure I answer each child’s question carefully with a full explanation and ensure they understand before moving on.
Reference List
‘Finding out about others: the skill of questioning’ Hargie, O. (2011) Skilled Interpersonal Communication: Research, Theory and Practice. 5th ed. London: Routledge.
