Category Archives: 3.1 Teaching & Learning

Reflection on Semester 1

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I have started to write this blog for Derek’s TDT several times, but have found it harder to reflect on my progress each time. But this was until my pre-visit day put everything into perspective.

I have found it easy over the duration of the first semester to reflect on my Working Together team’s progress, the impact of the suffragettes on woman’s rights and the effects of discrimination to this day- yet, commenting on my strengths and weaknesses as a trainee teacher, seemed much too difficult. However, when I visited school and began to put everything into practise that we have learned– the reflection came easy then; it was a constant thought from when I left the school, until my eyes burned from being on computer too long, completing my pre-visit tasks.

Therefore, one difficulty of semester one that I am to overcome is self-reflection, itself.

Trying to identify your strengths and weaknesses is something that a lot of people struggle with but I thought at university it would come effortlessly. But for me, admitting I wasn’t great at something or acknowledging that I didn’t understand a concept, it’s very difficult.

Perfectionist 101.

Throughout the first semester I was very much focused on doing all the reading that I could, perfecting my referencing and making connections with my peers and tutors. The thing that I clearly avoided was thinking about  the progress I’ve made- the growth. Just like we have been taught recently in regards to ensuring the children’s understanding, I have been so focused on the product at the end of the learning (results), I have not really focused on the process of achieving that goal.  It wasn’t until I was standing in my primary 7 classroom, discussing Maths with a pupil, seeing everything in action, that I realised how much I had learned over these past few months and it was evident of what I had done well and not so well.

It is now that I can appreciate the relationships I’ve made, the knowledge I’ve obtained- but most importantly- I acknowledge the experience.

Lesson Planning- A Work in Progress

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For our health and well being workshops, we were instructed to create three lessons based on one of the Experiences and Outcome’s for that area of the curriculum. When I left that workshop I had already started to think of some activities that I could do– which I know now is the wrong way to start planning a lesson. This week, there has been great emphasises on the attention we need to put on the learning itself, rather than what makes a fun activity.

I decided to try and make a series of lessons that all build on from each other to start looking at the way lessons flow and all interlink in some way. I selected two of E and O’s as I thought they would work together well, they were:

  • I understand that people at different life stages have differing nutritional needs and that some people may eat or avoid certain foods.
  • By applying my knowledge and understanding of current healthy eating advice I can contribute to a healthy eating plan.

After I began to think about the outcomes, I started to have more ideas about what I wanted the lessons to entail and I decided to create my lesson plans for primary 6. I wanted to use a lot of resources, discussions and to include an art activity, to  make the lessons as engaging as possible. Moreover, it would allow me to incorporate other areas of the curriculum such as ICT and Literacy.

I have decided to attach my lessons plans to the blog, instead of just describing them in order to record my learning. I am not very confident in my ability to create a lesson plan to an appropriate level, but I think it will be a great resource to look back on after placement, to really see my progress.

SEE ATTACHMENTS 

Healthy Eating Starter Lesson Example (HWB)

Food Pyramids example (HWB)

Diabetes exaample (HWB)

On reflection, I have tried not to alter my lessons plans once I had initially uploaded them as I do want to consider the progression and the development of each of the three attempts, but also compared to the plans I will complete before, during and after my first placements. Already I can see key areas that I will start to build on through readings and practical;

  • I did not factor in transition times between activities and disruptions that may occur
  • Differentiation
  • Initially, I started off developing the activities and assessments before actually stating what the Success Criteria was going to be

These issues revealed that some sections of my lessons lacked relevance and it was not very adaptable to the constantly changing conditions of the classroom or to the pupils themselves. Despite these areas that are in need of much improvement, this activity has made me feel that itty bitty bit more prepared for my first placement and I know I still have a lot more to learn in the next few weeks, that will inevitably enhance my practice and build on my confidence with planning.

 

Out with the Myths and in with the Maths!

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When I first got to our first Maths input, I was really looking forward to it as I haven’t attended a Maths class in four and a half years (AHHH). Tara started us off with drawing a scale and we had to mark the scale depending on how we felt about teaching Maths- 10 being extremely confident and 1 being far from it. I put myself into the middle of the scale; I liked Maths at school, but it definitely did not come naturally to me. I got a huge fright when I completed my NAT 5 prelim and I got a D. I was so disappointed! I kicked myself into gear, got a tutor and worked super hard, managing to bag myself a B.

The fear of failing deterred me from having a go at Higher Maths– which I completely regret now. The maths myths that we discussed really got me reflecting on my past experiences with Maths and I began to realise how much they had influenced me. I was someone who excelled at English and could imagine myself enforcing the “I’m an English person, not  a Maths person” myth. Although I don’t regret getting my tutor, I remember feeling that I had to get a tutor in order to pass.

Tara’s reassurance that you did not have to be utterly fantastic at Maths in order to teach it really assured me. After the first input, it is clear to me now that my enthusiasm to tackle Maths will actually be beneficial when I come to teach the subject on placement. I hope my eagerness to become confident in Maths, will be reflected in my teaching and will motivate the children  and impact their own learning and perspective on the subject.

This new perspective that I have now gained has me thinking about the relevance of maths while, simultaneously, combating the myth that Maths is not needed out with schools, other than just life-skills Maths. This is something I am considering to explore in my assignment, while  also looking at the interdisciplinary side of Maths that Tara has emphasised a lot to us.

Overall, I am grateful to have this new appreciation for Maths as it will certainly help my pre-placement jitters. I am excited about furthering my knowledge through the NOMA and other inputs, but also during the STEM module in second year; I think it is a great idea to reintroduce some of us to these subjects that we may have been closed-minded to due– again–  to the myths enforced on us.

Intertwining learning with my not-so-favourite activity

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The Teaching Across the Curriculum module has been the one I’ve been waiting for. A reason why becoming a primary school teacher was so intriguing to me in the beginning was due to the fact that they explore a wide range of subjects with their class. I have always wanted a job where I am always learning, too.

However, that was until I discovered the first subject area was dance– not my strong point.

On the dreaded day of the dance class, I walked timidly into the large, open space,  worrying my two left feet were going to cause a mass amount of embarrassment. But Eilidh’s bright and friendly greeting and a few friendly faces, began to chip away at the nervous feeling in my stomach. Firstly, Eilidh went over a powerpoint that had a lot of useful tools and ideas on how to use dance in a meaningful way, that intertwines other subjects but also used as a referencing point during other lessons to make learning easier. It was great to see how the sit-down-work lessons and the more active lessons can work together and positively impact a learners experience and their ability to understand.

The dancing part of the lesson was very simple, and even though a bit awkward at first, it was fun to imagine carrying out this sort of lesson with your own class. I’m glad to have taken part; my lack of rhythm had definitely resulted in a lack of real interest in what dance can do previously, so I excited to begin to think of more creative, engaging ways of delivering a lesson.

Throughout the lesson, I was constantly putting myself in the children’s shoes- the working together; the music; the space I deemed to be intimidating. What would they think ?  I believe the children would not share the same hesitation to dance, they would be itching to share their ideas with the freedom of imagination. Although I shied away from the more athletic aspects, I do believe in the arts. I want to incorporate this creativity as much as possible into my lessons, as the arts provide a different perspective on those generic sit-down lessons and allows children to begin to discover what sort of learners they are.