After having completed a one-week placement in a primary school, observing and interacting with staff and pupils I have acknowledged and learned many new aspects about the teaching world.
I completed my one-week BA1 placement in a small, underprivileged school, where it held 110 pupils and around 10-12 teaching staff. All classes at consist of composite classes and I was lucky enough to be placed in the primary 1 and 2 class. The class consisted of four primary 2 boys as well as fifteen primary ones. By being placed in this class for the week I was able to interact fully with the class teacher and the pupils. During my time at placement I engaged well with the pupils by taking small groups of pupils to complete several literacy and mathematics tasks. At one point in my placement I was allowed to prepare an art lesson for the full class that would tie in with the celebration of ‘Guy Fawkes night’ I used paint, marbles and black paper for the pupils to create a firework display picture that the teacher then made a display wall with. I felt a sense of achievement as this was the first teacher to pupil lesson I had ever done with no guidance or support from fellow members of staff. I used this lesson to self observe my verbal and non-verbal communication which has allowed me to view my strengths and weaknesses to develop in time for my next placement.
Strength
After analysing my self-observation checklist, and my peer observation checklist it highlighted in both that my strongest aspect of communication is being able to give the pupils a clear understanding of how to carry out tasks. I managed to do this by having a good pace and adequate volume when delivering instructions to pupils; I used appropriate language and used repetition to ensure that the pupils had a clear understanding of the task they needed to carry out. For example when carrying out a mathematics task with four primary two boys I was able to maintain eye contact with the pupils and regularly asked questions about the task to keep them engaged through the explanation. Furthermore, when a mistake was made I did not raise my voice or get angry with the pupil I simply explained to the pupil in an appropriate tone what he did wrong and how he could fix it for himself to make the pupil feel more relaxed and confident. I then ensured he could do the task by getting him to do a couple more sums.
Area of Development
I also noticed many areas of developments throughout my time at Dalmellington primary. One of my main areas of development would be to ensure I use appropriate body language at the appropriate times and avoid sitting next to pupils with my arm closed. For example, again when working with the primary two’s carrying out a mathematics tasks I tend to sit next to the pupils with my arms folded when explaining the task. When the pupils began the task I made my way round the group helping everyone however when I helped one pupil and had my attention away from the rest they seemed to become very unfocused quickly. I found that they wouldn’t complete the task when I had my back turned as they started carrying on and talking.
Action Plan
Before starting my lesson I should prepare a stance that I can go back to when teaching the lesson to pupils this will show that I am more confident and open and the pupils will take me more serious as I don’t look as laid back by doing this. I should practice using body language when teaching as this will keep pupils focused and they will be less likely to get distracted when I am just talking. Overall when dealing with a small group when a pupil asks me a question I should lower myself to their level and make sure all the pupils can see me and ask the pupils if anyone else is struggling with this particular aspect. This allows me to keep all the pupils engaged in conversation instead of them becoming unfocused when I turn my back to discuss a question with just one pupil. In conclusion this will allow me to complete a lesson that will run smoothly throughout, after all practice makes perfect.
