On Thursday the 25th of January, we took part in a science lesson in which we all designed an experiment and presented to our peers. This session was to allow us to develop a science lesson for going on placement and I feel it was very beneficial to my practical skills for a lesson within a classroom.

The task enabled me to really engage with the CfE as I had to find relevant outcomes for my lesson, which was based around timing the speed of different masses dissolving in water. This experiment allowed for relevant science for children, learning about surface areas, but also incorporated skills such as measuring, timing, and ‘POE’- predicting, observing and evaluating. These skills are transferable across the curriculum and the lesson also included some maths, recording the times, which also encouraged interdisciplinary learning.

I really enjoyed this task and enjoyed taking part in my peer’s lessons too. It was interesting seeing the variety of the lessons and experiments and the session let us work as a team to develop a suitable lesson for teaching on placement.

Semester One was an eye-opener for introducing me to work at university level. At the start of the semester, I would fall into a pattern of thinking I did not really have a lot to do and thought I had more free time on my hands than I did. I think this is due to the independency you get in University and the self-sufficient nature of managing a workload. Coming straight from school, it took me a while to get into the habit of managing everything so independently, work wise and living in halls for the first time. The experience of moving away from home has been great as it has allowed me to become more mature and confident in my abilities to manage tasks by myself.

As the semester progressed, I realised the importance of managing my time to allow for reading and completing tasks prior to a lecture. Unlike the start of the semester, I would not leave my work and tasks until last minute and manage my time better. Instead of one critical moment, I think it took a series of moments, such as leaving things to the last minute, for me to realise what to work on and reflect upon managing my time.  I can now build upon this and know how to be self-sufficient when tackling my workload.