At the beginning of my first year two week placement I arrived feeling very anxious and wasn’t sure what to expect. Although I have had previous volunteering experience within a primary school environment I felt this time was different as I would now be observing the classes for evaluation  while also being observed and reviewed myself. Despite feeling reserved and nervous  I found that as time progressed in the day I began to feel more confident in my abilities to assist the teacher and children with their work. I was very fortunate that the school had given me the opportunity to observe every classroom in the school over the course of two weeks. This gave me the chance to observe children of all ages in their working environment as well as getting the chance to witness each teachers teaching styles, giving me ideas into what styles I might adopt as a teacher myself.

One lesson I found particularly beneficial was a P6 math lesson I observed which focused on the introduction and reinforcement of time. I found the way the teacher introduced the concepts of 12hr and 24hr clocks extremely effective as the children responded very well and appeared to be confident in their understanding. This lesson was also helpful and educational for me as a student teacher as time is a concept I previously felt nervous and unsure of how to introduce to a class as I myself struggled to understand this at school. However after getting the chance to obverse this lesson and the teaching styles used throughout i now feel that I have a better understanding of what style of teaching and resources to use.

Throughout the course of my placement I feel I behaved in a professional and helpful manner. Where there were opportunities I made effort to show initiative and always display enthusiasm. Through the use of my self evaluation, peer observation and mentor observations I can now identify areas of development to work on so that I can progress in my practice and education. An example of suggested areas to improve were speaking at an appropriate and slower pace and my hesitation before answering questions. Overall I feel these areas can be improved through working on my confidence as if I feel confident in what I am saying to the class I wont feel the need to rush my sentences or be hesitant due to nerves.