Monthly Archives: March 2017

We’re half way there! (Weekly Reflection 3)

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Happy Friday! It’s pretty scary to think that I have just finished my third week with Tracy Locke for my Learning from Life placement. I continually say it but I am so happy I chose to undertake my placement here and in an industry which three weeks ago I was completely clueless on.

This week has been quieter in comparison to the other two, but that does not mean I have not learnt anything new. This week has been beneficial as I have worked with more new people, one of which is not on the Pizza Hut team (Mary). My previous post contains information on the work I did and Mary’s job in the company. This was beneficial for me as it allowed me to see that the work done by Mary was very different to any on the PH team, but it allowed me to understand that someone saying they work in “marketing and advertising” is like an umbrella term as there are so many different types of job opportunities.

Additionally, I have finished putting together my presentation about Scotland and showed it to Lauren and Stephen (The two people in charge of the PH team) who belive it is ready to show to the people at Tracy Locke. They really enjoyed the work I had put together and thought it was very informative.

This week has allowed me to develop my computing skills which I had previously rated at a 2. The work I have done for Mary required a lot of internet searching and developing documents on Microsoft Word which can now be presented to her team. This work has definitely improved my confidence in computing and digital skills and I believe that the work I have done for her has been beneficial.

This week has allowed me to look a lot into two of the SPRs. The first one being integrity. Both teachers and student teachers should “demonstrate honesty, courage and wisdom”. This week I have gone out of my way to work with new people in another area of the advertising and marketing industry that is even newer to me than the work I have been doing with Pizza Hut which I feel demonstrates courage. Not many people would choose to do this type of placement and this work if it was not something they knew much about it. I have previously highlighted my self confidence and I feel that this work with even more new people has developed it greatly and shown my courage and wisdom.

The other one being professional commitment. Although this week has been quite quiet I have still manged to engage with many parts of professional practice. I have continued t o act in a professional manner at all times through my language and dress code. Additionally, I have been committed to lifelong enquiry and professional development through, again, choosing to work in a different area of advertising to continue to learn so many new skills and . I have continued to go out of my way to ask questions which allow me to learn something new everyday which is making it clear why this placement has been so beneficial so far.

Next week is going to be very busy with travel which I am so excited about. I am going to be going to Wilton, CT, with Mary to visit the TL office there and meet some of the clients that she works with on Tuesday. After this I am going to New York (!!!!!) to meet Stephen Miller from our office in Dallas to go to the NYC office to meet with the team who advertise for Heineken and Budweiser and, of course, see the sights of the city.

 

 

 

 

Being a Shopping Activator

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I’ve been doing some work for Mary Kotyuk for the past couple of days. Her role in Tracy Locke is the Group Strategy Director who looks into “Shopper Activation”. 

This area of the company looks into a variety of different things from “behind the scenes” such for company’s and actually going into the store and reviewing how products are advertised when people are walking around the shop. This is called a Store Walk where someone will take photos of specific displays and aisles and report back to the team they’re working on and talk about what is good and what can be improved. This work also requires travel to the clients and other TL offices to allow each person to communicate their findings. 

Part of the work I have done for her over the past couple of days is look at a variety of companys’ strategic priorities and initiatives from the past year and what they have planned for this year. Additionally, I’ve looked at what type of competition they have with other stores looked at each individual SWOT analysis to help see where improvements can be made and what their strengths are. This required a lot of research about what the company sells/intends to sell and what their aims for the year are. It also meant deciding what information I found was the most relevant and necessary. Each page of the deck is for a specific company so it must be kept short and snappy in order for people here at Tracy Locke to know what they are looking for for each client. This sounds quite a simple task but it has taken a lot of time to ensure all the correct information is collated. 

I sat in on a meeting this morning with a variety of other people in the company, including Stephen Miller who is one of the managing partners in the company, who were speaking about how much money that should be spent on each client and their advertisements. While discussing this the “Golden Circle” was mentioned. It contains 3 sections:

What we do

How we do it

Why we do it

This is the motive followed by TL when making advertisements for the company when designing for clients and allows the process involved to be simple and allow a good outcome. If you’d like to read more about the Golden Circle here is a good link. It has been written by Simon Sinek who has also taken part in TED talks on the subject.

http://enviableworkplace.com/executive-summary-golden-circle-simon-sinek/

 

Although it may not sound like much, I have been pretty busy these past couple of days which has been good! From working with Mary I have been able to see how another role in the advertising world is done and this type of advertising requires a lot of work to be published.

 

 

 

 

Back to Work!

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This weekend I went down to Austin, TX with my Uncle Hugh and Auntie Mary to celebrate their friends’ son’s first birthday. Austin is 217 miles away and it took us 3 and a half hours to get there and a little longer to get back. I’d heard the saying “100 years is not long in Scotland and 100 miles is not far in America, but the other way round for the other country”. To Americans, this journey would be small. So, I am feeling pretty tired today after driving 434 miles in one day! However, the birthday party was lovely and it was great to see more of Texas (even if I am a bit sun burnt!)

But it’s back to the normal Monday here and I’m back at placement. Today I looked at menus with Ashley (Account Supervisor) and helped make her work a little easier by finding all the fonts used for each different type of menu that will be published in the coming weeks and putting them into an email for her future use. I hadn’t worked with Ashley before so this was a good opportunity to develop my own communication skills and allow me to see what her job entails. One of the SPRs that comes under professional commitment states that we should be “engaging with all aspects of professional practice and all members of our educational communities with enthusiasm, adaptability andconstructive criticality.” I feel that this is an SPR which relates closely to the work I have done today. Although it is not an educational community, I undertook the work in a professional manner with good enthusiasm that allowed me to complete the task in a productive way while working with someone new.

I have also done quite a bit of reading about advertising and more on how this affects children and young people which I will reflect on in a later post.

While I was in an Uber recently the driver noticed my accent and complimented it (Being in Dallas with this accent is great. So many people love it!) We were just talking about Scotland and he asked me the question, which I think is quite funny: “Was William Wallace real?” He then

went on to tell me that his favourite film is “Braveheart”. I told him that this film was actually quite historically inaccurate, but a good film nonetheless. This question then prompted me to ask if I could do a presentation about Scotland for the company which I have been working on a lot today. A lot of people are looking forward to this. I am extremely passionate and proud of where I’m from so this is a presentation I am very much looking forward to showing.

 
I’ve looked back at my audit of skills in section 1 of my folio and I’ve rated my self confidence at a 2. I do have confidence in myself but it is something that I want to build up on this placement. I believe by doing this presentation it will definitely improve my self confidence and allow people from other teams to get to know me a bit better. And most importantly, it will educate the people at Tracy Locke about a fantastic country and hopefully encourage them to come over and visit.

 

 

Week 2

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I cannot believe I have just finished my second week at Tracy Locke. It has gone by very quickly and I only have four weeks left with the company. This second week has again taught me a lot more and I have met more people who have made me feel very involved in the team.

This week has been very busy with a variety of deadlines with both the digital and the creative team and it has shown me how important planning and delivering is in another workplace. A lot of the time I have been proof reading menus that will be going out to restaurants over the next couple of weeks. I have also looked at emails from other pizza companies which allowed us to see how other companies choose to advertise their products and what kind of offers other places give out.

Social Justice:

This standard states that as teachers we should be: “Demonstrating a commitment to engaging learners in real world issues to enhance learning experiences and outcomes and to encourage learning our way to a better future.”

Right now, I am not working with learners. But, by doing my placement in  a very different workplace than a school I will be able to teach my pupils about real world issues that marketing and advertising faces and how it affects us too.


Integrity:

The SPRs state that a student teacher should: “Critically examine personal and professional attitudes and beliefs and challenge our own assumptions and professional practice.”

I believe that I am meeting this standard very well. I am challenging my own professional practice by undertaking this placement that has nothing to do with children. Working with children is almost my “comfort zone” when it comes to professional practice, so working in marketing and advertising is something completely different for me.

Trust and Respect:

The standards state that we should be: “Demonstrating a commitment to motivating and inspiring learners while also acknowledging their uniqueness, individuality and specific learning needs.”

This is a difficult standard to meet while being here on this placement as I am not working with learners. But, it is providing me with the skills that I will be able to teach about advertising that I will be able to teach with a more in depth knowledge. I think that advertising lessons will be allow children to show their own uniqueness through their own creativity.

Professional Commitment:

The standards state that we should be: “Committing to lifelong enquiry, learning and professional development as a core aspect of professionalism and collaborative practice.”

Through attending this placement and reflecting on my day to day tasks I believe that I am continually adding to my professional development. I am learning new things every day and I believe that this is an extremely important aspect in becoming a teacher.

I have had another successful week with Tracy Locke and I am looking forward to getting back to work on Monday.

Advertising is a Competition

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Yesterday I was shown how competitors affect how we (Tracy Locke) decide how to advertise products and goods. I spent my day looking at emails from two competitors from the year so far. This meant I looked at 51 emails in total. After this, I screenshot each email and put each offer onto a Keynote presentation. This then allows people who work for the company to see how other pizza chains advertise their products in a quick and easy way.

There were a variety of differences between the two companies emails. One competitor’s emails had more than one offer in an individual email which meant that the consumer had a choice when choosing that company’s pizza. Additionally, this company included a different way of ordering in each email such as phoning, downloading the company’s app or even just adding a link to browse the menu. This would, therefore, encourage consumers to download app or by browsing the menu it would hopefully encourage them to order from that company.

In comparison, the other competitor’s emails were very minimal. It contained only one offer, and very rarely included a side offer. However, over the three months this company sent more emails than the other competitor I looked at (this company sent 31 emails while the other only sent 27). So, there was a lack of offers but more emails which means that consumers would see these emails more often and it may, therefore, encourage them to order from this company more frequently.

This was an interesting task to undertake as it allowed me to see that emails I would normally just disregard have a huge impact on the companies, their advertising and their sales. It also allowed me to use my skills in ICT to make a presentation that will allow people here to see how competitors set out their emails, how frequently they’re sent and what offers are used frequently which will allow them to improve the emails for our clients.

 

How is Advertising Affecting Our Children?

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One of my main aims from this placement was to see how advertising affects us in our everyday lives and, more importantly, how this advertising affects school pupils. Since starting on the Pizza Hut team over a week ago I’ve been been shown a variety of ways many companies choose to advertise their goods and products and I can see very easily how the courage us to buy more than we planned.

There are small things such as being able to sing along to the jingle of an advert or  knowing the company’s tagline. But, advertising definitely leads to “Mum, can I get that?” to which my mum would normally reply “sure, if you have the money,” which I never normally did.

Advertising is not a new phenomenon. It is argued that advertising goes back as far as times in Ancient Rome to advertise things such as property to rent. This then moved forward to the medieval times where the way of something being advertised was done through a town crier shouting in city squares (American Psychological Society, 2017).

Kunkel (2001) argues that children under the age of eight are “cognitively and psychologically defenseless from advertising.” Research has found that the majority of US children have a television in their room. In addition to televisions, children have access to the internet when their parents are not supervising them. From this, there has been a huge increase in adverts directly aimed at children. It has been estimated that $12 billion is spent each year by companies to reach children (Wilcox, B et al, 2004) who are estimated to watch over 40,000 adverts each year (AAP News and Journals, 2007). This is a very important point to consider when looking at the effects of advertising as it really proves that adverts are surrounding children and it something that they cannot get away from. It proves that it will be subconsciously affecting their decisions and what they will ask (some might say nag..) their caregivers for. These statistics are from 2004 and we can only guess that this will have risen.

It has been argued that this kind of advertising often leads to child obesity (I find it ironic that I am writing about this aspect of advertising when the type of advertising I am working on is pizza based…). The food system in America is the second largest advertiser in the American economy who advertise through the use of television, radio, newspapers, magazines and billboards (Story and French, 2004). McNeal (1999) states that brands aim to have a preference with both children and their parents. So marketers are trying extremely hard to develop “brand relationships” with children when they are just toddlers (Zollo, 1999). Companies know that children of a young age have a large purchase influence and can successfully negotiate purchases through what advertisers call the “nag factor” or “pester power” (McNeal, 1999). From this, children will continue to ask, want and get foods that they see on television and around them in supermarkets and, therefore, this will contribute to childhood obesity if parents choose to “give in”.

Therefore, from doing some reading I have found that advertising really does influence and affect children today and has done in the past. I feel as though I have given quite a negative response to advertising in this sense. However, I do believe that advertising is needed and is something which allows companies to prosper and increase sales of their products which will positively impact peoples’ everyday lives.

 

References:

American Psychological Association (2017)  Report of the APA Task Force on Advertising and Children. Available at: http://www.apa.org/pubs/info/reports/advertising-children.aspx (Accessed: 21/3/17)

Kunkel D (2001) “Children and television advertising”  Singer DG, Singer JL, eds. Handbook of Children and the Media. 13(4) pp. 375–393

McNeal J (1999) The Kids Market: Myth and Realities. Ithaca: Paramount Market Publishing

Story and French (2004) Food Advertising and Marketing Directed at Children and Adolescents in the US. Available at: https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1479-5868-1-3 (Accessed: 21/3/17)

Wilcox, B et al (2004) Report of the APA Task Force on Advertising and Children. Washington DC: American Psychological Association

Zollo P (1999) Wise Up To Teens: Insight into Marketing and Advertising to Teenagers. 2nd edition. Ithaca: New Strategist Publications, Inc.

Reflecting on my first week…

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My first week at Tracy Locke has been an absolute whirlwind of new knowledge and meeting so many new people who have made me feel extremely welcome. This has made working in an unfamiliar setting a lot easier. I have taken part in so many things that have been extremely beneficial in contributing to my knowledge and understanding of what the world of marketing and advertising is really like.

I have learnt a lot about how companies choose to advertise their products through looking at assignment briefings and decks. From this, it allowed me to realise that advertising is everywhere around us. There were obvious thing like offers at till points and signs above the road (maybe more of an American thing than something we’d see at home). But companies try and reach you through digital aspects such as emails and texts very early in the day to influence your food decisions in the next few hours.

Additionally, this week has shown me how other workplaces use professionalism in their jobs. The dress code here is different to what we would normally wear in the classroom. Most workers wear denim jeans with a blouse/shirt but also a blazer to “smarten” up the look. Professionalism is also used during meetings and phone calls with clients and other colleagues through the use of language addressing the needs of the phone call straight away.

I believe I have met the SPR of integrity this week through the aspect of demonstrating honesty. As previously stated I did not have much knowledge of advertising and marketing and this week I have not been worried to admit this to people and ask questions. Everyone has been so nice anyway so I haven’t been worried when I’ve not known how to do something.

Furthermore, I believe I have addressed the trust and respect section well. The standard states that a teacher should act and behave in ways that develop a culture

of trust and respect. I believe that I have done this as I can tell I am a respected member of the Pizza Hut team. I feel as though this is recognised through little things
such as being invited to go and get lunch or coffee with people. This has also made me feel extremely welcome.

Also, I feel as though I am in the process of meeting the standard of professional commitment as I am committing myself to lifelong learning and adding to my own professional development through working in a different industry where I am choosing to learn new things everyday.

From everything I’ve learnt about advertising this week it has prompted me to look at the CfE Experiences and Outcomes document. Under the Health and Wellbeing (HWB) section there are two Es and Os in the primary section, one in the First level and one in the Second level, which relate to advertising under HWB. HWB 1-37a states: “I am discovering the different ways that advertising and the media can affect my choices”, while HWB 2-37a states: “I can understand how advertising and the media are used to influence consumers”. Progression from the First to Second level is highlighted through the words “discovering” to “understand”. This, therefore, allows me to differentiate lessons between stages and know how much depth to go into in my advertising lessons.

From being at Tracy Locke this past week I can very easily see how advertising is used to influence our everyday choices and I am looking forward to what the next few weeks entail to expand my knowledge of marketing and advertising.

Can We Bring Virtual Reality Into the Classroom?

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This was my view yesterday of downtown Dallas (featuring my reflection. Photography isn’t exactly my strong point). It’s so strange being in a city where almost every building is at least 30 floors up.

As stated in previous posts Tracy Locke has a huge variety of clients who always need things advertised for them but one of the main aspects of this advertising is design. 

Today, I was shown Virtual Reality (VR) headsets. I had heard of these before and I always just assumed that they were used for games and even rollercoasters. I’ve only ever used one at Alton Towers on the Galactica ride. You put on the headset and everything around you was like you were in space. So really, I just assumed VR headsets were for “fun”. But today I was shown that they are also used for creative purposes.

One of the client’s is an Hewlett-Packard (HP) computers. The company met with TL and discussed what they wanted the space to look like. From this, TL designed the store on computers. When it was complete the client would come back in and use the VR headset to look at it. This was the part that amazed me: whenever I moved my head it was as if i was in the room. They had designed a 360 degree setting and using a remote control I could walk myself around the store and continue to move my head to see everything around me. This, therefore, allowed the client to see what their flagship store would look like and could suggest any changes if needed.

Tracy Locke also run an initiative called TLC which stands for Tracy Locke in the Community. This is when staff members volunteer for a day in places that mean something to them. Mark was telling me that for this someone visited a children’s hospital where there was a helipad on the roof. The children would hear this but never be able to see it so people at TL took a variety of photos of the helicopter and helipad and put it on the VR headset. The children would then use the headset and it would allow them to feel as though they were on the roof and actually be able to see the helicopter.

If money was no issue: I think these would be a fantastic asset in the classroom. I think they would be great in topic work. In my MA1 placement our topic was the Caribbean. Obviously, we could not have a trip there (As much as we all would have loved to!) But I feel that the use of VR headsets would allow children to have a feel of what the islands looked like and allow them to have a better understanding of what they were learning about. Additionally, it could be used for topics like space and allow the children’s imagination to almost become reality.

However, after doing some research there are cheaper options. Google Cardboard is a good one. They come in at around $70 but do not have the same effect as the one I used yesterday.

Therefore, after being introduced to VR yesterday I am intrigued to learn more about it and when I am a teacher this is most definitely something I want to include in my lessons to allow the pupils’ imagination to become reality. 

 

 

 

 

Section 2

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Nature of organisation:

Marketing and advertising

Tracy Locke’s structure:

Owned by large media holding company called Omnicom. Omnicom is second largest company of its type in the world. TL itself has a traditional C-suite (CEO, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operations Officer, Chief Creative Officer, Strategy Officer and two managing partners) based leadership team structure (board). $100 million dollar company. TL has 4 offices in North America: Dallas, Chicago, New York City and Wilton (Connecticut) and numerous international offices including London, Singapore, Mumbai, Buenos Aires and Toronto. It has been fastest growing agency of its size and type for two successive years and the fastest in the world in 2016.

Details of stakeholders:

CEO, Hugh Boyle, CFO Sturt Campbell, COO Maria Zanghetti, CCO Michael Lovegrove, CSO Tyler Murray, Stephen Millar and Michael Bartlet (managing partners)

Chief roles:

As above, plus Teresa Barmmer Head of HR, Mark Van Duinem head of studio services, Jonothan Jeter Head of technology, Michelle Tisdale head of data and analytics.

Day Two: 28 Floors Up

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This morning I sat in on a a phone conference with members of the Franchisor/Equity team: Michael (account director), Pam (account supervisor) and Kim (account coordinator). The conference was with Cleveland Menus who print Pizza Hut’s counter menus and handheld menus. All staff members maintained a professional manner during the phone call. Afterwards, it was discussed what would be done during the day today to help meet the needs of Pizza Hut.

I was then shown a Campaign Request Form (CRF) for HutLovers (those who are signed up to PH’s mailing and SMS list). This really showed me the power of advertising. I found out that an email is sent at 8AM with two seperate subject lines. An email with subject line A is sent to 600,000 members and an email with subject line B is sent to another 600,000 members. At 12 o’clock it is reviewed which subject line had the most opened emails then the one with the most is sent to the remaining 5 million members to ensure the most sales are made that day.

Before this, all emails are checked by Quality Assurance (QA) at both Tracy Locke and Pizza Hut. This is done to be able to see how the email will appear on a variety of devices such as mobile phones, iPads, laptops and how different email providers (such as apple and office) will display the message.

 

I also helped Kayla with some of her work for

HutLovers. I looked through all the email promotions from the year so far and put each banner onto a KeyNote presentation which she will use for her future work.

I was given a tour of the 29th floor in the office from Mark Van Dinuen (director of studio services). This floor includes clients such as Samsung and Audi and have a variety of products which remain top secret between the client and Tracy Locke until the release day. I was shown how the pictures that are taken re edited in great depth and nothing will be published until it is perfect for the client to use to advertise their product(s). This highlighted the importance of staying professional both in and out of the office as the information about new products is almost “confidential”. I feel that being trustworthy is a key aspect in professionalism which is obviously something I must consider when I am in the classroom when it comes to things such as child protection.

I feel that so far I have gone into this placement with a positive attitude and mindset which has helped me enjoy my time here so much.

I am only 3 days into my placement and I can already see that I am learning more than I possibly thought I could at such a fast pace. I am looking forward to be able to apply all these new skills to my studies and work in the near future.

So Much Jargon!

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(Written on 13/3/17)

Placement officially started today, but because I arrived in Texas on Wednesday I was able to have a soft start kind of day on Friday. (Thursday was a recovery day but I still don’t think I’m over the jet lag yet!)

On Friday I got to meet everyone on the team I will be working with over the next six weeks. Everyone is so nice and made me feel very welcome. I have been given my own desk with my own laptop, phone and computer to be able to assist with current projects that the team are undertaking.

The team I am working with are advertising for Pizza Hut. On Friday I got to sit in on an “internal”. This is when the digital and creative team meet to discuss final designs before sending them to the client for them to use and distribute to the public.

I was shown the “assignment deck”. This booklet showed me a huge variety of ways that Pizza Hut choose to adervtise their products and specific briefs that Tracy Locke are to follow for the client’s needs.

Today I read over the Pizza Hut account team overview. This allowed me to gain an understanding in what the team are working towards. This morning everyone form the team met to go over what people would be doing throughout the week.

Also today I went to an IR (internal review), one of the many commonly used acronyms, with Kayla (assistant account executive) and the creative team who deals with emails and SMS messages on behalf of Pizza Hut for “Hut Lovers”. An IR happens a week after the email briefing where it is decided what will be included in the email to send out to Pizza Hut customers.

The one big thing I have noticed since coming here is the use of jargon. Because this is an industry I don’t know much about the language they use is all Greek to me. There are many words which are used daily and repeatedly when talking to colleagues and clients which I wouldn’t normally use. However, I am learning and it is definitely not as daunting as it previously was.

In addition to this, there are so many acronyms used between colleagues and Pizza Hut to make communication quicker and easier. However, I know that I will be able to learn the common ones quickly. I’m beginning to feel sorry for those who don’t work in education because we talk to them using our acronyms and just expect them to understand!

So far I am able to see how this placement will help me in my own professional development. I am having to maintain my professionalism as I am working with a number of important people each day. Additionally, I am already reflecting on what I have learnt and I am thinking of ways I can apply this knowledge to my own classroom and teach a variety of lessons for my future classes.

I have had a very good start here at Tracy Locke and I am very much looking forward to see what the next few weeks will teach me.

 

 

Section 1

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Audit of skills, knowledge and personal attributes

Rate yourself (1=Not very well developed; 3=very well developed)

Skills and Abilities 1 2 3
 Self Confidence  x
 Contributing to Discussions  x
 Generate New Ideas  x
 Computing Skills  x
 Build Social Networks  x
 Set Personal Goals  x
 Take Notes  x
 Team Work  x
 Take Risks  x
Recognition Reflection Action
Skills already developed How will I use these How do I know (evidence)**
 Contributing to Discussions  When having team meetings where advertising ideas will be discussed  When you feel confident enough about an idea and can put it forward within in the group.
 Generate New Ideas  For this placement new ideas are generated everyday in ways to draw in customers for the client we’re working for (e/g/ Pizza Hut or T Mobile)  When I think of a unique idea
Set Personal Goals  When I am working towards my presentation.  When I achieve the goal.
 Build Social Networks  When working with the team in and out of the office to ensure I am not working alone and contributing well to the team’s effort.  When I have the confidence knowing who is the best person to get in contact with.
 Team  Work  I will use the skills I gained on placement. I worked with those in my class (both pupils and teachers) and other members of staff. This will also be the case with Tracy Locke where each team will need to collaborate.

Knowledge:

As stated in my first post, marketing and advertising is not an industry I know a lot about, hence why I have chosen Tracy Locke so I can learn about the work and the professionalism in the workplace.

Personal Attributes:

I would describe myself as someone who is approachable, patient and friendly. I am extremely (maybe too) organised and punctual. I believe these are attributes that are key when becoming a teacher. However, these characteristics are things that can be transferred to any workplace. These will put be in good stead when arriving at Tracy Locke and prove myself as someone who will be a good asset to the team.

Integrity:

It is important to make a good connection between personal and professional attitudes to bring about change in practice. I believe that a positive personal attitude is vital in developing a positive professional attitude.  When going into my own class I believe that a positive outlook on the day will have a good impact on my professional attitudes and ensure everyday in the classroom is exciting for all of  my pupils. For this placement I feel I must go in each day with a positive outlook on what the outcome of the day will be as everyday is a new day. The team I will be working with are going to be very busy with deadlines and this will allow me to ensure that a positive personal and professional attitude should be maintained at all times to ensure that the task I am working on will be completed to the best standard it can be.

Professional Commitment 

I am undertaking this placement as this is an industry I would really like to know more about. I believe this contributes to my lifelong learning I will be taught new things everyday. I believe my choice of advertising will be a good choice as this is something that really does influence our children and the decisions they make on a daily basis. It appears in the HWB section of the Es and Os (HWB 1-37a and HWB 2-37a) so is something that I will have to teach to a number of pupils over the years. I also think it demonstrates my professionalism as I am going out of my comfort zone which is something I will have to do as a teacher when teaching subjects I am not as confident in, such as science.

During this placement I will demonstrate my professional responsibility for the development of the placement through the use of blog posts which will demonstrate what I’ve been learning while I am here and how my own professional attitudes have developed.

 

Reflection on experiences to date

Since starting university in September 2015 I have been given a variety of experiences that will help me in both my future career as a teacher and life outside of the classroom. These experiences are all going to come in handy for my Learning from Life placement.

My MA1 placement taught me so much more than I possibly thought it could have. it showed me how a classroom should be organised, how to manage behaviour and the importance of planning everything in a lesson.

My MA1 placement has also given me skills which I am able to use in more contexts than just the classroom. For example, this placement allowed me to enhance my skills in professionalism. I was working with a variety of different people everyday including teachers in the school, visiting professionals, pupils and parents. From this I had to develop a more professional language and be approachable at all times. This is a skill I will be able to apply to Learning from Life as I will be working with a variety of different people each day in a professional context.

In addition to this, my MA1 placement allowed me to have very good time keeping. I was always in school early and allowed myself to run lessons on time. This will benefit me in this placement as I will be able to work to time slots that I’m given and be able to complete the work in a professional manner.

Although not academic, since first year at university I have been in the Dundee University Scottish Nationalist Society and I am now a committee member. The experiences I’ve had within the society have allowed me to develop my social skills and from this I have been able to meet new people, help organise events and meet local MSPs and MPs. This has also improved my self confidence in speaking to new people.

During my time in high school I undertook a variety of work experience placements in primary schools from 4th to 6h year which proved to me that teaching was the career path I wanted to follow.

Identification of skills and knowledge to be developed

Self confidence: Self confidence is something that I do have, however, I would like it to be developed just a little bit more. I think that during this placement I will be able to develop this due to meeting a variety of new people everyday and travelling to different places. This will make me more comfortable and more willing to speak to more people in a confident and professional manner.

Computing Skills: I never chose to study any computing subject throughout my time at high school so feel as though I am not very skilled in this subject area. From undertaking this placement I will be using Microsoft Office and email every day and this will allow me to learn and develop skills in ICT.

Taking Risks: As one of my risk taking abilities I have chosen to do my placement abroad. This shows my eagerness for independence and my interest in new culture and a new way of living. This placement will help me with taking risks as I do not know a lot about marketing and advertising.

Identification of learning opportunities

Tracy Locke:

  • While with Tracy Locke this will teach me about the marketing and advertising industry. Throughout my time here I will be working with Lauren Cohen (Group Account Director at Tracy Locke). The main client she works with is Pizza Hut. Through working with Lauren this will give me the opportunity to travel and experience a client meeting where I will see why certain companies want their products advertised and marketed a certain way.
  • I will also get to see how marketing and advertising affects everyday life and how it influences people in wider society.
  • Additionally, I will be able to see professionalism in a different work place other than education. This will allow me to learn about how working in this kind of industry affects workers lives in comparison to teaching. (SPR regarding professional commitment states that as student teachers must:
  • Engaging with all aspects of professional practice and working collegiately with all members of our educational communities with enthusiasm, adaptability and constructive criticality.
  • Committing to lifelong enquiry, learning, professional development and leadership as core aspects of professionalism and collaborative practice.

Huron Valley Roman Catholic Elementary School:

  • This will be a fantastic opportunity to learn about and compare education systems and curriculums in America, Michigan, to CfE in Scotland.
  • This will give me the chance to continue my teaching practice where I will undertake lessons on marketing and advertising using the knowledge and skills I have gained on my previous part of the placement.

Marcus Graham Project:

  • This is going to be the most eye opening part of my Learning from Life placement. Through communication with Tracy Locke CEO this may seem a “culture shock”. This will give me to opportunity to learn about life in an American High School. I will also be able to compare the education there to my own secondary education.

The marketing and advertising industry is quite mono cultural so the aim of the project is to get teenagers from all background interested and involved in the industry.

 

Record of planning and organisation

For this placement I was lucky enough to know the CEO of Tracy Locke which allowed me to plan and organise this placement. The planning and organisation included Skype calls where we would discuss what I would be doing on placement and when I arrive in Dallas I will meet the team I will be working with who will direct me on what projects and tasks I will be taking part in.

The Beginning of Learning from Life

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As I write this post I am currently sitting in Edinburgh airport waiting for my first flight to Heathrow before connecting onto a flight to Dallas, Texas to undertake my Learning from Life Placement. I have chosen to work with Tracy Locke. They’re a marketing and advertising company whose head offices are located in Dallas. The reason I have chosen to undertake this placement is because I do not know much about this industry, but, I do know that it is something which influences every one of us everyday. This includes primary school children, and from this I will be able to teach my pupils about the importance  influence of advertising in our lives.

My initial feelings:

Right now, I am extremely nervous. This placement is going to be something that is completely out of my comfort zone as it is most definitely not an area of expertise! But that is the reason that I have chosen it. I love learning about new things.

However, I am excited. This is going to be the opportunity of a lifetime and without the encouragement of lecturers to go abroad I don’t think I would have done this.

My portfolio will be displayed as Blog Posts through Glow and you can follow my twitter for everyday updates! @carys_UoD

Thanks for reading and here’s hoping this placement will be something I’ll remember for the rest if my life.