Now that our first placement is looming and apprehension is creeping in more and more each day it is important that I am on the ball with all the areas within my control. After having some experience within a Primary School prior to coming to University in terms of volunteering one afternoon a week I have a very rough idea of how challenging it will be especially now that I will be in charge of group and whole class lessons.

 

Growing up one phrase that I always heard, regardless of my surroundings was ‘preparation is key’ and that could not be more true for placement. Planning every aspect in the hope to ensure the whole process runs smoothly. As much as every student wants it to run smoothly and be a success in some shape or form the main key of placement is to get an initial taste of professional life as a teacher.

 

Aside from the placement ROTR tasks, completing prescribed evaluations and being observed and finally assessed, one thing that is important to focus on right from the word go is personal and professional goals. This is something that I am thinking about now and something that I may have to re-evaluate once I meet my class and become aware of the different needs of every individual within the class. There might come the need to base one of my goals around an individual or group that I am responsible for, this will be something that I will have to monitor each week and use my initiative when out on practice.

 

It is important that I make my goals:

 

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Timely

 

 SMART goals for MA1 placement:

  (Behaviour) MANAGEMENT

 

• I want to make sure that I go in from day one as a teacher figure and not as someone who the children view as a friend or a ‘soft touch’. You hear tips from professionals in the profession saying “Don’t crack a smile for the first few months” as the pupils need to know that you are in charge and that you have complete control of the class. In my last smaller scale placement at a primary school the children only saw me for a couple of hours an afternoon and I got the sense that they viewed me as not very authoritative and would try and push the boundaries in terms of their behaviour.

 

I will make sure that I am familiar with the Behaviour Management Policy and the different procedures that the class teacher has in place regarding discipline and equally appraisal. This will ensure there is consistency and hopefully respect from the pupils.

 

Engage Learners from the start

• Regardless of what stage you have at school it is vital to engage the pupils from the offset. I know myself when I was at school you could almost gauge how your teacher was going to deliver a lesson or introduce a new topic, this became slightly tiresome and the ability to stay focused on what was being taught became tedious. I believe if you fail to capture pupils from the start of the lesson you are doing them an injustice regarding their development as learners as they will want to participate and contribute more if they are interested in what is in front of them.

 

I intend to use my initiative and make a conscious effort to think of creative ways to introduce any lesson that I will be responsible for. Whether this is thinking of new ways to deliver specific areas of the curriculum or getting the children involved as much as I can so that they can become independent learners.

 

Getting to know each individual

• It is a teachers’ responsibility to cater to every individual in their class whether that is something as simple as knowing their names to more extensive aspects such as knowing the best way they learn regarding their learning style. I found one of the most frustrating things growing up was when your teacher simply didn’t know you as a person.

 I want to make sure that I know the children’s’ names from the first few days so that it will make my teaching practices run more smoothly and ensures that I am engaging with a range of pupils when posing questions to the class as opposed to sticking with the same children repeatedly. I want to be aware of any additional needs or children that need extra support within my class so that I can cater to their needs or if I need to go away and read up on any extra resources so that I can fully benefit each and every individual I am responsible for.