I am Sara Chalmers in the University of Dundee studying for a MA in Education.

I left school in 2010 having secured the conditions required to start my BA in Sport and Active Lifestyles Promotion at Glasgow Caledonian University. Shortly after starting my course, I realised that I wasn’t yet ready for the ‘university experience’ and felt that I was struggling to settle in. Luckily, I was able to transfer to my local college back home, and there I completed my HNC in Fitness, Health and Exercise.

Teaching had always been in the back of my mind as a career choice but it was extremely important to me that I gained some practical experience within a school setting before embarking on a degree at university. I thought this would be a good opportunity to combine working with traveling and gain further life experience. I managed to secure a job as a Teaching Assistant (TA) at the British School of Bahrain. It was my two years working there that confirmed that teaching the only career I wanted to pursue. As a TA, I was able to observe and support extremely talented individuals within the profession, and experience different teaching styles and the effects these had on learners.I was able to get involved in coaching extra-curricular activities and really get to know the students and how best they learned as individuals. During my second year, I decided it was the right time to apply to the University of Dundee to study education. I remember being so motivated and inspired by the course lecturers on the day of my interview and I was absolutely thrilled when I received an unconditional offer for the following academic year.

My primary goal is to become a successful student teacher at the University of Dundee. Over the next four years I want to take full advantage of the breadth of knowledge and experience that my tutors, lecturers and fellow students have to offer. I am excited to work alongside those doing Social Work and Community Learning and Development, and building a good inter-agency partnership with them as this will be vital in the future. I have identified that to become a ‘successful student’, I need to maintain my good organisational skills and a high level of self-discipline with regard to time management and punctuality. An area of my learning that I need to develop is my ability to be perceptive and not be afraid to challenge and explore in-depth the reasoning behind teaching techniques, theories and what evidence there is to support them. In order to achieve this, I will need to familiarise myself with the university library and do extensive reading and research. This in turn, will increase my subject knowledge and may even highlight an area within education that I may like to specialise in further down the line.

Looking ahead to my career after my time at Dundee University, my goal is to become a teacher who regularly sets targets. I want to constantly reflect on my teaching and identify areas that require further development so that I am continually striving to support my learners in the best possible way. I believe that I will be able to do this by attending regular professional development training courses, increasing my subject knowledge through research and reading and maintaining good professional relationships with all those involved in a child’s learning journey. I support the progressions currently happening within education and welcome the changes still to come. Children and young people are being encouraged to take ownership of their own learning. They are no longer consumers of education, they are co-producers, and it wouldn’t surprise me if children are the directors of their own education by the time I retire.

For me, there is no end goal for my teaching as it is a life-long learning experience. There will always be an area that I can develop, another book I can read or the latest tablet device to get to grips with. Most importantly, every year there will be a fresh set of faces bustling through my classroom door, all desperate to teach me something new, and I cannot wait.