Working at the College Settlement Outdoor School for my Learning from Life placement has allowed me to develop an array of knowledge and skills, to grow as a person and has provided me with learning opportunities which I can take forward with me into the future (SPR 1.3 and 1.4).

Prior to this placement, science was an area of the curriculum which I was not confident in teaching and had little experience of (SPR 2.1). As I have had the opportunity to observe and teach a variety of environmental education lessons however, I believe that I have significantly improved my science knowledge. Some of the lessons that I have had the opportunity to engage with include; animal adaptation, wilderness survival, sustainable agriculture and organic farming, archaeology and pond studies (SPR 2.1). Furthermore, engaging with these lessons and working with animals and plants daily, has also made me feel more confident in teaching science or environmental education lessons. As previously mentioned, I have also had the opportunity to teach some lessons. This is something that I never thought I would be comfortable in, especially so soon after observing them. Therefore, I can successfully say that I now more confident in teaching science in the future, due to this experience (SR 3.4).

One challenge which I have experienced throughout my placement, is my confidence (SPR 1.2). Due to my lack of confidence, I felt anxious and nervous when it came to leading activities. I would therefore stand back and allow other people to lead activities, when I was more than capable of doing so. Moreover, I felt I had a lot to live up to as the staff at the Outdoor School were extremely good at their job. In time, however, I realised that most of the staff have been doing this job years and have lots of experience in this field, whereas I had only been here a matter of weeks. I therefore decided that I would never learn or grow if I never stepped out of my comfort zone (SPR 1.2).

Contrary to this however, once I had stepped out of my comfort zone and began taking more risks, I could already feel my confidence levels increasing (SPR 1.3). Becoming more involved and taking on more responsibility was not only more enjoyable for me, but also helped me develop and grow as a person (SPR 1.3). Therefore, I ended up teaching lessons, leading more activities and expanding my skill set and knowledge (SPR 1.4). This ultimately has had an impact on my confidence levels which has in turn allowed me to develop other skills such as leadership and communication.

This placement has provided me with multiple learning opportunities which I can take forward with me into my future profession (SPR 1.4). Working with the staff at the Outdoor School as well as the schools who visit, has allowed me to experience a variety of teaching styles and behaviour management strategies. For example, I have learnt a variety of new attention grabbers and brain break activities (SPR 3.2). These attention grabbers include ‘clap once if you can hear me…clap twice if you can hear me’ and simply raising your hand and waiting for the children to copy and be quiet. I believe that these are both attention grabbers which I could take back and use in a classroom setting. Furthermore, I have also learnt a few quick games, songs and riddles which could be used as brain break activities in a classroom. Especially in the early years, these would be extremely effective (SPR 1.4).

Overall, this experience has been extremely valuable and has allowed me to develop knowledge and skills which will help me in the future. Furthermore, this placement has also taught me new behaviour management strategies, brain break activities, games, songs and team building activities. I can therefore take these forward with me and use these in my future profession (SPR 1.4).