My first year placement was rather enjoyable. I had an excellent Primary 5 class with a teacher who was more than willing to help whenever I needed it. The school itself was incredibly supportive of everything that I had to complete.
What did I learn?
This placement was definitely a huge learning curve for me. I had 3 goals for this placement which were:
- Be confident.
- Be a reflective practitioner.
- Have effective classroom management.
I believe that my confidence has definitely grown throughout my time on placement. I often find that I doubt my ability and can be extremely critical of the work that I complete. I did start off feeling like what I was completing wasn’t good enough, but through discussions with the class teacher I was able to improve and provide well thought out lesson plans which improved the lesson as a whole.
Reflecting throughout my placement really helped me to concentrate on what I needed to improve upon every day and week. I will admit that I did fall behind with my weekly reflections and some of my lesson evaluations so for the next placement I need to ensure that I am more organised and that I set aside time specifically for evaluation.
Effective classroom management was definitely something that was big for me and was something that I learned so much about during my placement this year. I feel that I was able to create a positive presence and ethos within the classroom but I believe that I should implement behaviour management strategies within my lesson plans as this will help me to stay on top of that throughout the lesson.
However, the biggest realisation for me this placement was the fact that I feel quite confident working with children who have additional support needs, in particular Autistic children. I feel that working with autistic children is something that I’d like to consider for the future.
My placement this year has also helped me to make a choice for my Learning from Life placement in year 2. I thoroughly enjoyed my placement this year and it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of my tutor and also the school. The staff were a great support and the pupils are definitely a credit to the school.
Interesting to read what you say about working with children with autism. Some times we find our niche inn a profession without realising that we may have been particularly suited to it. You may find that this experience is one that moulds your future career. Similar thing happened to me when I began to get more interested in digital tech in the classroom.
Thank you for your comment. I believe that it is really something I will consider in my future career. I also have a rising interest in digital technology which I am really starting to explore.