Today's Lessons
I had another great afternoon at Bishopston today, and even got to play with an interactive whiteboard!
One of the best bits of the afternoon was being introduced to the Year 8 class that Carol was supervising as 'Mr Howell, a very important visitor', and then being asked to go through the class, and check their work. It's a really great feeling, connecting with the individual children, and in some cases being able to nudge them back onto the right track with their work. I can see why teachers say their jobs are rewarding.
Carol then guided me through the maze that is the Graduate Training Programme application form. This is a comprehensive document, which asks you to rate your skill level at the moment, versus the criteria that make up the skills needed to be awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). From this rating, you can then design a training programme to fill the gaps. The last step is then to say how you will demonstrate how the skills have been effectively gained. It's all quite logical, really. Carol then suggested some action points, to help complete some more of the details on the form. These included begining to design a lesson, and actually doing some teaching as part of one of Mel's lessons. Also sitting a GCSE exam! So, it's back to the revision.
Mel then took me over to Mary's Chemistry class, where I was able to sit in, observe, and help in a lesson on Chromatography.
I must admit, that I was a little deflated earlier this week after my interview for the PGCE course at Swansea Institute. I had revised the whole GCSE Chemistry course like crazy over the preceeding weeks, and was disappointed by my performance on the day. I was very nervous, and my mind just went blank. This, coupled with a chat during the interview about how hard it is to find jobs in this area for Chemistry teachers and how my age/experience may also be a barrier, served to make me feel rather disenchanted. However, this afternoon at School really reaffirmed my drive to teach, and lightened my spirits no end.
One of the best bits of the afternoon was being introduced to the Year 8 class that Carol was supervising as 'Mr Howell, a very important visitor', and then being asked to go through the class, and check their work. It's a really great feeling, connecting with the individual children, and in some cases being able to nudge them back onto the right track with their work. I can see why teachers say their jobs are rewarding.
Carol then guided me through the maze that is the Graduate Training Programme application form. This is a comprehensive document, which asks you to rate your skill level at the moment, versus the criteria that make up the skills needed to be awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). From this rating, you can then design a training programme to fill the gaps. The last step is then to say how you will demonstrate how the skills have been effectively gained. It's all quite logical, really. Carol then suggested some action points, to help complete some more of the details on the form. These included begining to design a lesson, and actually doing some teaching as part of one of Mel's lessons. Also sitting a GCSE exam! So, it's back to the revision.
Mel then took me over to Mary's Chemistry class, where I was able to sit in, observe, and help in a lesson on Chromatography.
I must admit, that I was a little deflated earlier this week after my interview for the PGCE course at Swansea Institute. I had revised the whole GCSE Chemistry course like crazy over the preceeding weeks, and was disappointed by my performance on the day. I was very nervous, and my mind just went blank. This, coupled with a chat during the interview about how hard it is to find jobs in this area for Chemistry teachers and how my age/experience may also be a barrier, served to make me feel rather disenchanted. However, this afternoon at School really reaffirmed my drive to teach, and lightened my spirits no end.
posted by chris at 8:38 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home